What ball do you look at last before shooting?

Before you pull the trigger and shoot, which ball do you look at last before firing

  • Total voters
    163
BlaineBarcus

BlaineBarcus

.........................
Silver Member
Me and some other guys at the pool hall tonight where talking about this. Just before you pull the trigger and shoot the ball what ball do you look at last, the cue ball or the object ball?

I find that looking at the cue ball last works better for me, and so did one other guy in the conversation but the other 2 said they both looked at the object ball. So that made it 50/50, so I thought I'd come here and take a pole to see what everyone else thought about this.

Maybe a Pro will run by this and give us his opinion
 
ob last

IMNSHO you will learn now or later that you have to zero in on not just the OB last but the spot on the OB that you want to make contact. You may as well make the adjustment now and get used to it and shoot with more consistency now and not waste your time. When I start missing shots that I should be making it is either I'm coming up to soon or my eyes are shifting
down to the CB as I shoot. I feel ,also, that if you watch that OB all the way to the pocket you will automatically stay down on the ball.
 
?

I've been wondering about this myself. I've always looked at the object ball last but I attended the Johnny/Earl pool school and talking to Johnny he told me that he is now looking at the cue ball last. He said he always used to look at the object ball last but after years he is now looking at the cueball last.
"Think about it.....once your properly alligned on the shot the object ball isn't gonna move so wouldn't you want to make sure your hitting the exact spot on the cue ball?"(Johhny's explanitation as to why he now looks at the cue ball last)
 
I focus carefully on the spot on the CB I want to hit, after I get down on the shot in initial alignment. Practice stroke until I am smooth on the spot. Check alignment with the OB and adjust if necessary. Ensure I'm still aligned to the CB contact point, look down range at the OB and pull the trigger.

On the break I tend to keep my eye on the CB. I think it helps me keep the CB from going airborn, and I get a better follow through.

:cool:
 
Interesting that he was player of the decade when looking at the object ball last!
 
Since starting pool some what 5 years ago, I was always looking at the white ball when shooting. This was down to the fact I am a 4 eye guy (glasses wearer) - it was easier to focus on the CB than OB. I have recently started wearing contact lenses and was still doing the same thing (looking at CB when shooting). After a coaching session, I was told that all the top players in the world look at the OB when shooting. This being said, I am in the process of training my eyes to look at the OB rather than the CB and I have to say...I am bamboozled...I am potting more consistent and as 12310bch stated, I am staying down on my shots more (during the coaching session, I was told how I was getting up off my shot to early). Its not affecting my preperations for the next event I will be attending.

I was a firm believer that no matter what ball you are looking at, it shouldnt matter if your whole body is aligned properly you will shoot straight anyhow. But as I am shooting more consistent...I am believing that looking at the OB is going to help me in the long run.
 
At his level he could close both eyes

poolhustla61508 said:
I've been wondering about this myself. I've always looked at the object ball last but I attended the Johnny/Earl pool school and talking to Johnny he told me that he is now looking at the cue ball last. He said he always used to look at the object ball last but after years he is now looking at the cueball last.
"Think about it.....once your properly alligned on the shot the object ball isn't gonna move so wouldn't you want to make sure your hitting the exact spot on the cue ball?"(Johhny's explanitation as to why he now looks at the cue ball last)
Click to expand...

Yeah and Pete Sampras used the smallest tennis racquet that was on the market. Oh yes , there is Tiger Woods that can throw a ball in the air and then hit it with his driver down the fairway. And who cannot remember Kobe jumping in the air out of 4 man coverage to sink a 3-pointer with 5 seconds to go, To use an analogy that is at least as valid as Archer's reasoning, on a rifle open gunsight you line up front and rear sights but you focus on the FRONT sight.:shrug:
 
Quite a few years ago when I was just getting back into the game pretty regular, another player asked me this question.....screwed my game up for two months lol....and I ain't kidding. I didn't know the answer because I had never considered it. Trying to figure out which one I had been looking at last cost me many a made ball. Weird phycological kinda funk just set in..stangest dam thing.

Settled (and voted) on ob. Probably what it had been all along, but dam that innocent question took a toll lol.
 
I would say the cue ball

For as long as I have been shooting this topic has came up for many years and even some pros I know, have gone in deep discussion, what is better. I know for a fact when shooting that I look at both both interchangeably, back forth back forth then shoot, however, I can recall that it is the cue ball then almost instantaneously it is the object ball. So in my scenario it actually is a mix of both.
 
There is actually no question that you look at the contact point on the OBJECT BALL before shooting! How can you shoot a blind shot every time looking at the Cue Ball while stroking your shot!?? That is backwards.

When I'm playing my best, I play as if there was no cue ball and no cue, and when I look at the shot, I just make the ball and get shape as naturally as I can. It's a Tulsa thing.....:grin:
 
I have also heard that strickland looks at the cue ball last. Can't verify it though.

At first it sounds like that's crazy ("How can you shoot blind? that's crazy!") but I think it's one of those things you have to try before you knock it. If your stroke is truly straight and consistent, then you should be able line up, get set, close your eyes, and fire it in. I've almost ran a rack that way and it's not nearly as amazing as it sounds.

Additionally I find looking at the CB last when I break is the only way I can consistently squat it.

I'm gonna give this a serious try. My stroke isn't as straight as a pro's but I think I can get through a rack this way, and maybe I'll find some of my misses have been due to accidental english on the cue ball (which shouldn't happen anymore).
 
Generally I look at the fourteen ball last, that is, if it's on the table. If it isn't, I almost always look at the six ball. If it isn't on the table then I pretty much lose interest in the game and go get another Quervo. :grin:
 
I look at the cue ball last - more than one person has told me I was wrong......I have tried looking at the OB, it simply doesn't work for me....
 
Object ball last in majority of situations. Unless I am attempting a jump shot, masse or cue ball close to frozen with object ball shots.
 
CB last on break

I concur with those who say that they watch the CB while breaking. I'm swingin' pretty hard and I sure don't to kill anybody.
 
there is a pro who definitely looks at the cue ball last, as he once told, and a very successful one. Ralf Souquet that is.

Even if it is a sort of rule of thumb to look at an object ball on a last backstroke, it is different story with the break shot (like CreeDo mentioned). There you want to hit a cue ball as precise as possible so you should look on cue ball last even if normally you don't.

I also approached one of Russian top players with the same question and he said he doesn't know :) It took him abput a week or two to really concentrate on his pre-shot routine and try to give me an answer. Imagine how automatic and unconscious his routine is. So, he said he doesn't look at any particular ball but sort of through the cue ball the the object ball on last cue transition.
 
What do you look at last when you;

Kick at a ball?
Are jacked up over a ball?
Are jacked up on the rail?
Trying to Jump the CB?
Masse the CB?

If you are really interested in what very good players look at last, just watch their eyebrows. They will be UP if looking at the OB last and Down if looking at the CB last.

In my observations it is about 50-50.

I really think that is the process of looking back and forth between the OB and CB that is important. Looking at either one Last is good for the PRE-Shot routine.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top