Fractional aiming zones - new system

[BC21]

The method is geared toward developing a feel for cutting balls. It covers shots
as thin as 1/8, but mainly focuses on recognizing the basic 1/4 increments. Then
when a shot falls between the basic increments, or thinner than a 1/4 hit, you know
without a doubt if it's 5/8, 3/8, or 1/8. Most often, on very thin cuts, a safety play is
a better choice if possible, at least until the player gets proficient at thin cuts.
A 1/4 ball is simple to hit by visualizing the edge of the shaft about an 1/8 away
from the OB. So when a shot comes up that you know is thinner than 1/4, you know
your shaft will have to be aimed further out, or you can aim for the 1/4 aim point and
spin the ball in (aim for the 1/4 aim point and use half a tip of outside english, or use
a full tip of inside english and trick it in.)


The book is also available as an E-pub or E-book for Kindle, Nook, etc... I believe
it's on the Apple I-bookstore for 9.99. Or http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/Poolology

 

[Tony_in_MD]

Just ordered the spiral bound this morning. Interested to see your approach on Fractional aiming.

 

[bbb]

i have had the material for 2-3 weeks
its an excellent way to figure out what type of cut is necessary for the shot and then how to aim it
although i use contact point to contact point aiming
i use the method to verify if i am seeing the cut correctly on those shots i am uncertain
for example back cuts with the balls in the center of the table
i would use it to teach a newbie or anyone having trouble with their aiming (assuming its not a stroke issue or visual issue)
it gives the newbie a method to calculate the cut
over time i would assume the newbiew would devolop the ability to "see" the cut angle
without having to do the math
highly recommended

 

[BC21]

I'm just curious if it covers shots that are thinner than a quarter ball hit?

Does it address how to aim at shots thinner than a quarter ball hit? If the system is mostly about determining the angle of the shot, I'm still interested. But having something concrete to aim at is what I'm more concerned with.

I have a couple of weak players on my team. I taught them that shaft alignment aim system. You point the left side of your shaft at the contact point for left cuts and vice versa. It get's them in the right direction at least, but it's incredibly flawed.

Maybe show them this method:

https://youtu.be/CknEpbnsxDE

 

[Okie]

Book ordered! Thank you for sharing what you learned!

Ken

 

[BC21]

Book ordered! Thank you for sharing what you learned!

Ken

Thank you for the support!

 

[JE54]

I just bought the ebook. Looking forward to checking it out.

Thanks

 

[hogie583]

Good job

Just recieved 2 days ago. Only had a chance to work in zone A. Very easy to understand. It only takes 2 or 3 seconds for your pocket line. Fooled around with different speeds other than medium. Works in zone A GREAT. COUPLE MORE SUPPORT VIDEOS WOULD HELP. Wish i had this when i first started. Now i can use this to confirm with other shooting systems i use that im proficient in. Its nice to have great information. Thanks for sharing your take on it. Definitely worth the price.

 

[Straightpool_99]

I bought the book. Love it, especially since I tried to develop something like this myself (an objective aiming system. It's elegant and easy to understand. Recommended.

 

[CueAndMe]

Wonderful!

Brian, I just bought and finished reading the book. I am amazed by what you've come up with here! It's too late tonight for me to start practicing on the table, but I look forward to it this weekend.

Hey, everyone. Get this book before Brian wises up and starts charging what it's really worth! :wink:

One question and possible suggestion, Brian. What do you do when the cue ball and object ball are near one another? The natural line would become increasingly too shallow as they approach one another, and the resulting alignment value would become increasingly too thick.

Suggestion: Maybe the outside edge of the object ball is a more appropriate point to use when drawing the natural line or some sort of pivot when the balls are close to one another?

Anyway, I feel the info you're providing is worth many times more than I paid. And a book explaining an intricate system like this really must be explained with care and written well, and it truly was. Thank you for making it so simple and straightforward! I look forward to committing it to memory.

If you'd be willing to share maybe even privately, I'd love to know how you came up with the zones and numbers.

 

[BC21]

When the CB is within 3 to 4 inches of the OB you simply aim for the next 1/4 aim point thinner. Example: If it comes out to a 1/2 ball shot, but CB is 3 to 4 inches from OB, then use the 1/4 aim point instead of the 1/2 aim point. It really depends on the cleanliness of the balls too. If they are dirty then you may need to use a little spin along with over-cutting it. If the balls are within an inch or two, a 1/2 ball shot would actually need to be aimed for about an 1/8, or a 1/4 with some outside spin.

Thanks for the great review!

 

[BC21]

Just recieved 2 days ago. Only had a chance to work in zone A. Very easy to understand. It only takes 2 or 3 seconds for your pocket line. Fooled around with different speeds other than medium. Works in zone A GREAT. COUPLE MORE SUPPORT VIDEOS WOULD HELP. Wish i had this when i first started. Now i can use this to confirm with other shooting systems i use that im proficient in. Its nice to have great information. Thanks for sharing your take on it. Definitely worth the price.

Support videos coming!! Thanks for the good review.

 

[anbukev]

Here's a picture of how to adjust if the cue ball and object ball are close to each other.

 

[BC21]

Close to your work

This ball sits close to the pocket, therefore has more room for error. It can pocketed by
aiming anywhere between aim point "A" and aim point "B". Naturally, if the OB were
farther away from the pocket, our room for error would decrease. The gap between
"A" and "B" would get much smaller. As the CB gets closer to the red 90° line, which
bisects the ghost ball aiming arc around the OB, the shot becomes thinner and thinner.
And once the center of the CB is on or passed the 90° line, the shot becomes nearly
impossible without incorporating a massé/trick shot.

In this diagram the distance between CB and OB is 4 to 5 inches. It's a half ball shot
but can still be pocketed if overcut. Rolling the CB into the OB toward aim point "A"
will pocket the ball. If the the CB slides into the OB (shooting firm or using a stun or
draw shot), the OB will be pushed off line, away from the pocket. But you could aim for
"B" and shoot as hard as you need to, with draw or stun, because you'll be overcutting
the ball yet also forcing it with more friction toward the pocket.

With Poolology, you simply need to figure out how many aim points thinner you would
have to go in order to compensate for the CB being closer than 4 to 5 in from the OB
If the balls are clean, usually one extra aim point is enough. (A 1/2 ball shot would
need to played with a 3/8 aim point. The closer the CB gets to the OB, the more you'll
need to adjust. At 2 or 3 inches away, you would aim at 1/4 aim point to shoot a shot
that is lined up for a 1/2 ball. In other words, 2 aim points thinner. You could also spin
the OB in with outside english (no draw) and use only 1 aim point thinner instead of 2.

It really depends on cleanliness of the balls, as friction is the culprit.

 

[CueAndMe]

I got to the table today to try it all out, and it worked out very well for a lot of shots. There are a handful of ball orientations that I encountered that didn't quite pan out, but even if you only use it to help finding 3/4, 1/2 ball, and the in-between shots, it's truly invaluable. The math became really easy for the majority of zones A and B within a very short time. Zone C will take some working with. Always choosing an even number for the object ball positions made the math division quick. It was a very successful first outing with the method. Thanks again, Brian!

Below are a couple of pics I took of situations that didn't quite add up or maybe Brian explained already that beyond a 1/4-ball cut the math shouldn't be used. That seems to make sense, because it appeared that the problems I had were all around 1/4-ball and thinner cuts.

Picture 1: The 6-ball in a position of 18 with an alignment value of 20. Does the ratio of 20/18 suggest an impossible cut or does the math just not apply over 1/4-ball?



Picture 2: 14-ball position of 22 and alignment value of 20. 20/22 for this cut doesn't seem correct.

 

[BC21]

Right. That seems to be the one thing I left out of the book!

As the OB gets closer to the rail, the thinner cut angles move closer to the 1/4
ball alignment value. The 1/4 ball is still accurate, but the 1/8 alignment value
changes.

When the alignment value equals or is near the OB position value, the shot only
begins to approach 90° as the OB gets closer to the rail.

As long as the OB is in the far end or middle of the position value line (not
within a diamond or so from the rail) the 1/8 ball shot is actually when the
alignment value is equal to or very near the OB position value. I have a clip on
YouTube explaining the thinner cuts here: https://youtu.be/CknEpbnsxDE

 

[GoldenFlash]

I got to the table today to try it all out, and it worked out very well for a lot of shots. There are a handful of ball orientations that I encountered that didn't quite pan out, but even if you only use it to help finding 3/4, 1/2 ball, and the in-between shots, it's truly invaluable. The math became really easy for the majority of zones A and B within a very short time. Zone C will take some working with. Always choosing an even number for the object ball positions made the math division quick. It was a very successful first outing with the method. Thanks again, Brian!
Below are a couple of pics I took of situations that didn't quite add up or maybe Brian explained already that beyond a 1/4-ball cut the math shouldn't be used. That seems to make sense, because it appeared that the problems I had were all around 1/4-ball and thinner cuts.
Picture 1: The 6-ball in a position of 18 with an alignment value of 20. Does the ratio of 20/18 suggest an impossible cut or does the math just not apply over 1/4-ball?Picture 2: 14-ball position of 22 and alignment value of 20. 20/22 for this cut doesn't seem correct.

You guys actually go through all this mumbo-jumbo to shoot a pool ball into the pocket?
Why not just use CTE Aiming method and do away with all this crud...?
Even Ghost Ball is more practical than this gobbledy-gook
(Next someone will incorporate the use of a slide rule.................which, to my knowledge, hasn't been around in centuries)

 

[CueAndMe]

Right. That seems to be the one thing I left out of the book!

As the OB gets closer to the rail, the thinner cut angles move closer to the 1/4
ball alignment value. The 1/4 ball is still accurate, but the 1/8 alignment value
changes.

When the alignment value equals or is near the OB position value, the shot only
begins to approach 90° as the OB gets closer to the rail.

As long as the OB is in the far end or middle of the position value line (not
within a diamond or so from the rail) the 1/8 ball shot is actually when the
alignment value is equal to or very near the OB position value. I have a clip on
YouTube explaining the thinner cuts here: https://youtu.be/CknEpbnsxDE

Thanks. I follow most of this. One more question, Brian. For side pocket shots where the object ball is of the 40/60/80 type but is below 40 as a position value, how do you determine the position value? There seems to be a no-man's land area on your diagram.

 

[CueAndMe]

You guys actually go through all this mumbo-jumbo to shoot a pool ball into the pocket?
Why not just use CTE Aiming method and do away with all this crud...?
Even Ghost Ball is more practical than this gobbledy-gook
(Next someone will incorporate the use of a slide rule.................which, to my knowledge, hasn't been around in centuries)

For me, it's about double-checking. Having several tools can only help. This one doesn't get in the way of ghost ball or contact points or CTE or whatever. It's good stuff that just adds more confidence.

 

[BC21]

Thanks. I follow most of this. One more question, Brian. For side pocket shots where the object ball is of the 40/60/80 type but is below 40 as a position value, how do you determine the position value? There seems to be a no-man's land area on your diagram.

Excellent catch! Just keep going down....30 would be halfway between 40 and the center
line of the table, which from there you cross into the 10 to 30 range values. I appreciate
the feedback. It will make newer editions if the book better! Thanks.