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About LinkBacks
Member
10-25 hrs/wk
Simi Valley,California 93065
Apr 2008
61 Posts 
Up till now I had been stuck with a high run of 18. Thanks to a lot of advise from some very nice people on the CCB, AZBilliards and right here at CueTable.com:
I finally bumped that up to this 25 mark. Now I want to bump it again to 30+
Here are the 2 racks from YouTube.com
Billiard Instructor
Coach 40+ hrs/wk El Paso, Tx Jul 2007 26 Posts 
Tom
Nice little run! Here is what I will say here - and I will go in depth further on the video evaluation - yes I will do that for u tomorrow...
Rack 1
Your major error in Rack 1 is that you leave your break ball crowded up for almost the entire rack. Go back and listen to my commentary on Thorsten's 98 ball run. I explain the importance of clearing out the break ball so that you can freely move about the table without fear of moving key balls, or the break balls.
Speaking of key balls - you really did not have one in this rack, and that was due to the way you shot off the balls. On the video I will go further in detail about mastering the art of the stop shot and creating - recognizing - utilizing stop shot patterns. The key ball you use to get on your break ball works for you, but as you continue on through this game, you will learn that cue ball positioning is vital to having a great break ball - and that is achieved by having a great key ball.
IMO, your break ball was bit too close to the rack - but you get a great result on your ensuing break shot and enter into rack 2...
Rack 2...
Secondary break balls - need to see where they are. Plan to get on your secondary break shots the same way you would plan to get your break ball... this is very important.
Your major error in the rack was shooting the 2 and letting go of the cue ball. You should have set up to go 2-8
once again, that would have cleared out your break ball and set you up easily to get into rack 3.
After that error, your fate was pretty much sealed. Go back and watch how your cue ball gets farther away from the object balls, forcing you to try to do too much shot-wise and position-wise on the ball you missed...
Great little run - I like your shotmaking and the way you think things through - stay in touch with me - and best of luck!
Member
10-25 hrs/wk Simi Valley,California 93065 Apr 2008 61 Posts Wow again!
Thanks so much BlackJack for the critique!
It is already way more information than I expected and of course you are correct all the way through.
This all reminds me of when I first started trying to take APA 8 ball serious and how I would start a run with great position then quickly find myself with harder and harder shots until I eventually missed badly.
This game is a GREAT challenge for me and it is great for playing alone which I am forced to do a lot lately.
Maybe someday I can do something for you in return...or...at least maybe I can pass my learning on to someone else.
Member
B Player 5-10 hrs/wk
Amsterdam Billiards New York, NY Dec 2007 405 Posts 
Thanks for the video Tom, here are some ideas I have as a B player
In page 1 I'd like to get rid of 13, 3, 4 in the earlier part of this rack.
In page 2 you had the rack tough from the beginning. I'd try to get close to the 3-14 for better control on QB first, and then work my way to 8 in the side or 1 rail after the 6 break..
In page 3 you will see the layout at video 6:51. You might use the 2 and 12 for your advantages. Shoot the 2 to get a good angle on the 12 and then cut the 12 to get CB behind 1 or 8 (towards 3rd diamond on top left ) Also, in case you don't have a good angle on the 12, you should still have some kind of back up plan using the 13.. (for example, stop shot on 13, and soft roll the 9 to top left corner...)
What do you think?
Cheers,
Wei
Member
10-25 hrs/wk Simi Valley,California 93065 Apr 2008 61 Posts Thanks Wei for your insite and also for taking the time to create the cuetable diagrams.
It had not occurred to me to go back and look at the racks the way you and Blackjack are doing.
This is all GREAT stuff in my learning process.
In your page one I agree exactly with what you said and that agrees with what Blackjack recommended.In page 1 I'd like to get rid of 13, 3, 4 in the earlier part of this rack.
In page 2 you had the rack tough from the beginning. I'd try to get close to the 3-14 for better control on QB first, and then work my way to 8 in the side or 1 rail after the 6 break..
In page 3 you will see the layout at video 6:51. You might use the 2 and 12 for your advantages. Shoot the 2 to get a good angle on the 12 and then cut the 12 to get CB behind 1 or 8 (towards 3rd diamond on top left ) Also, in case you don't have a good angle on the 12, you should still have some kind of back up plan using the 13.. (for example, stop shot on 13, and soft roll the 9 to top left corner...)
I should have cleared out my break ball early in the rack but it did not occur to me to do that.
My brain frys from all the options early on when there are 13 or 14 targets to consider. I know this one piece of advise about clearing out the balls around the intended break ball will help me a lot.
In your page 2, I again agree and I actually was trying to get closer to that 3-14 but I was using the bridge and was not sure how to get the correct bounce of the rail to have the cue ball go forward and down table. As a result I hit it a little too high and the cue ball came off the rail an almost froze to the stripe ball near the pack. That was my 1st big mistake and it went down hill from there. One tough shot after another.
Finally in your page 3 I simply was lost as to how to get back to that 1 and 8.
My cut on the stripe in the rack area was an attempt to get back to center table but the cue ball came around 2 rails and ran into the strip on the left side. In 9 ball it would have been no big deal and I should have made the cut into the top corner leaving the cue ball near center table but again my head was so full of the options I was lucky to hit the cue ball by that time....hehe
Thanks again for you advise. I am truly enjoying this challenge. I have to play a lot more so I can quit second guessing so much. There is an amazing number of little things that are consuming my brain power and that really pulls down my confidence level. Things that you and Blackjack have pointed out to me may be obvious to your experienced eye but to me they are like bright flashes of brilliance. Once you mention these things I just go....DUH!...I will get there though!
Member
B Player 5-10 hrs/wk Amsterdam Billiards New York, NY Dec 2007 405 Posts
In page 1 it looks like you might be able to do a rail first shot on 10 and spin CB to a spot for either 13-9-15 or 7-2-15
Talking is easier to doing it, especially when it's someone else doing it... Well, I do enjoy getting into the backseat once a while
Blackjack has a lot of in-depth knowledge about 14.1 game, as shown in the commentaries in several high run videos. I have always enjoyed listening to them. Thank you Dave
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