Learn To Brush (Straight/14.1)

Playing safe in straight pool is a necessity. Play a bad safe and you’ll find yourself 15-20 points further away from your opponent. Play a great safe and your opponent will give you the opportunity to add points to your score or even run the rack out.

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.

Brush Drill Illustration

This shot is very easy to aim since the object ball and cue-ball are usually very close. Make sure not to hit the cue-ball too hard, which would bring it back to the side of the table with all the other balls. Remember! A thin hit won’t take much momentum off of the cue-ball, allowing it to travel down table for a great safe.