I have been busy trying to create something that provides us with exact tip position, and I've had a lot of success. So now, lets try to use it to see if it is actually beneficial, specifically when paired with a video review.
youtube.com
In this shot, I need to cut the 4-ball down the rail. The angle is kind of thick, so unless I draw with more power to get below the eight ball (risky), I will have to live with another thick angle shot on the five to get back to the other end of the table for the six. I could also follow and come back towards the middle of the table being closer to the five.
However, the table I am playing on is relatively difficult. I am not used to it and it has small pockets. So I am feeling uncomfortable.
I end up hitting the four ball with draw with a touch of inside RIGHT, not outside LEFT like I would have expected to do. The four is thrown into the rail and I was lucky to have even pocketed it. You can also see that I steered my cue towards the right, like I was magically trying to get the cue ball off of the rail.
I wonder what went through my head, but hitting the balls thick is a common problem I have when I am uncomfortable. Maybe I combined the ideas of inside follow and outside draw?
So... a conclusion I can draw is that, it seems like my actual aiming is OK, but my tip position drifted. When I notice myself hitting the ball too thick, I should first take more time committing to a solution, and then notice where my tip is landing on the CB. Maybe take a little more time thinking and executing my stroke along the line I set on.
...
I am hoping that when this product is available, self analysis like this can help you fix subtle parts of your game, and free you from not knowing what to blame. (rhyme not intended).
Note: I wouldn't have been able to get this much detail using a traditional training ball, aligning it by hand, and then going to look for the chalk mark on the ball while hoping it hadn't rubbed off.
Nate

✂️ Hitting Thick
12 seconds · Clipped by Nathan Rhoades · Original video "DigiBall Studio Demo, Tkinter and OpenCV 2023 10 24 09 28 38" by Nathan Rhoades

In this shot, I need to cut the 4-ball down the rail. The angle is kind of thick, so unless I draw with more power to get below the eight ball (risky), I will have to live with another thick angle shot on the five to get back to the other end of the table for the six. I could also follow and come back towards the middle of the table being closer to the five.
However, the table I am playing on is relatively difficult. I am not used to it and it has small pockets. So I am feeling uncomfortable.
I end up hitting the four ball with draw with a touch of inside RIGHT, not outside LEFT like I would have expected to do. The four is thrown into the rail and I was lucky to have even pocketed it. You can also see that I steered my cue towards the right, like I was magically trying to get the cue ball off of the rail.
I wonder what went through my head, but hitting the balls thick is a common problem I have when I am uncomfortable. Maybe I combined the ideas of inside follow and outside draw?
So... a conclusion I can draw is that, it seems like my actual aiming is OK, but my tip position drifted. When I notice myself hitting the ball too thick, I should first take more time committing to a solution, and then notice where my tip is landing on the CB. Maybe take a little more time thinking and executing my stroke along the line I set on.
...
I am hoping that when this product is available, self analysis like this can help you fix subtle parts of your game, and free you from not knowing what to blame. (rhyme not intended).
Note: I wouldn't have been able to get this much detail using a traditional training ball, aligning it by hand, and then going to look for the chalk mark on the ball while hoping it hadn't rubbed off.
Nate
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