Super Advanced

In the Super Advanced game, which has been in use for Championship-level events in England since around 2010, there is an additional lift conceded after running hoop 4, along with the usual lift hoops of 1-back and 4-back. If all 3 lift hoops are made in a single turn before the striker's partner ball has passed hoop 4, then a lift-to-position is conceded, meaning that the opponent can start their turn by placing their ball anywhere on the court - even within yardlines. As a result, it has opened up different options to the player of the first break, and consequently a number of different leave choices and game tactics.

First break and game strategy

Fundamentally the following options are available:

- Take first break to 4-back

This put the most points on the board possible without conceding lift-to-position and maximises pressure on the opponent, as any mistake they make will give you a chance to win the game with a TP

- Take first break to 3-back

This is an interesting option as it takes the TPO out of the equation for the opponent. At the highest level you will still see players attempting and regularly completing QPOs but this is substantially more difficult than a TPO. Even if you yourself are not all that confident at completing or even attempting a QP, it still puts you in a strong position. Having first clip on 3-back gives better options if you manage to regain the innings with the forward ball - you are able to make 3-back and have all the extra strokes available from doing so to organise a stronger leave for your H1 ball

- Take first break to 1-back with leave for 1-back ball

This is arguably the most defensive option but also a very effective option that is under-used. It retains the innings and concedes a lift shot which, if missed, will see your 1-back ball continue its break towards 4-back

- Take first break to H6 or H5 with leave for H6 or H5 ball

A variation on the first break to 1-back. This is a good option if you have control of all the balls in your break by the time you have made H3. This method still gets the H4 lift hoop out of the way but means that part two of your break to 4-back is starting from an earlier position, and hence more strokes are available to organise a strong leave. Note that continuing your break from H6 will mean that partner ball will naturally become the 3-back pioneer, so starting from H5 is slightly preferable.

- Take first break to 1-back with leave for H1 ball

Generally an option taken only by the very top players who are confident enough to try a SXP - it is the most effective way of winning - if you can do it.

Contact leaves

The most popular tactic in super advanced play is to take the first ball to 4-back. Assuming all the other clips are for H1, then a fundamentally good contact leave will have both the opponent balls close together, normally across a corner with no useful rush, and the striker's balls separated into distant corners, with no balls near H1. With this in mind, the standard contact leave is as follows:

The easiest way to make this leave is to arrange partner ball as the 1-back pioneer on the first break, then after 1-back rush partner near to C2. Then continue the break as normal, sending out the opponent ball to 3-back as a pioneer and make 2-back under control. Before 3-back send the 2-back reception ball close to C4 and after 3-back rush the 3-back reception ball towards C4 - at this point if you have good control, you may even try to arrange both opponent balls in C4, as touching balls, as this maximises the difficulty of the opponent's contact turn.

A similar leave can be employed when stopping the first break at 3-back. In this case, instead of having a 3-back pioneer, the ball should be placed closer towards C4, and great care should be taken to get an eastwards rush out of 2-back. It is best to take this rush and try to rush the opponent ball into or near to C4 immediately after 2-back and then takeoff back to get a rush on the in-lawn ball towards the corner, or slightly west or north of it.

It is worth noting that a very effective contact leave is actually quite easy to make. As long as balls are on boundaries far from the opponent's hoops, and the opponent balls are together with no useful rush, then it is very difficult for the opponent to score any points from the contact turn. However it is still worth putting as much effort into the leave as possible. For example, if the opponent balls are both in contact in C4, it will make any potential croquet stroke taken from either of your balls going to their partner all the more difficult than if their partner is 5 yards up the boundary. This could be the difference between them making a good leave leaving no shot and a bad leave leaving a double target.

Lift leaves

When making a lift leave with the first ball, it is still most common to stop the break at 1-back, meaning the leave will be made after scoring H6. The easiest leave to make from this position is the diagonal spread:

After H6, the reception ball is rushed south-east and then croqueted out towards the west boundary, while approaching the other opponent ball near the peg. Beware not to leave the ball at the peg too close and block the path to rush it towards 1-back in your next turn.

When stopping at H6 or H5 the most common leave is still a diagonal spread because it is the easiest leave to make and also tends to be the most forgiving if not executed perfectly - generally even if the wiring is poor then the opponent will have a 10+ yard shot. Stopping at H5, there is also the opportunity to lay a NSL-type leave, where you place the ball NE of H4 after running H4.

There are of course downsides to setting a diagonal spread or NSL-style leave - one of the key weaknesses is that it is quite easy to establish a break from a DSL - whether it's you or your opponent doing it. Consider a position where the opponent's clips are H1 and 4-back - you have gained the innings but are not TPO'ing - instead you wish to retain the innings and only concede a lift with the first ball - you could consider doing something as follows:

The above leave is a good one as it means that the opponent will still have difficulty picking up a break with their backward ball if they hit the lift - the ball against H4 cannot be rushed to H1

It is always good to look for opportunities to maximise the difficulty of the opponent's break pick-up on the off-chance that they do hit the lift - it could mean the difference between having another turn or not.

You may also even consider the following, if the opponent's backward ball is on H2 (or if you manage to get an early POP on their H1 ball at some point before you make H4)

Sextuple leaves

The most obvious sextuple leave in super advanced is the standard diagonal spread - it is easy to make and is a familiar leave to establish a break from. For sextuples it has the downside of allowing the opponent a shot from C3 through your balls on the east boundary and into the relative safety of C4. When attempting a sextuple it is very important to be able to access this C4 ball as soon as possible after making hoop 1, but it is not easy to dig it out due to the distances involved. You may choose to make H1 and then try and rush to (or near to) C4 and leave a big roll from C4 towards partner at H2, or may choose to ignore the C4 ball completely until after H2 - there is an opportunity peel partner through 1-back after H2 while approaching the C4 ball as your "escape ball" however there are very few players who would be comfortable with such a shot.

A more common sextuple leave that has emerged is the cross-peg leave and laying up on the West boundary - this leave is definitely more difficult to achieve as it requires very tight control of the balls around the peg.

There are two general ways to make this leave:

• Similar to making the DSL but after running H6, rush the reception ball right on-top of the peg and complete the delicate wiring
• Obtain forward rush after H5 on the reception ball and complete the wiring after H5, then rush partner to H6

The first option is a more standard approach but gives no room for error. The second option has the advantage that the crucial rush of the opponent ball towards the peg is being done from several yards closer i.e. there is more scope for accuracy, and also if the wiring is imperfect after H5 then you have the opportunity to correct it after making H6. This method of cross-wiring at the peg after H5 means that you should have no pioneer at H6, but instead should arrange to have partner ball about 1 yard directly north of the peg so that it can be rushed to H6 after completing the wiring.

When there is a stronger case for the opponent playing with a particular ball, such as when the opponent's clips are H1 and 4-back, or perhaps rover and peg, then it is likely that they will be playing their backward ball regardless of the leave. Realistically there is nothing you can do to force your opponent to play a particular ball, but you should try and ensure that if they miss with the ball they want to play, you should gain an extra benefit from it. With this in mind then, a strong sextuple leave could be as follows:

This leave is not as easy to make and normally requires placing balls in critical positions after scoring the final hoop of the turn (H6), but does give a strong chance of getting an early 1-back peel - this type of head-start to a sextuple can be a huge advantage. In the below image, if the short lift from B-Baulk is missed with the opponent's backward ball, you have the opportunity to rush partner into peeling position at 1-back and peel it before H1 while gaining a rush on the opponent's 4-back ball to H1. If the rush to peeling position fails, you are still in a strong position to peel 1-back before H2, which in itself is a good head-start to your SXP.

Having the opponent ball in a sort of reverse NSL position (approximately 1 foot south-west of H2 wired from B-Baulk) can also be useful if you manage a 3rd turn break to 1-back as it puts you in the same position as the previous 1-back leave in which you were trying to take advantage of a miss with the opponent's backward ball.