The Nine Ball game today demands frequent and accurate kicking. Safeties are played that rob you of direct hits and you must be prepared to not only survive them but to use them to your advantage. Simply accepting a bad roll because your kicking game is weak is no longer a luxury any player can afford.
The kicking game can turn disaster into victory. The illustration shows a kick shot that you must have in your bag. Practicing this shot will teach you a lot about kicks and win you games. Here, the three ball is your object ball and your opponent has left the eight ball blocking your path to a hit. This is a common situation that requires an accurate two-rail kick shot with great speed control.
Put small chalk marks on the table to mark the position of the balls and then practice hitting the shot until the angle becomes easy and obvious for you. Get the speed right so that the three ball is sent one-rail into a blocked position downtable. Then play around a little with english. You will find that a little reverse (in this case, left) english will shorten the angles up and allow you to stop the cueball dead.
Practice this one until you are confident with the shot. As you can see from our illustration, it can change a losing situation into one that is ripe for winning!
