Tips for 8-Ball Pool - Running the Table

Andy Segal: Hi! I am Andy Segal. Bruce Barthelette: And I am Bruce Barthelette. Today, we are going to show you some 8-ball tips. Andy Segal: Now we are going to show you what to do after the break and how to run the table. When the table is open, you've your choice between solids and stripes, but which one do you pick?

Well, let's take a look at the table and see some of the signs that will help you determine that decision. Over here, we are looking at the stripes. You have a cluster of balls which makes it a little difficult to make them. You also have the 9-ball and a 12-ball near the cushion. It's always better to not have balls near the cushion because it's easier to move the Cue ball around the table so, stripes may be not.

Bruce Barthelette: In the case of the solids, if you notice all the solids are spread out and they are not clustered together, also none of them are on a rail. The solids are a much better choice in this case to shoot in. I am going to demonstrate here how to run out the solid balls.

Andy Segal: What Bruce is going to do, is he is looking at the 8-ball,the 8-ball over here. He is going to shoot these balls last and these balls first, he wants to clear all the balls off of this side of the table first and then move his way down to this side of the table, clear some of these balls so we will have a nice shot at the 8-ball. If he were to do it in reverse, what would happen is he'd be shooting these balls, then going down table over here making these balls, the Cue ball would be far away from the 8-ball and it will be a little more difficult for him to try and get a good shot at the 8, but in this case, Bruce has successfully cleared all the balls down on this end and now he is going to be shooting these balls. So, he has got the 5, the Cue ball is coming across, what he is now going to shoot is the 2-ball leaving him with a really nice shot on the 3-ball on the side pocket and because the 3-ball is in a good spot for him, he is going to then leave the Cue ball right over here and shoot the 8-ball on the corner. And that's how you run the table. Next, we are going to talk about playing defense.