How do I use the pythagorean theorem to pocket balls?

JoeyInCali

JoeyInCali

Maker of Joey Bautista Cues
Silver Member
I heard Harold Worst used it.
Someone gave me a betamax tape lesson of it but I lost the tape.
I believe you take the distance from the cb to the pocket then pocket to the ob, then you move the stick to the square root of that but am confused.
Do you square the distance or the angle?
Of which?
 
a little levity:

when i was in monterey in the 70's hitting a few(nostalgia showing up!), i would walk down with my buddy jim harness(are you out there, old friend?), from virginia beach,to his dealer just off base and he would get us some 4way hits of blotter acid. then i would do a quarter of it and go back to base. i shot in the EM club on base and did pretty well.
the angles just seemed to lay themselves out and the little arrows showed me just where to shoot the cueball. the little people jumping up and down didn't faze me.
i peeved pythagoras when i passed up the early 4 point viking for $45 so i could get some weed. the squares never revealed themselves to me afterward and my math skills declined dramatically to say nothing of my pool skills. of course there was the pinball machine in downtown monterey that i could only beat if i was tripping and then i would slay it(scary memory but 100% true).
also pythagaras ratted me out to cpt anderson and lt. daughtery when i ridiculed him over his plagarizing the babylonian's more renowned mathematical research. he took all my pharaceutical helps and left me unhigh and dry! happily they did not find the blotter acid on the window sill or i may have taken a trip to ft. leavenworth. sorry to ramble but angles and theorems peeve me since the days of old. if you get on the right side of the pythagorean theorem keep us informed.
 
woodyosborne said:
when i was in monterey in the 70's hitting a few(nostalgia showing up!), i would walk down with my buddy jim harness(are you out there, old friend?), from virginia beach,to his dealer just off base and he would get us some 4way hits of blotter acid. then i would do a quarter of it and go back to base. i shot in the EM club on base and did pretty well.
the angles just seemed to lay themselves out and the little arrows showed me just where to shoot the cueball. the little people jumping up and down didn't faze me.
i peeved pythagoras when i passed up the early 4 point viking for $45 so i could get some weed. the squares never revealed themselves to me afterward and my math skills declined dramatically to say nothing of my pool skills. of course there was the pinball machine in downtown monterey that i could only beat if i was tripping and then i would slay it(scary memory but 100% true).
also pythagaras ratted me out to cpt anderson and lt. daughtery when i ridiculed him over his plagarizing the babylonian's more renowned mathematical research. he took all my pharaceutical helps and left me unhigh and dry! happily they did not find the blotter acid on the window sill or i may have taken a trip to ft. leavenworth. sorry to ramble but angles and theorems peeve me since the days of old. if you get on the right side of the pythagorean theorem keep us informed.
Click to expand...


What???????
 
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nary a clue!

JoeyInCali said:
I heard Harold Worst used it.
Someone gave me a betamax tape lesson of it but I lost the tape.
I believe you take the distance from the cb to the pocket then pocket to the ob, then you move the stick to the square root of that but am confused.
Do you square the distance or the angle?
Of which?
Click to expand...

Joey,

I always figured Aristotle was the one that had the lock on pool angles myself.

I used to get so jealous of the folks laying sticks here and there and carefully aligning things that I started walking around the table and carefully sighting and measuring fourteen different angles. Made'm crazy since I was just cyphering on a six inch straight in shot!

Hu
 
JoeyInCali said:
I heard Harold Worst used it.
Someone gave me a betamax tape lesson of it but I lost the tape.
I believe you take the distance from the cb to the pocket then pocket to the ob, then you move the stick to the square root of that but am confused.
Do you square the distance or the angle?
Of which?
Click to expand...

I used that system once and it was alright, then I found CTE.
 
woodyosborne said:
when i was in monterey in the 70's hitting a few(nostalgia showing up!), i would walk down with my buddy jim harness(are you out there, old friend?), from virginia beach,to his dealer just off base and he would get us some 4way hits of blotter acid. then i would do a quarter of it and go back to base. i shot in the EM club on base and did pretty well.
the angles just seemed to lay themselves out and the little arrows showed me just where to shoot the cueball. the little people jumping up and down didn't faze me.
i peeved pythagoras when i passed up the early 4 point viking for $45 so i could get some weed. the squares never revealed themselves to me afterward and my math skills declined dramatically to say nothing of my pool skills. of course there was the pinball machine in downtown monterey that i could only beat if i was tripping and then i would slay it(scary memory but 100% true).
also pythagaras ratted me out to cpt anderson and lt. daughtery when i ridiculed him over his plagarizing the babylonian's more renowned mathematical research. he took all my pharaceutical helps and left me unhigh and dry! happily they did not find the blotter acid on the window sill or i may have taken a trip to ft. leavenworth. sorry to ramble but angles and theorems peeve me since the days of old. if you get on the right side of the pythagorean theorem keep us informed.
Click to expand...


Looks like you're still getting the good sh-t! Save me a hit next time I see you. :wink:
 
Just don't forget to carry the 3 and you're all set.

Oh wait wrong theorem
 
The most likely way Pythagoras Theorem or any mathematical/geometrical system is going to help you pot balls is if you master a whole bunch of them, get a very well paid professorship and earn lots of money enabling you to retire early and then use all that free time to............ practice potting the bloody balls! :smile:
 
Wow.....

you mean to tell me that you can think the little balls into the holes? All this time I've just used the cue and whitey to push the balls where I wanted them.
 
memikey said:
The most likely way Pythagoras Theorem or any mathematical/geometrical system is going to help you pot balls is if you master a whole bunch of them, get a very well paid professorship and earn lots of money enabling you to retire early and then use all that free time to............ practice potting the bloody balls! :smile:
Click to expand...

That is what I did, worked well especially if you can use it in n dimensional space which enables you to buy your own table and practice at odd hours.. :eek:
 
they jump in the holes to hide!

Pure fear motivates the balls when you lay all of that cyphering on them and they jump into the holes to hide! My only problem is that I tend to scare whitey just as bad as I scare the rest of them. Still working on that . . .

Hu

somms69 said:
you mean to tell me that you can think the little balls into the holes? All this time I've just used the cue and whitey to push the balls where I wanted them.
Click to expand...
 
Joey I'd recommend skipping Pythagoras for pocketing balls in pool (use CET,Ghost,etc.). Instead study Archimedes and how to keep balls afloat in a swimming pool. :grin:
 
The Scarecrow of The Wizard of Oz makes a specific reference to the Pythagorean theorem when he receives his diploma from the Wizard. He immediately exhibits his "knowledge" by reciting an incorrect version of the theorem: "The sum of the square roots of any two sides of an isosceles triangle is equal to the square root of the remaining side. Oh, joy, oh, rapture. I've got a brain!" This faulty knowledge explains in full why the scarecrow never became a successful road player.
 
sjm said:
The Scarecrow of The Wizard of Oz makes a specific reference to the Pythagorean theorem when he receives his diploma from the Wizard. He immediately exhibits his "knowledge" by reciting an incorrect version of the theorem: "The sum of the square roots of any two sides of an isosceles triangle is equal to the square root of the remaining side. Oh, joy, oh, rapture. I've got a brain!" This faulty knowledge explains in full why the scarecrow never became a successful road player.
Click to expand...

That's right, sjm. Had he said, "The sum of the square roots of the two short sides of a right triangle is equal to the squre root of the hypotenuse", he would've been onto something. As it was, he went on to go busted playing some B-level players who knew better. Very tragic.

The only way using the Pythagorean Theorm could help is if you needed to know the precise angle from the object ball to the cue ball and the pocket. Or, from the pocket to both balls. My question is what good does knowing your angle to the pocket is a 27.8 degree cut (for example) unless your mind always thinks in those terms. Kinda wierd if true.

Edit - oops, it should've read the squares of the two short sides is equal to the square of the hypotenuse. No wonder I've been losing a ton of money lately.
 
Last edited:
JoeyInCali said:
I heard Harold Worst used it.
Someone gave me a betamax tape lesson of it but I lost the tape.
I believe you take the distance from the cb to the pocket then pocket to the ob, then you move the stick to the square root of that but am confused.
Do you square the distance or the angle?
Of which?
Click to expand...

This is way too deep for my little brain,
1945780_6951ca9e10_m.jpg
 
8ballEinstein said:
"The sum of the square roots of the two short sides of a right triangle is equal to the squre root of the hypotenuse"
Click to expand...

Not to split hairs, but you essentially are saying:

A(sqrt) + B(sqrt) = C(sqrt)

I think you mean:

A^2 + B^2 = C^2
or

"The sum of the squares of the two short sides of a right triangle is equal to the squre of the hypotenuse" :wink:

Edit: Never mind...you got to it before I wrote it out.
 
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