Problem of the week number seven looks on the face of it to be a pretty mundane spot late in a game of nine ball. We are up against a weak opponent, with two key options - attack or play safe. Many players just view this as a pretty simple table bank and play super aggressive here, but a careful analysis of the situation throws up some different answers.

The key question you should always ask yourself when confronted with a hard pot or an easy(ish) safety shot is whether the safety shot will win you the game a higher percentage of the time than the chance you have at the pot. In this case, against a weak amateur, it is basically always yes. People often forget how important sound safety play is in destroying amateur players, and although TV pool can look like an endless battle of clearances at nearly any cost, the amateur game is a very different kettle of fish.

In this specific situation, you are also aided by the fact that you have a safety shot which carries a very large chance of a snooker – a huge bonus. With the nine in the middle of the table and against a pro, the table double/bank shot is probably correct, but in this spot you should play this shot (sorry to steal the diagrams from the excellent Dying Actors but they are basically perfect):




Also, someone brought up the double kiss on the black with the intention of sending the white up the table. If this was tight on the cushion, this shot is maybe just on (and even then it is a very hard shot and not worth the risk reward), but with the black off the cushion the shot is near suicidal - if you are curious set it up a few times from various spots and see for yourself.

Solution:

You should play the thin safety on the right hand side of the black, and try and get the white behind the nine.