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When you face the need to shoot a safety, there are several choices. The one selected depends on the table layout, your ball control skills, and the level of respect you have for your opponent’s abilities.

For this effort, there are four easy safety shot types that can be combined in different ways. All of these can be combined to add to the difficulty factor and lower the percentages of a successful shot.

These can be easily accomplished with just a little attention to your stroke speed:

Bad angle – you can set up this easy safety shot so your opponent’s target ball is either a very difficult cut or a tough bank, both with a low percentage success rate for him.
Distance – another easy safety shot to make your opponent shoot the cue ball to a target ball far, far away, or shoot a closer target ball to a far, far away pocket. He may make it, but he will have to sweat the shot out.
Frozen cushion – What is more fun than to leave your opponent looking at the cue ball resting right on the cushion. And you just happen to know he hates this type of safety shot more than going to the dentist.
Hidden ball – Every once in a while, you will get a made-to-order setup for a safety shot that hides your opponent’s target ball behind one or more balls. Do not resist temptation these opportunities. It is a freebie gift from the billiard gods.

There are others, but these are all that is needed for 98% of the time. Simply select the shot that you can do and that will leave your opponent a situation that he finds frustrating. (If this is a fascinating subject to you, get the only book that is entirely devoted to the entire concept of defensive play – the Safety Toolbox.)