Half Ball

Patrick Johnson

Patrick Johnson

Fish of the Day
Silver Member
If there's a cut angle that offers the best combination of easy to make and easy/versatile CB control, what do you think it is?

I think it's the 30-degree cut angle, also known as half ball. It's well within the aiming comfort zone and allows easy, flexible and predictable CB control. I find myself habitually aiming for half ball shape unless there's a reason not to.

What about you?

pj
chgo

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I agree. But I also like playing shape off a shot slightly thicker than a half ball, what I'd call a 5/8 hit.
 
Patrick Johnson said:
If there's a cut angle that offers the best combination of easy to make and easy/versatile CB control, what do you think it is?

I think it's the 30-degree cut angle, also known as half ball. It's well within the aiming comfort zone and allows easy, flexible and predictable CB control. I find myself habitually aiming for half ball shape unless there's a reason not to.

What about you?

pj
chgo

View attachment 24835
Click to expand...

The shot on the right looks thinner than a 1/2, more like like a 3/8.
 
The half ball is the center table of shooting angles. It’s pedantic but perhaps there is something there.

90 degree thin: you can only control the CB with spin off a rail

>45 degree: the shot gets harder to make

30 degree: shot is easy and you can adjust from tangent easy and you can spin off the rail

<15 degree: shot is easy, adjusting from tangent is more touchy, spin off the rail affects the shot more

0 degree: Better hope you have a Tom Cruise roadmap
 
I was taught to maintain a 23.5° angle.
I'm not saying I'm good enough to do it consistenty, but that's the goal.
 
The 1/2 hit is used way more than any other angle by pro players. Especially when they are not in dead punch.

The half ball hit does not have to be 30°........anywhere between ~25° - ~35° and the half ball hit will work ..........."if".............you adjust your speed and throw the cue ball or the opposite depending on if you are over or under the exact 30° angle.

And ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ is the best reason I can think of for most all pro level players landing on or as close to 30° angles as often as possible.

Rake
 
I’ve never aimed a half ball shot in my life during a game. I’ve only tried it a few times in practice as a trial of a thread like this one. It doesn’t do anything for me. Ymmv:)
 
CJ Wiley taught 30 degree angle shape in his video series and I never forgot it. “I feel like I can get anywhere on the table from here.”


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Hi. I have been practicing this half ball stuff for awhile now. It is part of my way of learning different games. Games like Snooker and Finnish Kaisa.
What half ball hit and little thicker or thinner provides more than accuracy is IMO a way to judge speed of shot. Half ball concept also helps through process of improving. Why I do shoot that shot too far? Why i always miss speed on that safety and so on...
Safeties will have instant improve if one understands half ball(and near half ball) hit speed details. :)
 
iusedtoberich said:
I’ve never aimed a half ball shot in my life during a game.
Click to expand...
Me either. Even when I land on an exact half ball angle I don’t recognize it as such or consciously aim center-to-edge - I just find myself going for that approximate cut angle more than any other because it works out so well shot wise and shape wise.

pj
chgo
 
Anybody can run out when they get great shape on every ball, try being on the wrong side or 50 yard line every other shot and see how well you do.
 
jrctherake said:
The 1/2 hit is used way more than any other angle by pro players. Especially when they are not in dead punch.

The half ball hit does not have to be 30°........anywhere between ~25° - ~35° and the half ball hit will work ..........."if".............you adjust your speed and throw the cue ball or the opposite depending on if you are over or under the exact 30° angle.

And ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ is the best reason I can think of for most all pro level players landing on or as close to 30° angles as often as possible.

Rake
Click to expand...

Exactly. And they aren't necessarily "aiming" for a half ball (cue tip lined exactly to split ob edge/outer surface). They just shoot the shot, sometimes dead on 1/2 ball, do sometimes a little thicker or thinner. Working the cb is easier from anywhere near that optimum 30° angle. I like it on the thick side of 1/2 ball, probably 24 to 25 degrees if measured.
 
I think the only time you can truly get down on a half ball shot and fire at it carelessly knowing it is halfball is if you have ball in hand and placed the cueball there.

To just get that type of shape regularly has to be extremely precise. Sure you can adjust yourself from the half ball hit if you rolled just to far or just short, but to be able to drop on the true half ball hit everytime, enough to where you can just fire at it without care knowing its going in and position is automatic, is just rare.

Even if you do drop on a half ball hit perfectly, maybe position on the next ball will require some sort of english, then spin induced throw with take the true half ball shot away.


While I do play position to try to get to a certain spot and side of my next ball, I think intentionally trying to play to also land at the half ball shot is a little too ambitious and one more thing that is already running through my mind when down on a shot... for me at least...

see my disclaimer.
 
book collector said:
Anybody can run out when they get great shape on every ball, try being on the wrong side or 50 yard line every other shot and see how well you do.
Click to expand...

Lol....yes, it's handy to have the skills to "fix it" when you're way out of line. Got that from an old buddy named Gene Robinson. He was running out a rack of 8 ball and got out of line on the last ball before the 8. With the other guy having 7 balls, Gene had to go for a very thin cut down the rail with a ton of inside spin to get to the 8. He did it and won, then came over and sat down and I told him that was a hell of a shot. He said, "Yeah...I fixed it "
 
Icon of Sin said:
I think the only time you can truly get down on a half ball shot and fire at it carelessly knowing it is halfball is if you have ball in hand and placed the cueball there.

To just get that type of shape regularly has to be extremely precise. Sure you can adjust yourself from the half ball hit if you rolled just to far or just short, but to be able to drop on the true half ball hit everytime, enough to where you can just fire at it without care knowing its going in and position is automatic, is just rare.

Even if you do drop on a half ball hit perfectly, maybe position on the next ball will require some sort of english, then spin induced throw with take the true half ball shot away.


While I do play position to try to get to a certain spot and side of my next ball, I think intentionally trying to play to also land at the half ball shot is a little too ambitious and one more thing that is already running through my mind when down on a shot... for me at least...

see my disclaimer.
Click to expand...
Maybe I should have been more clear: I’m talking about getting position at around a half ball cut, not precisely, maybe not even purposely.

pj
chgo
 
Patrick Johnson said:
Maybe I should have been more clear: I’m talking about getting position at around a half ball cut, not precisely, maybe not even purposely.

pj
chgo
Click to expand...

I usually play for slightly less than 1/2 ball. Anywhere around a 1/2 ball is good, but
thicker hits also mean better CB control as the ball energy split is more in your favor.

.
 
playing shape to get a certain half ball,3rd ball or
anything else sounds impossibe for me

i hope to get ashot that i can make on the right side of the ball

if people are good enough to get a certain angle

i now see why i never played so good
 
deanoc said:
playing shape to get a certain half ball,3rd ball or
anything else sounds impossibe for me

i hope to get ashot that i can make on the right side of the ball

if people are good enough to get a certain angle

i now see why i never played so good
Click to expand...


In my opinion...

Professionals play for a specific angle and position the cueball to land within an area of a handspan or less.

Top A players do the same and can keep it going for multiple racks but just can’t keep it going for as long as a professional can before slipping up.

B players play for specific angles but are landing in larger position areas. It’s not quite as tight. It can get through a couple table runs but their opponent will get opportunities to shoot every few games.

C players play for being on the right side of the ball. They get a sense for when they should have a thin or thick cut. But often aren’t thinking far enough ahead (consistently) to realize they should have been more thick or more thin than they originally thought.

D players just try to make the ball. If they try to control the CB, they are just trying to get straight in on every shot.
 
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