The Use of BHE - FHE Theory

J

JCraig

New member
On the use of BHE and FHE, my theory is that unless your bridge length matches the natural pivot length (NPL) of the cue you must use a combination of BHE and FHE to bring the natural pivot point into the aim line of the shot. This is especially true for my Predator Z shaft with a NPL of 18” and my bridge length of 12”. With my bridge length I calculated that I need 5mm of FHE (just a 1mm less than ½ a tip of my 12mm tip) and pivot out the remainder with BHE to the miss cue limit of 5/8”. My spin shot procedure seems to work for me and is fairly simple. For pure left or right spin, at my bridge length, I put my tip at the bottom center of the cue ball move tip with my bridge hand over until the bottom center is almost to the edge of my tip and BHE pivot out to miss cue limit. For top or bottom left or right hand spin I move bridge over a ¼ tip of FHE. FHE is fairly easy calculate through the use of similar triangles. One triangle would be the miss cue limit and the NPL. The other would be FHE and the NPL minus the bridge length. For me, my Z shaft and a miss cue limit of 5/8”:

FHE = (miss cue limit / NPL) X (NPL – bridge length):

FHE = (.625/18) X (18 – 12)

= .208” or 5.3 mm

Now if I owned Cynergy with NPL of 14" my FHE correction would be a little less than 1mm. My shot procedure could be to BHE pivot out to the limit and just think about FHE.


Patrick, Dr Dave what do you think, sound like a plausible theory?

IMG_1922.jpg
 
Renegade4006 said:
For those like me who are not familiar with the abbreviations used, what are:
BHE
FHE
NPL

Thanks
Click to expand...
Front Hand English (FHE) is the act of applying sidespin by moving your bridge hand laterally either as you place it down on the table or as an adjustment right after.

Back Hand English (BHE) is the act of apply sidespin by moving your back hand laterally so that the front of the cue pivots on your bridge hand and the tip of the cue moves laterally in the other direction. This is not a swooping action in your stroke, it’s how you align before doing normal forward strokes.

Natural Pivot Length (NPL) is the bridge length you need so that applying BHE will result in the deflection of the cueball and the spin-induced throw on the object ball net each other out. In other words you can start your aim as if it was a straight in shot with no adjustments and use BHE to introduce sidespin to a shot. Or if your stroke is bad and accidentally introduces sidespin you’re still likely to pocket the ball.

Take note that high deflection shafts like traditional low end maple shafts will require a short bridge length to achieve the NPL. Low deflection shafts like modern high end CF shafts will require a long bridge length to achieve the NPL. Some observe the bridge length to achieve NPL for modern high end CF shafts is too long to be practical (upwards of 18”).

Some criticize this approach for not accounting for the speed and distance of the shot and the swerve that factors in. Some say that this lets you simplify your adjustments to only need to accommodate the swerve. Some say this is a good approach but a certain amount of BHE and FHE are needed in combination for the NPL to function properly. Some say the amount of BHE and FHE may vary depending on the category of shot.

And some just think this is too left brained of thinking for pool and you just need to practice enough where all the dynamics and adjustments are just ingrained in your brain and to trust your subconscious mind to know how the shot needs to be approached and aligned.
 
JCraig said:
Patrick, Dr Dave what do you think, sound like a plausible theory?
Click to expand...
Sounds a lot like Dave's SAWS method.

pj
chgo

billiards.colostate.edu

System for Aiming With Sidespin (SAWS) - Dr. Dave Pool Info

What is the System for Aiming With Sidespin (SAWS)? System for Aiming With Sidespin (SAWS) is a full-length instructional video by Dr. Dave that covers a simple and methodical system to find accurate lines of aim for sidespin shots of any distance, speed, and amount of spin.. It is based on...
billiards.colostate.edu billiards.colostate.edu
 
Patrick Johnson said:
Sounds a lot like Dave's SAWS method.

pj
chgo

billiards.colostate.edu

System for Aiming With Sidespin (SAWS) - Dr. Dave Pool Info

What is the System for Aiming With Sidespin (SAWS)? System for Aiming With Sidespin (SAWS) is a full-length instructional video by Dr. Dave that covers a simple and methodical system to find accurate lines of aim for sidespin shots of any distance, speed, and amount of spin.. It is based on...
billiards.colostate.edu billiards.colostate.edu
Click to expand...
I agree it is a beginning to Dr Dave's SAWS method. His method covers pretty much everything using side spin and is far more comprehensive than what I presented. However, l am a numbers guy and he uses a lot of percentages in his method and I needed a point to start. Also, I have not seen it explained that the purpose of BHE and FHE is to align the natural pivot with shot line nor have I seen a method to calculate FHE/BHE to eliminate pure squirt. So my question to you and Dr Dave is can you use BHE/FHE to align the natural pivot point to the shot line so that it should eliminate squirt. If you guys have explained this elsewhere and I missed it I apologize.

​
 
JCraig said:
...can you use BHE/FHE to align the natural pivot point to the shot line so that it should eliminate squirt.
Click to expand...
I'm pretty sure you can, but I haven't taken the time yet to figure out whether your method does it.

I've advocated marking the shaft's "pure squirt" pivot point - that visual aid might even help with all the not-pure-squirt shots.

pj
chgo
 
I'll ask Efren about all of this, I would ask Willie, but he died. You guys are all joking, right? If this was really what one thought about playing this game I never would have even thought about playing it:)
I get it though, to each his own, I'm no judge. - whatever works for some - well that works for them. I have a fairly high IQ, but I also enjoy recreation without too much thought.
 
if you come down with applied english you wont need the calculations
just sayin.......;)
 
Patrick Johnson said:
Sounds a lot like Dave's SAWS method.

pj
chgo

billiards.colostate.edu

System for Aiming With Sidespin (SAWS) - Dr. Dave Pool Info

What is the System for Aiming With Sidespin (SAWS)? System for Aiming With Sidespin (SAWS) is a full-length instructional video by Dr. Dave that covers a simple and methodical system to find accurate lines of aim for sidespin shots of any distance, speed, and amount of spin.. It is based on...
billiards.colostate.edu billiards.colostate.edu
Click to expand...

The difference is that SAWS deals with "effective pivot length" for shots of all speeds and distances. The "natural pivot length" is useful only for extremely fast and short shots. For those who want more info and demonstrations dealing with all topics in this thread, see:

 
dr_dave said:
The difference is that SAWS deals with "effective pivot length" for shots of all speeds and distances. The "natural pivot length" is useful only for extremely fast and short shots. For those who want more info and demonstrations dealing with all topics in this thread, see:

Click to expand...

I found this YouTube video
“Demystifying Front Hand English” on Dr Dave’s website https://billiards.colostate.edu/faq/sidespin/bhe-fhe/ that better explains my original post.

Thanks Dr Dave
 
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