Anyone else visualize shots like this?

CreeDo

CreeDo

Fargo Rating 597
Silver Member
I noticed something about how I visualize shots.

I know everyone has their own way and you will end up using
whatever works best for you.

For me I imagine a line separating overcut and undercut.
The actual contact point is on that line, right at the equator.
I sort of imagine the cue ball eclipsing that line at the moment of impact.

I realized something that might have me slightly screwed up though...
I tend to imagine the line itself near the upper half of the ball. My eyes are just drawn to the top
more than the center or bottom. Sometimes I pick a contact point and it's a little high.

The cue ball can't actually touch the point I've picked out (like say the hole in the number 6).
So when I come around to the shot it looks weird.

Anyone else catch themselves imagining cuts using only the upper half of the ball?
In the pic below, the blue dot on the one is a realistic contact point.
But I catch myself imagining 'hitting' places like the yellow dot on the 14, which is impossible.

Nj5Yvmq.jpg
 
...but here is the real question... What does that "dot" or line really represent?

Is this where the ghost ball would strike?

The "aiming point" depends on so many things:

Distance from ball
Kind of cloth
Dampness of cloth
Cleanliness of balls
Angle of cue ball to approximate contact point
Speed
Amount of spin imparted on CB

So what are you really looking at?
 
I look through the ob to the center of the pocket rim..
I in vision a line in the center of the ob back to the cue ball.
then I look at the natural angel an decide if I want to alter it
or not..that said..yes I do look at contact some what that way..
I look at the top or bottom of the ob when down on the shot.
no matter what..I always try an look at center ball to center of the
pocket reguardless of the spin I select..this probably causes me
to miss shots. hope I made sense..lol.
 
I have a tendency to look high on a ball to pick out the contact point too. I put it down to me being stood much higher than the table so I perceive the equator to be higher than it is.
The way I go about getting the ball in a hole is aligning my body along a line from inside edge of CB to the contact point and stepping in towards CCB from there. So what I tend to do is pick the CP on the OB and then imagine a vertical line going up through the OB and align the CB inside edge to anywhere on that line. Its kind of like fractional aiming in a way, but I overlap 'half' of what the real fractional overlap should be. I'm struggling to put it into words here :(

Regardless, the 2 points in your image wouldn't result in any drastic differences. A slightly thicker hit from imagining the CP higher (that's if you follow the curvature of the ball) but if you don't go crazy and go too high or low then it shouldn't bring a miss if you wanted a centre pocket pot.
 
I felt like I had a problem visualizing a CP either too high or too low on the OB. So I mentally drew a horizontal line at the equator of the ball (I don't imagine a line - like your red lines - at the CP). Seems to help with my focus too.
 
scratchs said:
I look through the ob to the center of the pocket rim..
I in vision a line in the center of the ob back to the cue ball.
then I look at the natural angel an decide if I want to alter it
or not..that said..yes I do look at contact some what that way..
I look at the top or bottom of the ob when down on the shot.
no matter what..I always try an look at center ball to center of the
pocket reguardless of the spin I select..this probably causes me
to miss shots. hope I made sense..lol.
Click to expand...


Pretty much this is what I do as well. It's instinctive and I just somehow see it.
 
cp visualization

The most reliable method for me derives from Allison Fisher..."The cp is the point farthest from the pocket."

Using that "rule" automagically compensates for the "wandering equator" problem and the resultant over/undercut.

pete
 
Thanks for the replies all... and especially to yankeepapa.
I actually remembered that bit from Allison while shooting last night,
and found my imaginary contact point ended up being well south from where I'd usually place it.

In fact I honestly felt like it helped me make balls better. And my buddy commented I was shooting really well.
I dunno if it's a fluke but I plan on using this to help judge the aiming point in the future.
 
Yeah, I pretty much do what you do. Personally, I like using the edge to pocket (or pocket point) to help me find the center of the OB to pocket line. For me this is especially useful when a striped ball is at an odd angle with the center line running through at an odd angle.

I did use the back of the pocket for aiming but now find that I do much better looking at the pocket edges relative to the OB edges. Funny thing is it is easier to "see" the lines when I make the ball roll (in my mind) after seeing these lines. The more movement I can visualize the more I am confident the ball will go down that line (all other things being equal).
 
This is similar to how I visualize a shot. However I don't see a curved line, but one that is straight up and down, splitting the object ball vertically. Then I use the top or bottom edge of the ball as my aiming point. This way I don't have to worry about the equator of the OB. Top or bottom gives the same end result.

When I stumbled upon this method my shot making became a lot less stressful.

Carl
 
cp visualization

Happy it's of use, Creedo.

With extended use I find it makes the cp stand out like a pokie. :rolleyes:

There's a race-to-one bar tournament locally that uses the big cue ball.

"just cut it a little more" doesn't work for me, so I stand behind the cue ball to line up its front with the pocket, hallucinate a line to the cue ball, pivot to align the "dark side of the moon" cue ball point with the "pokie" and fire away.

Works most of the time. :smile:

pete
 
JoeW said:
Yeah, I pretty much do what you do. Personally, I like using the edge to pocket (or pocket point) to help me find the center of the OB to pocket line. For me this is especially useful when a striped ball is at an odd angle with the center line running through at an odd angle.

I did use the back of the pocket for aiming but now find that I do much better looking at the pocket edges relative to the OB edges. Funny thing is it is easier to "see" the lines when I make the ball roll (in my mind) after seeing these lines. The more movement I can visualize the more I am confident the ball will go down that line (all other things being equal).
Click to expand...

I'm trying to think if I compare the edges or use the back of the pocket. I honestly can't say.
But I like the idea of some definite spot (an angled point on a green or blue rail)
vs. some black empty featureless target. So I'll try this if I don't already use it.
 
SkyscraperChris said:
Confused. What hole in what number 6?
Click to expand...

Sorry that was just an example, but not part of the image I posted.

Sometimes I'll see a shot and think
"ok, there's a definite target on that ball that I can hit."

It might be (as a random example) a hole in a number, it might be a chalk mark,
it might be a nick in the ball.

I'll think, "If I can get the cue ball to touch that scuff mark (or number 6, or whatever)
then I should make the shot".

But when I walk around and line up the shot it looks all wrong,
like hitting the scuff mark definitely won't make the shot. And I think it's because
I pick contact points that are too high up on the ball.
 
I see. I guess I've never fully understood aiming systems. I just feel the shot - if I "feel" like the hit will make too high pitch of a sound, for instance, then it's overcutting. Same thing when I use English - sometimes I will not necessarily aim for a particular part of the cueball, but aim to make JUST the right "ping" noise of English. Deeper sounds are fuller hits, etc. I tried one aiming system once and it made such little sense I gave up on all of them.
 
Wow .... great thread.

It's a recurring problem that I catch myself doing.
I thought that I was the only one who did this.

(I can escape it if I drop my stance, head and eyes really low down to ball level.....basically at equator level..... but that is not always possible, so I assumed that it was because I've been a more upright shooter.)
 
Michael: thanks, I'm glad I decided to ask even though it's one of those weird touchy-feely things
that is hard to put on paper. I think once I start focusing on the equator better
I can imagine that contact point better, and therefore find a good line of aim.

SkyscraperChris said:
I see. I guess I've never fully understood aiming systems.
I just feel the shot - if I "feel" like the hit will make too high pitch of a sound, for instance, then it's overcutting.
Same thing when I use English - sometimes I will not necessarily aim for a particular part of the cueball, but aim to make JUST the right "ping" noise of English. Deeper sounds are fuller hits, etc.
I tried one aiming system once and it made such little sense I gave up on all of them.
Click to expand...

Truly I don't think of it as an aiming system. This is just imaginary lines and dots I 'hallucinate'
when I'm trying to aim. You don't imagine any little visual thingies when shooting a tough cut?
Line a line heading from the object ball to the hole?

I gotta admit I never heard of the ping sound thing but it's pretty cool. Might be you're the only person
who does it, which would be kind of neat actually... you see shots differently than everyone else.
 
CreeDo said:
I'll think, "If I can get the cue ball to touch that scuff mark (or number 6, or whatever)
then I should make the shot".

But when I walk around and line up the shot it looks all wrong,
like hitting the scuff mark definitely won't make the shot. And I think it's because
I pick contact points that are too high up on the ball.
Click to expand...

This is a little difficult to explain but it might be of use with regard to finding dead center on the OB (which I need to consistently make the ball).

I taught myself to "see" a laser line between the object ball and another ball. The line is supposed to be a 11/8" inch off the felt and level between two balls. Sometimes I construct this "level" line between the cue ball and the object ball. However, on long shots I often need to compare two object balls that are a foot or two apart.

After I find dead center on the OB (and it may be with the help of the ball number, a stripe or whatever, then I construct the level line between the cue ball and the object ball.

It sounds more difficult than it is at the table. It does require some practice and using whatever is available. Over time I have gotten pretty good at it. However, sometimes I get messed up with stripes at an off angle. Just these old eyes.

My buddy tends to one stroke on most shots. He says he just sees the angles and doesn't know what he looks at on the OB. Some people have natural talent. The rest of us struggle.:o

I think that using the edges for tracking and visualization and for constructing level lines with the help of other balls is a "method" rather than a "system" for those of us who use "back of the ball" aiming. Systems such as CTE are a different animal in my thinking.
 
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