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Chapter 11. SAFETY PLAY

Safety first " is doubtless an excellent motto in many respects, but I query it in a billiard sense. Safety play at billiards is something of a paradox. It seems easy, and it is easy within strict limitations.

But when it is taken beyond the fairly obvious, safety play is the most difficult and problematical part of billiard playing. Suppose, for example, you are confronted by the position shown in Fig. 37. The cue-ball is in hand, the white is so close to the verge of the middle pocket that it is impossible to play it without potting it, the red lies tight against the side cushion in the position shown in my diagram. What is the correct game to play?

A Single-Baulk

Before answering my question, I will digress to remark that if the red was somewhere near the baulk cushion as indicated by the cross in my diagram, then you have a typical illustration of "safety play made easy". You pot the white smartly enough to bring your ball back to where you can command the red very comfortably, and arrange a double-baulk you ought to profit by.

But, with the red as shown in Fig. 37, you are faced by a complicated problem. If you pot the white and leave a single-baulk, your opponent, if a good stroke player, has a distinct chance of running through the red into the top pocket, and making a break off your safety move. If his stroke play is too weak for him to take a chance with the run-through, he can run a coup into a pocket, give you three points, and compel you to play at the badly-placed red under the rule limiting consecutive misses, which gives him the best of the argument, because you gave the first miss to leave your single-baulk.

Obviously, therefore, you stand to lose by potting the white and giving a miss in baulk, unless you can give your miss so cleverly that your ball is left exactly where you can play the run-through off the red. This is a very, very difficult thing to do, and when you have done it, you still have your run-through to make in reply to a coup. You may not have to make it if your opponent gives a miss covering the red, or if he gives an astute miss in baulk which hampers you when attempting the run-through. The latter is a risky shot for him to try, but the possibility is there if he cares to accept it; which he may do in the improbable event of your giving a miss clever enough to command the run-through in the event of his running a coup.

A Double-Baulk

If your stroke play is equal to it, the best thing you can do with the situation shown in Fig. 37 is to run through the red into the top pocket. It is impossible to say where the red will stop after this shot. It may leave an easy red hazard, it may run into baulk, it may stop safe for you, but in better position for a safety shot.

In any case, it is long odds that if you make the run-through you will be in a position to pot the white and leave a double baulk, which is scarcely feasible as the balls lie in Fig. 37. You might do it if you potted the white with a lot of screw and right-hand side on your ball, and cannoned on the red off the top cushion. Then, if you were lucky enough to move the red to advantage, you would be able to leave a double baulk and get the best of the deal.

A Complex Problem

From the foregoing you will see that the stroke required in Fig. 37 is by no means the simple "pot the white and give a miss in baulk" proposition it looks like at first sight. It bears a closer resemblance to a minor problem in chess, and its correct solution depends really on the human element. It is mainly a question whether or not you can face the run-through loser with confidence, and, to a lesser extent, whether your opponent can do anything with it if you leave it to him.

There are other considerations to which I have referred, and, in addition, there is always the state of the game to be thought about, a most important matter when a safety move is contemplated. When you think over all this, you will see how difficult and complex safety play really is, and what a mistake it is to conclude that a man can "take it up when he thinks he will", usually to help him to win a handicap heat. At least, that is what he thinks will happen-the direct opposite is far more likely to be the result when the game is played.

When to Play for Safety

Therefore, as a general principle, I want you to act upon the rule that unless safety is "staring you in the face", so to speak, it is better to try your hardest to score something. Never open a bout of safety play unless you can see the end of it favouring your own game. If you keep this in mind, and play regularly for safety when it is obviously the only thing to do, your insight into safety play will improve until you are capable of coping with its more complex aspects. But you will never reap much benefit from safety play if you take any absurd risk in an ordinary game rather than pot the white or give a miss, or play to leave a deliberate single or double baulk. I know that this sort of thing is "not done" in friendly billiards, but it is a great pity, and also very stupid. Take my advice, harden your heart, play for safety whenever it is your game to do so, and thus accustom yourself to the kind of billiards you will be compelled to play in handicap or tournament games.

Be careful not to overdo it. Before you pot the white, make sure there is no other stroke worth trying for. And when you do pot the white, do so in a manner giving you every chance the balls offer to leave a double-baulk. Figure 38 illustrates my first point. The red is as shown. The white is a good half-inch clear of the top cushion and 18 inches from the top pocket-the cue-ball is a foot behind the white and the same distance from the top cushion. Nothing could be easier than to pot the white and leave a double-baulk, but if instead of doing this you play the white against the jaw of the pocket facing you, and put top and plenty of left-hand side on your ball, the white will "bump across" the pocket opening as shown in my diagram, and get out of the way by the time the cue-ball comes along spinning with side which takes it into the pocket. Then, with your ball in hand, and the red and white in front of you to help yourself from, you are in a far better position than you would be if you had made your opponent a present of a double-baulk.

A Useful Shot to Know

Figure 39 shows a similar problem. There is "no room" to run through the white direct into the middle pocket, and when this is the case, the white is often potted and a double-baulk left simply through pure ignorance. If you strike your ball nicely a shade above its centre and without putting an atom of side on it, and play to send the white against the pocket shoulder, as shown in my diagram, you will save the white every time, and your ball cannot do anything else except find the pocket.

Really this shot is easier than potting the white in a manner gaining good position for double-baulking, as you will soon discover by playing over the position shown in my diagram. When you have done this, I want you to remember that strokes like those shown in Figs. 38 and 39 are "on" much more frequently than most players suspect, especially variations of the stroke shown in Fig. 39. If you spend a quiet hour or two working these shots out, you will learn enough to enable you to force many an opening when you need it badly, or to keep a break going when the scoring of a few more points means much to you.

When to Pot the White

I have already cautioned you against potting the white carelessly in such a way that you cannot leave a double-baulk. There are occasions, as shown in Fig. 37, when safety play becomes a many-sided question. Much more frequently, however, it is easy enough to pot the white and leave your ball where a simple stroke on the red will set up a double-baulk. Positions offering this opportunity are too numerous to call for detailed description. They may happen when the white hangs over any one of the six pockets. The great thing is always to remember that potting the white is not much use unless you can leave a double-baulk. And, with this intent in view, you must leave your ball as conveniently near to the red as you can possibly manage it. Really, nine times out of ten, all this amounts to nothing more than taking a little trouble. What I want you to avoid is the common fault of slamming the white down as if "that ended it", and continuing with a miss of sorts played more or less casually.

Sometimes, of course, you pot the white when the red is in baulk. This simplifies matters enormously, and the golden rule in such cases is-never play at the red if it is nicely placed for a losing hazard played from behind the baulk line. Give a miss in baulk to leave your ball where the in-off the red is easy for you, and hope that your opponent will not disturb the balls. When giving a miss in baulk, never forget to use the cushions. It is much easier to steer your ball to any desired spot off one or two cushions than it is to play it there direct at dead strength, and there is the additional consideration that a mistake in strength is not nearly so likely to do a great amount of harm.

An Ideal Double-Baulk

When you play for a double-baulk, do not forget that there are double-baulks and double-baulks. Figure 40 shows the kind of double-baulk you want to leave your opponent to worry about while you chalk your cue in anticipation of a break to come. With your ball on one side of the table and the red on the other, as shown in my diagram, it is the next thing to a fluke if your opponent manages to score. This is the ideal for you to try for when playing to leave a double-baulk. One final caution, never leave the red too near a baulk pocket when arranging a double-baulk - the chance of scoring is considerable, and it should be a certainty that the red will be bustled out of the tempting position you have left it in.

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