TWO-RAIL KICK SHOT Aiming System Made Simple

dr_dave

dr_dave

Instructional Author
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FYI, I just posted a video discusses and demonstrates how to accurately aim 2-rail kick shots using the midpoint-parallel-shift system. All adjustments needed to use the system effectively over a wide range of shots is also covered. Check it out:


Contents:
0:00 - Intro
0:44 - Aiming System
1:50 - Benchmark Spin
3:23 - Speed Effects
4:16 - Distance Effects
5:31 - Angle Effects
6:33 - Practice Drill
---- 7:32 - 3-ball run
---- 8:35 - steep angle miss
---- 9:21 - 6-ball run
---- 10:46 - shallow-angle miss
---- 10:51 - 5-ball run
11:17 - Summary

As always, I look forward to your feedback, comments, questions, complaints, and requests.

Enjoy!
 
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I like this system. It's one where if you can imagine a parallel shift, you don't really need math. I'm not opposed to math by any means, but I like the systems where you can imagine it and just trust your eyes.

It's also fun to practice getting the hit without running english and using speed to do so. I like hitting them with mostly top spin only to get a benchmark on a particular table. Glad you went over adjustments. Good video, thanks!
 
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boogieman said:
I like this system. It's one where if you can imagine a parallel shift, you don't really need math. I'm not opposed to math by any means, but I like the systems where you can imagine it and just trust your eyes.

It's also fun to practice getting the hit without running english and using speed to do so. I like hitting them with mostly top spin only to get a benchmark on a particular table. Glad you went over adjustments. Good video, thanks!
Click to expand...

I'm glad you liked it. I think running spin makes the results more consistent and repeatable.
 
bbb said:
way too many adjustments for me
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That is where the practice part comes in. Repeated often enough, the adjustments become automatic or instinctual or thoughtless -- accomplished without conscious instruction they are so less burdensome. Like so many of our pool skills, through repetition they become repertoire.

I must be the first to admit that some of Dr. Dave's lessons are difficult for me to grasp, especially upon first encounter. These I file away until I have both a pool table and a smart phone at hand.

We should all be very grateful to Dr. Dave for a number of reasons. The least of these is that he cares enough to share what he knows.
 
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For any particular object ball position, there is a mirror target that will tell you exactly where the system tells you where to aim for any cue ball position. It is the reflection of the real object ball position through a ball in the corner pocket. Such a target will, among other things, let you know how far off you are when you do your parallel shift.
 
bbb said:
way too many adjustments for me
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Hey bbb! Hope you're doing well!

Systems aren't for everyone for sure. Feel can work well in many cases and some systems are too complicated to apply and don't provide enough improvement to be worth the effort. For that reason I only use three systems, and I use feel for all other types of kicks.

This is one system I do use. I really love it. Yes, there are a lot of adjustments. But it's not the system's fault. Pool has a lot of variables, and angle in, distance from the second rail, and speed all impact the shots. These adjustments are there whether you have a system to help correct for them or not.

By learning this system and the adjustments it really helped me improve my two rail kicks as well as other kicks, as it gave me a better understanding of how the balls reacted. So for me it was totally worth the effort.

Dave, thank you for this video. I thought I was a ninja with this system already because I had a good understanding of spin, speed, and distance off the second rail. I also had a feel for how things adjusted when the angle in altered from the 45 degree baseline. But in your new video you explain exactly how the angle in affects the shot. Coming into the first rail more directly causes the spin to take more on the FIRST rail, making it go short. Coming in shallow on the first rail makes the spin grab more on the SECOND rail, making it go long. In the past I just had feel telling me "This is one of those angles where it doesn't look quite right, might need to feel it around a bit". But having a clear model in my head with a simple adjustment to make is so much better. Of course it is still finicky and we won't pocket every ball or make every hit, but this is a powerful weapon for a really common kick that isn't so easy to use feel on.

It's not every day you learn something new about this game and today was a good day. Thank you Dave!
 
Bob Jewett said:
For any particular object ball position, there is a mirror target that will tell you exactly where the system tells you where to aim for any cue ball position. It is the reflection of the real object ball position through a ball in the corner pocket. Such a target will, among other things, let you know how far off you are when you do your parallel shift.
Click to expand...

On the midpoint parallel-shift resource page, I have a link to your article describing and illustrating this technique. Also there is the illustration and explanation of a creative technique from Peter Ho involving fairly simple measurements with your cue.
 
Tin Man said:
Hey bbb! Hope you're doing well!

Systems aren't for everyone for sure. Feel can work well in many cases and some systems are too complicated to apply and don't provide enough improvement to be worth the effort. For that reason I only use three systems, and I use feel for all other types of kicks.

This is one system I do use. I really love it. Yes, there are a lot of adjustments. But it's not the system's fault. Pool has a lot of variables, and angle in, distance from the second rail, and speed all impact the shots. These adjustments are there whether you have a system to help correct for them or not.

By learning this system and the adjustments it really helped me improve my two rail kicks as well as other kicks, as it gave me a better understanding of how the balls reacted. So for me it was totally worth the effort.

Dave, thank you for this video. I thought I was a ninja with this system already because I had a good understanding of spin, speed, and distance off the second rail. I also had a feel for how things adjusted when the angle in altered from the 45 degree baseline. But in your new video you explain exactly how the angle in affects the shot. Coming into the first rail more directly causes the spin to take more on the FIRST rail, making it go short. Coming in shallow on the first rail makes the spin grab more on the SECOND rail, making it go long. In the past I just had feel telling me "This is one of those angles where it doesn't look quite right, might need to feel it around a bit". But having a clear model in my head with a simple adjustment to make is so much better. Of course it is still finicky and we won't pocket every ball or make every hit, but this is a powerful weapon for a really common kick that isn't so easy to use feel on.

It's not every day you learn something new about this game and today was a good day. Thank you Dave!
Click to expand...

I’m glad to hear it Demetrius. It is a good day for me too when a player of your caliber learns something useful from one of my videos. I worked hard to present this topic as simply as possible, but it was difficult. I’m sure the “adjustments” will scare many people away from the “system.”
 
billiards_watch said:
I will definitely try and if I can't then I'm pretty sure its me. I need a method besides guessing.
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I personally do much better with the system and adjustments than I think I could ever do with “guessing” or “intuition.” Two-rail kicks can be tough to see (for most people), especially when they are at odd angles and distances.
 
Use of adjustments are already dictated by the fact that tables are designed differently -- Brunswick v. Diamond. Further even if initially set up within 99.9% the universal constant, time will work separately on every table. Pool, especially in the area of banking, is necessarily a game of adjustments, some more exacting than others.
 
One thing I'd add about spinning your kicks. The ball bends anyway so don't ignore center ball. That said, running english will help to parallelize two rail kicks. I suppose parallel ins and outs (the ball action, not the system) should be considered a reference and developed like penmanship.

And all you center ball freaks, maximum english is as consistent as center ball.
 
Biloxi Boy said:
Use of adjustments are already dictated by the fact that tables are designed differently -- Brunswick v. Diamond. Further even if initially set up within 99.9% the universal constant, time will work separately on every table. Pool, especially in the area of banking, is necessarily a game of adjustments, some more exacting than others.
Click to expand...

The adjustment amounts are different on different tables are different, but the adjustment principles covered in the video are universal.
 
High praise from Tinman on learning anew from Dr Dave's video.

When I got back into pool several years ago after a long absence, I actually spent a ton of time on kicking systems. Pretty much every one under the sun.

Why? I didn't want to give up ball in hand to better players at my pool hall. I needed every advantage I could get! (Turns out many experienced players at my hall are not good kickers or safety players).

Yet when I first learned this parallel system, sometimes I would miss the ball and wonder why. I don't wonder any longer. Adjustments are always needed. Once you figure them out, it's not hard.

And after you get good enough at it, you can do drills in which you try to kick the ball without doing any measuring or parallel shifting. As Biloxi Boy noted, you will get a "feel" over time. You can just step up to the table and know where to strike the rail.

To me, that's the biggest advantage of systems. It allows use to develop a feel that is based on science.
 
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