Not all safeties are equal. Some offer higher win percentages.

One common mistake that both amateurs and pros will make is not playing the best percentage safety shot. And this month we’ll look at a shot that comes up over and over again, and a shot on which many players play the wrong safety.



Diagram One shows two balls remaining and the cue ball and 8 ball almost parallel. Most amateurs will play safe by trying to put the 8 on the short rail and send the cue ball two or three rails in an attempt to get both balls close to the middle of the short rail on each end of the table.

Mind you, this is not a terrible shot and will probably win 50 percent of the games. But the shooter missed an easier opportunity to really put the opponent in a bad spot and win 75-80 percent of these racks.

The top players excel because of their great table IQ. They’re able to work out the best percentages with the available shot options. But you can do it, too. And there’s always something to be said for a good safety.

So, let’s take a look at the options on this shot.

I’ve already shown you the most common approach, which is in Diagram One. It’s an easy safety, but the problem is if you leave an edge of the ball, a simple side-to-side shot (Diagram Two) is an easy response. If there is enough room behind the 8, your opponent could also respond with a kick-and-stick (Diagram Three), which includes the added chance to make the 8 in the side pocket. If you leave the opponent options, you’re going to have the tables turned on you in a hurry. (Of course, banking the 8 is an option but a low-percentage one.)

Your best bet with this shot is shown in Diagram Four. If you play the shot this way you probably win 80 percent of the time. It takes practice so that you are confident that you won’t scratch.

I spin the cue ball with a good half tip of left english and try to land between the first diamond on the long rail and the first diamond on the short rail. I want the 8 ball on the short rail between the first diamond and middle diamond, but at all costs I don’t want my opponent seeing the right side of the 8. That’s the key.



The benefits of this shot are obvious. Your opponent can’t see the right side of the 8 ball, and hitting the 8 thin on the left will likely let it leak out (Diagram Five). This happens a lot because clipping it so thin that it doesn’t leak out is extremely difficult. If your opponent can see enough of the 8 ball, he could try the shot in Diagram Six, but good luck with that. This is a very difficult shot to judge, and I don’t like letting the cue ball loose like this shot would require. Again, banking the 8 up and down the table is way too risky. A kick shot is another possibility, but so many things could go wrong. The percentages of you kicking it perfectly to either stick the cue ball at that end of the table or sending the 8 side to side and the cue ball back up table are both very low.

Everything really depends on how much of the 8 ball you allow your opponent to see. I prefer my little dump shot because it is simple and has won me a lot of games compared to the option in Diagram One.