This is an amateur/advanced killer question. Killer goes by many names and variations, but essentially it is simply a game where a group of players have a set number of lives, you lose a life every shot that you miss or foul, players rotate every shot, the player who sinks the last ball gets to break the next rack and you keep shooting and re-racking until all but one player is left standing. Any specific questions about any rules not in the question post them here and I'll try and answer them asap.

You are heads-up at the end of a winner takes all game of a killer on an extremely tight pocketed and well maintained bar box against a close to pro speed player with the following table situation with you to shoot:



a) You have two lives left, your opponent has one, and if you miss your opponent can put you back in to shoot again from where the balls lie.

b) You have two lives left, your opponent has one, and if you miss they have to shoot from where the balls remain.

c) You have two lives left, your opponent has one, and any miss counts as ball in hand for the opponent.

Best shot in each spot and why?

Solution:

a/c) i'd try to drop the 2 in the bottom left at such a weight where i leave the cueball close to the bottom of the P on the pool.bz graphic, either slowly just off one cushion, or quicker off two if i can't hold it off one. leaves either a fairly tough cut on the 3 or tricky bank on the 1.

b) i'd bank the 1 to roll close to the 3.

what kind of killer is that if he can put you back to take a shot again if you still have 1 life left ? i like the other 2 questions though so im thinking just now.
But i cant see how within any rules he can put you back in again without playing his shot ?
so surely if you missed you played again and missed he would win ? doesnt make much sense unless im reading wrong

from what i understand you got 2 lives in each case. so if you miss you go down to one life each.

case one its important that if you miss the shot you dont leave the ball over the pocket. if its played pocket weight then your oppo comes to the table with an easy pot and can focus on leaving the cue ball in a position to really screw you over. if we play the 2 ball with some top spin try to leave the cue ball in the middle as low as possible with out landing next to the 1 ball. then if you miss it you leave a fairly simple cut on the 2ball but at an angle which is taking the cue ball diagonally across the table.

case two you just need to ensure that you leave nothing even close to pottable after your shot. you have a massive advantage of being able to pick what shot your oppo plays next time. you know he must go for the pot and has enough pressure on him that playing a positional pot and do a lot with the cue ball is almost out of the question.

case three you need to just make sure you get the pot. with the ball in hand if you miss this shot your opponent really screws you over and you lose the game. making the ball on your first shot is massive.

btw do you play any rules like if its 1 life each you must pot a ball after your oppo fails to win (sort of so both players have taken an even number of shots). it might change a bit of the logic with case 2.

Rules vary a great deal in killer depending on how much people want to prevent deliberate fouling.

Most high stakes games of killer have a put back in rule to prevent people with the most lives just constantly playing safe every shot . In some games this is even more pronounced, with ball in hand to the next player to really punish any miss or attempt at playing even semi-safe.

ok sorry i never made myself clear , if i miss the first shot and get put back , then miss my second has he won the game ?

good question.


Oh and i like this question of the week this week very interesting indeed im still having a a good think about it

For all 3, I'll cut the 3 into the top left corner and leave the cue ball at the top of the first O or where the P meets the first O in the pool bz logo. The only bad that can happen here is if we miss that shot which probably shouldn't happen, it's a pretty easy shot. That way, villain has no easy cut shot and his most sensible option is the cross corner on the 2 ball or a weird cross side, both of which are difficult. If he does happen to sink the bank shots on the 2, we'd most likely be left with an OK shot on the one.

Against a pro, if we miss in any of these stipulations, it's pretty much game over for us so the only way to stay alive is to pot and the only way to win is to pot AND leave him a tough shot.

Yes you will be out of lives after two misses and he will win with one remaining.

In this game, does everyone re-ante each re-rack? Was trying to play it the other night with 5-6 people after reading this thread but I wasn't sure of the rules.

No the game just continues with the player who sunk the last ball breaking.

We play a great variation of this game - for up to 13 players. Each player draws a playing card. The other three cards are left in the pack, which is then shuffled. Cards are then drawn out to decide the playing order. When a shot is missed, the card is removed from the pack. The pack is shuffled once all cards have been drawn out. Last card remaining wins.

This stops the moaning that you get from players who follow a strong player and inevitably face more than their fair share of tricky shots.

What gives this game an extra edge is that when you get down to only a few players left, there is a real chance that those with more than one life remaining can end up playing two consecutive shots. This means you have to decide whether to play really safe when you pot - and risk it - or play cautiously and likely leave a pot for your opponent.

Solution Added in OP