More complicated in strategy than 9-ball, as many as seven enemy balls await each 8-ball break. All your opponent's set may create hazards on the table. Consider Figure 1.
The player with stripes is “ready” to shoot the 8-ball and win, having cleared the stripes from play. But the obvious pocket “A” is utterly blocked by the 2- and 7-balls. Solids has played smart or gotten lucky. The stripes shooter ought to have cleared the two and seven long ago or else played the cue ball to another spot, to pocket the 8-ball elsewhere.
Immediately from the open break, these two solids should have been keenly considered by both players. Foolish players fail to act before they are forced to consider trouble balls.
8-Ball provides eight friends and seven enemies on each table of 15 object balls. In this 8-Ball break case, keeping your friends close and enemies closer was a bad thing!
