John Schmidt's and Corey Deuel's comments on aiming systems

Me (again):
...aiming at one side of the pocket and hitting the CB offcenter to hit the center of the pocket is exactly the same thing as aiming to hit the center of the pocket with sidespin and adjusting your aim to the side of the pocket to compensate for squirt.
Spidey:
With one model you're compensating for squirt. The other model you're relying on it.
Like I said, it's all in your mind.

pj
chgo
 
...An open mind allows ALL to enter, evaluates without prejudise, judges accordingly, & then learns the truth of the matters at hand.
Some people are masters of the first part, but not so good at the 2'nd and 3'rd ones.

Jim
 
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Filtering the positive from the negative

A closed mind can not learn. An open mind allows ALL to enter, evaluates without prejudise, judges accordingly, & then learns the truth of the matters at hand.

Rick 11:56 9-18-2012

Yes, people are barraged with suggestions ... and will always be free to accept, or reject them. It really does take a sophisticated filter to do this effectively. Many that aren't fortunate enough to develop will function though many types of fear/love based behaviors and not "real eyes" it ;)
 
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I like a lot of what CJ Wiley writes but one of the things that really hit home with me was something he said, something to the effect of, "Some people will get it and some won't, so it's not going to change the course of history". Those are my words but what I got out of what he was talking about.

I now remember one of my Filpiino buddies (who shoots about as straight as anyone) telling me that he uses a "touch" of inside on cut shots. I could always make cut shots with decent accuracy, especially after being tutored by Nick Varner and Buddy Hall and I used no inside for cut shots unless I needed different shape for the cue ball.

BobbyH (my Filipino buddy) always and still cuts balls more accurately than I do.

While I surely tried using "inside" on my shots, it just didn't work for me. It may be that I was using too much inside and was then squirting the cue ball more than needed which made me overcut the object ball.

Last night I spent 30 minutes pocketing balls with just a touch of inside. I had good success with this technique but as I am sometimes wont to do, I kept stretching the limits of speed using this technique and found myself warping balls into the pocket aiming the object ball next to the closest point of the pocket, using just a touch of inside. I was able to make many of these shots even at very high speeds, although one of my buddies asked me why was I shooting the shots so hard. I test myself quite often as well as the techniques that I learn.

I am not completely sold on using this technique and it is just as CJ predicted. There will be some who use it and gain great benefit from it, others who will have mixed feelings of benefit and others who will scratch their academic noggins and muddle "But why, what's the need?".

Personally, I believe that many techniques are created to compensate for inadequacies in our game but that the vast majority, including this one, are there to bring our game to another level. It's there for the taking.

I've always like that Zen expression: "When the student is ready, an instructor will appear.":smile:
 
Speed is anyway the biggest problem of almost all players. To practice and later after enough practicing to use the *correct* speed makes a clear difference between intermediate and better players.

Once you have found out, how less speed is necessary to play i would say 70-80 percent of the shots, you are a very big step towards the next level.
 
Speed is anyway the biggest problem of almost all players. To practice and later after enough practicing to use the *correct* speed makes a clear difference between intermediate and better players.

Once you have found out, how less speed is necessary to play i would say 70-80 percent of the shots, you are a very big step towards the next level.

No doubt that speed is a big problem for some players, Ratta. That is why I am still an intermediate player. :D

But I always thought a straight stroke was "the biggest problem for almost all players".
 
...aiming the object ball next to the closest point of the pocket, using just a touch of inside.
Unless I'm missing something (how unlikely is that?), using inside while aiming at the "closest point" only works sometimes. Here's why:

Draw a line straight out from the center of a foot pocket to the foot spot. Whichever side of that line the OB is on, the pocket point on that same side is "closest". Aiming at that "closest" pocket point, whenever the OB is closer to the pocket's centerline than the CB, you'd have to use outside, not inside, to "cheat" the OB toward center pocket.

pj
chgo
 
No doubt that speed is a big problem for some players, Ratta. That is why I am still an intermediate player. :D

But I always thought a straight stroke was "the biggest problem for almost all players".

Well a repeatable straight stroke is for sure the *first goal*. But i know really some guys, who re shooting so "f...ng* straight....but never really made it to the next leverl.
To put it ALL together is so difficult :-)
 
Exactly what Joey said.

One thing that CJ has posted recently that has helped my accuracy is to point your left foot in a parallel line with the shot.

Just turning my foot 35 degrees out from where it was has made a very big difference. I have been known for looking like I am mugging the cue ball the way I stand. It's sort of a pigeon toed look, not very pleasant to watch.

Now, with my new stance no longer does my cue rub against my body and I feel more free in my stroke.

I like a lot of what CJ Wiley writes but one of the things that really hit home with me was something he said, something to the effect of, "Some people will get it and some won't, so it's not going to change the course of history". Those are my words but what I got out of what he was talking about.

I now remember one of my Filpiino buddies (who shoots about as straight as anyone) telling me that he uses a "touch" of inside on cut shots. I could always make cut shots with decent accuracy, especially after being tutored by Nick Varner and Buddy Hall and I used no inside for cut shots unless I needed different shape for the cue ball.

BobbyH (my Filipino buddy) always and still cuts balls more accurately than I do.

While I surely tried using "inside" on my shots, it just didn't work for me. It may be that I was using too much inside and was then squirting the cue ball more than needed which made me overcut the object ball.

Last night I spent 30 minutes pocketing balls with just a touch of inside. I had good success with this technique but as I am sometimes wont to do, I kept stretching the limits of speed using this technique and found myself warping balls into the pocket aiming the object ball next to the closest point of the pocket, using just a touch of inside. I was able to make many of these shots even at very high speeds, although one of my buddies asked me why was I shooting the shots so hard. I test myself quite often as well as the techniques that I learn.

I am not completely sold on using this technique and it is just as CJ predicted. There will be some who use it and gain great benefit from it, others who will have mixed feelings of benefit and others who will scratch their academic noggins and muddle "But why, what's the need?".

Personally, I believe that many techniques are created to compensate for inadequacies in our game but that the vast majority, including this one, are there to bring our game to another level. It's there for the taking.

I've always like that Zen expression: "When the student is ready, an instructor will appear.":smile:
 
Unless I'm missing something (how unlikely is that?), using inside while aiming at the "closest point" only works sometimes. Here's why:

Draw a line straight out from the center of a foot pocket to the foot spot. Whichever side of that line the OB is on, the pocket point on that same side is "closest". Aiming at that "closest" pocket point, whenever the OB is closer to the pocket's centerline than the CB, you'd have to use outside, not inside, to "cheat" the OB toward center pocket.

pj
chgo

No...the center line isn't the important part, it's the direction you're cutting the ball. if you're cutting the ball to the right, the "near pocket" is the left side of the pocket. If you're cutting it to the left, it's the right side. The touch of inside (half or less of a tip) deflects (squirts the cue ball) off line, making the hit thinner...you're aiming thick on purpose, but deflecting the cue ball to hit the object ball thinner.
 
West Point 1987:
if you're cutting the ball to the right, the "near pocket" is the left side of the pocket
Unless "near" and "closest" mean something new, this is often not true. Which way you're cutting the ball determines which side is "inside", but not which side of the pocket is closest.

pj
chgo
 
I like a lot of what CJ Wiley writes but one of the things that really hit home with me was something he said, something to the effect of, "Some people will get it and some won't, so it's not going to change the course of history". Those are my words but what I got out of what he was talking about.

I now remember one of my Filpiino buddies (who shoots about as straight as anyone) telling me that he uses a "touch" of inside on cut shots. I could always make cut shots with decent accuracy, especially after being tutored by Nick Varner and Buddy Hall and I used no inside for cut shots unless I needed different shape for the cue ball.

BobbyH (my Filipino buddy) always and still cuts balls more accurately than I do.

While I surely tried using "inside" on my shots, it just didn't work for me. It may be that I was using too much inside and was then squirting the cue ball more than needed which made me overcut the object ball.

Last night I spent 30 minutes pocketing balls with just a touch of inside. I had good success with this technique but as I am sometimes wont to do, I kept stretching the limits of speed using this technique and found myself warping balls into the pocket aiming the object ball next to the closest point of the pocket, using just a touch of inside. I was able to make many of these shots even at very high speeds, although one of my buddies asked me why was I shooting the shots so hard. I test myself quite often as well as the techniques that I learn.

I am not completely sold on using this technique and it is just as CJ predicted. There will be some who use it and gain great benefit from it, others who will have mixed feelings of benefit and others who will scratch their academic noggins and muddle "But why, what's the need?".

Personally, I believe that many techniques are created to compensate for inadequacies in our game but that the vast majority, including this one, are there to bring our game to another level. It's there for the taking.

I've always like that Zen expression: "When the student is ready, an instructor will appear.":smile:
Good post Joey. You set a good example for how people can be honest and even disagree while still remaining positive and supportive.

Regards,
Dave
 
Unless I'm missing something (how unlikely is that?), using inside while aiming at the "closest point" only works sometimes. Here's why:

Draw a line straight out from the center of a foot pocket to the foot spot. Whichever side of that line the OB is on, the pocket point on that same side is "closest". Aiming at that "closest" pocket point, whenever the OB is closer to the pocket's centerline than the CB, you'd have to use outside, not inside, to "cheat" the OB toward center pocket.

pj
chgo

I set up all shots so that a touch of inside was the only logical English to use to effectively make the pocket larger. I didn't set up any shots as you described, although I can see your point and it is valid in some cases but not in others. The cue ball can be further away from the pocket's centerline than the OB and inside is still needed but in other cases, it is not needed.

Everything has to do with where the cue ball and object ball are placed.

Maybe a set of diagrams showing what you describe would be in line with helping everyone understand what you are describing.

I know that I intuitively set up the shots where squirting the cue ball just a smidgeon allows for effectively making the pocket zone larger and did not place the OB & CB where inside would not be the logical choice.

Example: What happens if you put the OB 6" on the right side of the pocket's centerline, then put the CB 8" on the left side of the pocket's centerline? The OB is closer to the pocket's centerline than the CB. Would you still use outside to cheat the pocket?

Hitting the cue ball on one side of the vertical axis every time has its benefits.
 
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Which way you're cutting the ball determines which side is "inside"
Here's an illustration from my English terminology resource page that defines "inside" vs. "outside" if case people are unsure:

English_inside_outside.jpg

and here are definitions from my online pool glossary:
inside English: sidespin created by hitting the cue ball on the side towards the direction of the
shot (i.e. on the “inside” of the cue ball). For example, when the cue ball strikes an object ball on
the left side, creating a cut shot to the right, right sidespin would be called “inside English.”

outside English: sidespin created by hitting the cue ball on the side away from the direction
of the shot (i.e. on the “outside” of the cue ball). For example, when the cue ball strikes an object
ball on the left side, creating a cut shot to the right, left sidespin would be called “outside English.”​

Regards,
Dave
 
I can see your point and it is valid in some cases but not in others. The cue ball can be further away from the pocket's centerline than the OB and inside is still needed but in other cases, it is not needed.

...

Example: What happens if you put the OB 6" on the right side of the pocket's centerline, then put the CB 8" on the left side of the pocket's centerline? The OB is closer to the pocket's centerline than the CB. Would you still use outside to cheat the pocket?
Yes, I should have specified "when both balls are on the same side of the centerline".

Hitting the cue ball on one side of the vertical axis every time has its benefits.
I still don't see them, but to each his own.

pj
chgo
 
Good post Joey. You set a good example for how people can be honest and even disagree while still remaining positive and supportive.

Regards,
Dave

I hope you don't think I am disagreeing with what CJ said because I'm not.

The real problem is that, again as CJ remarked, it is difficult to express in words what can be so easily accomplished on the table and in person.

I understand exactly what he is saying and although we can slice his words with our grammatical academic Ginsu knives, it's not going to alter the fact that he is able to do exactly what he says he does (and others can too) including myself.
 
Since Dr. Dave is here, I'll ask a quick question about something that has come up during this discussion:

Koehler (Science of Pocket Billiards) states that speed has 'no discernible effect' on CIT. I have looked for video on your website that would support the position that speed does have an effect on CIT, but I can't find it. Do you have some?

Thanks.

- s.west
 
Would love to see diagrams for the shots where this technique won't work as well... The only shot I can think of where it's even subjective is when the cb and ob are straight in to the centerline of a pocket... In that case I can choose either facing and still choose inside accordingly...
 
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