Cue ball and object ball frozen to rail

F

Fuhghettaboutit

New member
How do you shoot the cueball when it is frozen to the rail and the object ball is frozen? I have read that you should use inside english and soft speed, but I haven't had much success. Do you aim slightly away from the rail or straight ahead? I think my main problem may be that the tables I play on are pretty poorly maintained, as in, crooked, but any advice would be appreciated.
 
Fuhghettaboutit said:
How do you shoot the cueball when it is frozen to the rail and the object ball is frozen? I have read that you should use inside english and soft speed, but I haven't had much success. Do you aim slightly away from the rail or straight ahead? I think my main problem may be that the tables I play on are pretty poorly maintained, as in, crooked, but any advice would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
I believe your technique is right. You aim to start the cueball going away from the cushion, and if the butt of your cue is elevated a little, it will curve back to strike the object ball. You don't have to hit it extremely slow, but slow enough so that it has time to come back to the cushion. If you have room to make your cue level with the table bed, ie. no interfering rail, I believe you can just stroke it centerball directly at the object ball, if scratching isn't a possibility.

To start the cueball moving away from the cushion, you may actually need to point your cue slightly in the direction of the cushion and let squirt (otherwise known as deflection) redirect the cueball away from it. It depends on how squirty your stick is.

What happens when you try it?

Jim
 
Last edited:
well what happens is, if I angle in toward the rail it bounces awy; not even close to curving back. When I try to shoot straight it also angles away probably cause of rail friction but sometimes comes back enough. The best results come from angling slightly (I mean just SLIGHTLY) away from the rail but my success rate is really poor, say one out of ten. I thought someone might know a better method that increases the odds.
 
Your success may vary because the distance from the object ball to the cue ball may be different on these shots. This distance is critical due to deflection and curve.

Also, if you raise the butt of your cue, this may cause the cueball to jump up. Since the cueball is frozen to the rail it is also slightly under the rail. When you jump the cueball the rail will push it out/away from the rail.

Tennessee Joe
 
Oh man! I totally call "Railsies!" Just like when playing in Miniture Golf or Putt-Putt, I say the ball is too close to the rail and say "Railsies," so I get to pull the ball away a little bit so it is easier to hit! ;)

:D I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist! :D
 
This exact shot is the topic of discussion in Keith McCready's article on page 14 of the November 2005 issue of Inside Pool magazine titled Red-Headed Stranger.
 
Fuhghettaboutit said:
well what happens is, if I angle in toward the rail it bounces awy; not even close to curving back. When I try to shoot straight it also angles away probably cause of rail friction but sometimes comes back enough. The best results come from angling slightly (I mean just SLIGHTLY) away from the rail but my success rate is really poor, say one out of ten. I thought someone might know a better method that increases the odds.
Click to expand...
Sorry, I don't. Maybe Keith McCready's article will help. It's been awhile since I've faced one of these but I think I usually hit a little below center on the cueball to slow it down and amplyfy the curve, although slight. You can get around a side pocket this way as well. Maybe, as Tennesseejoe suggested, you're elevating too much and need to get your cue a little more level. It doesn't take much to curve the ball and it won't bounce as much.

Jim
 
It is just a slight elevated shot with inside low English and you aim just a away from the rail....semi masse....speed is all you need to worry about.
 
Jam, I subscribe to Inside Pool mainly for Keith's articles. I almost let my subscription lapse about 6 months ago, but my girlfriend insisted that I re-up. Turns out, she reads his articles too and that's all she reads. lol Some of his stories are priceless. I liked the story about playing a guy in a clown outfit and going to to carnival as a kid playing the carnies. Although she can't play a lick, she gets the issues out of the mailbox every month and reads his article before she lets me have it. Tell him not to miss anymore issues. She's never sadder than when she doesn't get her monthly fix of Ether.
 
Donovan said:
Oh man! I totally call "Railsies!" Just like when playing in Miniture Golf or Putt-Putt, I say the ball is too close to the rail and say "Railsies," so I get to pull the ball away a little bit so it is easier to hit! ;)

:D I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist! :D
Click to expand...
You mean that's not the rule?:D
 
You shoot with lots of rail side english and aim straight and level and medium to slow shot.

The trick here is that the extreme english makes the cue ball deflect away from the rail a little, and the rotating cue ball makes the cue ball come back to the rail and hug it. And then just the right speed so the cue ball will come back to hug the rail by the time it reaches the object ball.

This helps to get the cue ball past the side pocket. If there are serious table problems, this shot may be impossible. (Try other side of table or another table.)
 
Very difficult shot, one tip i do is if the shot is straight in, and frozen like you said is i aim up the cueballs left edge to the left edge on the objectball then do the same with the right edges, This way you get a double aim point rather then aiming center ball to center ball relationship.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top