helping english

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evergruven

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
in general, but re: the last ball- 8-ball, 9-ball, whatever- where position is a non-issue, except scratching-
what are the pluses/minuses to using english to help the ball drop?
I'm including a visual example- I can make the ball in the side using center, but even tho putting left on the cue ball seemingly increases the difficulty of making the shot, it definitely helps the ball go where I want..so what's a guy to do?

trying to learn good habits while my game is very much still forming- thanks for any advice!

ps I have no idea why the pic is sideways here, it looks fine on my comp...sorry for that
 

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B

bbb

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
my 2 cents is i try not to use English when the cue ball is frozen to the rail
the swerve is exaggerated
as a general principle unless the balls are dirty and there is alot of cling i dont use english unless necessary......i e i dont recommend "helping" english as a general rule for normal cut shots
under normal conditions
i am not an instructor
i look forward to the advice you get from the instructors
 
Patrick Johnson

Patrick Johnson

Fish of the Day
Silver Member
With or without “gearing” English you have to hit a specific spot on the OB to make the shot. Using side spin makes that harder and less consistent.

You’ll miss because of the side spin more often than it will “save” you from a skid.

pj
chgo

P.S. Gearing English is also the most sensitive to spin errors (too much/too little spin) - like a straight-on shot with a little left or right spin error.
 
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Bob Jewett

Bob Jewett

AZB Osmium Member
Staff member
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The main problem with the picture is that it is too large for this format by about a factor of 2. You should restrict the width to no more than 1000 pixels.

As for using side spin from the cushion for that shot as game ball ... only if a gun was held to my head. I suggest you try it 20 times each way and see how you do.

If you look through my articles on sfbilliards.com you can find one on "get-in english" probably in a pocket size article. There are certain shots where putting side spin on the object ball can improve the effective pocket size on some tables and for some angles. I don't think your shot is one of those. I think the article has enough info to allow you to do a controlled experiment on your own. There is probably also lots of related info on Dr. Dave's site.
 
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E

evergruven

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
ok..I meant that particular shot just as an example, but I think I get the idea. I'm curious to read more about get-in english, and will practice to see what's what- will report back with findings.

thanks all!

(ps sorry for the massive pic, I'll work on that too)
 
E

evergruven

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I'm still interested in learning more about helping english as a concept, but I lived with the shot discussed here for a few days and found out a few things.

center ball here. in rhythm, I could make the ball regularly using left, center, and right, but center ball seemed to give me just a bit more margin on the shot, and given only one crack at it, center proved to be the most reliable.
after trying different speeds, I like hitting the ob firm, with an abbreviated stroke. at speed, putting right on the cue ball brings the near corner pocket scratch into play- another reason to stick closer to center.

bonus: missing the ob short using center/right is almost a dead bank :grin:
 
E

evergruven

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Bob Jewett said:
As for using side spin from the cushion for that shot as game ball ... only if a gun was held to my head. I suggest you try it 20 times each way and see how you do.

If you look through my articles on sfbilliards.com you can find one on "get-in english" probably in a pocket size article. There are certain shots where putting side spin on the object ball can improve the effective pocket size on some tables and for some angles. I don't think your shot is one of those. I think the article has enough info to allow you to do a controlled experiment on your own. There is probably also lots of related info on Dr. Dave's site.
Click to expand...

https://billiards.colostate.edu/bd_articles/jewett_june_2013_pocket_size_part2.pdf ?

thanks bob!
 
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