People who use ghost ball aiming.

[JoeyInCali]

It doesn't matter what kind of shot or angle.
At the point of impact, you visualize if the two balls line up to the pocket.

Cuemaker and a California legend one pocket player has his own ghost ball system.
He puts the ghost ball about 6 inches BEFORE hitting the object ball.
He lines up to that one and shoots through it.

 

[GetMeThere]

Anthony:

In all those shots you diagram, if I were shooting them, none -- and I mean NONE -- of those shots involve the "imagination of a ghostball's center" at the contact point on the cloth where it would pocket the object ball.

That, seriously, is where I think a lot of the CTE advocates are getting it wrong about us ghostballers. Although, yes, I do have an open challenge as to my particular ability to accurately place a ghostball at the contact point where it would pocket an object ball, my main method of aiming doesn't involve that technique. Rather, like TATE says, it involves accurate "eclipsing" of the object ball with the cue ball, or more often, the snooker technique of "back of ball" aiming.

Also, a lot of CTE'ers think that we ghostballers "concentrate on where the pocket is." We don't. SURPRISE!! Yes, you read that correctly -- we don't. While we're standing, we're looking at where the pocket is, briefly, to get the line of aim through the back of the object ball. Once we get down on the shot, the key is to FORGET where the pocket is. Rather, we're looking at the back of the ball where we continue the line of the shot to pocket that ball.

If, while down on the shot, you're trying to think about where the pocket is in relation to the shot, you WILL MISS the shot. If not now, then the next shot, or the subsequent shot. If you're thinking about "aiming," you *will miss*. You have to get that out of your mind.

That's why I think these aiming system threads are completely outrageously in the wrong direction. When you're shooting pool, you're supposed to be engaging the subconscious mind, *NOT* the analytical mind! If you're thinking about aiming, YOU WILL MISS(!) -- it's only a matter of time!

Subconscious mind, folks -- that's where pool excellence is at. Not the "can't get out of its own way" analytical mind. Please watch the video links I gave above. If you watch and listen -- with an open mind and with a clairvoyant eye -- you'll see what I mean. See ball, see line of shot, continue line of shot through back of ball (and instantly see the amount of ball you need to "eclipse"), step on line of shot, get down on shot, practice strokes, pot ball. It really is that easy.

-Sean

I agree with all that...except the "subconscious mind" part.

I set up the same way, and "decide" how much of the ball to cut. Then, sure, no more looking at the pocket (at that point it's only a distraction). But I don't then do anything "subconsciously." What I do then depends on DESIRE: I "TRY" to hit the ball where I've planned to, by depending on hand-eye coordination--built-in coordination plus "learned" or "practiced" coordination.

To me, aiming and pocketing depend on:

1) A rational and clear decision about where to hit the ball.
2) The coordination of desire with body movement/outcome until, through practice, they match up.

It really never occurred to me to ever try to do it differently. I can't imagine HOW anyone could do it much differently--well, I've now come to see that lots of people don't have a clear idea of where they'd like to hit the ball.

If you don't have a clear idea of WHERE to hit the ball, then you have nothing to TRY for. If you have nothing to TRY for, you have no PROCESS by which to make your intentions come into line with the outcome of where the ball goes. That's the process of learning/acquiring ability in a nutshell, IMO.

 

[8pack]

Can someone diagram what they mean by back of the ball aiming. If I aim at the spot on the ball that the snooker coach said to I miss the pocket. On thin shots the spot is on the side of the ball I can't see. I didn't have any luck with the Mullen method video posted awhile back for the same reason. Maybe I'm just missing a part to the puzzle?

This is how i do back of ball aiming or contact aiming .I have a hard time
looking at a spot on the ball .My eyes tend to get lost.

(That,s supposed to say straight )This dang keyboard!

 

[JoeyInCali]

This is how i do back of ball aiming or contact aiming .I have a hard time
looking at a spot on the ball .My eyes tend to get lost.

That looks like a miss to me. Too thick.

 

[8pack]

That looks like a miss to me. Too thick.

Put a tad bit of right on it at pocket speed and tings will be otay.:thumbup:

 

[brad21156]

This is how i do back of ball aiming or contact aiming .I have a hard time
looking at a spot on the ball .My eyes tend to get lost.

(That,s supposed to say straight )This dang keyboard!

Thanks 8pack. I think I am still missing something. When i aim at that spot with center cue ball i hit the second diamond? Am i supposed to use the edge of the cue ball?

 

[8pack]

Can someone diagram what they mean by back of the ball aiming. If I aim at the spot on the ball that the snooker coach said to I miss the pocket. On thin shots the spot is on the side of the ball I can't see. I didn't have any luck with the Mullen method video posted awhile back for the same reason. Maybe I'm just missing a part to the puzzle?

The bigger the table the better this method is.(Mullen method).
1/2 ball and over on short shots it takes some adjusting.Now when the shots become long it doesnt take much at all even when they become over a 1/2 ball hit.Distance helps this method.
Try this get a ghost aim trainer and practice this method .Place a golf tee
upside down on the ghost ball center. This will give you a clear picture where you need to aim.You will find that at a distance this is a good method of lining up but at close range you need a lot more adjusting to do.

 

[MitchAlsup]

Using the ghost ball system how do you make these type of shots.To me the ghost ball method would be looking at the contact point and imagine a spot behind that about 1 1/8 inch.At close range maybe i could see it having some success but a distance i think it would be easy to lose your spot.

Find an irregularity on the table, like a frayed part of the cloth, a mark on the felt, a piece of dust/chalk,... that can be seen at a distance. Then imaging where the ghost ball needs to be and also the relation to the irregularity on the cloth. This gives you another point of aim and you can then dial in the true aim point from knowing both points.

However, at the distances you have drawn, the CB will inevitably have picked up forward roll, and you have to compensate for the forward roll and cut it a tad thinner than you think it should be (or just a hint of tip offset).

You may ALSO find out that the softer you hit the CB the better the OB rolls away from the point of contact. So hit is only with enough speed for the OB to rool up to the edge of the pocket and then slowly drop. Anything more than this kind of speed needs a reason for being used.

 

[brad21156]

The bigger the table the better this method is.(Mullen method).
1/2 ball and over on short shots it takes some adjusting.Now when the shots become long it doesnt take much at all even when they become over a 1/2 ball hit.Distance helps this method.
Try this get a ghost aim trainer and practice this method .Place a golf tee
upside down on the ghost ball center. This will give you a clear picture where you need to aim.You will find that at a distance this is a good method of lining up but at close range you need a lot more adjusting to do.

I will try that. Thanks for the advice 8pack.

 

[whitewolf]

Troll, go away.

I am not trolling, just trying to tell it like it is.

I can tell from your posts that you try to OVERTHINK everything. And you are the type who probably never takes advice. I am going to give you some anyway: Shoot with the right side of your brain, cut out all of that thinking, and you will probably get better.

Regards, WW

 

[duckie]

I am not trolling, just trying to tell it like it is.

I can tell from your posts that you try to OVERTHINK everything. And you are the type who probably never takes advice. I am going to give you some anyway: Shoot with the right side of your brain, cut out all of that thinking, and you will probably get better.

Regards, WW

Thanks for proving my point.

 

[manwon]

Using the ghost ball system how do you make these type of shots.To me the ghost ball method would be looking at the contact point and imagine a spot behind that about 1 1/8 inch.At close range maybe i could see it having some success but a distance i think it would be easy to lose your spot.
What is your process you go through using the gb method to make these type of shots.And do people do the gb method different?
(the bigger the table the harder it gets)

I have not gotten involved in these aiming threads for a couple of reasons first I have never been formally instructed by the standards used today, and second I do not use any single aiming system, if anything I use a combination of many of the systems that are frequently discussed on this forum and I also integrate spin into these basic systems using feel.

When I seriously learned to play pool and was in the middle of my teenage years, I started going into some of the old time Pool Rooms in St. Louis, Missouri. I would go in and watch the gamblers play their matches, and quietly absorb all that I could. After a few months an old man started talking to me, and pointing out shots and different ways to take your opponent down. One day he asked me if I wanted to learn how to play and of course I said yes, so he took me over a table with no pockets and said here is where we start. I just kinda looked at him for a moment, but he obviously knew more than me about pool so I followed his advise. The first game he began teaching me was Straight Rail Billiards, and I picked this game up very quickly, so within a month or so he started teaching me another game that was similar called Balk Line. After a couple of months I had progressed to standard 3-Cushion Billiards and at this point he proposed to me that when I could run 10 billiards in a row he would begin my education playing pocket billiards

It took me around four months to run the minimum of 10 billiards with him watching me run them. The next day we started playing pocket billiards and the first game he started to teach me was 14-1 Continuous and it was at this point that I completely understood why he had taught me the billiards games before he taught me any game where balls were pocketed. The aiming system that he taught me was a combination of what people would call Ghost Ball, Edge to Edge, and Tip to contact point along with many many drills that would improve my confidence by honing my ability to use maximum follow through and spin. Throughout the billiards phase of my education I was taught how to spin my cue ball, how spin effects both the cue ball and the object ball, and how balls that are spinning will react when they come in contact with a rail or another ball. To this day it is just amazzing to me that some really great players by anyones standards do not understand these fairly basic factors and if you don't understand and know how to control these factor's how can any aiming system be of value. I know and I admit that center ball hits are very important, but it is also very important to understand and know how to aim using spin.

I wish some one would come up with a system designed to ball pocketing using different levels of spin, then in my opinion the majix of inside English would come to light and this can elevate anyones game if understood and used properly.

JIMO

 

[greyghost]

Only rank amatuers have to walk over to the object ball to view the path. I have to burst out laughing to myself everytime I see someone do this. And especially if they claim to be a ghostballer.

So the top pros I see do this are really officially rank amatuers? Dam I guess I must have a rating of R for retarted as a player.

Walking around to see the OB square into the center of the pocket would be and is a much more precise method for finding the EXACT contact point on the OB.

Not saying that as advanced players we can't pick it out perfectly without walking around but it must be learned. Many of us have, tho that does not negate the fact that the more info you give your brain the more it can calculate.

I'd rather give my brain a 360º view of the shot than just a view from a single spot.

I don't use my stick on the table or anything but I do like to look at the OB square into the pocket.

Don't get me wrong normally I would only do this if I had some trouble seeing the shot.

The MAIN REASON I DO THIS IS: PRESHOT ROUTINE......its keeps me from rushing and helps me maintain a good rythm.



-Grey Ghost-

 

[JohnnyP]

I watched part of the "back of ball" video by the snooker player.

He said if he sees it's a 3/4 ball shot as he is standing, he doesn't need to look at the pocket. He just lines up for a 3/4 ball hit.

At about 6:00 minutes, he sets up what he calls a shot with a "funny angle". Not 3/4, not 1/2, but in between, "like a thick 1/2 ball or thin 3/4 ball".

Now he's off his road map, so he has to aim. He says experienced players will look at the back of the ball. To demonstrate, he moves the cue ball out of the way and says "when you push through with the cue, imagine the tip of the cue hitting here" (that spot on the back of the ball).

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

You miss if you aim the center of the CB at the contact point. You have to aim contact point to contact point.

 

[BRKNRUN]

I watched part of the "back of ball" video by the snooker player.

He said if he sees it's a 3/4 ball shot as he is standing, he doesn't need to look at the pocket. He just lines up for a 3/4 ball hit.

At about 6:00 minutes, he sets up what he calls a shot with a "funny angle". Not 3/4, not 1/2, but in between, "like a thick 1/2 ball or thin 3/4 ball".

Now he's off his road map, so he has to aim. He says experienced players will look at the back of the ball. To demonstrate, he moves the cue ball out of the way and says "when you push through with the cue, imagine the tip of the cue hitting here" (that spot on the back of the ball).

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

You miss if you aim the center of the CB at the contact point. You have to aim contact point to contact point.

I agree you miss center CB to contact point as the angle steepens...However...you can align center CB to Aim point and make shots.

The video you linked is what recently inspired my Bass Ackwards Alingment Method.

 

[pt109]

So the top pros I see do this are really officially rank amatuers? Dam I guess I must have a rating of R for retarted as a player.

Walking around to see the OB square into the center of the pocket would be and is a much more precise method for finding the EXACT contact point on the OB.

Not saying that as advanced players we can't pick it out perfectly without walking around but it must be learned. Many of us have, tho that does not negate the fact that the more info you give your brain the more it can calculate.

I'd rather give my brain a 360º view of the shot than just a view from a single spot.

I don't use my stick on the table or anything but I do like to look at the OB square into the pocket.

Don't get me wrong normally I would only do this if I had some trouble seeing the shot.

The MAIN REASON I DO THIS IS: PRESHOT ROUTINE......its keeps me from rushing and helps me maintain a good rythm.



-Grey Ghost-

I've never used the words 'pre-shot routine' but I might start.
When I was young I would shoot harder and quicker till my run would
end by knocking a ball off the table.
A quote by St Augustine (I think) helped me....
"Passion,without ritual,consumes itself"

Also Brownie Mcghee would say when he got grooving on his guitar..
"Don't get excited Brownie"

 

[Kickin' Chicken]

I've been working with chicken bones lately and .........ooppps wrong thread.

Please, tell me more...:angry: :grin: :angry:

Duck l'orange anyone? lol!

Best,
Brian kc

 

[whitewolf]

So the top pros I see do this are really officially rank amatuers?

-Grey Ghost-

Please name the pros who do this.

I can't think of any, except Charlie Williams, and the only time he does this is after he gets down and the shot doesn't look right. Then he gets up off the shot, walks over and examines the spot on the object ball, and goes back down for a 'new look'. I know this because I took a lesson from him.

WW

 

[greyghost]

Please name the pros who do this.

I can't think of any, except Charlie Williams, and the only time he does this is after he gets down and the shot doesn't look right. Then he gets up off the shot, walks over and examines the spot on the object ball, and goes back down for a 'new look'. I know this because I took a lesson from him.

WW

ya Charlie is obvious......he's def not afraid to stand up and reset....

but another player that does it is Mika..........he will stand back find the spot then align by looking at the shot through his shaft and then steps into it and drops in.

Alot of better players that do this you just don't notice, they come around the table on the right side of the next ball and see the spot in a mili second.....it all happens inroute.

But there is not one top pro or shortstop that I can name that I havent seen do what we are talking about at least a few times. Shots can play funny tricks on you sometimes and it helps to gain the diff perspective to be sure.

-Grey Ghost-

 

[ThePoliteSniper]

Please name the pros who do this.

I can't think of any, except Charlie Williams, and the only time he does this is after he gets down and the shot doesn't look right. Then he gets up off the shot, walks over and examines the spot on the object ball, and goes back down for a 'new look'. I know this because I took a lesson from him.

WW

Neil Robertson. Ronnie O'Sullivan. ... Probably most of the top.