Keep missing ball in same spot??? and straight shot...

B

BABYfrHEAVEN

Registered
I've been playing pool more often (3 or 4 times and about 4-5 hours each time) for 1 year. Before that, i am totally a noob (like know very little, do all wrong techniques, not straight arm). My ultimate goal is able to run out 9 ball rack.

So after 1 year i can see i made huge improvement (i can run out about 1 or 2 times every practice session- which i can never do it before) however i still not satisfy with that. Please dont bash me when i say this: i thought with amount of time i spend, i should do much better than that, like i should comfortable run out more often. But right now i still keep missing the ball a lots

And then i find out that whenever i miss the ball, i miss in the same spot (like if i miss in the left of the pocket, next 4 or 5 shots i still hit object ball to exactly spot i miss before). Miss but it is very consistent miss (sound weird right). That lead to another problem: STRAIGHT SHOT. One pro told me that straight shot is the most important shot in pool. That's reason why this is the shot i practice the most but i still miss a lots even after 1 year playing(i can say this is my pool most weakness) and once again, when i miss, i only miss in same spot.


So guys, what's happening with my aiming? Any tips that i can improve my aiming (potting ball). I do wear glasses, is that a thing make me keep missing the ball??

Thank you!!!
 
First off a year isn't that long so ease up. If you can run out an occasional rack you're doing pretty good. I've been at it fo a couple years now, with less time at the table but still at least twice a week, and I bet we're pretty close. I've never run a rack of 9 ball, but I rarely ever play it, I do more straight pool and 8 ball and I can run out some 8 ball racks. Sure, I'd like to be better than I am but I can see progress from where I was a year ago so I know I'm moving in the right direction.

When it comes to missing shots, for me it's my aiming picture. I know what your talking about, you miss and so you set the shot up again and you miss it exactly he same. Can happen multiple times. This tells me two things. First, the stroke is consistent and likely not the problem. Second, you're obviously picturing the aim point wrong to consistently miss to the same spot. When that happens I set it up again, walk around the table, view the shot from the pocket, from behind OB toward pockets, etc. really thorough look from all angles then go back to my spot and visualize my aim taking s lot of time until it's really clear and try again. That usually works.

Occasionally it doesn't work, some shots just look wrong to me so I work on those, shooting them with aim that feels way off to me sometimes but based on my experience missing to the same spot is actually better. Once you find the right spot and make the shot a few times it'll start looking better to you, but you have to struggle for a bit to get there.
 
BABYfrHEAVEN said:
And then i find out that whenever i miss the ball, i miss in the same spot (like if i miss in the left of the pocket, next 4 or 5 shots i still hit object ball to exactly spot i miss before). Miss but it is very consistent miss (sound weird right). That lead to another problem: STRAIGHT SHOT. One pro told me that straight shot is the most important shot in pool. That's reason why this is the shot i practice the most but i still miss a lots even after 1 year playing(i can say this is my pool most weakness) and once again, when i miss, i only miss in same spot.
Thank you!!!
Click to expand...
The man who said "your stroke isn't the problem" (since you keep hitting the same spot over and over) is right. Soooo what to about it?
Try this...just try it for a while and if it doesn't help....toss it out the window: When you miss one of those a couple of times in your practice, the next time you try again, after you're down ready to fire, STOP, stand up, don't move your feet, just get back down and shoot the shot again as if you never missed it in the first place.
I have no idea why this seems to work but it does for me. Maybe it has something to do with the eyes seeing the shot weird...?? I don't have a clue, but it has helped me a lot over the years. (also you won't be missing that shot again). Take that to the bank
 
BABYfrHEAVEN said:
I've been playing pool more often (3 or 4 times and about 4-5 hours each time) for 1 year. Before that, i am totally a noob (like know very little, do all wrong techniques, not straight arm). My ultimate goal is able to run out 9 ball rack.

So after 1 year i can see i made huge improvement (i can run out about 1 or 2 times every practice session- which i can never do it before) however i still not satisfy with that. Please dont bash me when i say this: i thought with amount of time i spend, i should do much better than that, like i should comfortable run out more often. But right now i still keep missing the ball a lots

And then i find out that whenever i miss the ball, i miss in the same spot (like if i miss in the left of the pocket, next 4 or 5 shots i still hit object ball to exactly spot i miss before). Miss but it is very consistent miss (sound weird right). That lead to another problem: STRAIGHT SHOT. One pro told me that straight shot is the most important shot in pool. That's reason why this is the shot i practice the most but i still miss a lots even after 1 year playing(i can say this is my pool most weakness) and once again, when i miss, i only miss in same spot.


So guys, what's happening with my aiming? Any tips that i can improve my aiming (potting ball). I do wear glasses, is that a thing make me keep missing the ball??

Thank you!!!
Click to expand...

If you continue to miss the same shot in the same way, it sounds to me like your pre-shot routine sets you up incorrectly for that particular shot or for that particular shot, you are having problems executing your pre-shot routine.

If you do not have a pre-shot routine, then you have your answer. You need to get a pre-shot routine. If you would like some help in developing a good pre-shot routine, I would recommend Mark Wilson's book, Play Great Pool. It is expensive, but it has the best pre-shot routine material out there, in my view. http://playgreatpool.com/Default.aspx

kollegedave
 
Making the same error over and over again is a good thing....and easily correctable by a GOOD instructor.
 
If you're missing the shot, the same way every time, it sounds like your aiming perception may be off. Perhaps you do not have your cue centered correctly below your dominant eye.
 
Island Drive said:
Making the same error over and over again is a good thing....and easily correctable by a GOOD instructor.
Click to expand...

Very true. Odds are his vision center is not centered correctly. Another possibility is that he is consistently hitting the cb off to one side and inadvertently applying english which causes the cb to squirt away from the target line some.
 
a technique i use on difficut shots for me is to center yourself behind the cue ball standing erect and establish an imaginary plumb line much like a golfer except you don't bend your knees and use the putter as the plumb line. use your cue if you like as the plumb line but centering myself behind the cue ball and the ball you want to make and prepare for the shot and then pull the trigger. a straight in shot does not require many variables follow, stop, or draw and since your trouble seems to be just making the ball. in practice plan to shoot the shot with medium speed and stop.

your routine is after aligning the shot before preparing to shoot, get down with this visual, then shoot. hope this helps. your problem maybe you are inputting to many variables and you get the yips. plumb line, then shoot the shot. the more time you spend doing practice strokes the more apt you are to miss. the KISS method works well in pool, especially on your difficult shots. the more straight ins you make the easier they will become.
 
Buy a laser level that projects a line. Use that on your table and set some binder hole reinforcements along that line. One for the OB about the center of the table, one for the CB about 2 diamonds away and then one for where you tip will be on the back stroke, and then one for the follow thru end and tip target. Place a few more for a line where your cue will be over including one on the end rail during the stroke. Make this line perpendicular to the end rail into the 1 st diamond. Line up and get down on the shot and look where your cue is. It should be directly over that line. Do a stop shot for the OB to be able to travel to the end rail and back and see where your cue tip ends. Should be on the line. If hit properly the OB will hit the end rail and come back down the line striking the CB.

One problem could also be if your tip is not properly shaped and even though you are hitting the CB on center the tip is causing a little side spin.

After you set up the holes you don't need to use the laser for practicing. It is just used to set the holes.

Hope this helps

🎱
 
Last edited:
1) make sure you are sighting correctly - there are videos on youtube that show you great ways to find your center of sight.

2) Make sure you are standing the same on every shot. If you have the laser level, line up a straight shot with the hole reinforcers, and also continue the line and mark it with tape on the floor where you stand to shoot. You may not have to stan on the tape to make the shot, but notice where you are standing when you make the shot consistently - that's where you need to stand to make your stance line up correctly. Then try moving inside and outside that point on shots and watch what happens to your shots.

BTW I had the same problem and corrected it this summer by shooting a few hundred straight in shots, paying attention to feet placement. When it all clicks, it feels like you can't miss the shot. Soon after that your mind will tell you if you are misaligned, it will just look 'wrong'
 
bradsh98 said:
If you're missing the shot, the same way every time, it sounds like your aiming perception may be off. Perhaps you do not have your cue centered correctly below your dominant eye.
Click to expand...

Just so we don't upset some people on here let's not say 'dominant eye,'
but let's say 'vision center.'

Vision center seems to be better terminology in the case of pool aiming and alignment.

Wherever one's vision center happens (ultimately) to be determined,
the dominant eye stands to be "taking in" more information anyway once
in that position.

Indeed, that vision center will not always land directly under the dominant eye because
the strength of one's vision center is a gradient dynamic.
 
Last edited:
Neil said:
Very true. Odds are his vision center is not centered correctly. Another possibility is that he is consistently hitting the cb off to one side and inadvertently applying english which causes the cb to squirt away from the target line some.
Click to expand...

Tap tap. Exactly.
 
boogeyman said:
Just so we don't upset some people on here let's not say 'dominant eye,'
but let's say 'vision center.'

Vision center seems to be better terminology in the case of pool aiming and alignment.

Wherever one's vision center happens (ultimately) to be determined,
the dominant eye stands to be "taking in" more information anyway once
in that position.

Indeed, that vision center will not always land directly under the dominant eye because
the strength of one's vision center is a gradient dynamic.
Click to expand...

Good point.

My 'vision center' is not directly below my dominant (left) eye. It is just to the right of my left eye.

Fortunately, there are drills and tools that can help in determining your 'vision center'.
 
I suggest you go into the Aiming Forum & find the thread By Gene Albrecht & get his Perfect Aim DVD.

It's not an aiming method but instead it's about NOT seeing a crooked line as straight.

Either that or check your own vision but not with the point & close one eye method.

Do it from the standing position looking at a straight line on the table with your eyes above the line.

Private Message Gene & He will probably set up a phone 'lesson' with you.

Good Luck & Best Wishes.
 
Ok I would like to help if possible but need to understand something. "You keep missing a shot the same way", "You keep missing a shot the same way","You keep missing a shot the same way", and you have made no corrections in this matter?

See I have a friend that i'm trying to give some advice too and have a similar problem, when i set up a shot for him to do he keeps hitting the shot the SAME WAY then gets angry, ask me how did i get there and why he can't get there. Now there's one thing i love about practicing pool and that's the feed back, you literally have instant feed back to let you know what to do on the next try. Now i agree with the other about you sighting the shot wrong due to eye position and such but if you have not taken this to the table in a controlled setting to figure it out by now then I can see the problem is with your yearly expectancy.

I said I wanted to help if possible so here goes.
(a) get to the table and put some serious practice time in my friend, and not just going through the motions practice but actually learning from what i do practice.
(disclaimer: I don't know what shot it is that you miss, if it's specific, or a type of shot as i don't recall you saying, you could be back cutting a ball 95 degrees and driving us crazy in here)
(b) Get yourself some paper donuts "because if you're not setting up the balling in the exact same place it's not the same shot" and mark the CB position and the OB position, next I want you to shoot the shot paying attention to where the CB goes most importantly. You will shoot your shot and find the spot where the CB hit when you missed OR made the shot (i would like it on the miss so that you can understand the change better but whatever) now put a ball there and mark it with a donut. From now on you will do your best to do the hardest thing in pool and that's watch the collision of the CB and OB and this is your main focus, don't look anywhere else, if you miss you'll know so stop tracking the OB and you'll also know what happened when the CB hit that random ball that you put down in it's path. All you have to do is keep making the adjustment be it your foot, your body, your cue, your head or just plain your perception of how much overlap is required of "that" shot.

If you care at all i'll set you up with a diagram if not no love lost, but if you keep bumping your head on that beam you might want to get a helmet, duck or cut a piece out of the beam so that your head fit just don't keep bumping your head on the beam.

oh also video is good, jump on ebay and find yourself a phone tripod set up your phone and see what you're doing sometimes. I went from phone to camcorder and it's been a big help. Best of luck, I know your pain.
 
7forlife said:
If you care at all i'll set you up with a diagram if not no love lost, but if you keep bumping your head on that beam you might want to get a helmet, duck or cut a piece out of the beam so that your head fit just don't keep bumping your head on the beam.

oh also video is good, jump on ebay and find yourself a phone tripod set up your phone and see what you're doing sometimes. I went from phone to camcorder and it's been a big help. Best of luck, I know your pain.
Click to expand...

Pls give me some diagram, it can helps me a lots
 
BABYfrHEAVEN said:
I do wear glasses, is that a thing make me keep missing the ball?
Click to expand...

Yes. Glasses do not necessarily present a flat field. You could well be experiencing a distortion when looking through a particular portion of your glasses. I have this problem on long shots, particularly right cuts, as an example.

Thank you kindly.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top