Here is a situation that comes up frequently in straight pool, 8 ball and, one pocket and I wanted to use it to talk about taking your best percentage shot.  Imagine that after a break shot or a miss by your opponent, you are left on the end rail looking at a selection of long shots.  Which one gives you the best of chance?

Here is the situation on the table:

Playing Percentages Pool Table

All things being equal, I think the 3 ball has a greatest percentage of going into the pocket.  Let’s take a look at why.

Let's start with the 1 ball. To make this ball, you have to cut the ball to the right.  This causes the 1 ball to be pushed down a little toward the end rail, which can cause you to under-cut and miss the shot.  Also, hitting the 1 ball on the left side adds a little collision induced spin that can sometimes cause to ball to bounce out of the pocket.  Not much of an effect, but every little bit helps on these long shots.

Now let's study your shot on the 2 ball.  At this angle the pocket becomes very small, and if you aren't careful any contact with point of the pocket will cause the 2 ball to rattle and not fall.  The pocket plays the smallest when the object ball is about a balls width from the rail.  This is a makeable shot, but is it your highest percentage shot?

The ball that I think has the best percentage chance of going in is the 3 ball, and here is why. First, when an object ball is near the rail, the ball can make some contact with the rail and still go in.  If it is a little further from the rail, like the 2 ball is in this example, the ball will rattle around the pocket and not go in.  Secondly, hitting the 3 ball on the right puts some right hand collision induced spin on the ball, which helps to herd the 3 ball into the pocket.

Reiner Wirsbitzki had this very problem in the recent World Straight Pool Championships.  He shot a nice break shot but the cue ball bounced back to the end rail.  He fired at the 3 and made it to continue his run.

There is a very subtle difference between these shots, and being able to tell the difference between each can help give you a slight edge.

Good luck and see you on the road.