I need advice on aiming

Slh

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I usually stay on the line of the shot and while I'm watching the ob i go down slowly, but often when I'm down I notice my aiming is off and I need to make slight adjustments... Rarely I go down on a shot and my aiming is correct...
some advice?
 

Donny Lutz

Ferrule Cat
Silver Member
I usually stay on the line of the shot and while I'm watching the ob i go down slowly, but often when I'm down I notice my aiming is off and I need to make slight adjustments... Rarely I go down on a shot and my aiming is correct...
some advice?

Don't forget to do it! Seriously! Most of the shots I miss are easy shots that I don't really bother to aim at.
There are countless threads and posts on aiming systems, but they are all a waste if you don't focus on easy shots...

Donny L
PBIA/ACS Instructor
 

pdcue

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I usually stay on the line of the shot and while I'm watching the ob i go down slowly, but often when I'm down I notice my aiming is off and I need to make slight adjustments... Rarely I go down on a shot and my aiming is correct...
some advice?

This is about the worst problem you can have - IMHO.

I would even go so far as to say, never make adjustments once you
are down in your stance.

There has been much discussion on the subject of PSR - pre-shot-routine.
You might try a PSR in reverse to dertermine where yours is breaking down.

Get to that perfect aim setup, however you do it, then stand back up as
you would have been before getting into your stance. Get into your
stance once again and check if you are lined up correctly, it sounds like
you won't be.

This may be somewhat oversimplified, but I can't overstate the
importance of not making adjustments while you are down on the shot.
The bad news is, you can only get there thru a ton of practice, practice,
practice...and, it will probably require lots of trial-and-error at the start.

Dale
 

8pack

They call me 2 county !
Silver Member
This is about the worst problem you can have - IMHO.

I would even go so far as to say, never make adjustments once you
are down in your stance.

There has been much discussion on the subject of PSR - pre-shot-routine.
You might try a PSR in reverse to dertermine where yours is breaking down.

Get to that perfect aim setup, however you do it, then stand back up as
you would have been before getting into your stance. Get into your
stance once again and check if you are lined up correctly, it sounds like
you won't be.

This may be somewhat oversimplified, but I can't overstate the
importance of not making adjustments while you are down on the shot.
The bad news is, you can only get there thru a ton of practice, practice,
practice...and, it will probably require lots of trial-and-error at the start.

Dale

I make adjustments sometimes when im down.Its not all bad if one makes adjustments when hes down.I would go as far to say its a good thing.:wink:
 
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Masayoshi

Fusenshou no Masa
Silver Member
Adjustments are okay as long as you know how far you can adjust without screwing up where you want to hit on the cueball. If you pass that point, you should get back up and realign. This adjustment range might be only a few millimeters or so, probably depends on how well you see shots, but it certainly helps on very long shots or shots that have an odd bridge position. If you are moving your body and feet while you are down, you are probably not doing it correctly.
 

12squared

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
And, is your right foot (assuming you're right handed) in line with the shot? This should be done while standing up getting in line. It would usually be the somewhere in between your instep and toes.
 

Snapshot9

son of 3 leg 1 eye dog ..
Silver Member
Aiming

You are probably standing too straight with your cue (like a snooker stance) instead of being at a 45 degree angle to your cue (like a pool stance). When you stand at a 45 degree angle to your cue, and bend over at the waist, keeping your back straight, your chin will end up directly over your cue, and you will see the shot right.
 

JLD

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
The most important thing that you can do to improve your aim is to make sure the point of contact of the cue on your bridge hand goes down precisely on the line of the shot as depicted by the exaggerated heavy black line in the diagram below. Although vitally important it doesn't matter how well you step into the shot or how good your head alignment is if you don't place your bridge hand precisely in the right place. The more precise the better your chance of aiming well especially on shots with a small margin of error. Being off a little bit off on your hand placement puts you off a little bit on your aim. Being off a lot....well you get the picture. Making adjustments after you are down by turning the cue only makes matters worse. You must either slide your bridge hand to the proper position or get back up (preferred) and realign your shot. If using parallel english you would of course have to make an adjustment for your hand placement but not for backhand english. Being able to see the exact line may be a little difficult at first but comes easily with a little practice. The line of course is formed by drawing a mental line through the center of the cue ball intersecting with a line from the center of the pocket(unless aiming elsewhere) through the center of the object ball(or center of ghost ball if you prefer).
 

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pdcue

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I make adjustments sometimes when im down.Its not all bad if one makes adjustments when hes down.I would go as far to say its a good thing.:wink:

You are entitled to your opinion.

Perhaps you could explain how it could possibly be better to change
after you are down on the shot.

Dale
 

genomachino

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I will help............

I usually stay on the line of the shot and while I'm watching the ob i go down slowly, but often when I'm down I notice my aiming is off and I need to make slight adjustments... Rarely I go down on a shot and my aiming is correct...
some advice?

Hi there Slh,

This is what I do. Teach players how to aim.

Every player on the planet needs to know this. Some players don't think they need to know it but they don't even know what they don't know until they learn it.

Now that was a mouthful.

Just give me a call. I'm still doing the Free perfect Aim phone lessons. And yes, this does work teaching it over the phone. Just read the the responses from players that have done the phone lesson.

This will tell you what is going on and how to fix the problem.

Give me a call after 8:30 some night and i will run you through it. Be by a table 715-563-8712 It will change the way you aim forever.

Geno............
 

8pack

They call me 2 county !
Silver Member
You are entitled to your opinion.

Perhaps you could explain how it could possibly be better to change
after you are down on the shot.

Dale

I dont always adjust ..i always fall on the thick side of the ball on purpose or dead on the right line.When i fall on the thick side i have but one way to move.The strongest things on how to aim is the starting point.(and the cue)I no why i do it.If a person where to use the fractional aiming system it would require you to aim at certain targets after that you have to determine if you on line or not.That would require you to move one way or another while your down and the movement isnt much.I dont think anyone in the world can fall dead inline on every shot while up with out some adjusting.
Heres my you tube name mybuster14 watch some of my videos let me no if you can see me adjusting?
No ,but i do .:wink:
 

Masayoshi

Fusenshou no Masa
Silver Member
I dont always adjust ..i always fall on the thick side of the ball on purpose or dead on the right line.When i fall on the thick side i have but one way to move.The strongest things on how to aim is the starting point.(and the cue)I no why i do it.If a person where to use the fractional aiming system it would require you to aim at certain targets after that you have to determine if you on line or not.That would require you to move one way or another while your down and the movement isnt much.I dont think anyone in the world can fall dead inline on every shot while up with out some adjusting.
Heres my you tube name mybuster14 watch some of my videos let me no if you can see me adjusting?
No ,but i do .:wink:

I'm pretty sure that everybody at least occasionally adjusts slightly when they are down although it is very difficult to notice among good players because their first estimation is usually pretty decent and some may do it without realizing it (i.e. letting your stroke make the shot).

The sub-millimeter accuracy that very difficut shots require almost necessitates adjusting while you are down (although ideally, it should be only very slightly and probably most effectively done subconciously).

If people were able to align perfectly when getting down on the shot, there would be no need to sight at the bottom of the cue ball like so many top pros do because you would be on line regardless.

But it is probably a good habit for beginners to not adjust while they are down because they are not yet experienced enough to know where and how much to correctly adjust.
 
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pdcue

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I'm pretty sure that everybody at least occasionally adjusts slightly when they are down although it is very difficult to notice among good players because their first estimation is usually pretty decent and some may do it without realizing it (i.e. letting your stroke make the shot).

The sub-millimeter accuracy that very difficut shots require almost necessitates adjusting while you are down (although ideally, it should be only very slightly and probably most effectively done subconciously).

If people were able to align perfectly when getting down on the shot, there would be no need to sight at the bottom of the cue ball like so many top pros do because you would be on line regardless.

But it is probably a good habit for beginners to not adjust while they are down because they are not yet experienced enough to know where and how much to correctly adjust.

Well, I'm more than pretty sure that anyone who is a good shot maker
that adjusts at all, after getting down, is a good shot maker in spite of
this mistake, not because of it.

To expand.

The number one most important way to improve your play.

Do not ever think about ANYTHING other than hitting your target once
you are down on the shot. This includes, but is not limited to, adjustments
in aim.

I think I'll call this The ONE IMPORTANT THING SYSTEM of pool playing
and market it. Then I too can insert infomercials in every thread on AZB.

Dale(one time greatly improved shot maker - and pool player)
 
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mristea

Pool maniac
Silver Member
good answer!!!

The most important thing that you can do to improve your aim is to make sure the point of contact of the cue on your bridge hand goes down precisely on the line of the shot as depicted by the exaggerated heavy black line in the diagram below. Although vitally important it doesn't matter how well you step into the shot or how good your head alignment is if you don't place your bridge hand precisely in the right place. The more precise the better your chance of aiming well especially on shots with a small margin of error. Being off a little bit off on your hand placement puts you off a little bit on your aim. Being off a lot....well you get the picture. Making adjustments after you are down by turning the cue only makes matters worse. You must either slide your bridge hand to the proper position or get back up (preferred) and realign your shot. If using parallel english you would of course have to make an adjustment for your hand placement but not for backhand english. Being able to see the exact line may be a little difficult at first but comes easily with a little practice. The line of course is formed by drawing a mental line through the center of the cue ball intersecting with a line from the center of the pocket(unless aiming elsewhere) through the center of the object ball(or center of ghost ball if you prefer).

Everybody should read again the above answer from JLD, great info in there!
Though with parallax working against us, it's not always easy to place your bridge hand properly...
 

Masayoshi

Fusenshou no Masa
Silver Member
Well, I'm more than pretty sure that anyone who is a good shot maker
that adjusts at all, after getting down, is a good shot maker in spite of
this mistake, not because of it.

To expand.

The number one most important way to improve your play.

Do not ever think about ANYTHING other than hitting your target once
you are down on the shot. This includes, but is not limited to, adjustments
in aim.

I think I'll call this The ONE IMPORTANT THING SYSTEM of pool playing
and market it. Then I too can insert infomercials in every thread on AZB.

Dale(one time greatly improved shot maker - and pool player)
I don't see how you can call it a mistake if it brings you closer to the aim line. If you just robotically shoot from where you get down, you wont make a lot of shots that require extreme accuracy unless your first alignment is perfect (which nobody is). Sticking to rules like that just for the sake of the rule is what good players should try to avoid. Good players should be doing everything in their power to make the shot (like you just posted) includig making slight adjustments while down. Weaker players on the other hand might be better off just sticking with their original line to get in the habit of only making tiny adjustments.
 

DogsPlayingPool

"What's in your wallet?"
Silver Member
You might try something that Dave Hemmah does. Just about every time he's about to go down on a shot he almost looks like he is making sure his cue is tight but what he is really doing is placing the cue on the line of the shot, and then he goes down on that line. Even if you don't adopt this, it may help as a drill until you get straightened out.

Here's some video of him:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQmYa__EUrU

Hope this helps.
 

8pack

They call me 2 county !
Silver Member
I'm pretty sure that everybody at least occasionally adjusts slightly when they are down although it is very difficult to notice among good players because their first estimation is usually pretty decent and some may do it without realizing it (i.e. letting your stroke make the shot).

The sub-millimeter accuracy that very difficut shots require almost necessitates adjusting while you are down (although ideally, it should be only very slightly and probably most effectively done subconciously).

If people were able to align perfectly when getting down on the shot, there would be no need to sight at the bottom of the cue ball like so many top pros do because you would be on line regardless.

But it is probably a good habit for beginners to not adjust while they are down because they are not yet experienced enough to know where and how much to correctly adjust.

I agree with your post here.As far as adjusting we all do it .As a player you learn to place your hand and body on what you feel is the right line.
We fall down on that line we sight with our cue the eyes go back and forth from cb to ob untill we feel where rite.Everyone makes adjustments,some just dont know there doing it.:D
 

pdcue

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I don't see how you can call it a mistake if it brings you closer to the aim line. If you just robotically shoot from where you get down, you wont make a lot of shots that require extreme accuracy unless your first alignment is perfect (which nobody is). Sticking to rules like that just for the sake of the rule is what good players should try to avoid. Good players should be doing everything in their power to make the shot (like you just posted) includig making slight adjustments while down. Weaker players on the other hand might be better off just sticking with their original line to get in the habit of only making tiny adjustments.

I make shots that require extreme accuracy all the time. What you
seem restiant to is the fact that getting set up right is a skill that can be learned.

Go ask a coupla dozen world beaters - see if any of them think fiddlin'
aroud while in your stance is a good idea.

Dale
 
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