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Via special request, I’m writing this post a couple days early.  The process of rotation pool can seem daunting at first.  Having to shape a specific ball around several others and traffic jams can frustrate even many tournament players.  However, rotation pool at it’s core is actually one of the easiest games to master.  For example, in games such as snooker and eight ball, the choice of whether to go offense or defense and the choice of countless patterns requires a lot of extra thinking.  In straight pool and one pocket, all balls are open to being made by either player at any time, so it is much easier to shift patterns.  In rotation games such as 6, 7, 9, and 10 ball, the choice is often made for you.  You have to play the table as it lies rather than create it, and chances are you and your opponent are working on the same pattern.  It’s all a matter of who executes that pattern the cleanest and fastest.  The keys to rotation pool are cue ball control, mastery of the rails, and recognizing whether a safety or an offensive shot gives you the greatest chance to maintain control of the table.  So, here are six basic tips to help you in your game of rotation.

1.  Break from the side rail whenever possible.  Some tournaments and leagues require you to break from a location known as “the box”, which is located more toward the middle of the table.  However, breaking from the side rail actually allows a player to virtually “throw” balls on the sides of a rack toward the back two corner pockets (nine ball), and the corner balls in triangles such as rotation, 6, and 10 ball.  Remember, you want to use every advantage that is at your disposal.  Also, there is a reason you see most of the pros break from the side rail rather than the middle, especially in nine ball.  I’m gonna let the famous Buddy “The Rifleman” Hall explain further. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjLgW7L0wsc

2.  Use the rails as often as possible.  It is much easier to control the cue ball using center and high english than it is to control stop shot and draws.  The rails not only allow you to create angles of proper approach to your next object ball, but also allow you a safety net in speech control (every time a cue ball hits a rail, a little inertia is taken off of it).  So as cool as it may seem to draw back one rail position for shots, if a two or three rail position shot is available using center or follow, take it.  It’s much easier for you to execute and control.

3.  The way you should approach a shot in any rotation game is offense, two way, and finally safety.  You won’t win a game by safeties unless you have the cue ball control to execute lock up after lock up safety, and if you do you could probably use that knowledge to run rack after rack.  Before you actually fire a shot, you want to gauge the percentage of offense (just trying to make the ball), two way (lower percentage shot possibly, but also could leave the opponent buried if missed), and defense (no intent to pocket a ball, simply trying to bury the opponent).  When we talk about percentages, we mean a combination of how likely am I to pocket the ball, how likely am I going to have position to continue the run, and if I miss, how likely am I going to leave my opponent no shot?  Lets say for example you are on the four ball, but it’s not straight forward.  By hitting center english, you have a 70% chance to make the four, but only a 20% chance to get position.  If you miss the shot, there is only a 30% chance you will leave the opponent safe.  An ideal shot is close to 300% (close to 100% in all categories), but making this offensive shot only nets you a score of 120%.  That’s less than half the time you will come out with a positive outcome for you to continue to run the whole table.  Perhaps a two way shot by applying some bottom right english may decrease the shot being pocketed down to 50%, but if you miss, you have a 45% chance to leave the opponent safe and a 65% chance to get position on the next ball.  Added up together, this two way shot gives you a score of 160% that it will work in your favor out of three hundred, meaning a little over half the time it works out best for you.  So the two way is a better option than the pure offensive shot. 

4.  When you are placed in a tough spot from a safety, don’t panic.  Look for the best way to make a legal hit on the object ball, and in addition to that how might you roll safe again?  For example, let’s say we’re playing nine ball, and balls 1-3 have been pocketed.  My opponent didn’t get a shot on the four ball though, so they played a safety where I’m buried behind the eight ball with half a table between me and the four ball.  I’m not frozen, so I can get to the side rails.  My initial reaction might be to aim towards the sides and hope for the best for clean contact.  However, if I look closely, I see that I can come off the end rail, go two rails, and likely barely nudge the four ball behind another object ball and end up below them both.  It might easier to control two rails instead of one, and even if it’s not legal contact, I may have tied up a ball.  This brings us to……

5.  When no legal shot is available and attempting legal contact might leave the table open in case of a foul, tie up some balls.  Taking an intentional foul to tie up some balls when you were likely to give up ball in hand anyway is a way to say “You won that safety, but you’re going to have to figure out how to solve a little detour before you run out.”  Sometimes this can be unnerving to less experienced players, and even older experienced players might have to adjust their strategy to win.  It’s a bit of a gamble, but it’s better than leaving an obvious run out.

6.  When first stepping to the table, look at all the balls that are left, and envision them as a connect the dots puzzle.  Similar to the eight ball tactic I suggested this past tuesday, work the balls in groups of three, three, and three.  If you can plan ahead nine shots immediately, great.  If you can’t quite see that far, focus on them three at a time.  Every three shots, pause and make sure you are connecting the dots as you intended.  And always be ready to make a new plan if the old one goes awry.

As a bonus tip, look for missing a shot on the pro side if you can.  The term pro side means when faced with a difficult shot, aim it in such a way that if you should miss, it will roll toward a rail at an odd angle that makes attack for the incoming player very difficult.  This goes under the umbrella of two way shots.   Good luck this weekend readers, and happy shooting!