Am i the only one who uses this method on long straight ins?

[JohnPT]

Pretty obvious, but I'm grad you posted this, becuase sadly, even proes don't seem to get it. The sad thing is, if you ask any pro what is the hardest shots to make is, they'll tell you, long straight shot(they all dread those shots), but the sad thing is, It's only hard, becuase they make it hard.

I see proes, as well as non tourny players(sharks) do some funky stuff with the CB(they hit the CD on the left/right side, oposed to hitting it center/low.

Now, nomatter what type of shot you are trying to make, you should "always" hit the CB in the center high/low depending on what you want the CB to do(meaning, always stand in back of the CD, lined up to where you want the CB to hit the OB), and you hit any place(depends on what shot you are trying to make) on the OB to dictate where you want the OB to go(doing this makes long straight shots easy as pie, and makes most cuts fairly easy as well, in general anyway.

This is why most proes(the non trick tourny players) pretty much suck with multi ball comboes as well, becuase of the way they shoot the CB.

PS. Please don't get me wrong, this Isn't a bragging post, just how I noticed alot of players that screw up on the long shots shoot the CB. In fact, I completely suck when it comes to multi rail bank shots. I can make single rail bank shots just fine, but when it comes to 2 or more rails, forget it.

Now bank shots aside ofcourse, I would have to say the hardest normal shots, are cutting a OB to place it into a side pocket. Very doable(just stating what I see as the hardest normal shot), but due to the fact the side pockets are straight/not angled like corners, you have to soft play it, otherwise it will hit the corner of the pocket/bounce off instead of going in.

I have a feeling you don't know what you are talking about. So hit the ob with the cb depending on where you want the ob to go? Maybe I will try to hit it where it will make the ob go to the pocket. We can all learn how to make balls now :thumbup:

 

[JB Cases]

Whatever works...but the pocket is 4.5 in. or wider and the ball is 2.25 in.

In order for that method to work, you would have to aim and be able to hit an exact spot in the pocket opening...preferably dead center. But if you can aim and hit that exact spot in the pocket opening then it should be easier to hit an exact spot on the OB which, obviously, is closer to you than the pocket.

Personally, I don't think the issue in missing straight ins has anything to do with aiming because doing so is perfectly intuitive.

Rather, I think there are stroke errors that result in unintentional cue tip contact to one side or the other of the vertical center.

Prove it to yourself by trying the famous spot shot drill where you place the cb on the foot spot...shoot directly at the center diamond on the head rail and see how often you can get the CB to roll back over the foot spot.

Stroke as level as possible with a center ball hit so swerve is not much of an issue.

It is a humbling drill and most people miss the center to a given side pretty consistently which suggests that they don't see the center of the CB correctly.

Joe Turner has a training aid that forces a centerball hit. I've heard good things about it.

Regards,
Jim

I think it's pretty safe to assume that most halfway decent players can hit shoot the cueball straight to an area within a few millimeters. So if I am aiming the cueball to the center of the pocket then it's going to go to the center of the pocket withing a few millimeters on either side.

But the point is that it's a technique that works. It's also something that was passed down to me without a discussion on it's scientific or mathematical merits. It was shown to me by a world champion and I tried it and it works.

I can do the roll over the spot shot fairly consistently. Usually it takes me about ten shots to get in the groove and start hitting the ball dead center. That doesn't mean however that I am not hitting the rail in the right spot.

But we aren't talking about hitting exact spots. You shouldn't be aiming at an exact spot on the object ball anyway. We are talking about lines.

If I draw a line on the table and ask you to shoot the cueball along that line then odds are you will be able to do it consistently. If there is another ball on that line then you will hit it pretty near to center and move it forward on the line as well.

If you start to treat shots as combinations of lines rather than points you will see that the table becomes much clearer. At least it does for me.

Personally, if a world champion shows me something and it works then I don't question the physics of it, I just thank them for the education. Now you are not getting this information from a champion so it's fair to question it.

It works though - and not just for me.

 

[poker2341]

I tend to agree with bigshooter - depending on where you want to go. It seems to me that hitting the CB low just gives you a draw shot, or am I missing something?

If all else fails, playing the shot with top spin should get BOTH balls in the corner pocket

 

[mullyman]

I tend to agree with bigshooter - depending on where you want to go. It seems to me that hitting the CB low just gives you a draw shot, or am I missing something?

If all else fails, playing the shot with top spin should get BOTH balls in the corner pocket

I'm not talking down to you, just filling in a blank spot here. You probably know this already but if you don't, here goes. When you hit the cue ball low it's going to go through 3 phases. First it's going to have back spin on it, then it will begin to slide, and then it rolls forward. If it hits the OB during the back spin phase it will draw. If it's sliding it will stop, and if it's rolling forward it will roll forward.
MULLY
4 phases if you count the little hop that occurs when you first hit it

 

[mullyman]

Now, no matter what type of shot you are trying to make, you should "always" hit the CB in the center high/low depending on what you want the CB to do(meaning, always stand in back of the CD, lined up to where you want the CB to hit the OB), and you hit any place(depends on what shot you are trying to make) on the OB to dictate where you want the OB to go(doing this makes long straight shots easy as pie, and makes most cuts fairly easy as well, in general anyway.

Ok, I'm going to assume you're talking about straight shots because it's pretty much safe to say that using outside english makes it easier on cut shots.
MULLY
that's why Buddy calls it helping english

 

[mullyman]

By the way, played 4 sets of 9 ball last night, racing to 5, and I used this method on all of my straight in shots and didn't miss one of them.
MULLY
rep already given

 

[Zoltor]

I have a feeling you don't know what you are talking about. So hit the ob with the cb depending on where you want the ob to go? Maybe I will try to hit it where it will make the ob go to the pocket. We can all learn how to make balls now :thumbup:

You seemed to have missed something, where the CB hits the OB is what is suppost to dictate where the OB goes, so there for you should always hit the cb on the center axis(what you want the cb to do "placement" is controled by the angle/cut you hit the ob, combined with if you hit the cb high/low, but either way, you are still hitting the cb in the center axis).

 

[JohnPT]

You seemed to have missed something, where the CB hits the OB is what is suppost to dictate where the OB goes, so there for you should always hit the cb on the center access(what you want the cb to do "placement" is controled by the angle/cut you hit the ob, combined with if you hit the cb high/low, but either way, you are still hitting the cb in the center access).

ok so what you are saying is where the cb ends up after contact depends on where you hit the ob with the cb and to keep the cue along the vertical line on the cb on straight in shots. I got it. Thanks for the tip.

 

[asn130]

If there is one shot i really do not miss, regardless of pressure, it is the long straight ins. (dont worry im not bragging, i still miss cuts like its no ones buisness) The reason for this is early on, someone told me if the shot is straight in, all you have to do is fixate on the very bottom of the ball, and if your stroke is straight, the shot should always go in.

The reason for this post is i am asking if anyone else uses the bottom of the ball method, because everytime i try to teach this to someone, they have problems using it and discard it. Anyone have any input?

I've heard this method before, but i've highlighted the portion i have trouble with. :frown:

 

[TX Poolnut]

It's center axis, not center access.

 

[acedotcom]

Joe, a friend of my from Tennessee suggested that on long straight-in shots I stroke toward the point in the back of the pocket that the balls are lined up with. I like this method better because it's hard to focus on the precise bottom of the ball.

 

[chefjeff]

This was taught to me by a well known pro - if the shot is dead straight in then simply shoot the cueball into the pocket. Since the object ball is in the way it goes right in. Been using this for 20 years and it works great. It's a great method for winning money on the corner to corner straight in proposition shot.

Froschele (sp) at the U of Iowa taught this method to a friend of mine and he taught it to me. I can't seem to do it even after much practice. It sort of scares me, I think, and that throws the whole thing off.

I'll try this 'bottom of the ball look' next time and see if it helps. Thanks OP.

Jeff Livingston

 

[mullyman]

Joe, a friend of my from Tennessee suggested that on long straight-in shots I stroke toward the point in the back of the pocket that the balls are lined up with. I like this method better because it's hard to focus on the precise bottom of the ball.

IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO FOCUS ON THE PRECISE BOTTOM OF THE BALL.
MUL

867-5309


:thumbup:

 

[SmoothStroke]

The same for all shots

There are no easy shots but the straight shot is the easiest of them all. It all starts with alignment. Once you are squared over the shot you have it 99% licked. As your body begins to drop into the shot you should be shifting your eyes from object ball to cueball (working back) to reassure your sighting,, not looking at your shaft or tip, your cue has not arrived yet (cue is already 99% or better in alignment) dropping the cue softly on the cloth at the base of the cueball, now looking at the tip to cueball for two reasons, first is not to foul, second is to reassure the planets are in alignment, take your preliminary strokes and pull the trigger when ready.
This all takes about 4 to 10 seconds at best from start to finish. I do it on every shot, stroke, power, no matter what angle the shot or where on the clock I am hitting the cueball. If you are hitting a stop shot stay on the bottom whether it's long or short distance There is no reason to go up any higher hitting an 8 ft stop shot at 3 power center ball when you can stay on the bottom and hit it at 1-1/2 power. You will gain better control of your stroke and stroke control is what it's all about. You play pool with the cueball while the object balls are something you mess around with.
No matter what preliminary shot routine you use it should be just that. (Routine)
Repetive,robotic,second nature, yet loose and smooth It puts you in all the right rhythms, from squaring up to dropping in, sighting,prelimenary stroke rhythm to pulling the trigger. I have never seen anyone play well out of rhythm
Sorry for the long post I was just going to agree that aiming low works well. Not a lot of sleep I was in the pool hall all night.Not sure what rhythm I was in between the rap and heavy metal music.Will the houseman ever live again?

 

[CueAndMe]

None-the-less the straight in shot is the base from which all else diverges and I want my eye trained to know exactly where those lines of travel will be.

This has been my thinking for a long time, but with the success of people using the half-ball pivot systems I wonder now if the straight in shot should really be the base from which all else diverges. I think that for grooving the stroke, straight in may be the shot to practice. But using a half-ball aim starting point splits all shots into two subcategories that may be easier to organize and locate.

 

[bigshooter]

My post was so simple everyone went right over it, there is a lot of complicated information on this post on how to make a long straight in shot.

Assuming your not locked on or close to the rail, if the shot is truly straight in and you stop the cue ball dead the object ball HAS to go into the pocket.

There is no need to even aim or look at the pocket, I have shown this to some really top notch players and after trying it looked at me like they couldn't believe they never thought of something so simple before.

For a straight in shot:
CB + dead stop = object ball going into pocket EVERY TIME!

 

[Zoltor]

It's center axis, not center access.

I was up for 72 hours when I wrote that, so excuse me lol.

 

[akaTrigger]

Thank you!

If there is one shot i really do not miss, regardless of pressure, it is the long straight ins. (dont worry im not bragging, i still miss cuts like its no ones buisness) The reason for this is early on, someone told me if the shot is straight in, all you have to do is fixate on the very bottom of the ball, and if your stroke is straight, the shot should always go in.

The reason for this post is i am asking if anyone else uses the bottom of the ball method, because everytime i try to teach this to someone, they have problems using it and discard it. Anyone have any input?

Febreze,

Just wanted to tell you I ran across this thread last week and I'm so glad I did. I have problems making long straight-in shots and this weekend in my tournament I used your technique.... and it worked! I now have more confidence in the shots. It gives me something to focus on (the bottom of the object ball is what I am looking at now, even though you may have meant the cueball), whereas before I was just nervous about them b/c I knew it was a problem shot for me.

So, I wanted to let you know how helpful it was. THANK YOU for sharing it with us! :thumbup:

 

[hang-the-9]

I've heard this method before, but i've highlighted the portion i have trouble with. :frown:

Sooo true about the "if you stoke is straight" disclamer , but I'm going to try this next time I play anyway. Great idea if it works, as once you get down to the contact point of the ball to the cloth you are looking at the exact vertical center axis of the object ball. If you hit that on a straight shot, the ball is in, no fudging around aiming at a fat middle.

In fact this may work out pretty well for any shot with a fine point of control left or right. If you adjust your aim a bit off the line you should be able to get a good estimation of where to hit for narrow angle cuts.

 

[Rak9up]

Short stroke

Normally at the point of impact your arm should be straight up and down
to allow for follow through for most englishes. When I'm shooting a long straight shot and I just need to make the ball. I "choke up" 1 or 2 inches prior to the shot. This allows for the tip to just reach the ball and send it on its way. This helps to correct any imperfections in the stroke and not pull the ball off target by leaving the tip on the cueball to long...aiming is only half of the equation.