How to play a 9-ball player one pocket?

8andout

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So a 9 ball player wants me to spot him in a one pocket match. He will shoot at everything. He won't be concerned with my excellent safety play, he'll just keep shooting. He will play an occasional safe himself. So how do you adjust to play a wide open shooter? And whats a good spot?
 

jrhendy

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So a 9 ball player wants me to spot him in a one pocket match. He will shoot at everything. He won't be concerned with my excellent safety play, he'll just keep shooting. He will play an occasional safe himself. So how do you adjust to play a wide open shooter? And whats a good spot?

You have to be careful with the spot. Sometimes 1/2 ball will completely turn the game around, raising his confidence and lowering yours.

Best thing is to start at the start, play even. Did you get a spot when you started playing one pocket? If you are sure he needs a spot, start low and adjust upward.

I have played and agreed to adjust the spot or lower it anytime one of us got 3 or 4 games ahead.
 

beatle

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if you play about even nine ball. and he will play as you say you could give him 9 to 7 and destroy him.
 

sappo

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So a 9 ball player wants me to spot him in a one pocket match. He will shoot at everything. He won't be concerned with my excellent safety play, he'll just keep shooting. He will play an occasional safe himself. So how do you adjust to play a wide open shooter? And whats a good spot?

I dont think you want to change much, you must continue playing solid one pocket stragety. If he is going to shoot at everything, I think you should leave him challenging shot that he is not the favorite to make. Then when he misses those difficult shots you will clearly have the advantage. Basically you have to use his weakness {shooting at everything} to your advantage.

As far as the spot you will figure that out after a few games. keith
 

Skin

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So a 9 ball player wants me to spot him in a one pocket match. He will shoot at everything. He won't be concerned with my excellent safety play, he'll just keep shooting. He will play an occasional safe himself. So how do you adjust to play a wide open shooter? And whats a good spot?

Make him bank his way to victory and spot him 9-8 instead of 8-7 if he wants a spot.

Skin
 

BOB C

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don't be confused

don't be confused

stick to ur 1pckt game strategy-the 9 ball player will implode in a short time . he has to deal with more safes than he can imagine. his frustration level will rise and he will go for shots a 1pckt player would not take
 
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tylerdurden

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Perhaps opposed to many others here, I do think that the ideal strategies will always be opponent based. You can't just play the same way on everybody and expect as good results as a player who strategizes well and plays different opponents with different strategies.

The number one thing that comes to mind would be to slow down the games and play a lot of very nitty, bunt safties and frustrate him. If he is not getting shots, he will probably get frustrated. This could make him quit though, so you have to weigh everything. You can't play too conservative either however, if you aren't moving balls to your hole it will always get you in trouble.

Another thing you can do is then challenge him often. A 9 baller not getting shots will be very likely to make bad choices and shoot off the end rail.... the favorite example of course are the shots where if he misses he'll be pushing balls to your hole. That is the classic sucker shot to leave.
 

NH Steve

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How well does he run balls compared to you? Many 9-ball players are excellent at running balls and you have to be pretty careful about spotting if they have good firepower, even if they don't move as well as you. Me, I am only a B at ball running and if I play an A 9-ball player I don't spot, because with their aggressive play and ball-running, you can have your hands full. It does not feel good to lose to a better shooter when you spot them, so I recommend don't. If you both run balls about even, well that is different if you move significantly better.

As far as how to play them strategy wise, that is a good question. Most will quit pretty quickly if you drag the game out. On the other hand, the games that they win, they will win by taking a bit of a flyer and making it and running balls. Contrary to some of the suggestions below, I would hesitate to leave too many tough shots as a challenge -- making them is their one chance to win, imo. Now, tough shots where they can only get one ball, that's different and that's fine :D
 

petie

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Bait him early in the game when there are a lot of balls on the table. After hooking himself a few times while trying to run out, he'll lose a little confidence which should make him more manageable. If he's a straight pool player, they are all dangerous.
 

boingo

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How well does he run balls compared to you? Many 9-ball players are excellent at running balls and you have to be pretty careful about spotting if they have good firepower, even if they don't move as well as you. ...

Who would have thought? Rotation players may not "move" as well but they can still play strong defense which combined with top level shotmaking is a threat in any game.

... If he's a straight pool player, they are all dangerous.

Straight Pool? Nobody plays that anymore right? ;) except for maybe that pool geek who always plays by himself but he's always shooting nothing but easy shots and doesn't seem to miss very often:eek:

Don't get me wrong, I agree with ideas in the posts but it's easy to take things for granted when we focus on one game and there are a lot of dangerous players out there. Watching a player run six and go from serious dog to serious threat in a flash can be as intimidating to many OP players as a string of safeties is frustrating:frus to many non-OP players. It is called Power One Pocket for a reason.

Mixing strong defense and strong offense is a must and I believe that a hallmark of a great player is taking risks at the right moments. All of us have at times executed what we thought was a perfect safety only to have our opponent "take a flyer" and escape while leaving us in the vice.:eek: Some players seem to do this regularly( You know who you are;) ). My general approach is to play the game first and the player second. just my opinion.:)
 

jrhendy

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Shot selection

Shot selection

Who would have thought? Rotation players may not "move" as well but they can still play strong defense which combined with top level shotmaking is a threat in any game.



Straight Pool? Nobody plays that anymore right? ;) except for maybe that pool geek who always plays by himself but he's always shooting nothing but easy shots and doesn't seem to miss very often:eek:

Don't get me wrong, I agree with ideas in the posts but it's easy to take things for granted when we focus on one game and there are a lot of dangerous players out there. Watching a player run six and go from serious dog to serious threat in a flash can be as intimidating to many OP players as a string of safeties is frustrating:frus to many non-OP players. It is called Power One Pocket for a reason.

Mixing strong defense and strong offense is a must and I believe that a hallmark of a great player is taking risks at the right moments. All of us have at times executed what we thought was a perfect safety only to have our opponent "take a flyer" and escape while leaving us in the vice.:eek: Some players seem to do this regularly( You know who you are;) ). My general approach is to play the game first and the player second. just my opinion.:)

Shot selection, choosing the right shot at the right time, is a major key in playing good one pocket.

The problem for many of us is things change. When I was younger I could play safe for an hour and still come with the tough shot when I had to. Now, if I don't swing at something once and a while, I can't bring it when I get a chance. I have actually gotten more impatient and aggressive as I grow older.
 

sappo

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i think most replys here are off the track. this gut is a 9 ball player, that only means he doesnt play the game of onepocket. when ever i match up against a player that doesnt play onepocket i usually have a big advantage. just play the game as it should be played and you will usally win. there was never any mention that this player is a great or even very good player, he just plays other games. therefore if you understand how to play the game properly you should win!!! If this player will indeed shoot at everything that means he is shooting the wrong shot alot of the time and we know that shooting the wrong shot alot is a losing play. keith
 

Billy Jackets

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Sometimes they don't realize what dangerous shots they are shooting and just keep making them.
If that happens you might need weight!
 

tylerdurden

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I think analogies help because we think too much sometimes. Greg Maddux would not pitch the same to Barry Bonds as he would to Lenny Dykstra. The same goes for pool, ideally you will play the opponent, if you know him. If you don't, that is different of course. How you choose to play him is another matter entirely, and is up for debate, but I personally don't think there is any debate that each player (or hitter) should be played with a certain strategy.
 

jrhendy

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Sometimes they don't realize what dangerous shots they are shooting and just keep making them.
If that happens you might need weight!

I played Ronnie Alcano in the Markulis Memorial One Pocket tournament and left what I though was a solid safety with no out but taking a deliberate foul. He back cut a ball no one pocket player would think of shooting, made it and ran eight and out.
 

8andout

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Heres a report on 3 matches i played this weekend.

Heres a report on 3 matches i played this weekend.

I gave the first 2 players 8-7/8-6 (just because i'm a nice guy) they played more of a thinking game than i expected. they were actually trying to play the right shot. i made some stupid errors leaving multiple balls available early in some games. we were playing by the game for 2-3 hours each. I broke even in both matches. The next guy approached me and did not ask for a spot. We traded a few games early then he couldn't make a ball and i ran over him. He offered to play me a 9-ball set, which i refused. he said the game caused him to lose his stroke. My net was $120. It was quite obvious that the first 2 guys had patients for the game but the 3rd guy had none. Thanks for all the good comments.
 
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