unintended english
....
Am I the only dude who is confused?
In any case, I get that you're looking to think outside the box, but imo this is not a good test of stroke or fundamentals. It introduces a lot of variables, some of which you mentioned already... rail condition, table speed, etc... none of which have anything to do with "Is my arm doing what I'm commanding it to do". What if you kick in that hanger 30 times in a row, then go to another table and miss it? Did your fundamentals change or was it just the table plays differently?
A simpler test, and one piece of the Mighty X someone mentioned: If you set up a long straight in shot, and you rattle it, you can be sure had nothing to do with the table, and you can do that on any table in the world without needing to adjust for conditions first.
Actually, if I am shooting poorly, it is generally unintended english due to poor aim at the cue ball, poor eye coordination from cueball to aim point, and arm swerve (flying elbow). I agree with the usefulness of the straight in shot, and like to expect a followin or straight drawback. Now that you mention it, I haven't done this in a while and should put it in my routine again. But frankly, straight-in shots by themselves don't impress me much unless you also pay attention to what the cue ball does (which may be what you are saying also).
People are able to adapt the straight-in shot to their stroke. If they play consistent unintended english, they unintendedly adjust their aim. If you watch the cueball, you can probably see this. On the other hand, I am able aim smaller at the rail than at a ball. I see my example in the op as an extension of my other favorite drill, which is hitting the ball straight into the rail and having it come straight back to the tip. Granted, I do drills on a table that plays straight with new rails and cloth, so I think that I've taken most of those variables "off the table". I would not trust this method on a poorly maintained table. In fact, when I miss 1 rail kicks or banks on any table, I rarely attribute the miss to the equipment it is really obvious or repetitive. Mostly I miss due to aim or inaccurate stroke.
To my eye, 1 rail kicks exagerate unitended english by a factor of 2 and so if you watch the path of the ball several times in a row, you should be able to repeat 1 rail kicks very closely.
Maybe my practice style/restrictions have something to do with my perceptions also. I think I get more repetitive practice in if I kick the cueball back to my side of the table and catching it before it knocks the hanger in for a quick reset rather than walking back and forth resetting the balls. Also, I try to practice quitely so others can sleep or do homework, and no-ball contact seems like a good way to go.
Finally, I have seen many people subconsciously adjust their stroke in real time to make the ball. In fact this can happen when trying to carom your object ball off a hanger and you actually make the hanger. Maybe I'm paranoid, but I think most of the time when people (lower-middle league players) make a ball, they would not have made it without a subconsicous adjustment in the final stroke. I think this adjustment is taken off the table when 1 rail kicking.
