Playing safe in Straight Pool is considered to be just as important and being able to run 50 balls. This point is best shown during a league match. You are a great player, you average about 30-40 balls every time you step up to the table. Your opponent is pretty good, but not close to your skill level yet. The league director has given out handicaps; you need to get 150 and your opponent needs just 35. If you are not able to play a safe well when you get stuck, your opponent will only need two and a half tables to win. Playing a bad safe, can leave you going home in a bad mood.
The basic Brush Safe is one of the first shots to master. The rules state that an object ball needs to be touched before the cue-ball or another object ball hits a wall for the shot to be considered legal. In a Brush shot, you are focusing on the cue-ball making 99% of the movement on the table.