Willie Mosconi's aiming system

I have actually seen that book, Willie Mosoni was a great Pool player, and ambassador for the game.

My oldest friend in life is named Mosconi also, Lou Mosconi, who dad Lou Sr., was mention in the book Willie's Game. Actually met Willie who was visit my buddy business, in Burbank, CA. Apparently Willie was headed to splay some big Tournment in LA Area.

All I knew was this Willie was a pro pool player, no big deal to a kid who was a teen. Little did I know?

Apprently the Mosconi family were in entertainment business, Willie broke away from normal route family member took, and became maybe the greatest pool player in history.

Every pool player use's an aiming system, they use the one that works best for their particular style of play, or shot they are making.

The illustrations from Willie book is INTRESTING. Basis aiming, good foundation to build off of. Then you tune to maker it work better for you.

Willie cousin Lou was a comic, played lot of extra roll in movies, tv, did commercial work, and now has sever memory loss. Lives in Lass Vegas in memory care place, his step daughter keeps me in loop.

This is what I've called "Parallel Lines" aiming.

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Patrick Johnson said:

This is what I've called Parallel Lines Aiming.

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Now that I think of it, I first saw it in Mosconi's book - the first pool book I had at the age of 16-17. It's long lost now, and by the time I picked up the game again 30 years later I'd forgotten its contents - although they might still influence me.

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My understanding is Willie used a different system but felt this one would be easier to communicate to the masses.

Bob Jewett said:

The actual author of WPB is rumored to be Harry Grove who seems to have been a Brunswick publicist. My belief is that Mosconi had no real "system" as such. His (or Grove's) advice for playing a ball frozen to the cushion was just plain wrong.

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Willie was running racks before he was tall enough to see the table bed while standing on the floor. I'm pretty sure his system was "See the ball, pocket the ball."

Bob Jewett said:

There are a couple of videos of Willie giving basic instruction. Does anyone recall if he suggested an aiming method? One video was something like, "An evening with Willie Mosconi," and was pretty informal. I'd trust something like that to give Mosconi's actual ideas more than a ghost-written book.

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I think this is about at detailed as I've seen from him:

https://youtu.be/Yym21l9_Z3U?t=702

Old school. Just aim at the spot on the ob farthest from the pocket and practice.

Willie's explanation sounds like he used some form of contact point aiming. He pointed to the place where the line through the pocket exits the OB and stressed this is the place to hit the ball for that location on the table. "It never changes." he expains. Sure sounds like he's aiming at the CP on the OB in some manner.

He set up a CB in the ghost ball position and showed different approach angles to the shot talking about how different 'parts' of the CB must hit the OB point for different angles. He didn't mention any way to find the corresponding CP on the CB. It's hard to believe he didn't know about the parallel line method or 'mirroring' the OB point from center to center line.

Maybe he used a hybrid system like overlap to CP? Or something else.

Vorpal Cue said:

Willie's explanation sounds like he used some form of contact point aiming. He pointed to the place where the line through the pocket exits the OB and stressed this is the place to hit the ball for that location on the table. "It never changes." he expains. Sure sounds like he's aiming at the CP on the OB in some manner.

He set up a CB in the ghost ball position and showed different approach angles to the shot talking about how different 'parts' of the CB must hit the OB point for different angles. He didn't mention any way to find the corresponding CP on the CB. It's hard to believe he didn't know about the parallel line method or 'mirroring' the OB point from center to center line.

Maybe he used a hybrid system like overlap to CP? Or something else.

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Maybe he just learns to hit the OBCP by practicing, with no (conscious) system for locating the CBCP. Many players work with less.

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Patrick Johnson said:

Maybe he just learns to hit the OBCP by practicing, with no (conscious) system for locating the CBCP. Many players work with less.

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Gonna be hard to find out now. I've heard if you have a supple wrist and play by sense of smell you can become a Valley Table King.

Vorpal Cue said:

I've heard if you have a supple wrist and play by sense of smell you can become a Valley Table King.

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Let us know how that works out for you.

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Vorpal Cue said:

Willie's explanation sounds like he used some form of contact point aiming. He pointed to the place where the line through the pocket exits the OB and stressed this is the place to hit the ball for that location on the table. "It never changes." he expains. Sure sounds like he's aiming at the CP on the OB in some manner.

He set up a CB in the ghost ball position and showed different approach angles to the shot talking about how different 'parts' of the CB must hit the OB point for different angles. He didn't mention any way to find the corresponding CP on the CB. It's hard to believe he didn't know about the parallel line method or 'mirroring' the OB point from center to center line.

Maybe he used a hybrid system like overlap to CP? Or something else.

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I think you are over complicating it. I first started knocking balls around as a kid in the 70's and never heard anything about how to aim other than putting a ball next to the ob like Willie demonstrates and then "hit it there." I played decades before hearing on AZ that there was such a thing as an aiming "system."

Whatever Willie used when he first started to play is probably what he stuck with. He was running racks almost from the time he picked up a cue so why would he change anything? After a short time of serious play aiming becomes automatic. The real trick is having a true stroke.

Works OK for vc 2

Just spent about 90 mins trying out a CP to overlap method. It felt a bit strange at first, aiming a point on the edge of the CB at the CP, but the process became quicker as time passed. It's geometrically correct so it was no big surprise it works well. Willy 'could' have used some such system.

Vorpal Cue said:

...aiming a point on the edge of the CB at the CP

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Does this mean aiming the edge of the CB at the OBCP, or does "a point on the edge" mean something else?

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Patrick Johnson said:

Does this mean aiming the edge of the CB at the OBCP, or does "a point on the edge" mean something else?

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I believe what VorpalCue described is exactly what I'm doing. I tried to explain it in my post in another thread: Link But, it probably wasn't too clear.

You're using the point on the outside edge of the cue ball at its maximum girth as a reference or you can also imagine a line or plane shooting out from the cueball along this point that is parallel to your stick. Using this point/line/plane as a reference you learn how to align it to the contact point on the OB and you start to recognize the cut. It's very repeatable, once you recognize things. What helps me to find the right aiming line is to start with a cut that is too fat for the shot, then swivel my cue gradually until it looks right.

- I find CB edge reference works great for 30 degrees or more.

- Between 15 and 30 degrees, you can still use it, but from a visual standpoint it's not quite as easy to see the CB edge reference intersecting with OB contact point.

- Less than 15 degrees, I've been applying the offset parallel aim, contact point technique described in this thread. Obviously, when a shot is straight in or near straight in, then CB edge is not coming into play.

- For backcuts, I visualize the mathematical plane made from the edge of the CB, and this helps me see the angle to the OB CP. On other shots, I just use the point on the CB edge. Whatever works for me is what I use.

Kdogster said:

...using the point on the outside edge of the cue ball at its maximum girth as a reference ... you learn how to align it to the contact point on the OB and you start to recognize the cut.

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OK, so I guess "align it to the contact point" means "align it to a point that's a learned distance from the contact point" (not "align it directly at the contact point")...?

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