Aiming B.S.

J

jjohnson

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I saw a video that showed the instructor placing the cue ball at the center of the head string. Then his challenge was to shoot the cue ball through the spot at the foot of the table and make it bounce off the rail and come back through the spot and through the center of the head string where it was shot from. He said that most players can't do that.

I watched another video, I think it was straight pool 14:1. Thorsten Hohmann was about to take a break when he was asked how to make balls and run balls. He said when he gets back he'll tell us. He gets back and says it's simple. He just shoots for the ghost ball.

But in both cases no explanation or instruction on the technique of aiming was given. So in just a moment, when I'm through here, you can say I'm stupid or help me out and point me to a video where it is explained. I mean, if it is so obvious and easy to learn with perfect instruction, then why are most people unable to run balls. And why doesn't Efren or Shane or Dennis or Earl explain? Isn't there this brotherhood of sharing. Let me know. I'd sure like to never miss or rarely so I can run balls.

Here goes: Yes. The ghost ball. I can pick up the cue ball and place it against the object ball to align it so as to make the object ball in the pocket. But you have to consider contact and or english throw too. You need to not only aim the cue ball to make the ghost ball and subsequently the object ball but you have to deliver the cue ball with the precise action to get the position for the next shot.

So, I say these aiming techniques or tricks are b.s. because they never tell you how to do this. Care to try? I think it's a safe bet that you either can't or won't tell us. Come on, chare, man.
 
For me - and I think everyone, it's speed dependent. Slow to medium, not satisfactory but it is what it is. More than that and the error factors get amplified - hence the rest of my method. Although, even if I had a grant to set up and do a pool lab, I still gotta split time with other shit.

Promise to spare the details but for the one clue: The stick is straight.
 
Okay. Ghost ball technique. Determine the line from center of the cue ball to center of the ghost ball.
Here's the advice: aim your shot from the center of the cue ball to the center of the ghost ball.
Oh? You still haven't explained how to do this. You've only explained what the aiming needs to accomplish.
Not how to do the aiming.
Once you have the line, good. But this doesn't explain how you actually do the aiming.
All I see is the shot being made with no explanation how the shooter goes about the aiming.
I watched the videos.
You can't claim to show an aiming technique by only describing or showing what the aiming needs to accomplish.
How do I send the cue ball down along the necessary line?
It's telling that not once was the word, "eye" mentioned.
Guess the shooters eyes don't enter into the equation.
How can you claim to show a technique for aiming and don't even mention the shooters eyes?
That is why I say B.S.
 
Okay. Great. Hit a million balls. If done conscientiously it is claimed you should become pretty good at aiming.
If this is so, will someone who has hit a million balls, tell us right here, how they aim?
Or is this going to be a Gorst explanation: "I just see it."
Come on. Spill the beans. After hitting a million balls you must know a thing or two.
Tell us. How do you aim.
No one has stepped up so far anywhere as far as I know.
Show me where Dr. Dave explains how to use our eyes to aim a shot.
Not just describe what shot alignment looks like on the table top.
How do I aim consistently?
If you can make the cue ball go down this line consistently as described then you know how to aim.
Duh. Ya think?
Let me share some wisdom Cole told me. And the conclusion I arrived at.
I was 16. Cole was probably 19. He said, "I like to beat guys who use a lot of english."
So when you shoot, play tight (efficient) position and always hit the cue ball very close to center.
You shouldn't need to do otherwise. So deflection/squirt really doesn't become a factor.
And the risk of errors is minimized.
But even Cole never told me how to aim.
Anyone ever have an instructor?
Let me guess. They told you what you need to accomplish with your aim.
But they never explain exactly how to do it, how to pull it off, every time, like a professional.
This is why I say B.S.
 
straightline said:
GB is the size of the friggin ball. Not good enough resolution.
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Alright. Here's another one. It doesn't take much imagination to visualize the ghost ball. It is the exact same relative size as the object ball it is aligned right next to.

Have another. You can see the object ball and visualize its precise center. With this in mind, imagine sliding it over visualizing it now as the ghost ball.

Have another. Now focus. This should allow you to visualize the ghost ball overlapping the object ball. Now just concern yourself with the area where the ghost ball and the object ball overlap. Imagine a vertical line from the top to the bottom of this overlap area and a horizontal line at the midpoint of this vertical line. That is the contact point of the ghost ball/object ball. If this contact point aligns such that a line from this visualized contact point through the object ball center point extends through the center of the pocket, then your ghost ball alignment is perfect.
 
jjohnson said:
The center of the ghost ball is a point. A point is as resolved as your eyes can make it and your imagination can visualize it.
Oops. Didn't mean to divulge so much.
Oh, well.
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jjohnson said:
Alright. Here's another one. It doesn't take much imagination to visualize the ghost ball. It is the exact same relative size as the object ball it is aligned right next to.

Have another. You can see the object ball and visualize its precise center. With this in mind, imagine sliding it over visualizing it now as the ghost ball.

Have another. Now focus. This should allow you to visualize the ghost ball overlapping the object ball. Now just concern yourself with the area where the ghost ball and the object ball overlap. Imagine a vertical line from the top to the bottom of this overlap area and a horizontal line at the midpoint of this vertical line. That is the contact point of the ghost ball/object ball. If this contact point aligns such that a line from this visualized contact point through the object ball center point extends through the center of the pocket, then your ghost ball alignment is perfect.
Click to expand...
That point is out in space. Guess away. Reason it's enough for guys like Ray Martin is the slack of pool pockets. Yeah, snooker guys recommend it but they generally limit themselves to a small set of shots.

Ghost ball is generally easy to estimate. Not pinpoint.
 
Pool is a very energy intense mental game. It requires a lot of work to be good at it. The pros may make it look easy but they are just geared up with desire and years of playing. Like Gorst said, "I just see it." The powers of the mind can make a ghost ball as real as the object ball. It is not just out there in space.
 
straightline said:
That point is out in space. Guess away. Reason it's enough for guys like Ray Martin is the slack of pool pockets. Yeah, snooker guys recommend it but they generally limit themselves to a small set of shots.

Ghost ball is generally easy to estimate. Not pinpoint.
Click to expand...
You may have, more or less, or not, persistence of vision and memory. Combine these with intent, like I said, you can visualize a ghost ball as surely as you can see the object ball. These are intangibles. So keep this in mind. When you are matched up, you may have no idea what you are playing against. There really are X-Men and X-Women out there with superhuman powers. Exquisite powers of visualization is just one.
 
Troll team.

Funny I buy the X factor - perhaps not in Marvel terms but it's a trait of predators. Ghost ball, not so much. It kinda works, it's easy to teach, it's a convenient tool, and mostly BS.
 
straightline said:
We talking aiming BS or player competence?
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I'm talking about how no one, as far as I know, has truly explained how to aim. Again, they show you the roadmap, so to speak, that you must go down, but they don't teach you how to make the trip. What must be done to know that you will execute the shot perfectly from the moment just before you execute the shot until you release the cue ball. These are all the things that must be done prior to make it happen. What are these things and how can you guarantee to make them happen? Since, as far as I know, no one has done this, I say that all these how-to aim claims are B.S. All of these things combined amount to aiming. If you can't run balls, of course you are not competent to run balls. But if you are perfectly healthy and you have no physical impediment and are of at least average intelligence, yet can't run balls, I'd say it is because you have not learned how to do it. And with all the videos and instructors available, I would have thought the information would be common knowledge. But I find this not to be the case. So where is the bottleneck? I'm saying it is B.S. that all of these resources must be not what they claim to be. Think about it. Why else are most pool players dissatisfied with their games.
 
straightline said:
Troll team.

Funny I buy the X factor - perhaps not in Marvel terms but it's a trait of predators. Ghost ball, not so much. It kinda works, it's easy to teach, it's a convenient tool, and mostly BS.
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Okay. Forget the ghost ball technique for determining the shot line. What aiming technique do you recommend? I don't think it matters because whatever is used, that cue ball must go from point A to point B consistently every time. And this requires accurate aiming in any and all cases. So, with your recommendation, tell us how to send the cue ball to make contact with the object ball to make the perfect hit consistently. I'm sure we would all like to know.
 
jjohnson said:
Okay. Forget the ghost ball technique for determining the shot line. What aiming technique do you recommend? I don't think it matters because whatever is used, that cue ball must go from point A to point B consistently every time. And this requires accurate aiming in any and all cases. So, with your recommendation, tell us how to send the cue ball to make contact with the object ball to make the perfect hit consistently. I'm sure we would all like to know.
Click to expand...
Contact points. Line em up and pull trigger. Adding anything else to the mix is unnecessary.
 
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