A new way to aim/not aim! (not a system)

So I'm not recommending this to anyone else per say. I merely want to share an experience that has changed my ball pocketing dramatically and improved my consistency. Now before I get into what is new that I'm doing, here is how I used to aim: Line up, get down connect contact point/line of the shot with cue tip, look at the CB then OB then CB then OB pause and shoot...all the while doing practice strokes.

Now, I have always used a contact point to aim. I don't use a ghost ball center point for reference because overtime I have just trained my eyes, body and cue to line up for the contact point. However, I have had trouble with consistency and losing the contact point on different shots. Some days I would shoot hot, others, not so much.

Recently a friend showed me something new about using the sides and top of the shaft to aim. (This is very similar if not the same way that Shane 'aims')For example, if I cut a ball to the left, I use the left side of the shaft to aim at the contact point on the CB. Cutting the the right you use the right, for outside you do the same and for inside you do the opposite. Hmmm, this intrigued me but what I noticed was this wasn't a way to aim and find my target (contact point) it was just a way to confirm...

I used to play basketball A LOT. It was my addiction before my pool addiction. When I shot I never looked at the ball, my hands, or any reference points. I let my feet (alignment) and eyes do the work and I just shot it in the f**kin basket...

For the last week I have been lining up and getting down on the shot while looking solely at the object ball. I then take a few practice strokes and fire it in without looking at the cue ball at all. I was amazed at how effortless ball pocketing became in minutes. I wasn't putting unwanted english on the cue ball, my stroke felt better than ever (probably because I wasn't thinking about it). Believe me, this is scary at first because its tough to trust your body and mechanics to not throw you off target.

Disclaimer: I can see the cue ball and shaft in my peripheral vision I can tell if I'm off center, which so far I haven't been.

Now getting shape with English. I don't use any type of pivot or compensation for left and right english. I line up knowing where the cue ball is going (most of the time) and shoot, which is much more difficult if you aren't looking at the cue ball. However, despite the challenges I love this. Its like I can see the table for the first time because I'm not distracted and letting my eyes and brain trick me with the cue ball. What it boils down to for me is that I'm letting pool be what it is...a game that requires hand eye coordination. I have good hand eye coordination and need to trust that! Now on some shots, I may consider taking ONE look at the cue ball for confirmation of tip placement but that is going to take experimentation.

Again, this is working for me so far, because I know what I want to do before I get down on the shot. It really feels like I'm the cue ball in a strange way. I'm going to extend this concept into other parts of my game and see if I can develop the trust in my mechanics when it comes to getting shape and kicking. I already bank side rail to side rail by feel and that has improved a little, but end rail to end rail has improved vastly.

The last thing that this has done for me is made me feel loose and comfortable. I have a fair amount of stroke already but this has helped me stay loose and confident which has provided some consistence.

I haven't decided if I should try using the shaft for confirmation on my shots or not (with one look at the cue ball) but I'm just gonna go with the flow for now.

Also this does work (for me) on tight tables. 4" Pockets on table 4 at Big Tyme Billiards in Houston. Its a 9 ft diamond that makes rotation a nightmare and one pocket a lot of fun.

Straightpool_99 said:

I envy you, I really do. I don't think I could play this way at all. Not looking at the cueball? Sacrilege!:smile: I don't know if it's because I have a long bridge/stroke, but unless I really focus on where to hit the cueball, I can neither make a ball or control the cueball at all. You are not the first to suggest this way of lining up the shot, so clearly it's working for several people, I only wish it would work for me too:frown:. Interesting thread btw.

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Thanks! I was meaning to post about it sooner but didn't have time.

I can understand that it isn't going to work for everybody, which is okay! I have the benefit of being surrounded by good players that have a lot of knowledge, I have been playing for about a year and a half and am in my early early twenties, so I'm still figuring out and working on fundamentals. One of the main things they keep telling me is to do what feels natural and comfortable and be sure to stick to it!

Update!

So! In practice I'm making wayyyyyy more balls. However, I played some cheap one pocket with a buddy last night and was struggling because I wasn't confident when I got down on the shot and second guessed myself. That is problem #1: getting used to this. Problem #2 is bridge length adjustment...I have noticed that the longer my bridge the easier is to pocket balls that are farther away, because I can see the cue ball in my peripheral vision, this is gonna take some getting used to, but I'm usually a little longer than most people anyways so could be worse. Problem #3 making a consistent pre-shot routine.

I think I'm going to combine this method with a glance to the cue ball, with the shaft for confirmation like I talked about before. I realize that part of the reason its easier to "aim" using the shaft that way (for me), is that depth perception and vision don't make me second guess or want to adjust.

Really I'm gonna just going to have to do a lot of drills and shoot a lot of balls with a purpose in mind. I know that this isn't an instant fix, but more so a foundation and discovery of what works for me.

The area I haven't tested this in is breaking, but I am gonna give it a go soon!

hang-the-9 said:

When you shot before you tried this, did you look at the object ball last and went between cueball and object ball during the practice strokes?

What you are doing sound same thing as looking at the object ball last except you are only looking at the object ball period.

I have a feeling before when you shot you either were looking at the cueball last or was focused somewhere in between the two balls and not on the object ball contact point when you hit the cueball.

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Hang-the-9 I see you around the forums and hope to get you to break my game down via a youtube video!

Beforehand, I'd get down on the shot looking at the cue ball with the object ball in the background and look at the object ball last but not for long enough. It was usually a rushed process. I know for sure my focus has to be the object ball when I get down on the shot! What I have been doing the last week or so might just be a good way to practice to train my focus on the object ball...

I'll try and get some video and upload it tomorrow!

Any advice is appreciated!

hang-the-9 said:

There are probably 40 other players better suited than me to help someone on here LOL, but thanks

Look at how the pro players look at the balls while they are in their stance, you will see the eyes go back and forth in a very steady pattern for most of them between cueball and object ball.

I think what happened with you is that the fact that you are focusing on the object ball now pretty much 100%, your auto pilot took over for the actual lining up on the cueball, which is good in many ways, and the focus on the object ball caused you to have more accuracy on the hit, which improved ball pocketing. You figured out your own personal way to focus on the object ball properly.

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UPDATE!!

Played a fair amount last night and had the same problem with second guessing and decided to keep lining up to the object ball, but adding some nice steady eye pattern and it worked great!

Smooth said:

I went to something like this over the winter and it has worked exceptionally well.

I am/was a natural athlete and my psr has always been an issue playing this game.... for decades, I was trying to be consistent with dominant eye position, bridge length, footwork, etc..... all the things you are "supposed" to do in order to be a "better" player. I shot well, but still wasn't grabbing gears often enough and spent many a frustrating night at the table working on some mechanical tweak or another. So fast forward....I spend one night this winter, drunk and at my table by myself.... I am in a zone with little or no thought involved in running balls.... so I take out my little thinking part of my brain and do a third-party analysis of what I'm doing different. I come to the realization that I'm not looking at the cueball other than as a peripheral object on the table. So after a few months now of working on that aspect, the key for me is to STARE DOWN THE OBJECT BALL as I'm going down on the shot, usually with a little side-to-side rock, and then "settling in" to a shot position that makes the music come together. I let the feet, bridge distance/height, stroke angle, head position, whatever... just happen.... turns out I rarely shoot with the same EXACT stance twice in a row.... hell, the whole psr is variable, but as long as I stay in the groove of concentrating on the object ball only as I'm going down, the balls dance to the music. And if something is wrong, I know it immediately and just stand-up, move my feet and get down again until everything feels right.

But, back to the point of the thread, I barely recognize the cueball as a separate object.... almost like it is just attached to my fingertips through the stick. Now, as a disclaimer, I am not a back-of-the-cueball "aimer" .... I shoot through the cueball's center axis and pay more attention to where my stroke finishes through on the cueball than where it starts on it.... and I'm just saying' that what the OP is talking about, made some things just "click" in my head.... from mini-masses/throws to massive inside spins, adjusting speeds using post-contact spins, entry/exit angles.... everything just does what it is supposed to do... and the cue ball stays heavy on the table the whole time. I am now working on consistency and confidence against the big dogs, but my game is still evolving up. At my age, I will never actually be a big dog but I do love this game, especially when the movie playing on the table is the same one that is in my head a second or so earlier. It is a beautiful thing.

For reference, I'm a TAP 7 and play in occasional regionals... I'm not a world-beater, but I am better now than before.... and that is all I can do.

And that is way too much typing.

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I know exactly what you mean by staring the object ball down. Thats what I have been trying to focus on with near murderous intent.

Part of the problem I have had as well is trying to do things orthodox rather than just do them. There is a big tournament going on at my pool hall and I met John Mora there the other night and was reminded exactly of that. He is right handed but the cue is under the left side of his chin.

Too often I think we try to emulate other people and use pros as an example, but in the entirely wrong way. Instead of emulating, I am trying to remember that they hit thousands of balls with the stroke and stance that felt comfortable to them. Thats all I have to do to get better :grin: