The rail is killing me!

pulzcul

pulzcul

"Chasinrainbows"
Silver Member
I'm having a real hard time shooting off the rail!!! I'm not a rookie I'm a solid B player. Didn't have this trouble till lately. Its become a huge problem. I thought it might be my eyes but if I can get my bridge on the surface I'm ok. It's really bad on long straight[or slightly straight] shots. I'm missing by a mile!! Any suggestions would make my day-month-year-life!
 
Can you post a photo or video of you shooting off the rail? Video would be best particularly if you can orient yourself so that the viewer can see your stroking arm.
 
Try this drill to help your stroke and confidence. See if you can do it 2 or 3 times in a row without touching the OBs. Shoot the cue ball straight up and back.

CueTable Help

 
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pulzcul...Remember that almost all rail shots are hit rail first. Are you hitting the OB first or the rail first, when you miss? Either way, you just need to adjust your aim SLIGHTLY in or out. Practice rail shots from 2 feet away, and try to make 5 of 5...then move back a couple of feet, and try to make 4 of 5...then back another couple of feet, and make 3 of 5. Hope this helps. 3andstop's idea to check the quality of your stroke is good too!

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

pulzcul said:
I'm having a real hard time shooting off the rail!!! I'm not a rookie I'm a solid B player. Didn't have this trouble till lately. Its become a huge problem. I thought it might be my eyes but if I can get my bridge on the surface I'm ok. It's really bad on long straight[or slightly straight] shots. I'm missing by a mile!! Any suggestions would make my day-month-year-life!
Click to expand...
 
I've been having trouble with these shots, too, but mostly when I hit with speed regardless of how close I am... CB deflects and spins so much by the smallest bit of unwanted english. Make sure you're cuing properly. Takes a lot of concentration... IMO I've gotten good results starting with the CB in the middle of the table and force following around the table back to near where I started while cuing off the top or bottom rail, I've been making the easier shots much more frequently.
 
pulzcul said:
I'm having a real hard time shooting off the rail!!! I'm not a rookie I'm a solid B player. Didn't have this trouble till lately. Its become a huge problem. I thought it might be my eyes but if I can get my bridge on the surface I'm ok. It's really bad on long straight[or slightly straight] shots. I'm missing by a mile!! Any suggestions would make my day-month-year-life![/QUOTE

its tough to tell ya what you could be doing better to better your results, the best advice I can give ya is try and make sure your level or as close to it as possible, and try playing pool some racks and always shoot with the cue ball on the rail. Hey one of the best ways to conquer a shot, is to face it as much as you can untill you own it. It could be a physical aspect of your game, or it could just be that oh s**t I'm on the rail again mentality...either way pratice it till you own it...a little goes a long way on that too.

Grey Ghost
Click to expand...
 
99 Critical shots

pulzcul said:
I'm having a real hard time shooting off the rail!!! I'm not a rookie I'm a solid B player. Didn't have this trouble till lately. Its become a huge problem. I thought it might be my eyes but if I can get my bridge on the surface I'm ok. It's really bad on long straight[or slightly straight] shots. I'm missing by a mile!! Any suggestions would make my day-month-year-life!
Click to expand...

Martin does a great job on this & many other shots.
 
Sorry guys I guess I wasn't very clear. Its not the ob on the rails shot its the long straight shot when my bridge is on the rail. When I'm bridging from the table i'm 90%. Force me to bridge on the rail and I'm 20%. I focus hard to hit center ball but somehow I must be off somewhere. I'm sure the slight elevation has something to do with it but what gets me is this shot was not a problem till just lately.
 
3andstop said:
Try this drill to help your stroke and confidence. See if you can do it 2 or 3 times in a row without touching the OBs. Shoot the cue ball straight up and back.

CueTable Help

Click to expand...

Thanks I will. I know which drill you were going to show me.
 
greyghost said:
pulzcul said:
I'm having a real hard time shooting off the rail!!! I'm not a rookie I'm a solid B player. Didn't have this trouble till lately. Its become a huge problem. I thought it might be my eyes but if I can get my bridge on the surface I'm ok. It's really bad on long straight[or slightly straight] shots. I'm missing by a mile!! Any suggestions would make my day-month-year-life![/QUOTE

its tough to tell ya what you could be doing better to better your results, the best advice I can give ya is try and make sure your level or as close to it as possible, and try playing pool some racks and always shoot with the cue ball on the rail. Hey one of the best ways to conquer a shot, is to face it as much as you can untill you own it. It could be a physical aspect of your game, or it could just be that oh s**t I'm on the rail again mentality...either way pratice it till you own it...a little goes a long way on that too.

Grey Ghost
Click to expand...

Thanks Ghost, I think after i go get my eyes checked lol I'm gonna work it till i own it. Sound advise.
Click to expand...
 
Depending on the table, it can be tough to get a good stable bridge on the rail, particularly on tables with narrow rails.
Try an extended rail bridge. Take your two middle fingers and bend them down, leaving your other two fingers straight. Now place your hand with the two straight fingers on top of the rail, and the two middle fingers pressing up against the side of the rail. This gives you a reasonably stable bridge that is not actually on the rail.
Try to keep the cue with no more than 5 to 10 degrees elevation. Make contact with the vertical center of the cue ball (obviously at the top). Accept that you can't put a whole lot of spin on the cue ball. Play it straight and use your speed for position.
Being on the rail isn't the best place to be, but when it happens, all you can do is deal with it the best you can. Make the shot, and then work on getting back into better position on the next shot.

Steve
 
one thing i just remembered, this can definitely affect that shot

also don't forget that your hand grip position is going to change in relation to how close the cue ball is to the rail. If the cue ball is on the rail, make sure your stroking arm is still at 90 when you make contact with the ball. You could very well be hitting the CB on the downstroke or upstroke when your on the rail by having an improper hand position on the butt, which is going to greatly affect how the stroke is delivered.

So in theory the closer the CB is to the rail the more your going to have to choke up on the stick, to maintain that 90 degree elbow to attain contact at the base of the pendulum stroke.

Grey Ghost
 
Keeb...This is a good point, but some people will have the exact same bridge length, even with the CB frozen on the rail. That would mean their grip position would not change. Use a ruler...we can't change what we don't know about, and we can't change what we can't measure! :grin:

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

greyghost said:
also don't forget that your hand grip position is going to change in relation to how close the cue ball is to the rail. If the cue ball is on the rail, make sure your stroking arm is still at 90 when you make contact with the ball. You could very well be hitting the CB on the downstroke or upstroke when your on the rail by having an improper hand position on the butt, which is going to greatly affect how the stroke is delivered.

So in theory the closer the CB is to the rail the more your going to have to choke up on the stick, to maintain that 90 degree elbow to attain contact at the base of the pendulum stroke.

Grey Ghost
Click to expand...
 
Scott Lee said:
Keeb...This is a good point, but some people will have the exact same bridge length, even with the CB frozen on the rail. That would mean their grip position would not change. Use a ruler...we can't change what we don't know about, and we can't change what we can't measure! :grin:

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
Click to expand...

yep, thats why I threw in the "In theory" just for you brother I knew you would come running to the rescue if I said "you have to":cool:

I'm going to get you some long sleeve shirts made for you for xmas with rulers printed down the arms to the cuff and "how long is your stroke" printed on the back lol. The measureman billiards tee shirt.:wink:

Grey Ghost
 
now thats a good one, I could see Scott working with Shaq lol...."Umm Mr. O'neill I'll be right back my ruler is not big enough... gotta go get my
 

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3kushn said:
Stop saying the rail is killing me. The rail is my friend is more like it.
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My mantra now is "I luv the rail" "I luv the rail". Yes I do realize the power of positive thought. But being an emotional basket case sometimes gets in the way. lol Thanks
 
pulzcul said:
My mantra now is "I luv the rail" "I luv the rail". Yes I do realize the power of positive thought. But being an emotional basket case sometimes gets in the way. lol Thanks
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don't be scared to walk around your house saying that aloud, I walk around mine saying "my hand goes home, the ball goes in" matter of fact when bill soliciters call my phone I always try and get them in on the conversation..."Hey did you know Mr. At&t guy that when my hand goes home, that the ball goes in...." they always hang up on me, I dunno what gives.

Now thanks to Scott I run around screaming
S.P.F. (or SPPPPUFFFFFF, thats how it sounds),

A.S.S (kinda sounds like asS)

Grey Ghost
 
greyghost said:
don't be scared to walk around your house saying that aloud, I walk around mine saying "my hand goes home, the ball goes in" matter of fact when bill soliciters call my phone I always try and get them in on the conversation..."Hey did you know Mr. At&t guy that when my hand goes home, that the ball goes in...." they always hang up on me, I dunno what gives.

Now thanks to Scott I run around screaming
S.P.F. (or SPPPPUFFFFFF, thats how it sounds),

A.S.S (kinda sounds like asS)

Grey Ghost
Click to expand...

Thanks I'm still laughin"
 
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