Bounce Vs Roll

[Buzzard]

There's an old timer in the poolroom that was trying to explain a concept to me that cue balls either bounce or they roll as the leave the tip and that every shot is going to do either of those two things. He further tried to explain that by bridging with different pressures and different gripping positions that you can control this. He is completely serious and when I tried his methods things happened that affected the contact point. For example, if I bridged tighter I could hit the object ball fuller because, according to him, the cue ball is bouncing rather than rolling and this affects the aim. He plays pretty well. Any thoughts on this theory? To me it is completely confusing but maybe someday the light bulb will go on and I will have one of those "Oh, that's what he meant moments."

 

[Rod]

There's an old timer in the poolroom that was trying to explain a concept to me that cue balls either bounce or they roll as the leave the tip and that every shot is going to do either of those two things. He further tried to explain that by bridging with different pressures and different gripping positions that you can control this. He is completely serious and when I tried his methods things happened that affected the contact point. For example, if I bridged tighter I could hit the object ball fuller because, according to him, the cue ball is bouncing rather than rolling and this affects the aim. He plays pretty well. Any thoughts on this theory? To me it is completely confusing but maybe someday the light bulb will go on and I will have one of those "Oh, that's what he meant moments."

Balls will bounce, roll or skid, it's part of the game. A cue ball spends a fair amount of time in the air. However cue angle and speed effects this more than any other factor. If I want to alter the cue ball path (other than side english of course) a little bounce sometimes is needed. I'm short on time, off to work, others should chime in.

Rod

 

[cuetechasaurus]

The cueball slides also. I don't see how squeezing your cue with your bridge hand tighter (if that's what you mean) changes the physics of the shot.

 

[Andrew Manning]

There's an old timer in the poolroom that was trying to explain a concept to me that cue balls either bounce or they roll as the leave the tip and that every shot is going to do either of those two things. He further tried to explain that by bridging with different pressures and different gripping positions that you can control this. He is completely serious and when I tried his methods things happened that affected the contact point. For example, if I bridged tighter I could hit the object ball fuller because, according to him, the cue ball is bouncing rather than rolling and this affects the aim. He plays pretty well. Any thoughts on this theory? To me it is completely confusing but maybe someday the light bulb will go on and I will have one of those "Oh, that's what he meant moments."

Did you hit it really hard? On a cut shot, if the CB is indeed slightly airborne at the time of contact, you would need to aim a little fuller to get the same cut angle. So if he somehow made you "bounce" the cue ball down the slate instead of rolling it, the cut angle effect is legit. But I wonder how tightening your bridge made your shot into a jump shot. Doesn't make much sense to me unless you hit it really hard.

-Andrew

 

[Bob Jewett]

... For example, if I bridged tighter I could hit the object ball fuller because, according to him, the cue ball is bouncing rather than rolling and this affects the aim. He plays pretty well. Any thoughts on this theory? ...

Yes. I think he believes what he is telling you, and he probably thinks it is valuable information. It's also totally bogus, in my view. You hit an object ball fuller by aiming (and hitting) closer to its center. It's as simple as that. No need for bogus complication.

However.... Some people have built up various layers of warts and quirks in their mechanics. Adding yet another wrinkle may straighten out some problem for such people. I think that's the wrong solution in the long run.