And if you can't strike one ball perfectly, make sure it's not the cue ball.
Do you use an aiming system or go by feel?
- Thread starter SamLambert
- Start date
Exactly!
Take the most perfect system possible, the straight in shot, with perfect points of reference, cue actually points to all contact points and yet, with OB 3 feet from the pocket and the CB 5 feet away, the shot troubles even pro players.
Everyone must feel they are aligned to where the CB needs to be hit. Or use feel or some system to make adjustments for non-linear alignment (such as undercutting, then swiping or turning a ball in with outside) or for dealing with squirt, swerve and throw.
I use feel and experience to get an aim line and 95% use pivoting (BHE) type system to adjust for the other variables.
imho, the best way to learn to feel when you're on the aim line, is to hit a lot of firm pots along the center axis of the CB, then use knowledge of throw etc to build upon that perception.
Colin
I'm sure you'll be passing on royalties to Phil, Stan, Hal and all the antecedents to your great discovery.
I doubt you've come up with anything original, but keep it close to your chest until you can own it and then learn marketing. How very noble. No way such an attitude to sharing the light could get tainted in the process. LOL
Agreed, an aiming system won't compensate for these stuff, you still need to adjust, but at least, it will help you find the base line, that is for a medium speed shot, no english. THEN and only then, if you want to increase speed/spin, you adjust!
I don't think any system works for all shots, if by shots we mean a specific combination of angle/speed/spin!
Cheers!
Good Lord!
What have I done!
I didn't know better I swear!
You said "Beetlejuice" one time too many.
Lou Figueroa
Attachments
....and this is EXACTLY why aiming systems don't work..
If you have to adjust then you are adjusting arbitrarily..and therefore, your system is just as good as pointing at the OB and saying hit it here, somewhere...
"Aiming systems are good for Center ball hits" - does not account for incidental english, at different speeds. (who uses center ball anyways.. not most people)
"Most people don't hit where they intend to.." - means people inadvertently apply english.. (refer to next statement) So you have to always adjust.. again, but don't even realize it - poor "system"
"If you use english..." - lol... really? Exactly. ..and this is when you want to apply english intentionally, you have to arbitrarily adjust, based on distance, angle, cloth, speed (and don't forget to make that adjustment for accidentally hitting it where you did not intend to)
So glad to get that cleared up..
The truth of the matter is people start making more balls when they try some concocted aiming system because they are actually paying attention to shooting instead of whacking the ball.. They normally spend longer shooting in order to "get used to" the new system and this basically translates into more table time... Aiming advocates take out all the middle stuff and just say "Aiming system=make more balls" where this is not the case.. Spending more time at the table focused will make more balls.. Not being lackadaisical will help you make more balls... Making a better bridge and staying down and following through - will help you make more balls.. and finally, spending more time shooting will help you make more balls..
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I just won another $1000 using CTE last week. I wish that I had a video of the match so I could show each shot and how using an aiming system made the difference for me. The very last three balls of the match were critical with the shot on the seven a difficult slightly off angle that was easy to miss due to the accuracy needed to go two rails to the eight. The cue ball was hanging on the lip of the far diagonal pocket. Aiming with CTE gave me the unwavering confidence to know I was aimed 100% accurately and then I could and did focus on my stroke to insure it was pure.
Result: The object ball split the pocket and the cue ball came around two rails for position. I still had to make a moderate difficult cut to the corner on the eight and float the cue ball for position on the nine and again CTE aiming just puts me 100% on the shot line every time.
The guy I played is a feel player and when he is "on" he looks great, great stroke great touch. Tough action. But if you saw a video of our match and compared the shots he missed to the shots I made you would easily understand the power of an accurate aiming system. People like to argue about it but no one who has put in the time with any of the good ones says anything but thanks to those who discovered and developed them.
....and this is EXACTLY why aiming systems don't work..
If you have to adjust then you are adjusting arbitrarily..and therefore, your system is just as good as pointing at the OB and saying hit it here, somewhere...
"Aiming systems are good for Center ball hits" - does not account for incidental english, at different speeds. (who uses center ball anyways.. not most people)
"Most people don't hit where they intend to.." - means people inadvertently apply english.. (refer to next statement) So you have to always adjust.. again, but don't even realize it - poor "system"
"If you use english..." - lol... really? Exactly. ..and this is when you want to apply english intentionally, you have to arbitrarily adjust, based on distance, angle, cloth, speed (and don't forget to make that adjustment for accidentally hitting it where you did not intend to)
So glad to get that cleared up..
The truth of the matter is people start making more balls when they try some concocted aiming system because they are actually paying attention to shooting instead of whacking the ball.. They normally spend longer shooting in order to "get used to" the new system and this basically translates into more table time... Aiming advocates take out all the middle stuff and just say "Aiming system=make more balls" where this is not the case.. Spending more time at the table focused will make more balls.. Not being lackadaisical will help you make more balls... Making a better bridge and staying down and following through - will help you make more balls.. and finally, spending more time shooting will help you make more balls..
Adam you're a great player but you're dead wrong about this. Aiming systems (the good ones) do work but they are not magic bullets which is what some people expect them to be. CTE for example requires dozens to hundreds of hours to master but once mastered it gives the shooter a set of aiming keys that are deadly accurate. In the hands of a player of your caliber such a method can't help but to make you an even better player than you already are. If I had the money I would send you to Stan and then back you against just about anyone in Florida after you mastered CTE.
I promise that if we both take two B players and I get to send one to Stan and make him practice 8 hours a day for a month and you just get your B player on the table for focused practice for 8 hours a day for a month my B player will rob your B player. The difference will be 100% balls made in critical situations. My player will make way more clutch shots than yours will under pressure ONLY because of having an accurate method to aim those shots. (I assume that stroke and position knowledge will be about the same for both players)
Good Post. I find the last paragraph interesting & understand the line of your thinking but probably most beginners & lesser players might need some guidance along those lines & an explanation of the the whys & wherefores.
Cheers.
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....and this is EXACTLY why aiming systems don't work..
If you have to adjust then you are adjusting arbitrarily..and therefore, your system is just as good as pointing at the OB and saying hit it here, somewhere...
"Aiming systems are good for Center ball hits" - does not account for incidental english, at different speeds. (who uses center ball anyways.. not most people)
"Most people don't hit where they intend to.." - means people inadvertently apply english.. (refer to next statement) So you have to always adjust.. again, but don't even realize it - poor "system"
"If you use english..." - lol... really? Exactly. ..and this is when you want to apply english intentionally, you have to arbitrarily adjust, based on distance, angle, cloth, speed (and don't forget to make that adjustment for accidentally hitting it where you did not intend to)
So glad to get that cleared up..
The truth of the matter is people start making more balls when they try some concocted aiming system because they are actually paying attention to shooting instead of whacking the ball.. They normally spend longer shooting in order to "get used to" the new system and this basically translates into more table time... Aiming advocates take out all the middle stuff and just say "Aiming system=make more balls" where this is not the case.. Spending more time at the table focused will make more balls.. Not being lackadaisical will help you make more balls... Making a better bridge and staying down and following through - will help you make more balls.. and finally, spending more time shooting will help you make more balls..
...:thumbup2:...
I think it might be better to say that they don't work for the reasons that some think that 'they do'.
I just deleted a bit of a long explanation as I realized that it might be considered as antagonistic given the fervor of some's beliefs.
If a method helps an individual then that is all that matters to that individual even if they do not realize the reality of the situation.
Best Wishes to ALL.
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IMO Aiming systems can "get you in the ball park" but the rest is your brain calculating. The truth of the matter is that if any one system was perfect, no one would miss much. Sure you can argue and say their stroke or pre shot routine was off but a lot of people have great technique and still miss. If one system worked we'd have only have to work on cue control
The good methods do much more than get you in the ball park. They line you up EXACTLY on the shot line.
The truth is that most people are searching for magic bullets to improve their game and aiming systems aren't that. They are methods that must be trained in order to understand the perception and to trust the lines given.
Once the time is put in where the player has ingrained the alignments for each type of shot faced - accounting for distance - then it becomes smooth and almost second nature to aim using the method worked on. That's when the best results show up and in fact the player who puts that work in does in fact see his miss percentage dramatically drop and his make percentage dramatically increase. The by product is that cue ball control increases substantially as body english and uncertainty of aim decrease.
I can do things now with the cue ball that I didn't dream possible 15 years ago. And I don't mean flashy crazy stuff....I mean simply allowing the cue ball to float to a tiny space for position BECAUSE when I have the shot line I know is accurate I can then depend 100% on the tangent line to be accurate as well. In other words I am not throwing the cueball in an attempt to force position and thus tossing the object ball off line or vice versa. It's incredibly liberating and increases my ability to play position immensely.
All because starting with aiming accurately influences the rest of the shot and how you run the table.
Without a tip on it ????
I agree with this. A lot of people just look for the quick fix and don't care to put in the effort to get better. It doesn't work like that for most people.
Welcome back John.
Matt
ohhhhhhhh yeahhhhhh JB's back!!!!
Welcome back John. I agree with you to a point, but I still think if one system were perfect (for example whatever system you use) you should be a world beater by now as well as countless others. I know some things work to a degree, but I believe they fail at certain angles etc etc. Anyways too many wars about aiming systems lol. Let's all enjoy this amazingly beautiful yet frustrating game.
It's impossible for any objective method or system to do that. The player does that with the assistance of whatever method or system.
If you want to argue that same old tired aiming system claim,- take it to the aiming subforum.
pj
chgo