Trying To Simplify Aiming

Pidge

Pidge

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I woke up this morning and for some reason i had the urge to head downstairs and get straight on the practice table. After a few short races against the ghost i tried to develop a method if getting the ball into the pocket with the least amount of fuss as i could, with the most amount of consistency. I started playing around with the idea and came across this;

For straight shots and thick, medium and thin* cuts all i do is align my dominant eye along the inside edge of the cue ball to the centre of the object ball. Step in with the back foot on this line**, place the lead foot and just slide into centre cue ball whilst maintaining your focus on the centre of the object ball.

* i refer to thick, medium and thin cuts as my own perception. I haven't had time to measure angles as of yet :)

** i am cross eye dominant so i place the heel of my foot along the line in order to place my dominant eye over the cue. Those who are same side dominant will have to place the ball of their foot on the line and those who are neither place the ankle on this line.

For very thin cuts its slightly different. Instead of lining the inside edge to centre, i align the inside edge to the outer quarter of the object ball. All the steps remain the same.

I find this extremely simplistic, anyone can line an edge to centre or quarter. I didn't want any pivoting or such as i have struggled with that in the past.

Im not here to promote a sale or to take away from other systems sales i just thought id put down in writing what i did this morning :)

So feel free to try it out and let me know how you got on. I have a sneaky feeling this will be useless to 99% who try it, simply because i came up with it tailored to my self. If you have any questions please fire away :)
 
Then the trick must be in where your "lead foot" is placed, and how.

And also how you lean to center of the CB, do you rotate your body at all etc.

Probably video would help? :)

Tnx for the info!

Pidge said:
I woke up this morning and for some reason i had the urge to head downstairs and get straight on the practice table. After a few short races against the ghost i tried to develop a method if getting the ball into the pocket with the least amount of fuss as i could, with the most amount of consistency. I started playing around with the idea and came across this;

For straight shots and thick, medium and thin* cuts all i do is align my dominant eye along the inside edge of the cue ball to the centre of the object ball. Step in with the back foot on this line**, place the lead foot and just slide into centre cue ball whilst maintaining your focus on the centre of the object ball.

* i refer to thick, medium and thin cuts as my own perception. I haven't had time to measure angles as of yet :)

** i am cross eye dominant so i place the heel of my foot along the line in order to place my dominant eye over the cue. Those who are same side dominant will have to place the ball of their foot on the line and those who are neither place the ankle on this line.

For very thin cuts its slightly different. Instead of lining the inside edge to centre, i align the inside edge to the outer quarter of the object ball. All the steps remain the same.

I find this extremely simplistic, anyone can line an edge to centre or quarter. I didn't want any pivoting or such as i have struggled with that in the past.

Im not here to promote a sale or to take away from other systems sales i just thought id put down in writing what i did this morning :)

So feel free to try it out and let me know how you got on. I have a sneaky feeling this will be useless to 99% who try it, simply because i came up with it tailored to my self. If you have any questions please fire away :)
Click to expand...
 
Mirza said:
Then the trick must be in where your "lead foot" is placed, and how.

And also how you lean to center of the CB, do you rotate your body at all etc.

Probably video would help? :)

Tnx for the info!
Click to expand...
Aha! The lead foot, sorry i forgot to give any info about that.

My lead foot moves out to the side rather than forward. It points slightly outward and is at around 80 degrees (using the line from toe to toe - inside to centre)

I drop into the shot very much like you would with the SEE System.

The easiest way to get what i do is to have the cue pointing inside to centre with your bridge hand by your side, then in one motion move your bridge hand towards the cue and the cue towards centre cue ball and slide in. Ill try get a video up in the next few days.

Im just about to test it out on a snooker table in about 30 mins. Hopefully it gets the ball in the hole on a 12x6!
 
If it does, video is a must! :)

Are you able to do it without stepping in with your backfoot?

Pidge said:
Aha! The lead foot, sorry i forgot to give any info about that.

My lead foot moves out to the side rather than forward. It points slightly outward and is at around 80 degrees (using the line from toe to toe - inside to centre)

I drop into the shot very much like you would with the SEE System.

The easiest way to get what i do is to have the cue pointing inside to centre with your bridge hand by your side, then in one motion move your bridge hand towards the cue and the cue towards centre cue ball and slide in. Ill try get a video up in the next few days.

Im just about to test it out on a snooker table in about 30 mins. Hopefully it gets the ball in the hole on a 12x6!
Click to expand...
 
Mirza said:
If it does, video is a must! :)

Are you able to do it without stepping in with your backfoot?
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With just the drop/ slide? Yes, but not with as much consistency. Partly due to it feeling un-natural to me i guess.

One other thing i forgot to add...

The back foot needs to point directly down the inside edge to centre line. As you place the front foot and slide in you can shuffle your feet to have them pointing in which ever direction you please.
 
Cool!

So back foot pointing directly on edge-to-center, as is your vision center.

Step in on that line with your back foot while focused on the center of the OB, widen your stance with left foot pointing outwards and go to center of the CB.

Sounds simple :)
 
Exactly it, Mirza!

Why was my first post so long when yours was so short, i may have simplified how i aim but not so much when i writ it down. Thanks :)
 
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I've been doing the similar thing one time, but never did like the need for "stepping in", since most pool players don't do it, and I did also notice that it isn't consistent (doesn't work) without it, so I dropped it.

I was just using inside quarter of the OB in addition to your alignments and wasn't thinking about stance in this detail, but did use an open stance similar to snooker players.

Are you sure inside quarter of the OB isn't needed?

Pidge said:
Exactly it, Mirza!
Click to expand...
 
Mirza said:
I've been doing the similar thing one time, but never did like the need for "stepping in", since most pool players don't do it, and I did also notice that it isn't consistent (doesn't work) without it, so I dropped it.

I was just using inside quarter of the OB in addition to your alignments and wasn't thinking about stance in this detail, but did use an open stance similar to snooker players.

Are you sure inside quarter of the OB isn't needed?
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It may well be needed by some. If you find yourself over cutting thick or medium thick cuts or missing straight in shots then try using the inside quarter of the ob. Ive tried it and it does work, but i get the same results with ob centre.
 
duckie said:
Setup the shots in this thread......The first ones will do....but you can try the others.

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=288782
Click to expand...

Very, very easy! Here's my answer:

sfleinen said:
Even knowing what duckie's trying to get at, I'm not sure what he's trying to prove with this one, if that makes sense.

Anyway, I'll play along:

  • Back-of-ball aiming: no problem.
  • Fractional aiming: no problem.
  • Ghostball: no problem.
Ohhh, wait a minute -- he must be getting at the "reach" issue with these shots!

Silly me, I normally play these hard-to-reach shots opposite-handed (left-handed), "just because I can."

Perhaps I cheated?
-Sean
Click to expand...

And this nail-it post from Tony_in_MD as well:

Tony_in_MD said:
He likes to dwell on the extremes in pool, that is all.

Your right, and that is why when you have situations like his most good players pull out a bridge, or an extension, or even shoot the shot opposite handed.

Of course Busty would play a few of these behind the back, and Alex would climb up on the table.
Click to expand...

-Sean <-- glad we put that to bed
 
I must add one other thing to this method;

YOU MUST STEP OUT 90 DEGREES WITH YOUR FRONT FOOT IN RELATION TO THE INSIDE EDGE TO CENTRE/ QUARTER LINE.

You may not have a square stance but if you step out 90 degrees with the lead leg first then drop down, the shot line becomes visable, then you can adjust the lead leg to what feels comfortable. This lead leg movement is crucial for me to discover the shot line...luckily my stance is very square so it isn't much of an issue.
 
Why do pool players place so much focus on the lead leg? The planted leg (your right leg, if you're a right-hander) has more to do with your alignment to the shot (i.e. placing your foot onto and pointed into the shot line, a la snooker stance) than that other leg.

It's like separating the wheat from the chaff -- except the pool players are focusing on the chaff.

How about your ears, pool players? Are they parallel to the shot line and pointing backwards, or are they perpendicular to the shot line like Darren Appleton's?

:p
-Sean <-- ears parallel and pointing backwards
 
sfleinen said:
Why do pool players place so much focus on the lead leg? The planted leg (your right leg, if you're a right-hander) has more to do with your alignment to the shot (i.e. placing your foot onto and pointed into the shot line, a la snooker stance) than that other leg.

It's like separating the wheat from the chaff -- except the pool players are focusing on the chaff.

How about your ears, pool players? Are they parallel to the shot line and pointing backwards, or are they perpendicular to the shot line like Darren Appleton's?

:p
-Sean <-- ears parallel and pointing backwards
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Yes, the lead leg has a bigger influence on your alignment. But say you step straight forward along the inside edge of the cue ball to the centre of the object ball and look at centre cue ball once both feet are planted....you get a different perception than if you stepped to the side and looked at centre cue ball.
 
Check out Efren's footwork...he lines BOTH feet up while he's standing over the shot (kind of leaning back), then just bends forward down into the shot; no real stepping into the shot. For him, it must elinminate any error with the placement of his lead foot pulling him off line. Great thread, foot placement is the most overlooked part of mechanics and probably the most important.
 
Pidge said:
Yes, the lead leg has a bigger influence on your alignment. But say you step straight forward along the inside edge of the cue ball to the centre of the object ball and look at centre cue ball once both feet are planted....you get a different perception than if you stepped to the side and looked at centre cue ball.
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45-degree-to-the-shot-line pool stance, maybe. But certainly NOT the square-on snooker stance -- that planted leg is w-a-y more important.

-Sean
 
sfleinen said:
45-degree-to-the-shot-line pool stance, maybe. But certainly NOT the square-on snooker stance -- that planted leg is w-a-y more important.

-Sean
Click to expand...

Wait, which one is lead and which one is planted leg, I'm lost now :)
 
sfleinen said:
45-degree-to-the-shot-line pool stance, maybe. But certainly NOT the square-on snooker stance -- that planted leg is w-a-y more important.

-Sean
Click to expand...
I personally think its what pre-shot routine your using or aiming method you use.

I stand behind a shot with both feet touching my vision centre is in place then i step forward with the right leg. 90% of my weight is now on the right leg, so as i step out with the left leg my weight has to shift to 50%-50% between the two. As i do this my head and vision centre shifts to the left. Because im left eye dominant my vision centre gets thrown off the desired line my right foot is pointing down, especially on a cut to the right. Next i look at the centre of the cue ball with my vision centre off the initial line, this draws my vision centre back towards the line and i drop down the the cue ball. If i had a 45 degree stance my vision centre wouldn't shift to the left as much. Ive tried the 45 degree stance and think it is more suited to how i aim because of this....but my stroke doesn't feel straight in this stance because ive been square on for so long, so i have to compensate in the process above.

I cant comment for players with a vision centre on the same side the shoot from as to how to go about it, perhaps someone in this predicament can try it and say how they got on.
 
Mirza said:
Wait, which one is lead and which one is planted leg, I'm lost now :)
Click to expand...

In snooker, the planted leg is on the same side of the body as your grip hand. If you're a right-hander, the planted leg is your right leg. Vice-versa for a southpaw (left-hander).

It's called the "planted leg" in snooker, because it's the one you use to step directly onto the shot line with, you lock your knee, and most of your weight distribution is on that leg. The other leg is just used for stability (i.e. so that you're not "standing on one leg"). When done properly, the snooker stance should feel like you're glued up against a wall on one side of your body (i.e. on the right side of your body if you're a right-hander, or left side of your body if you're a left-hander). The opposite leg (i.e. the left leg for a right-hander) is merely used for stability, not alignment.

-Sean
 
I think both legs are important. The position of the back leg determines how much space you have between your body and the cue when you stroke. The relationship between your rear leg and front sets the alignment of your hips. Obviously, there are tons of varying theories on what is the correct way this should be done. Since there are so many varying body types, common sense dictates there isn't one perfect stance where one size fits all. Seems to me that a stance that provides a stable base while allowing the player to stroke straight without being constricted is a good one.

I like Stan's philosophy, that being, your visuals dictates the stance, not vice versa. It makes sense. Over the course of a game there are generally multiple shots that won't allow a "ņormal" stance. Finding the correct aim line with your eyes and letting your feet move to provide a stable base seems logical. Your feet can't see, your eyes find the aim line.
 
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