Do you use an aiming system or go by feel?

Do you use an aiming system or go by feel?

  • I always go by feel

    Votes: 153 53.5%

  • Usually by feel, with aiming systems for hard shots

    Votes: 68 23.8%

  • Usually with aiming systems, by feel for easy shots

    Votes: 24 8.4%

  • I always use aiming systems

    Votes: 26 9.1%

  • I just hit balls very hard and hope they sink

    Votes: 15 5.2%
  • Total voters
    286
SamLambert said:
What have I done!
I didn't know better I swear! :D
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You're doing fine. These aiming threads crack me up. Everyone has an opinion on how to aim a cue ball and hardly any of them know how to do it. Randy says he has taught many a Pro, even though most of us wouldn't recognize a one of them. PJ gets hung up on a word inflection. And, if all that shit wasn't bad enough, Barton is back.
There is a bright spot, however. Randy will go on his merry way until it's time for him to remind everyone that he's an instructor (Remember: Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach.). PJ will crawl back to the center of his web. And Barton? He'll probably be gone by the end of the day. :smile:
 
JB Cases said:
CTE for example requires dozens to hundreds of hours to master...
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Haha... hundreds of hours to master an aiming system...

This is ludicrous, first of all...
Secondly, all that looks like to me is hundreds of hours practicing, which will probably make you shoot better..

I have looked at most of the aiming systems out of pure curiosity and they are for beginners... There are just too many changing variables to actually rely on a "system"..

As far as you backing me against anyone in FL if I learned CTE.. Thank you and that's great, but I already have played everyone in FL, on my own dime... :) (I guess I get lucky a lot)
An aiming system won't do a thing for my game except maybe screw me up for the next 7 years..
 
Wybrook said:
Haha... hundreds of hours to master an aiming system...

This is ludicrous, first of all...
Secondly, all that looks like to me is hundreds of hours practicing, which will probably make you shoot better..
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You're right that systems are really the same old "aim by feel" in new clothes, but that doesn't make them worse for all players. Even if they're kidding themselves about how they work, I believe lots of players actually shoot better with them than without - maybe because they need that confidence boost, even if they have to kid themselves to get it.

pj
chgo
 
:nanner:


I feel with my hands...not my eyes.

I rarely miss a ball and just shoot the balls in the hole.

I use spin on almost every shot.


I guess my aim is good after 40 years of playing.

I blame Meucci Cues for my good playing....




:lovies:
 
ps611846 said:
Without a tip on it ????
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Unfortunately I can't seem to stop miscuing when I play without a tip so no :/ I use edge of the ferrule as a reference point to the contact point. It is something I have done in the last few months that has improved my shooting a lot.
 
JB Cases said:
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)
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There are several cte users in florida already
 
Colin Colenso said:
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
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And I hit straight in shots better with a strict following of CTE
 
BeiberLvr said:
When it comes to a system like CTE, the biggest issue isn't that it doesn't work, but that it doesn't work without subconscious adjustments.

It used to bother me when folks would say that I was adjusting, and that's the only reason I was making shots. "How dare they? Who are they to tell me what I'm doing?" Then it dawned on me. How do I know what I'm doing? As much as I'd like to think I can be totally in control of every action I take. I can't. No one can.

Who cares though? Why does it matter if subconscious adjustments are being made (aside from marketing purposes)? The system can still help players become better ball pocketers.

I accept the fact that minor adjustments might be made when using the system, and I would still recommend it to anyone who is struggling with making balls.
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When i make adjustments, I miss
 
Wybrook said:
You can argue all you want, but your statement is more a self-reflection than anything else.. I can break any aiming system in one shot.. (and I don't mean there is just 1 shot that doesn't work, in case you want to be literal)
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Bet you can't. Let me know the next time you travel down to stroker's
 
I know a certified CTE instructor in Wisconsin who gets crushed by a 16/17 year old who grew up playing with his dad, goes by the name of Sergio Rivas. The CTE instructor shoots very well and is in the top 15 players in Wisconsin but he misses balls the same percentage of the time as pure feel or pure ghost-ball users.

To quote John Schmidt: "Aiming systems are a way for a player to pontificate about their own greatness."
 
Colonel said:
I don't aim, I don't "feel" whatever that means.

I see pictures, or videos if you will, of what I want to transpire. I think the appropriate term would be visualization.
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This is what I do. I'm still new to the game, but this seems to work for me so far.
 
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Usually, I tend to stay out of these aiming system arguments for a number of reasons.
One: I have a good friend who lives near the Big Easy who is a pro aiming system guy, and I wouldn't want offend him. Two: I'm a veteran of the Great Aiming War of a few years back and it stirs up bitter memories. I was twice wounded and can no longer have children.
Anyway, just so you'll know, I was talking to one of the young players who grew up playing here in our local pool hall, excuse me, I mean sports bar and grill, and upon graduation from high school, matriculated to Lindenwood University. Lindenwood, as many of you know, has one of the finest Pocket Billiard teams in the U.S., and is coached by Mark Wilson. My friend is currently number three on their team. A very good player.
I asked him, several weeks ago, if Coach Wilson taught any aiming systems to the team members, to which he replied, "No! He hates them!"
Just something to think about. :smile:
 
Tramp Steamer said:
Usually, I tend to stay out of these aiming system arguments for a number of reasons.
One: I have a good friend who lives near the Big Easy who is a pro aiming system guy, and I wouldn't want offend him. Two: I'm a veteran of the Great Aiming War of a few years back and it stirs up bitter memories. I was twice wounded and can no longer have children.
Anyway, just so you'll know, I was talking to one of the young players who grew up playing here in our local pool hall, excuse me, I mean sports bar and grill, and upon graduation from high school, matriculated to Lindenwood University. Lindenwood, as many of you know, has one of the finest Pocket Billiard teams in the U.S., and is coached by Mark Wilson. My friend is currently number three on their team. A very good player.
I asked him, several weeks ago, if Coach Wilson taught any aiming systems to the team members, to which he replied, "No! He hates them!"
Just something to think about. :smile:
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Lol,Coach Wilson's best player uses one.
 
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cookie man said:
Lol,Coach Wilson's best player uses one.
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You may be right, and I know who you're speaking of. I'll wager, however, it wasn't taught to him by Coach Wilson.
Then again, who's to say he's actually using it. He's hardly a beginner. :smile:
 
Tramp Steamer said:
You may be right, and I know who you're speaking of. I'll wager, however, it wasn't taught to him by Coach Wilson.
Then again, who's to say he's actually using it. He's hardly a beginner. :smile:
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No it wasn't taught by coach Wilson. You have heard of Landon Shuffet haven't you. I will bet it all he's using it.
 
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