littlebabyjesus
one of Maxwell's demons
I watched the end of that. Bit tough on Gary. He'll play much worse than that and win. Brilliant break to win the match with no black or pink. Those are the breaks I enjoy most.
2021 World Snooker Championship
- Thread starter stavros
- Start date
Really good match, so far. Don't think I'll be awake to see their return to the table.
I was working for the morning session, where McGill took a 10-6 lead. However O'Sullivan's taken all four of the opening evening mini session, so they're tied at 10-10 with five to play. He played two ludicrous middle pocket pots on the colours in the first two frames.
It looks like Wilson's taken the first four of his second session with Hawkins too.
It looks like Wilson's taken the first four of his second session with Hawkins too.
I've not seen Selby properly yet, but from the highlights he looks back to his best.
Wilson-Hawkins this afternoon wasn't the highest quality, but if Kyren can step up a level he will be a thread in the latter stages. He's a consistent Crucible performer.
And Mark Williams is the most fun player on the whole tour. His post-match interview with Seema and the Nugget was great.
Wilson-Hawkins this afternoon wasn't the highest quality, but if Kyren can step up a level he will be a thread in the latter stages. He's a consistent Crucible performer.
And Mark Williams is the most fun player on the whole tour. His post-match interview with Seema and the Nugget was great.
two sheds
Least noticed poster 2007
Right well I've finally (sort of) got the score of the balls left on the table in my head: 83, 75, 67, 59, 51, 43, 35, 27 ....
What I can't for the life of me work out is how many someone needs to to 'get over the line' from there - every red/black off the table adds 8 to the score and takes 8 away from the possible so is sort of worth 16, every 2 reds/blacks off the table add 16 to the score and take 16 off the possible so is sort of worth 32. Is there a simple formula?
Eta: Something like 147 – 32n – (8m+27) where n is number of reds/blacks needed and m is number of reds on the table but I’ve no idea whether that’s anywhere near.
What I can't for the life of me work out is how many someone needs to to 'get over the line' from there - every red/black off the table adds 8 to the score and takes 8 away from the possible so is sort of worth 16, every 2 reds/blacks off the table add 16 to the score and take 16 off the possible so is sort of worth 32. Is there a simple formula?
Eta: Something like 147 – 32n – (8m+27) where n is number of reds/blacks needed and m is number of reds on the table but I’ve no idea whether that’s anywhere near.
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littlebabyjesus
one of Maxwell's demons
tbh I've never found that graphic particularly useful. It all depends which colours you take with the reds. If you take all yellows, you need to pot 14 reds to get over the line, starting from no balls potted, and you get over the line with just 40 points, 35 remaining. Presumably they operate on the assumption that you take blacks with each red, but whether or not that is likely depends on the state of the table.
ETA:
The commentators give a clue as to how the players actually think. They can look at a table with six reds left, two tied up, say, and work out whether or not they need one of the awkward reds.
two sheds
Least noticed poster 2007
I did actually see that, and it gives the count-down score which I'm just about ok with. It's each red/black adding 8 to the score and taking 8 away from the opponent's possible score that I can't work out.
As littlebabyjesus said, it's not always useful but it makes me feel inadequate when the commentators say that someone needs three reds and three blacks to get over the line. Every red/black is worth 16 (I think) as I say but my head doesn't stretch to working it out before another red is potted and I have to start all over again
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littlebabyjesus
one of Maxwell's demons
I think the main thing is to know without working it out each time what score you can get with each number of reds. So all the players will know without thinking that four reds left means 59. You then look at your lead and work it out from there. So it's a mixture of maths and memory.I did actually see that, and it gives the count-down score which I'm just about ok with. It's each red/black adding 8 to the score and taking 8 away from the opponent's possible score that I can't work out.
As littlebabyjesus said, it's not always useful but it makes me feel inadequate when the commentators say that someone needs three reds and three blacks to get over the line. Every red/black is worth 16 (I think) as I say but my head doesn't stretch to working it out before another red is potted and I have to start all over again
They do stop and have a little think sometimes. It's not quite like darts players, who aren't really doing maths most of the time. They're remembering the combinations in their heads.
littlebabyjesus
one of Maxwell's demons
Everyone's head will work differently, but I wouldn't be introducing 16 into it.
Let's say I'm 30 ahead with five reds left. I can't do it with two reds as that gives me maximum 46 lead with 51 left. I take three of those reds with colours and that leaves 43 left. As long as I've scored at least 14 with those three reds, I'm 'over the line'. If you're used to those patterns, you can sum things up quite quickly.
littlebabyjesus
one of Maxwell's demons
But you don't think about that aside from '30 ahead, 5 reds left, means lots more to do yet'. How much more? Two reds not enough, three reds is enough if I take high-scoring colours - how high? A pink and a blue plus the reds gets me over the line.
It's like first you experiment in your head with potential rough solutions that you choose because you have a rough idea what's needed. Then you make it more precise. Heuristics.
I do play snooker. Unfortunately not at the level where these kinds of calculations are relevant.
klang
klang
what was your highest break ever?
littlebabyjesus
one of Maxwell's demons
I've made high 30s a few times. Never made a 40 break. I get a bit giddy once I'm past 20 tbh.
So yeah, calculating how many reds I need to leave my opponent needing snookers is not really a problem I encounter. On my night I'm a decent potter. My positional play is hopeless.
klang
klang
where and how often do you play?
and how long did it take you till you actually had a bit of fun?
littlebabyjesus
one of Maxwell's demons
Snooker's one of those games where the rules are a little different depending on your level. The 'miss' rule doesn't count at my level, for instance.
I used to play quite a lot of pool and occasional snooker. Now I almost never play pool but play snooker semi-regularly. I'll always choose snooker over pool nowadays. But I'm not getting any better at it.
I used to play quite a lot of pool and occasional snooker. Now I almost never play pool but play snooker semi-regularly. I'll always choose snooker over pool nowadays. But I'm not getting any better at it.
