Aim & Pivot Aiming Method

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bizzy

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Hi guys. I try to use the aim & pivot method which goes like aim with the cue stick somewhere aside of the cue ball center to the contact point or the edge of the object ball and then pivot (only with the back hand) to the middle of the cue ball and shoot. It works great on some shots but on shots in a range from 1/2 to 1/8 ball hit I just don't know how to adjust right.

Who of you guys use this method and how do you adjust for all the kinds of shots like 3/4, 1/2, 1/4 and 1/8?

Big Thx.
 
bizzy said:
Hi guys. I try to use the aim & pivot method which goes like aim with the cue stick somewhere aside of the cue ball center to the contact point or the edge of the object ball and then pivot (only with the back hand) to the middle of the cue ball and shoot. It works great on some shots but on shots in a range from 1/2 to 1/8 ball hit I just don't know how to adjust right.

Who of you guys use this method and how do you adjust for all the kinds of shots like 3/4, 1/2, 1/4 and 1/8?

Big Thx.
Click to expand...

Some guys here have advocated this method, so you might get some good feedback, but my personal attempts at this method were not satisfactory.

I think the method only puts you in the ball park and hence some adjustments are needed for many shots. I think some guys manage to do this intuitively.

I do however advocate aim & pivot for applying Back Hand English. That is, where the original alignment for the shot is traditional and through the center of the CB.

Colin
 
Colin Colenso said:
Some guys here have advocated this method, so you might get some good feedback, but my personal attempts at this method were not satisfactory.

I think the method only puts you in the ball park and hence some adjustments are needed for many shots. I think some guys manage to do this intuitively.

I do however advocate aim & pivot for applying Back Hand English. That is, where the original alignment for the shot is traditional and through the center of the CB.

Colin
Click to expand...

This is exactly my problem. Where to aim at the cue ball and at the object ball for a 1/4 ball hit or for a 1/8 ball hit for example? Somewhere near the center of the cue ball at the edge of the object ball?

Have you ever seen any pro or A+ player who uses this method, Colin?
 
bizzy said:
This is exactly my problem. Where to aim at the cue ball and at the object ball for a 1/4 ball hit or for a 1/8 ball hit for example? Somewhere near the center of the cue ball at the edge of the object ball?

Have you ever seen any pro or A+ player who uses this method, Colin?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure exactly what lines up to what for a 1/4 or 1/8 ball hit. Can't recall off the bat.

It seems like Busta uses this method to align a lot of shots. I haven't noticed any other pros doing it.

Colin
 
its a great method but i suggest one learn to aim through the center of the cueball. So using the Small Ball is easy and quick to aim and from there you can adjust or make minor adjustments.

From my experience of using and learning The Aim n Pivot system. For a 1/4 cut shot i address the cueballs about a tip and a half from the center and aim at the center of the objectball, pivot to center cueball and i have my aim line. The trick for me was just with some experience and messing around with it, you learn on how much of the cueball to address before pivoting to center cueball. For slight cuts always aimed at center of objectball, for thinner cuts aimed at the edge then pivot to center cueball. Hope this helps a bit.
 
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I saw two statements from Hal Houle on Johnny Archers web site:

"When players write to you, asking how to aim, your pat answer is to say that you get three feet back from the shot, then you shoot parallel lines. That is all hogwash. That is not how you aim. Why don't you level with these recreational players? You use the aiming system whereby you aim the center of the cue ball at the edge of the object ball for any and all shots. You know exactly what I am talking about. We both know about placing the cue tip either left or right of cue ball center, and you know why we do that. Get honest for a change. These recreational players are no threat. Tell them the truth. - Hal Houle"

"From HAL HOULE: WHY DON'T YOU LEVEL WITH THESE KIDS AND TELL THEM THAT YOU USE AN AIMING SYSTEM THAT INVOLVES AIMING THE CUE BALL CENTER AT THE EDGE OF THE OBJECT BALL ON EVERY KIND OF SHOT YOU SHOOT. THAT AIMING SYSTEM ALLOWS YOU TO BE ACCURATE AND CONSISTENT. YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT. I HAVE USED THAT SYSTEM SINCE 1934. I GOT IT FROM THE BEST PLAYER THAT EVER PLAYED POOL. RALPH GREENLEAF. YOU WERE GIVEN IT BY SOMEONE, JUST LIKE I WAS. YOU DID NOT DREAM IT UP. SO WHY DON'T YOU DO THE DECENT THING AND BE HONEST WHEN YOU TALK TO THESE RECREATIONAL PLAYERS."


Aiming at the edge of the object ball on every shot? Or placing the cue tip either left or right of cue ball center? What does he mean? Is it possible that Hal talks about the aim & pivot system?
 
All you need to play good pool is a dead straight stroke and a brain. There are a small percentage of shots that some top players might pivot or do something else, but on just about everything else, a straight stroke is where accuracy comes from, it's where a powerful stroke comes from, and it's where consistency comes from. When I am "on" my stroke is straight, I can see it and feel it. I've got the cueball on a string, feels like I can do anything. When my stroke is crooked, I doubt everything, and I would imagine that is why many people look for these "secret" aiming methods, etc. Just get your stroke straight and your problems will be solved.
 
For a given shot, estimate the cut angle, which is the angle between the path line of the OB going into the pocket, and the line between the cue and object balls. Use your stick to help visualize these.

Look directly at the object ball from the cue ball. For each five degrees of "cut", aim the center of the cueball at an imaginary clockface on the edge of object ball as follows, for a cut where you want the OB to go left:

0 degree cut (straight in) aim at 6 o'clock on the object ball.
5 deg cut aim at 5:30 on the OB
10 aim at 5:00
15 aim at 4:30
20 aim at 4:00 on the OB
30 deg cut aim at 3:00 on the OB (edge of the ball)

for a right handed cut the aiming points would be over 6:00 - 9:00.
If you need work on estimating cut angle, take a protractor with you for a while.
 
Dead Crab said:
0 degree cut (straight in) aim at 6 o'clock on the object ball.
5 deg cut aim at 5:30 on the OB
10 aim at 5:00
15 aim at 4:30
20 aim at 4:00 on the OB
30 deg cut aim at 3:00 on the OB (edge of the ball)
Click to expand...
Could you put a drawing? I don't get it orally, how to vizualise the clockface on the edge of OB.
 
bizzy said:
Aiming at the edge of the object ball on every shot? Or placing the cue tip either left or right of cue ball center? What does he mean? Is it possible that Hal talks about the aim & pivot system?
Click to expand...

Hal Houle apparently came up with several aiming systems over time.

But I imagine the one he's talking about there is the one I got taught a couple of weeks ago by the fellow who is apparently Hal's "successor" as far as teaching these systems. And DAMN but if it doesn't work like a champ!
 
For regular aiming i use a version of hal's that randyg teaches and it totally rocks. But when it comes to pivot method, i really only feel comfortable using it on fairly close shots, say 1/2 table distance at most. I basically just use it when i need extreme english, i start out aiming centerball to the point on the object ball i want to hit then i pivot. In my mind, if im needing alot of extreme english to get my shapes, im doing something wrong. Id like to thank colin for his video he did on backhand english, it was the first time i really understood it lol, good work!!
 
See the attached crude drawing (word file).

Top image: 20 degree cut shot on orange ball

Bottom image: As you look directly over cue ball at the object (orange) ball, imagine a clock face around the outside of the widest part of the orange ball. For a 20 degree cut, the aiming point is 8 o'clock (blue oval). Deliver the center of the cueball there, and the shot should go.
 

Attachments

Dead Crab said:
See the attached crude drawing (word file).
Click to expand...
Ah, okay I got it now, thanks. Seems like 8 corresponds with 10 and 7 with 11 here, so one can pick whichever is better for him :)
 
Nobody else uses it? I tried S.A.M. but I've got much better results with the pivot method (or shish ka bob?). The problem I've got with the S.A.M. is to recognize the aiming points. And in the match I don't want to take time to search for the right aimind point. Nobody can tell how to use the pivot system properly?
 
bizzy said:
I saw two statements from Hal Houle on Johnny Archers web site:

"When players write to you, asking how to aim, your pat answer is to say that you get three feet back from the shot, then you shoot parallel lines. That is all hogwash. That is not how you aim. Why don't you level with these recreational players? You use the aiming system whereby you aim the center of the cue ball at the edge of the object ball for any and all shots. You know exactly what I am talking about. We both know about placing the cue tip either left or right of cue ball center, and you know why we do that. Get honest for a change. These recreational players are no threat. Tell them the truth. - Hal Houle"

"From HAL HOULE: WHY DON'T YOU LEVEL WITH THESE KIDS AND TELL THEM THAT YOU USE AN AIMING SYSTEM THAT INVOLVES AIMING THE CUE BALL CENTER AT THE EDGE OF THE OBJECT BALL ON EVERY KIND OF SHOT YOU SHOOT. THAT AIMING SYSTEM ALLOWS YOU TO BE ACCURATE AND CONSISTENT. YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT. I HAVE USED THAT SYSTEM SINCE 1934. I GOT IT FROM THE BEST PLAYER THAT EVER PLAYED POOL. RALPH GREENLEAF. YOU WERE GIVEN IT BY SOMEONE, JUST LIKE I WAS. YOU DID NOT DREAM IT UP. SO WHY DON'T YOU DO THE DECENT THING AND BE HONEST WHEN YOU TALK TO THESE RECREATIONAL PLAYERS."


Aiming at the edge of the object ball on every shot? Or placing the cue tip either left or right of cue ball center? What does he mean? Is it possible that Hal talks about the aim & pivot system?
Click to expand...


What johnny's referring to when he says he looks at parallel lines from three feet away is the true contact points. If you look at the line going through the back of the object ball from the pocket and you look at a line parallel to that line going through the front of the CB, the points on the back of the OB and the front of that CB that those lines pass through will always be your exact contact points. If you line those up and parallel shift to center stroke the CB, then you will be in perfect alignment. Joe Tucker's aiming system is based on this principle and will also give you perfect alignment.

CueTable Help



in the wei table, the three represents the cue ball once it's traveled along it's path to the OB.

Where the green and blue line meet represents the CP on the CB and where the red and blue line meet represent the CP on the object ball. As you can see from this illustration, you can find the exact aimline using the method johnny archer describes. I knew as soon as I read that statement of johnny's what it was he was talking about, because I had discovered this method while I was away from pool tables down in guantanamo bay.,
 
Dead Crab said:
0 degree cut (straight in) aim at 6 o'clock on the object ball.
5 deg cut aim at 5:30 on the OB
10 aim at 5:00
15 aim at 4:30
20 aim at 4:00 on the OB
30 deg cut aim at 3:00 on the OB (edge of the ball)
Click to expand...
That's pretty straightforward and easy to visualize, DC. What do you aim at when the angle is greater than 30 degrees? For example 45 degrees, etc.?

Doc
 
I know that, Jaden. But what does he mean by "aiming at the object balls edge on EVERY shot"? Johnny writes he uses parallel lines but Hal Houle writes he doesn't. He means Johnny aims at the edge of the OB and the only way to do this I can think of is not to aim through the cue ball center but trough an other point aside the middle.
 
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