Boyes on the 'drag' shot..................
- Thread starter garczar
- Start date
Don't think so. See this shot played wrong so many times its unreal.
I don't understand this one at all.
I understand a drag shot, starting the cue ball with backspin that wears off into a roll to kill speed.
I even understand that sometimes you want to do a 'mini-drag', i.e. instead of starting with backspin you just start with center so it burns just a hair of cue ball speed developing into a roll and allows for a hair more swing speed.
But in this case I couldn't tell the difference between what he did and a soft roll. I'm talking the shot at 5:40. I went to 1/4 speed and it seems like the cue ball was fully rolling very, very quickly after contact. It almost looked like a full roll off the tip, but if not it had to have been almost immediate (like the cue ball was turning forward off the top at maybe 80%+ of a natural roll). The measel I was staring at disappears immediately.
Am I reading this incorrectly? Does this really change the cue speed you can use enough to justify elevation?
I understand a drag shot, starting the cue ball with backspin that wears off into a roll to kill speed.
I even understand that sometimes you want to do a 'mini-drag', i.e. instead of starting with backspin you just start with center so it burns just a hair of cue ball speed developing into a roll and allows for a hair more swing speed.
But in this case I couldn't tell the difference between what he did and a soft roll. I'm talking the shot at 5:40. I went to 1/4 speed and it seems like the cue ball was fully rolling very, very quickly after contact. It almost looked like a full roll off the tip, but if not it had to have been almost immediate (like the cue ball was turning forward off the top at maybe 80%+ of a natural roll). The measel I was staring at disappears immediately.
Am I reading this incorrectly? Does this really change the cue speed you can use enough to justify elevation?
I think he didn't choose a very good example, especially because it required him to elevate.
We shoot that shot a lot on big snooker tables on very long shots, but hitting it below center ball. It allows us to hit long shots firmer to hold the line better, the pick up table roll just before contact to hold the cue ball from much forward roll. I know the brits do the same thing on that heavy nap directional cloth.
in oklahoma its just 'killin it'. great shot to have.
What trickery is supposed to be applied to the cue ball?
I'm with you. I think he's applying a concept to a shot that it doesn't really work on. The brain is tricky when it comes to pool. If you think you're doing something and you do it successfully, you just further that association in your mind. So, I don't see how the stun-run through or whatever we call it, works on these shots. The required speed takes away the advantages of the shot.
Sometimes you just have to take your medicine and roll the ball.
So, I’m the only person who was joking with their reply (maybe YOU’RE playing it wrong, Mr. Boyes), but I think some people have missed the point he was making. He specifically chose the shot on the rail not to demonstrate a drag shot, but to show how, by elevating your cue and coming down on the cue ball, a slightly similar effect can be had when you’re tight on the rail. If he was simply demonstrating a drag shot, of course he would have demonstrated with a long pot.
I get the effect. I played with the shot a bit and I just don't think you can achieve much on that specific shot. I can't quite explain why I think it doesn't quite apply, but it seems just outside the speed/distance window for it to work. Interesting concept to mess around with though.
Yeah, he didn’t do much to explain the shot or how it’s different to a standard drag shot. It’s one of those shots that actually requires fairly precise timing to get the timing and slight drag when tight on the rail.
As an aside, every pool YouTuber makes a video about the drag shot, telling people it’s a safer option for long shots than just rolling through. None of them talk about the increased accuracy needed when playing the shot. The slightest bit of side put on a drag shot will result in a lot swerve as compared to center ball. It’s just not as easy as everyone makes it out to be.
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Very true about the difficulty of the drag shot. This is why I practice the shot more than I actually use it. Good cueing practice if nothing more.
tomatoshooter
Well-known member
I'm with you here. He didn't really drag that shot much. I've been developing my super soft stop shot where I go for maximum backspin at minimum speed to get the least roll after the cue ball hits the object ball. I think that's what he was going for here. I think having the cue ball so close to the rail made dragging the shot harder and compromised the demonstration. Holding the cue ball for position on the 3 is enough to demonstrate, it seems like the proximity to the cushion is distracting from the core concept.
tomatoshooter
Well-known member
This is super true when playing on a bar table with a 100 year old cue ball. The extra friction magnifies any inaccuracy in your stroke.
Right, he didn’t explain it well, but I think the proximity to the cushion was the point of the video. I don’t think he was demonstrating a normal drag shot. He’s too experienced and too good a player to choose that shot as a drag shot demonstration.
So what was he demonstrating? I think he believes you can elevate a bit on those rail shots, striking down on the cue ball, to get it to slide for just a bit before it rolls. The idea being, that this would allow you to hold for position better than if you rolled it. I don't think that works on the specific shot. If you want your cue ball to slide, you have to hit it harder than you would if you just rolled it to begin with. Then again, I suppose if you hit both the elevated shot and the level shot with the exact same speed you could possible get something out of being elevated. Idk...on such a delicate shot, it seems like in both cases the cue ball would reach a natural rolling state.
There's so much good content top players are putting out, it's inevitable that they will push the limits of reality while trying to put out original content.
There's so much good content top players are putting out, it's inevitable that they will push the limits of reality while trying to put out original content.