Hi everyone. I hope everyone had a good holiday season, whatever holiday you celebrate. I hope you’ve been practicing, especially if you play in the amateur leagues. This is the biannual playoff season for APA right now. All the local championship teams are hitting the state finals now. If you are on a playoff team in the APA like I am, good luck to you all. If you’re not, keep practicing.

One thing I’ve noticed people having trouble with in the playoffs is very simple. They’re all good shooters, no doubt about it. What separates the men from the boys, so to speak, is composure. The playoffs are no different from a regular game, just more intense. How the intensity phases you is up to you. Keep your composure and shoot smart. Take a deep breath and think. Take some time between each shot, look the table over, and run scenarios in your head. Start playing the game out in your head, deciding what consequence your decisions may have. Treat it like you do life. You don’t go 90mph in a 40mph zone because you know any self-respecting police officer that may be in a parking lot a block away would nab you in a second. Think the same way about pool.

I’ve seen people taking risks and being way too aggressive. Don’t be afraid to make a killer safety. I have actually sacrificed a shot for a safety, with the knowledge that my opponent will put me in a position to run the table or that I will not potentially leave him/her in a place to do the same. Also, remember, if it’s a guess, it’s a mess. Beware thoughts during your shot of, “Oh %#@*, here we go,” or, “I’ll try this….” If it’s a guess, it’s a mess. That’s the time to try to play it safe.

NOW… if you’re just learning or have been hiding under a rock, let me teach you how to play a safety the best way I can using only words. I wish I could do a video right now for a visual. What you need to think of most is how you can leave your opponent with no good shot. Don’t rely on placement to force a kick or bank shot. That can likely result in the opponent shoving it back down your throat. Rely on blocking and nasty angles.

For instance, in the above diagram, assuming you have low balls (solids), you have two options. You could take that blue ball (the 2) up in the corner. If you miss, you leave the cue ball in excellent position for their shot in a couple different ways, or you could end up scratching (putting the cue ball in a pocket). For your second option, you could try to shoot a combo into the opposite side (bottom middle). Either one would be an acceptable attempt, but both are somewhat risky and you’re losing. The option I demonstrated with white lines is what I would do in this situation: a safety. Just BARELY skim the side of the red ball (the 3) lightly so you barely move it, if at all. Let the cue ball hit the rail and settle behind it. You’ve just blocked every shot the opponent has on that striped ball. Kudos to you. In most leagues, they HAVE to try to make contact with their ball, making it more likely you will have ball-in-hand, allowing you to run that table. Learning more complicated safeties and learning to see safeties will take time, but that is what practice is for. If you have good control over your cue ball, the possibilities are endless. You can find all kinds of cool places to hide that cue ball. Of course, you can always send me a message asking me what you did wrong or what you could do better and I will give you the best answer I have. Use the contact form for that. I will get back to you pretty quickly. Just remember that you either want to be CERTAIN you will make your shot or leave your opponent with nothing to shoot. If you can get your opponent to cuss every shot, you’ve succeeded.

I found a really good eHow article about playing safeties: How to Play a Safety in Pool. Here’s the video from the article:

If you have any questions about any of this or could use a few more safety scenarios mapped out to get the idea, please feel free to ask. Otherwise, good luck out there and stay tuned for more tips and tricks.