How Fractional Aiming Systems Help

mohrt

Student of the Game
Silver Member
Here is a plot of the cut angle you get versus the fullness of hit. For example, a fullness of 0.5 -- an exact half-ball hit -- gives a cut angle of 30 degrees. (This ignores throw which can be several degrees depending on speed, spin, cut angle and ball conditions, but that is mostly a separate issue.)
A couple of other fullnesses to note are 3/4 full which gives an angle slightly under 15 degrees and 1/4 full which produces about a 48-degree cut.

View attachment 220417

A larger version of this is available at http://www.sfbilliards.com/fract.pdf as a PDF.

That is interesting Bob, as I do move from thick to thin at 1/2 ball, and thin to very thin at 1/4 ball.
 

Patrick Johnson

Fish of the Day
Silver Member
Here is a plot of the cut angle you get versus the fullness of hit. For example, a fullness of 0.5 -- an exact half-ball hit -- gives a cut angle of 30 degrees. (This ignores throw which can be several degrees depending on speed, spin, cut angle and ball conditions, but that is mostly a separate issue.)
A couple of other fullnesses to note are 3/4 full which gives an angle slightly under 15 degrees and 1/4 full which produces about a 48-degree cut.
Overlapping the CB/OB to the major ball fractions (1/4, 1/2, 3/4) is simple to see and repeat accurately, which is why "fractional" alignments have been used as aiming references since pool's beginning. Hal Houle later popularized fractional aiming as "3-angle" aiming and the technique remains mostly unchanged today as "SAM", "CTE" and probably multiple other versions.

Joe Tucker's "Aiming By Numbers" is sometimes described as a fractional technique, but it's more like "parallel lines aiming" with numbers - a good technique in its different way.

pj
chgo
 
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sfleinen

14.1 & One Pocket Addict
Gold Member
Silver Member
Overlapping the CB/OB to the major ball fractions (1/4, 1/2, 3/4) is simple to see and repeat accurately, which is why "fractional aiming" uses those alignments. Ball fractions were used as aiming references well before Hal Houle popularized the technique as the "3-angle system", and the technique remains almost unchanged today as the "SAM" system, "CTE" and probably multiple others.

Joe Tucker's "Aiming By Numbers" system is sometimes described as a ball fractions technique, but it's more like "parallel lines aiming" with numbers -a good system in its different way.

pj
chgo

Pat:

Actually, you can add snooker's "Back of ball" aiming technique to the list in the last sentence of your first paragraph:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=kLjSlHr38dc

(Go 1:00 into the video, where Trevor starts his presentation.)

-Sean
 

scottjen26

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
That is interesting Bob, as I do move from thick to thin at 1/2 ball, and thin to very thin at 1/4 ball.

Me too. When I started with CTE/Pro1, I remember someone saying not to worry about the 15/30/45 thing as far as the transitions went and that my eyes would tell me when I need to change aim points or pivots. But from my experimentation early on, which I posted here last year, I determined that I needed to switch from an outside pivot to an inside pivot around 14 or 15 degrees, from A/C (1/4) to B (1/2) at 30 degrees, and B to 1/8 at 48 - 49 degrees.

Strange how that works...
Scott
 

Patrick Johnson

Fish of the Day
Silver Member
Pat:

Actually, you can add snooker's "Back of ball" aiming technique to the list in the last sentence of your first paragraph:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=kLjSlHr38dc

(Go 1:00 into the video, where Trevor starts his presentation.)

-Sean
I'm familiar with that video - he describes an interesting combination of fractional and stick aiming. Kinda short on details, but that combination sounds like it could be effective in the right hands.

pj
chgo
 

Bob Jewett

AZB Osmium Member
Staff member
Gold Member
Silver Member
Fractional ball ideas have been around for a while. Here is a page from "The ABC of Billiards" published in 1866.

IMG_0010.JPG
 

champ2107

Banned
Untitled-3.jpg


This is how i figure out my banks with cte/pro1. you can go through your shot selection starting with your straight in alignment and just continue through the shot selections all the way down to the 1/8 shot and you will see which shot selection is a bank and which one is not.You will be surprised sometimes because the system will show you a bank option you would not think of. This will also help the newer users figure out which shot selection you need to just shot straight in. There is a pattern to the cte/pro1 shot selections and when you figure it out and how it works, everything will become automatic to you.
 

Nick B

This is gonna hurt
Silver Member
So Champ you have no problem visualizing a virtual table pocket 5.8 feet away (adding for the table shelf). I hope all the tables you play on bank long. Not sure what this has to do with Fractional Aiming Systems.

Nick
 

champ2107

Banned
pretty much visual aids Nick to help with shot selection using cte/pro1 but if you and PJ or who ever have an issue with me posting in this thread about cte/pro1 i will stop and you can talk about this meaningless fractional system stuff, go ahead :)
 

mohrt

Student of the Game
Silver Member
Untitled-3.jpg


This is how i figure out my banks with cte/pro1. you can go through your shot selection starting with your straight in alignment and just continue through the shot selections all the way down to the 1/8 shot and you will see which shot selection is a bank and which one is not.You will be surprised sometimes because the system will show you a bank option you would not think of. This will also help the newer users figure out which shot selection you need to just shot straight in. There is a pattern to the cte/pro1 shot selections and when you figure it out and how it works, everything will become automatic to you.

Good to see this in a diagram! I too use mirror systems to find the shot line. This would be more accurate if you mirrored at the rails, but the concept is there.

So Champ you have no problem visualizing a virtual table pocket 5.8 feet away (adding for the table shelf). I hope all the tables you play on bank long. Not sure what this has to do with Fractional Aiming Systems.

Nick

Actually it's quite easy. You find two lines that run through the mirror pocket, and you can quickly learn to "see" the bi-sector. This is very useful for any aiming method, not just CTE. However, with CTE the mirror pocket is only used to determine which pre-pivot reference to use, you don't need it during shot execution. Of course, you have to make the necessary post-pivot english adjustments when rails are involved (as with any banks CTE or not.) I plan on diving into some of these details in a future article. This is banking nirvana. :) This has everything to do with CTE. If it doesn't have anything to do with Fractional Aiming Systems, then this leads one to believe that CTE itself has little to do with fractional aiming, no?
 
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Patrick Johnson

Fish of the Day
Silver Member
...you and PJ or who ever have an issue with me posting in this thread about cte/pro1 i will stop and you can talk about this meaningless fractional system stuff, go ahead :)
CTE is on-topic in this thread about fractional systems because CTE is a fractional system. CTE uses the same fractional "system alignments" (3/4 ball, 1/2 ball, 1/4 ball, 1/8 ball) that other fractional systems use as starting alignments for aiming, simply renamed "aimpoints A, B & C".

Here's the same graphic that I posted earlier for Hal Houle's "3-angle" system, showing the same system alignments relabeled as CTE's "aimpoint A, B & C" alignments. Yellow arrows illustrate CTE's "pivot" method of adjusting from system alignments.

pj
chgo

Fractions Grid (CTE).jpg
 

champ2107

Banned
CTE is on-topic in this thread about fractional systems because CTE is a fractional system. CTE uses the same fractional "system alignments" (3/4 ball, 1/2 ball, 1/4 ball, 1/8 ball) that other fractional systems use as starting alignments for aiming, simply renamed "aimpoints A, B & C".

Here's the same graphic that I posted earlier for Hal Houle's "3-angle" system, showing the same system alignments relabeled as CTE's "aimpoint A, B & C" alignments. Yellow arrows illustrate CTE's "pivot" method of adjusting from system alignments.

pj
chgo

View attachment 220612

i said in this thread already that it may have been used as a template or starting point for cte systems. I understand exactly what you did in your picture but i bet you will confuse people with it. welcome to the world of describing cte lol and dont get to detailed now lol :)
 
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Patrick Johnson

Fish of the Day
Silver Member
Sorry to be a nerd about this, but FYI...

This would be more accurate if you overlapped the tables so their "rail gutters" meet. (The "rail gutter" is the worn path parallel to the rails, formed as rebounding balls are repeatedly driven downward into the cloth.) That's where the centers of the balls actually change direction, so that's where the "mirror" reflects the other table(s). This distinction becomes especially important when you try to use the mirror image to help aim shallow rail-first shots around blocking balls.

By the way, the technique of aiming kicks/banks shown in your diagram is called the "mirror" or "spot on the wall" technique. Dr. Dave has a video about it on his website.

pj
chgo
 

champ2107

Banned
i didnt really try to be accurate here but just trying to put the idea into peoples heads so they can figure it out on there own. i get pm's asking about selections and banks.If you want to do a more accurate picture go ahead, thats cool :)
 

stan shuffett

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
CTE PRO ONE alignments for A B C coupled with a CTE visual is ABSOLUTLEY NOT the same as the standard alignments for 1/4 1/2 and 3/4. My 30 degree shot to the left in Chapter 10 using A and CTE gives a visual for the OB to miss the corner by about 7 degrees. A pivot of 1/2 tip is a REQUIREMENT for that shot. A fractional quarters alignment would be center cueball to edge requring no pivot for center pocket.
** KEY FOR CTE PRO ONE is a unique eye position that sees the CTE LINE and the edge to A line with only eye shifts allowed and no head movement. This is at the heart of CTE PRO ONE.
A CTE in CTE PRO ONE never occurs from the quarters perspective directly behind center cue ball.
Stan Shuffett
 

Patrick Johnson

Fish of the Day
Silver Member
CTE PRO ONE alignments for A B C coupled with a CTE visual is ABSOLUTLEY NOT the same as the standard alignments for 1/4 1/2 and 3/4.
Yes, my illustration shows that CTE's "aimpoint alignments" correspond to the typical 3/4, 1/2, 1/4 fractions, but doesn't show how the "CTE visual" changes the alignments from there (I don't know how). Thanks for pointing that out, Stan.

pj
chgo
 

champ2107

Banned
CTE PRO ONE alignments for A B C coupled with a CTE visual is ABSOLUTLEY NOT the same as the standard alignments for 1/4 1/2 and 3/4. My 30 degree shot to the left in Chapter 10 using A and CTE gives a visual for the OB to miss the corner by about 7 degrees. A pivot of 1/2 tip is a REQUIREMENT for that shot. A fractional quarters alignment would be center cueball to edge requring no pivot for center pocket.
** KEY FOR CTE PRO ONE is a unique eye position that sees the CTE LINE and the edge to A line with only eye shifts allowed and no head movement. This is at the heart of CTE PRO ONE.
A CTE in CTE PRO ONE never occurs from the quarters perspective directly behind center cue ball.
Stan Shuffett

stan, can any kind of eye issue, like left eye dominate or right eye dominate,etc effect you negativity or stop you from learning the system? i get asked this.
 

stan shuffett

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Champ, none that I am aware of....Landon is extremely left eye dominant and right handed. He has no difficulty with obtaining correct visuals.
I am unaware of any student that I have ever worked with that could not see the visuals properly because of eye related problems.
Seeing the visuals correctly takes a little work. It's different from any other type of aiming. The primary difference occurs at ball address.
 
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