New Defensive Game

[Joe T]

I'm not sure if anyone has already come up with a game like this and if they have I apologize.

Was giving a lesson this past weekend and it’s always tough to give a good lesson on 9 ball safeties and kicking safe because there’s so many different situations that come up and what I usually do is make it so we play 9 ball/10ball but are only allowed to play safe but balls hang up or you’re left with an easy shot that you would never play safe on. So what we did was play similar to the 1pocket spot of one and stop but kept score by receiving 1 point for every ball you made thereby creating a penalty for selling out a ball and this also made for a good battle on those last few balls. I would like some of us here to try it and see how they like it and maybe find some bugs or rules that might be appropriate.

You could play by yourself but I would like to see how it feels to you with an opponent.
Break a rack of 9, 10 or 15 balls, (might be good for 8 ball also) spot any balls made on the break and the incoming players has to push out to start the game. After this you receive 1 point for any ball you make, you can only make 1 in a row and then must play safe, if you make 2 in a row the 2nd ball spots (no penalty and could be a good way to play safe if a ball is hanging in a pocket). One possible way to score 2 in a row would be if you kicked your first shot in, then made a ball and then played safe, bonus for kicking one in?
Any way I thought it was kind of interesting and giving the option of making your first shot at least allowed you to play position for the next safe.

Give it go and let us know how you made out.
Oh yeah, you don’t have to play by the rack, you can play a race to however many points you choose. I would think a race to 21 points would be good.

[jkregan]

Hey Joe! I have one of your trainers and I use it but not enough yet. It is a simple idea like most good tools. My stroke is straightening out and the long straight shots are coming easier and better all the time.

That game sounds a lot like what we used to call "hooks". You break a rack of 9-ball and just play safeties. You get a point for every time you force your opponent to foul. Nobody pockets a ball and the first person to 9 points wins.

Its a really great exercise. What's really fun is trying to kick to a safety. Kicks and banks seemed to be easier when I was in my twenties and playing a few hours of three cushion billiards a week along with straight pool, 9-ball and 8-ball.

In my former life, before I took 25 years away from the game, we also played a game called "Cribbage". You play shots in pairs with each pair of balls adding up to 15. If your second shot isn't the right ball, the pocketed ball(s) are spotted. The fifteen ball goes down last and the first player to 5 points wins the game. It really is a good exercise for position and thinking ahead.