Here’s the situation: As shown in Diagram 1, your opponent has scratched on the 6 ball, giving you ball in hand on the 7 ball. When you saw your opponent scratch, you probably thought that the game belonged to you. I would, too, and it should be your game. However, if the cue ball falls at position C-5 on the 8 ball, you might end up blowing the game. Any time you have a ball on one rail (here, the 8 ball) and your next ball (the 9 ball) is on the opposite rail, it is all too easy to fall straight-in on the 8 ball, as shown in Diagram 1. Ending up with a straight-in shot on the 8 ball could keep you from winning this game.

     Now you must decide where to put the cue ball on the 7 ball so you can end up at C-1 for position on the 8 ball. From C-1, you have good position on the 8 ball and a great angle to get position on the 9 ball. If you place the cue ball at position C-4, you have an easy shot on the 7 ball, plus you can go two rails around pocket B to try to stop at position C-1 (red arrow path). However, if your speed is off just a little, you could end up short at C-6, or long at C-7. It is easy to control the angle on this option, but you have little room for error when it comes to speed. If you just stop a foot short, at C-6, you leave yourself a thin cut on the 8 ball. Not an impossible shot, but less than ideal. If you go too far, to C-7, you are still almost straight-in on the 8 ball. From C-7, you are in a tough spot to recover and get position on the 9 ball. It is definitely not automatic.

     The second option would be to place the cue ball at position C-3. From this position, it is easier to fall at C-1. You contact the cue ball with high follow. This will take the cue ball to the end rail and back up to position C-1 (see yellow arrow path). One key objective of this shot is to shoot hard enough to get to position C-1. You don’t want to fall so short that you can’t pocket the 8 ball into pocket A. Better to go past C-1 than to stop short. You don’t want to have to bank the 8 ball or play safe on the 8 ball. Should the cue ball contact the end rail and start to go over toward side pocket C or toward position C-5, you may need to correct this next time you’re in a similar situation, by either moving the cue ball slightly to the left of C-3 or contacting the cue ball with high right English. The right English will help keep the cue ball away from the side pocket C and side rail D.

     The last option is to place the cue ball at C-2. One nice thing about this position option is you don’t have to hit a rail for position. You contact the cue ball with low left English at about 8 o’clock (use maybe a half-tip or a tip of left English) and float straight up off the 7 ball for position at C-1 (see blue arrow path). Of the three, I prefer this option; you avoid contacting a rail, and it is also the option in which the cue ball has to travel the shortest distance from the 7 ball to position C-1. Not to mention that the shot from C-2 is the shortest and easiest option for pocketing the 7 ball. Having always been a stickler for eliminating risk and trying to go for the high-percentage option, placing the cue ball at C-2 fits the bill for me.

     Another key thought for this type of scenario is that, to run out consistently in 9- ball, you must always look at your next three shots. This is a minimum. Over my years of writing for Billiards Digest, I have mentioned this many times, and I still can’t say it enough. Any time you find a player who pockets one ball and then looks to find his next shot, he will have trouble running very many balls in succession. His runouts will be few and far between.

     As you train yourself to look ahead for position on future shots, you need to get smart position, not just easy position. With that in mind, always be conscious of when you are going to have to cross the table for position. If such a situation is coming up, falling straightin on the previous shot can result in your failure to win the game. Always play the angle so you can get back across-table.