Parallel/backhand squirt compensation

Patrick Johnson

Patrick Johnson

Fish of the Day
Silver Member
"Backhand" and "parallel" english are two popular ways to compensate for squirt. "Backhand" is moving the backhand to apply sidespin, pivoting the cue at the bridge (which may be adjusted for the purpose). "Parallel" is (supposedly) shifting the stick sideways and parallel to apply sidespin (I say "supposedly" because truly parallel wouldn't work).

Backhand is the "automatic" method, but it only works well when your bridge is positioned very near your cue's pivot point.

There's an app for that. Well, actually it's a simple system that compares your bridge length and your shaft's pivot length to find the ratio of "parallel shift" and "backhand pivot" methods that will accurately correct your shaft for squirt. When the two methods are combined in the right amounts they automatically place the tip at the desired sidespin offset and the cue's pivot point on the CueBall/GhostBall centerline - so anybody, no matter how close or far their pivot point is from their bridge, can use this "mechanical" squirt compensation method based on backhand english.

This chart shows the ratios of both methods to use for any tip offset given various bridge/pivot lengths.

Parallel-Backhand English.jpg
pj
chgo
 
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C.Milian

C.Milian

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Good Lord....(scratching head) thats a lot of numbers. Do u suggest we memorize it? Are you going to sell this? What about a ruler, will it come with a ruler?
 
sfleinen

sfleinen

14.1 & One Pocket Addict
Gold Member
Silver Member
C.Milian said:
Good Lord....(scratching head) thats a lot of numbers. Do u suggest we memorize it? Are you going to sell this? What about a ruler, will it come with a ruler?
Click to expand...

That's only in specially-marked boxes, and while supplies last. :p

-Sean
 
Tony_in_MD

Tony_in_MD

You want some of this?
Silver Member
Sure and a nice red sharpie too, so you can mark the points on your playing shaft for reference.

:p


C.Milian said:
Good Lord....(scratching head) thats a lot of numbers. Do u suggest we memorize it? Are you going to sell this? What about a ruler, will it come with a ruler?
Click to expand...
 
C.Milian

C.Milian

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hey P-Jizzle, is all this pivot stuff standard on all shafts? And where do you pivot? What is it?

Let's say you got a 12.35 would the pivot be different then a 14.25? What about the taper? None of this makes a difference or does it? And if it does not make a difference, wouldn't you have to make a completely different graph?
 
Patrick Johnson

Patrick Johnson

Fish of the Day
Silver Member
C.Milian said:
Hey P-Jizzle, is all this pivot stuff standard on all shafts? And where do you pivot? What is it?

Let's say you got a 12.35 would the pivot be different then a 14.25? What about the taper? None of this makes a difference or does it? And if it does not make a difference, wouldn't you have to make a completely different graph?
Click to expand...
This chart won't make any sense to you until you know something about squirt. You can learn most of what you need to know at Dr. Dave's squirt info website.

Even after you know what squirt is and how it works, this chart probably won't be useful to you. It's the least popular way to compensate for squirt (I don't use it either). I didn't post this to recommend the method, just to make the info available for those who may be interested.

pj
chgo
 
EddySJ

EddySJ

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
saw a video on finding shaft pivot length...

I saw a video on You-tube a while back that had someone explaining back hand english with several practicals on the table, etc...

His explanation for finding the shaft pivot length was to do a short test by gradually increasing the distance of the bridge hand from the tip while performing a long center table rail shot. The end reuslt was supposed to be hitting the center diamond of the rail. (if no back hand english is applied, then you have the drill Dr. Dave calls "MOFUDAT")
When you reach the "natural" pivot length of the shaft, the cue ball hits the rail in the center no matter how much you apply the back hand pivot/english, excluding miscues.
The video showed his tests to finding the pivot point of his cue and some repeated shots with and without the natural bridge length while applying back hand english/pivot.

I don't recall if he discussed humidity, felt conditions, etc... effecting the pivot length at all.
I am guessing that felt conditions would impact it the most. Margin of error on finding the specific bridge length every shot would probably offset the other "minor" variables... If it factors in at all.

Patrick, does this sound correct to you?

I believe the cue in the video had a pivot length near 14". That is not very practical, so the formula sheet posted here takes the info in the video a few steps further. Every shaft will be different based on wood, taper, etc...
It would be interesting to see if changing the radius of the tip has an effect on the natural pivot point also...

Any ideas or feedback?
Thanks,
Jeremy
 
Patrick Johnson

Patrick Johnson

Fish of the Day
Silver Member
EddySJ said:
...gradually increasing the distance of the bridge hand from the tip while performing a long center table rail shot ... hitting the center diamond of the rail.
...When you reach the "natural" pivot length of the shaft, the cue ball hits the rail in the center no matter how much you apply the back hand pivot/english.
Click to expand...
The test you describe uses a fairly long shot with a potentially significant amount of swerve, so it finds the "effective" pivot point for that specific shot. Because it takes swerve into account, the "effective" pivot point is longer than the "natural" pivot point and changes from shot to shot.

To find the shortest possible "effective" pivot point for your shaft (its "natural" pivot point) you eliminate swerve by shooting hard and/or short shots, like in these two easy tests:
1. The aim-and-pivot method described on Dr. Dave's website
2. The Simple Squirt Test I described in an earlier post

To be truly accurate, the "effective" pivot point for the current shot should be used with the chart of "parallel/backhand" ratios. That means learning the range of effective pivot points for your cue and how to adjust within that range for particular shots.

I don't recall if he discussed humidity, felt conditions, etc... effecting the pivot length at all.
I am guessing that felt conditions would impact it the most. Margin of error on finding the specific bridge length every shot would probably offset the other "minor" variables... If it factors in at all.
Click to expand...
These are all things that would change the "effective pivot point" for a particular shot, and so they'd affect your (or more likely your subconscious mind's) choice of adjustments to make to the "system".

pj
chgo
 
The Renfro

The Renfro

Outsville.com
Silver Member
PJ I have to say this has me thinking... I have used a parallel shift using backhand for years but only on certain shots. I may have to pay closer attention to how often I am actually shifting before pivoting.. I have only done it using inside english consciously but this does offer some food for thought...

I think I might owe you more than 1 beer if you ever end up making it to one of the same tourneys I make it to..... You honestly do keep me thinking....
 
R

Ranjmaz

Registered
I've never combined the 2 on a shot, both PRL and BHE, but I have run across times when it would have been useful.

If my cue's pivot is 12 inches, and I want to apply 1 tip of right english offset to a ball that I can only bridge from 6 inches, I throw out BHE bc I know I will get too much squirt correction. In that case, I just try PRL, which is harder to calculate.

If I could combine the 2, that would be ideal.

So for my example, if the bridge length is 6 inches for a cue with a natural 12 inch pivot, I would try a 1/2 tip of PRL right offset and THEN another 1/2 tip of right BHE?

Thanks!
 
Patrick Johnson

Patrick Johnson

Fish of the Day
Silver Member
Ranjmaz said:
I've never combined the 2 on a shot, both PRL and BHE, but I have run across times when it would have been useful.

If my cue's pivot is 12 inches, and I want to apply 1 tip of right english offset to a ball that I can only bridge from 6 inches, I throw out BHE bc I know I will get too much squirt correction. In that case, I just try PRL, which is harder to calculate.

If I could combine the 2, that would be ideal.

So for my example, if the bridge length is 6 inches for a cue with a natural 12 inch pivot, I would try a 1/2 tip of PRL right offset and THEN another 1/2 tip of right BHE?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Yes, that sounds right. It doesn't matter which you do first, as long as the proportions are right.

I suppose I should also remind that, although this method is geometrically correct, it's only as accurate as your ability to follow the steps precisely and adjust to actual conditions.

pj
chgo
 
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