aiming poll

What aiming system do you use

  • Back Hand English (you pivot your grip hand)

    Votes: 16 9.3%
  • Front Hand English (You pivot your bridge hand)

    Votes: 5 2.9%
  • Parrallel aiming (your whole cue moves left or right)

    Votes: 28 16.3%
  • Other system

    Votes: 22 12.8%
  • Feel / subconscious aiming

    Votes: 101 58.7%

  • Total voters
    172

Solartje

the Brunswick BUG bit me
Silver Member
I dont think it has been posted, and i'm curious to see what the balance is.
 
I was torn between parallel english and feel. I don't "pivot" as part of my routine, so I thought that might mean parallel, but I do compensate my aim for squirt when using english at speed, so I figured that was more of a feel thing than it was truly parallel.

-Andrew
 
Yeah, I went for feel because I don't use a system. However, the result is parallel in nature...
 
This should be an open poll, that way you can see who's where...might gain some insight...or might not...
 
Depends on the length of the shot, how hard I'm shooting, what cue I'm using, how much english is being applied.... are there other variables?
 
Parallel?

I don't understand what you mean by parallel. You can't simply move the whole stick sideways and keep it parallel with the shot line - you'll miss the shot. The whole reason to adjust for squirt is that squirt makes the CB move on a path that's non-parallel with the stick.

So you must change the angle of the stick somehow, even if you don't do it by "pivoting". Maybe "parallel" means "adjust consciously but not with BHE or FHE"?

pj
chgo
 
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I needed to click two answers. Subconscious (97%)/BHE (3%). The BHE is for a small class of extreme english shots.

-s
 
Patrick Johnson said:
I don't understand what you mean by parallel. You can't simply move the whole stick sideways and keep it parallel with the shot line - you'll miss the shot. The whole reason to adjust for squirt is that squirt makes the CB move on a path that's non-parallel with the stick.

So you must change the angle of the stick somehow, even if you don't do it by "pivoting". Maybe "parallel" means "adjust consciously but not with BHE or FHE"?

pj
chgo

Not parallel to the path of the CB, parallel to a center ball hit.
 
OK, I'll bite. What is meant by "feel/subconcious" aiming? Seems to me that in another discussion on this subject, someone who should know said that everybody uses some kind of aiming system, whether they know it or not. How is it possible to make balls without aiming?
 
Solartje said:
I dont think it has been posted, and i'm curious to see what the balance is.
There was a more or less identical poll about 6 months ago. I think some definitions were hashed out at that time. Without good definitions, it's hard to respond to the poll. The other problem is that lots of people have no idea how they compensate for english or even that they do compensate.

I'll provide the definition I like for "parallel": In parallel aiming with english, the line of the cue stick is pointed to the same place on the ghost ball as it is pointed to on the cue ball. That is, if you were to draw a line on the cloth right under the cue stick and extend it under the cue ball and then extend that same straight line out past the ghost ball, the line would pass under the same amount of the ghost ball as the cue ball.

People who actually use that kind of parallel aiming are unlikely to ever make a ball when using side spin, so it does have that drawback.
 
Bob Jewett said:
I'll provide the definition I like for "parallel": In parallel aiming with english, the line of the cue stick is pointed to the same place on the ghost ball as it is pointed to on the cue ball. That is, if you were to draw a line on the cloth right under the cue stick and extend it under the cue ball and then extend that same straight line out past the ghost ball, the line would pass under the same amount of the ghost ball as the cue ball.

People who actually use that kind of parallel aiming are unlikely to ever make a ball when using side spin, so it does have that drawback.

Bob, if I understand correctly you've defined it out of existence. Here's what I would consider parallel. I don't know how to use the ghost ball in the cuetable. So the 3-ball is where the CB would end up if there was no squirt, and the 2-ball is where the CB ends up (the correct ghost ball position) once squirt is accounted for, exaggerated for effect. So you've already adjusted your aim but the cue is still parallel to center ball as opposed to pivoted. Anyway the poll is confusing because it's not strictly an aiming issue.

CueTable Help

 
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Bob Jewett said:
There was a more or less identical poll about 6 months ago. I think some definitions were hashed out at that time. Without good definitions, it's hard to respond to the poll. The other problem is that lots of people have no idea how they compensate for english or even that they do compensate.

I'll provide the definition I like for "parallel": In parallel aiming with english, the line of the cue stick is pointed to the same place on the ghost ball as it is pointed to on the cue ball. That is, if you were to draw a line on the cloth right under the cue stick and extend it under the cue ball and then extend that same straight line out past the ghost ball, the line would pass under the same amount of the ghost ball as the cue ball.

People who actually use that kind of parallel aiming are unlikely to ever make a ball when using side spin, so it does have that drawback.


Bob, I have the highest respect for your posts---so I ask the question: What system do you use?
 
PKM said:
Bob, if I understand correctly you've defined it out of existence. Here's what I would consider parallel. I don't know how to use the ghost ball in the cuetable. So the 3-ball is where the CB would end up if there was no squirt, and the 2-ball is where the CB ends up (the correct ghost ball position) once squirt is accounted for, exaggerated for effect. So you've already adjusted your aim but the cue is still parallel to center ball as opposed to pivoted. Anyway the poll is confusing because it's not strictly an aiming issue.

Agreed 100%. In other words, aiming by feel...
 
Tennesseejoe said:
Bob, I have the highest respect for your posts---so I ask the question: What system do you use?
I point my stick where the shot feels right. On a few shots, maybe 1% or 0.1%, there are some systems that can be useful for me, such as the "inverse proportional cut for close balls," but with all of the compensation you have to do to get the object ball into the pocket, I think it is actually harmful to tie yourself to a system, because no system -- played strictly -- can tell you where to point your stick to put the ball into the pocket for all shots.

One example that does not include side spin: many people think that draw and follow have no direct effect on the cut angle. In fact, the difference between draw and follow and stun can be more than the width of the pocket on a 4-6 foot shot. If you make such shots routinely with all of those spins (and without side spin) then you are probably subconsciously compensating for the differences. To the best of my knowledge, until about five years ago, the large size of the effect and even its direction were unknown in the pool world.
 
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