Am I the only one with this problem?

Saturated Fats

Saturated Fats

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I can never seem to determine when there's enough room to shoot past a ball that is crowding my shot line. Probably two times out of three I'll nick the obstructing ball. It drives me crazy. The process goes like this:
  1. Assess the shot to determine if there's enough clearance.
  2. Decide that there's enough room to shoot the cue ball past the problem ball without touching it.
  3. Shoot at the object ball that I'm trying to pocket.
  4. Hit the problem ball instead.
 
Is it your assessment of the room available or are you missing ever so slightly with your CB path? Many shots have a surprisingly wide margin of error to still pocket the OB but When you need to be ultra-precise, just the slightest error in stroke, aim, or CB contact point can throw the CB off enough.

If you’re a very highly-skilled player, and your fundamentals are rock-solid, it could be your eyes or you are simply missing on your assessment. If you can very reliably do the Mother Of All Drills and follow the CB into the pocket after your CB, it’s not your cueing.
 
No I think it's common. There's almost a gravitational pull sucking the cue ball into the blocker. If you think it, they will collide. I step back and measure the clearance with the side of my cue. Edge to edge, does the blocker really interfere? You have to practice shooting next to blockers. Even set up several staggered blockers and shoot between them. Good luck.
 
Jack up if your fairly close to the obstruction. When it is hard to tell send the cue ball into the air a little that should be enough to miss obstruction.
 
I do the same thing a lot. I think it helps to look at the edge of the cue ball to see how it lines up with the edge of the problem ball.
 
Nope your not alone. I sometimes think it won't go and while In practice will ask someone if it goes and they immediately say yep and sure enough right thru and of course the opposite like you too. Fairly confident my problem is my eyes but I can see fine except up close while reading
 
Saturated Fats said:
I can never seem to determine when there's enough room to shoot past a ball that is crowding my shot line. Probably two times out of three I'll nick the obstructing ball. It drives me crazy. The process goes like this:
  1. Assess the shot to determine if there's enough clearance.
  2. Decide that there's enough room to shoot the cue ball past the problem ball without touching it.
  3. Shoot at the object ball that I'm trying to pocket.
  4. Hit the problem ball instead.
Click to expand...
What are you thinking about? Is it about - ' not hitting the ball?' I find that the last thing I think about it usually happens.
I often have way more space then I think.
 
Practice aim accuracy drills, works wonders.
If you think you may hit the problem ball you will.
Negative thoughts bring negative results.
Players have negative thoughts for a number of reasons on a pool table.
Put anger, frustration, confusion,dwelling, etc. on the back burner
Never think "What Am I Doing Wrong" , Stay Positive
Always think "What Am I Doing, When I'm Doing It Right, and continue on.
Have your eyes checked. They're the gateway to a pool players brain.
Practice aim accuracy drills, works wonders.
 
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Saturated Fats said:
I can never seem to determine when there's enough room to shoot past a ball that is crowding my shot line. Probably two times out of three I'll nick the obstructing ball. It drives me crazy. The process goes like this:
  1. Assess the shot to determine if there's enough clearance.
  2. Decide that there's enough room to shoot the cue ball past the problem ball without touching it.
  3. Shoot at the object ball that I'm trying to pocket.
  4. Hit the problem ball instead.
Click to expand...
Hit hard....near break speed hard.

Put a quarter on the table 6-8-12" in front of cueball. And hit over quarter with lag speed+ you won't hit the quarter. Hit harder the farther away.

So I recommend if you don't jump to atleast hit hard this floats the cueball this vertical lift might be enough to miss if it is real close.
 
It happens less often to me than it used to because I play the previous shot to avoid situations like this. It still happens though and I think the best way to deal with it in the short term is either to shoot another ball if you are playing 8 ball, or to put a bit of English on the cue ball and hit it as softly as the shot allows if you are playing 9 or 10 ball.

Long term there might be a sight/lining up issue - maybe consider setting up these shots in practice?
 
Whatever the reason you can still tighten up your line in preparation. (you know, the long hours of practice?)

Look up Dr. Dave's lectures on collision dynamics. (My term. Sounds cool huh?) Understand it thoroughly.
Then practice combinations thoroughly.
Then arrive at this:

Secret Magic info::::::::

Balls have a swath. Learn this thoroughly.
 
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Saturated Fats said:
I can never seem to determine when there's enough room to shoot past a ball that is crowding my shot line. Probably two times out of three I'll nick the obstructing ball. It drives me crazy. The process goes like this:
  1. Assess the shot to determine if there's enough clearance.
  2. Decide that there's enough room to shoot the cue ball past the problem ball without touching it.
  3. Shoot at the object ball that I'm trying to pocket.
  4. Hit the problem ball instead.
Click to expand...
Nope, you are not the only one. Shaw just did this very thing, at 126 into a run.
 
Look at the shot facing backwards from the pocket viewpoint.
Take the time to see how much room there is to squeeze by the
object ball & still avoid jawing the object ball in the pocket. Keep
in mind object ball speed is your friend even if the OB touches
the rail. English can be your nemesis so use it when really needed.
Nonetheless, viewing the shot from behind the pocket does help
give a sight picture you’d otherwise never get from behind the CB.
 
Saturated Fats said:
I can never seem to determine when there's enough room to shoot past a ball that is crowding my shot line. Probably two times out of three I'll nick the obstructing ball. It drives me crazy. The process goes like this:
  1. Assess the shot to determine if there's enough clearance.
  2. Decide that there's enough room to shoot the cue ball past the problem ball without touching it.
  3. Shoot at the object ball that I'm trying to pocket.
  4. Hit the problem ball instead.
Click to expand...
I’ve never been a great player. Not much came natural for me in pool. However this part of the game my judgment is very good, kinda the opposite of what you are struggling with.

Thing is I can’t really explain why I can just tell if there’s room or not. I’d like to be able to offer you some advice but I can’t. It’s just something that I have a “feel” for.

Dr Dave might have some ideas to help you out. I’m sure there must be a way to learn it. I know I struggled with so much in pool and over time cured many many problem areas of my game

Good luck out there, sorry I don’t have a better answer, keep on working on it.

Best
Fatboy😁
 
Saturated Fats said:
I can never seem to determine when there's enough room to shoot past a ball that is crowding my shot line. Probably two times out of three I'll nick the obstructing ball. It drives me crazy. The process goes like this:
  1. Assess the shot to determine if there's enough clearance.
  2. Decide that there's enough room to shoot the cue ball past the problem ball without touching it.
  3. Shoot at the object ball that I'm trying to pocket.
  4. Hit the problem ball instead.
Click to expand...
Make sure you're accounting for deflection and stroking it properly. It's real easy to try some funny business and ending up deflecting into the blocker. At time's I'll also shift my head so my vision center is closer to the blocker so there's no visual trickery going on.
 
It’s probably a mental game. In golf when you think about “avoiding the water”, I hit the water. When I think about hitting a specific part of the fairway and ignore the water, I (usually hit the water but you get the concept!)
 
Saturated Fats said:
I can never seem to determine when there's enough room to shoot past a ball that is crowding my shot line. Probably two times out of three I'll nick the obstructing ball. It drives me crazy. The process goes like this:
  1. Assess the shot to determine if there's enough clearance.
  2. Decide that there's enough room to shoot the cue ball past the problem ball without touching it.
  3. Shoot at the object ball that I'm trying to pocket.
  4. Hit the problem ball instead.
Click to expand...
If you are using english on these shots then that is very often going to be the culprit.

If the "not quite obstructing" ball is just barely enough out of the way to say the right side of the cue ball's path for it to clear, and you use left english on your shot, you are going to end up hitting that ball because your left english will cause the cue ball to squirt to the right and into that ball. Same of course is true for "not quite obstructing" balls that are just barely to the left of the path of the cue ball when you use right english, because the the right english will of course in turn cause the cue ball to squirt to the left and no longer clear that ball.

On occasion it can even be a small bit of unintended english that will cause you not to clear a ball because unintended english squirts just the same as intentional english.
 
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