TAKE A FLYER - Viking Cues Tip of the Week with Mike Roque author of Build Your Game.

TAKE A FLYER

“The last option is to simply rearrange your opponent’s balls with a random shot…”
-Jeff Carter

Once in a while you are going to find yourself in a situation where there appears to be no possible chance to win. There is no offensive shot and no safety available. What do you do? Take a flyer.

For example, imagine playing eight ball with an opponent who has chosen stripes. When you finally get to the table, you see that all of your balls are tied up in clusters.

The stripes are all out in the open, but none of your balls can be pocketed. When your opponent returns to the table, he will either run out or play safe and leave you in jail.

As a last resort, call a solid in a pocket and make a legal hit with a hard stroke. Move as many balls as possible, both yours and his. You might even make your called ball!

Your real goal, though, is to rearrange the balls to create a different table layout. If you’re lucky, when the smoke clears, your opponent will have a more complicated runout, and you might get another chance.

You’re breaking the balls again, but this is essentially a defensive tactic, a last ditch effort. If it works, great! If not, so what? You were already in a no win situation.

Sometimes it looks hopeless. As a last resort, take a flyer.

Love our Tuesday Tip of the Week with Mike Roque, you can purchase your own copy of his book "Build Your Game" at the BEBOB Publishing Website at http://bebobpublishing.com/