Aiming with lights reflecting on object balls

H

horton129

New member
Has anyone ever encountered any literature or knows anything on the subject of aiming with the points of light reflecting in the OB? As a novice player the idea was shared with me (verbaly) but obviously I had to many weaknesses or lack of knowledge of pool to do anything with it. Fast forward to yesterday, I don't know why the thought poped in my head and as I was practicing, I tried to imagine what this was all about and whitout knowing the concept i was shooting 85% of my shots this way, it worked awesome for reverse angles, long shots and mid-range shots and some banks = or better results than usual for me. I am not sure if this is all fiction, or a real system? I could see there would be some intricacies i would need to learn. It's not like I was shooting ahead of my speed, it just felt like if I was under the heat, this would be very reliable, i was not even looking at the pokets, just these points of light??? (i was in my basement where pool conditions are excellent, 9' Diamond with 860 blue Simmonis) Is there a foundation system behind this? books? or anyone teaches that way? Just found it interesting is all, would like to know more (unless all of you think I am crazy).:eek:

Regards.
 
I definately would not trust the lights reflection on the object ball. If this indeed was correct there would readily be information on it in books and videos and I have yet to see it. You can't trust a light. What if the light is too low, too high, not centered on the table (even if it is). All those factors would influence where the reflection is.
 
I stand corrected on finding some information. I still think its BS and unreliable.

http://www.easypooltutor.com/articl...n/136-ghost-ball-holy-light-dominant-eye.html

"The Holy Light System is using every light in the whole room reflecting off an object ball to determine the strike area. It's never wrong, there has to be a light reflection on the point of contact. There might be 3-5 reflections, but one of them will tell you the point of contact, that's a "Go". All you have to do is look for it. Aim your cue stick on the object ball as though you are going to shoot it into the desired pocket and there you will find the holy light that says "GO," then just aim for that spot. English, deflection, and the speed of the stroke has to be calculated like any other shot."
 
You want to contact Ron Vitello. He sometimes posts here on azbilliards. He is often found in Eastside billiards in NYC. He developed an entire system on using the lights. He no longer uses or teaches this system. He now uses a system that is a swivel system similar to Hal Houle's system.
If you can get into the city he gives lessons on this system.
Now I know there will be many people eager to post here about how systems don't work, or what is wrong with a particular system. Good for you. I know Ron's system works for me.
 
:duck:
pocketpared said:
I like using the reflection off the 1 ball as an aiming point in 6 or 9 ball.
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I get your point. I was just curious. I aim thee way I aim and to that in itself is a system (not a very good one) but any aiming technique is a system, some are more complex like CTE or less so like ghost ball or drawing a line from the centre of the pocket to the OB etc... aiming by feel is a system. Just turns out that by coincidence I fell onto something I did not really understand but from what I could see/experience works relatively well ( i have not tried it in other rooms yet). I am not a natural at making 100's of balls without missing, the post was really to see if anyone had knowledge of this or if I was imaginning something that was not there. So apprently its been published and some respected teachers have used it, to me that is interesting. Sometimes under the heat i just can't see the line of aim, this might help as a reliable back-up if I can get 80% on shots that i am 60% then no harm there.
 
It works, but in a limited fashion. Each table is different and the aim point is solely dependent upon the distance from the light to the ball. The only real way to tell is to play the table until you are comfortable with each pocket, and different shots.
For instance, say there is a four bulb (incandescent or the new 'greenies') light above the table and you set up a common spot shot. What you will probaly see is four small dots of light reflecting off the spotted ball, one of which will be the point of contact by the cue ball. Pick the dot that aligns with the center of the pocket and give it a try, but remembering that experimentation here is the key.
There is a table in a Room near where I sometimes practice and the lights are such you can dial in almost anything on the table and really shoot lights out. (Pun intended). :)
 
Tramp Steamer said:
It works, but in a limited fashion. Each table is different and the aim point is solely dependent upon the distance from the light to the ball. The only real way to tell is to play the table until you are comfortable with each pocket, and different shots.
For instance, say there is a four bulb (incandescent or the new 'greenies') light above the table and you set up a common spot shot. What you will probaly see is four small dots of light reflecting off the spotted ball, one of which will be the point of contact by the cue ball. Pick the dot that aligns with the center of the pocket and give it a try, but remembering that experimentation here is the key.
There is a table in a Room near where I sometimes practice and the lights are such you can dial in almost anything on the table and really shoot lights out. (Pun intended). :)
Click to expand...

In a nutshell that is what i experienced last night, i would not even look at the pockets and dial them in. the more i tried stuff the more it occured to me that there might be subtleties that i won't figure out on my own e.g. Banks or tricky shots that someone might already know more, thanks for the reply, I'm sending rep points.
 
Hal Houle showed this to me and it worked. Problem is, he had to stand there and correct me on every shot because I just didn't get it. Once he showed me which bulb and where on the object ball, it magically went in the hole.

Koop - it works, I'm just not smart enough to grasp it :)
 
The illumination for my table is decidely off center on both axis of the table. This confuses most players on my table. Yet, after using this system for over a year, I have come to the conclusion that when the illumination is centered perfectly, it is possible to aim by the reflections on the balls (as stated in the OP)

It is also a poor mental model that will get you into trouble when the illumination is not square to the table.

Funny enough, it is brain dead easy to convert from misaligned illumination to aligned illumination, so easy you don't even notice making the adjustment.
 
Your not crazy.

horton129 said:
has anyone ever encountered any literature or knows anything on the subject of aiming with the points of light reflecting in the ob? As a novice player the idea was shared with me (verbaly) but obviously i had to many weaknesses or lack of knowledge of pool to do anything with it. Fast forward to yesterday, i don't know why the thought poped in my head and as i was practicing, i tried to imagine what this was all about and whitout knowing the concept i was shooting 85% of my shots this way, it worked awesome for reverse angles, long shots and mid-range shots and some banks = or better results than usual for me. I am not sure if this is all fiction, or a real system? I could see there would be some intricacies i would need to learn. It's not like i was shooting ahead of my speed, it just felt like if i was under the heat, this would be very reliable, i was not even looking at the pokets, just these points of light??? (i was in my basement where pool conditions are excellent, 9' diamond with 860 blue simmonis) is there a foundation system behind this? Books? Or anyone teaches that way? Just found it interesting is all, would like to know more (unless all of you think i am crazy).:eek:

Regards.
Click to expand...

there is a simple way to use the reflections that you see from lights or even marking on the balls. But there are usually plenty of lights. When your up in your preshot routine and you are trying to estimate how much of the ball you are going to hit. Lets say you decide you need to hit 1/3 of the ball and you \can visually see that before you get down. Look to see if the is a light reflection in the object ball that would mark 1/3 of the object ball.

Now it's pretty simple. Just imagine 1/3 hitting 1/3 and you even got a mark on the ball showing you how much when you get down to shoot.

There are no magic lights that are always lined up but you can learn to use them as references to keep the image of how much of the object ball you want to hit.
 
So if I have a tube diamond light, there isn't a bulb to reflect upon the balls. I read about this and tried it a couple yrs ago while I was still trying to figure things out. I determined it was a crutch, and that in the long run it would inhibit any real progress. Like any aiming system it has it's strong and weak points. This one just seems like a gimick as it leaves too many variables to be truely effective by itself.

:cool:
 
There is a gentleman who comes to play in our pool room normally during the weekend, he swears by some reflected light aiming "system". All I can say is he is a very strong player like a weak "A". He has not shared the system with many people, but like I say he is a weak "A" player, and his system works for him.
 
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For those of us who can't see the edges anymore-it helps as a visual reference. Aim standing up-look for the light reference-reacquire when down-fire before the light dims.

For me-another way of missing closer.

Whatever works or helps is good.
 
I've tried using reflections before to aim, and immediately noticed that they slide around on the ball as you walk around the table. Even though the light sources and the balls aren't moving, the reflection still can. Imagine having your car rearview mirror angled to keep some guy's high beams out of your face. You can still move your head up or down until you face the mirror in a way that blinds you. Neither his lights or the mirror moved.

Once I realized this, I threw reflection aiming out the window.
 
horton129 said:
Has anyone ever encountered any literature or knows anything on the subject of aiming with the points of light reflecting in the OB? As a novice player the idea was shared with me (verbaly) but obviously I had to many weaknesses or lack of knowledge of pool to do anything with it. Fast forward to yesterday, I don't know why the thought poped in my head and as I was practicing, I tried to imagine what this was all about and whitout knowing the concept i was shooting 85% of my shots this way, it worked awesome for reverse angles, long shots and mid-range shots and some banks = or better results than usual for me. I am not sure if this is all fiction, or a real system? I could see there would be some intricacies i would need to learn. It's not like I was shooting ahead of my speed, it just felt like if I was under the heat, this would be very reliable, i was not even looking at the pokets, just these points of light??? (i was in my basement where pool conditions are excellent, 9' Diamond with 860 blue Simmonis) Is there a foundation system behind this? books? or anyone teaches that way? Just found it interesting is all, would like to know more (unless all of you think I am crazy).:eek:

Regards.
Click to expand...

File this one right under BHE. :confused:
 
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