Why did I miss the ball? Did my aim fail, or was it my mechanics?
- Thread starter jimstone
- Start date
middleofnowhere
Registered
It's almost always mechanics. Because when you're playing good you can move around the table and knock balls in and hardly remember looking at the ball.
RidgeRaider
Well-known member
Always analyze your mechanics first. Do this by filming yourself. Watch the video and see what needs fixin.
If you don't know what to look for, link the video here and we can lend advice.
If you don't know what to look for, link the video here and we can lend advice.
I've spent a lot of time on alignment so if I miss a familiar shot it'll usually be something else. I find most errors happen while warming up - even in play. Ideally, once you get warm and sink in, it should be entirely a function of the pool you know.
If you can't see yourself what's going on with video recording, you will probably need to find someone to help. It's best to find someone who has experience at analyzing stroke mechanics.
Such as a recognized SPF instructor.
If he's looking for one of those near him, this would would be a good place to look:
Search
Please use our PBIA Instructor locator to find a qualified and professional billiard instructor in your area..
playbetterbilliards.com
Oikawa
Well-known member
For me, as someone who "aims by feel", I get the best results by always assuming my misses are from mechanics, not aiming. This builds a positive feedback loop for sharpening my focus into the right things, and doesn't sacrifice my trust/intuition in aiming.
Of course I sometimes aim wrong too, but sometimes the truth isn't what your mind needs, especially when building habits in a game where your main goal is to make it as automatic as possible.
This goes for 99% of normal shots, there's exceptions like very close cuts, kicks, certain banks etc. where aiming has a much larger margin for error than technical failure so I treat those as different cases and do conscious aiming methods.
In those cases (conscious aiming exceptions), my answer to your original question is more nuanced. A good way to figure out is to try the same shot over and over and see what happens. In competition where you can't do that in the moment, I assume it's mechanics 100% of the time, just like with normal shots.
Of course I sometimes aim wrong too, but sometimes the truth isn't what your mind needs, especially when building habits in a game where your main goal is to make it as automatic as possible.
This goes for 99% of normal shots, there's exceptions like very close cuts, kicks, certain banks etc. where aiming has a much larger margin for error than technical failure so I treat those as different cases and do conscious aiming methods.
In those cases (conscious aiming exceptions), my answer to your original question is more nuanced. A good way to figure out is to try the same shot over and over and see what happens. In competition where you can't do that in the moment, I assume it's mechanics 100% of the time, just like with normal shots.
Last edited:
IMO, if its a straight shot it's your mechanics. If it's a cut shot with spin, it's 50/50 either way. The reason is, nothing moves straight, and you need to predict all of the reactions between tip and cb, cb and cloth, cb and ob. If one prediction is a hair off, the shot will miss.
I had a shot where for years I was inconsistent at. Then Bassavich came to my local room and did a clinic, and afterward someone asked him about a shot. He demoed it and showed how to aim it. It clicked that I had been aiming it all wrong all those years, and maybe my arm was moving sideways to "fix" the wrong aim. Now years later, I know how to aim that shot and my arm goes straighter and I'm more successful pocketing it.
PS, I'm not talking about all the cte stuff. I just mean knowing how the balls all move sideways, and adjusting for a thinner or fatter initial aim to compensate.
I had a shot where for years I was inconsistent at. Then Bassavich came to my local room and did a clinic, and afterward someone asked him about a shot. He demoed it and showed how to aim it. It clicked that I had been aiming it all wrong all those years, and maybe my arm was moving sideways to "fix" the wrong aim. Now years later, I know how to aim that shot and my arm goes straighter and I'm more successful pocketing it.
PS, I'm not talking about all the cte stuff. I just mean knowing how the balls all move sideways, and adjusting for a thinner or fatter initial aim to compensate.
There are people who consistently hit a straight shot on one side. Some of them have a straight stroke -- the cue ball goes where the stick was pointed at address.
Would you call that mechanics?
As the reputable Mr. Jewett stated, you really need to see video of yourself to get to the bottom of it.
I lurked here on this site for a long time and used to laugh at the flame wars that took place here with the “aiming people”, to where they eventually gave them their own sub forum for all that nonsense. Aiming is a pretty straight forward thing. Jeremy Jones said it best I think, “you seldom see good players miss a ball and say wow I really aimed that one bad”.
99.9% of the time it’s something in your process/mechanics. All it takes is a slight movement, the subtle lift of the head etc. to cause the miss. This is why hiring a certified instructor that does video is so valuable. They can get right to the source of your issue and get you on the road to correcting it. Good luck
I lurked here on this site for a long time and used to laugh at the flame wars that took place here with the “aiming people”, to where they eventually gave them their own sub forum for all that nonsense. Aiming is a pretty straight forward thing. Jeremy Jones said it best I think, “you seldom see good players miss a ball and say wow I really aimed that one bad”.
99.9% of the time it’s something in your process/mechanics. All it takes is a slight movement, the subtle lift of the head etc. to cause the miss. This is why hiring a certified instructor that does video is so valuable. They can get right to the source of your issue and get you on the road to correcting it. Good luck
SeniorTom
Well-known member
Mechanics. On b/r's, t/r's, I move around without much thinking going on, in fact, I rarely remember the shots I have made. When I over think, my mechanics suffer, and misses happen. Since you are asking this question, I think pressure is causing you to tighten up a little changing your mechanics. This is common for all players.
It could be your PSR (which produces your stroke), or bad aim, or a misunderstanding of the physics of the game... just for fun, it could be a bit of all three.
Find the best player in the room, politely ask him to take a peek, try to incorporate his advice, then offer to buy him a drink or pay for his time.
Lou Figueroa
i agree its usually mechanics
if you watch the collision of the cue ball and object ball
you should be able to tell if the the collision hit where you were aiming
if it did and you missed an aiming error is definitely part of the problem
if you did not hit where you are aiming its a most likely a stroke issue
to answer your question i would not call that a mechanics issue if the persons stroke is straight
you could group those people as having aiming issues cue ball goes where its pointed
but to me is really a perception issue(most likely vission center imo)
they have trouble linking the 2 balls in a true straight line
what they see as straight is not
jmho
icbw
if you watch the collision of the cue ball and object ball
you should be able to tell if the the collision hit where you were aiming
if it did and you missed an aiming error is definitely part of the problem
if you did not hit where you are aiming its a most likely a stroke issue
bob you bring up an interesting situation
to answer your question i would not call that a mechanics issue if the persons stroke is straight
you could group those people as having aiming issues cue ball goes where its pointed
but to me is really a perception issue(most likely vission center imo)
they have trouble linking the 2 balls in a true straight line
what they see as straight is not
jmho
icbw
I'm going to be a bit contrarian. You say "long difficult cut shots." Does this mean that long straight shots and narrow cut angles are going OK? It takes pretty solid mechanics to make those, so if you can do that consistently, and have a solid X drill (with no residual cue ball spin), perhaps it is aim and throw being the main issue. If the straight-in shots are off, or you cant do a good X drill, you have mechanical issues.
You might try setting up an exact 30 degree cut with some doughnut stickers. The edge of the object ball is the known aim point. Where do you have to aim to get the shot to go? For stun shots, probably 3-4 mm wide of the edge, for firm rolling shots maybe only 1-2 mm.
Do you overcut or undercut your misses?
If it's always the same, that's easily fixable, but not w/o seeing you hit balls.
I've heard the word Mechanics.... ALLOT.
Someone trying to understand why they miss, does not Need.... a mechanics list of possibilities.
Last edited:
PSR is more about consistent repeatability, finding and staying in YOUR rhythm, that which suits you best. It’s also something that can be depended upon in “big moments”, what some call high pressure situations, to keep you in the moment and to deliver your best stroke and not succumb to the accompanying adrenaline dumps those pivotal moments often create. To see and shoot the shot in front of you, without the importance you’re attaching to that shot in that pivotal moment affecting you and preventing you from delivering your best stroke. To understand that it’s the same shot irrelevant of current circumstances.