Darren Appleton´s new video about aiming hard straight in shot.
- Thread starter Poolmanis
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Geosnookery
Well-known member
This is good technique for any straight in shot.
Years ago I was taught not to attempt a draw shot or anything else on a straight in shot unless certain of sinking the object ball. Missing is too much of a confidence zapper as you can’t hide or make an excuse,
Years ago I was taught not to attempt a draw shot or anything else on a straight in shot unless certain of sinking the object ball. Missing is too much of a confidence zapper as you can’t hide or make an excuse,
I know some players that aim that way on straight in shots, but I know a lot of players who will aim at a diamond, or to one side of a diamond, on the rail behind the rack when they break. They say it makes them stand up more and deliver more power. Once they pick the spot on the rail behind the rack, that gives them the hit on the 1 ball(if playing 9 ball) they want, they don’t look at the rack at all during the break
Yeah. I have been teaching this to some people.
Now this video is making it easier.
Often people don´t want learn stuff like this because they have not been seeing anyone teaching it or mention it. Now I can show this video to back up my teaching... World Champ using same method!
Yeah. I use it too on 8-ball and 10-ball. Break shot is still so much more than that but that part of puzzle. I think the most important thing on really accurate shots that you need to bend and watch shot from very low.
Many times I skip it and miss because lazy.
Test it by yourself. When you see straight or nearly straight in game, think before you bend down and see is it dead straight or do it have any angle? and which direction?
You will be surprised that often when you see there is slight cut from above it will be dead straight or vice versa!
Now when one thinks cut have slight cut to left when he is lining up. Then he goes to stance and notice this is straight. He tilts and not come up and begin line up again. I do it when not sharp. Everybody do it!
thx DA....
I do now! What's the reasoning for why it works better? That your focus point is farther away and therefore straighter?
boogieman
It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that ping.
I adjust by chalk cube widths (not putting them on the rail, just an easy reference) to get a break dialed in on different tables. Some tables take the diamond exactly, but it can vary as much as a ball's width either way depending on the table, and combined with spin and deflection to try to find the sweet spot.
It needs English subtitles.
It’s a weird logic right? If I said, with cue ball tight on the rail at the middle diamond, and my index poking over the edge of the opposite end rail, I’ll bet you $100 you can’t hit my index finger with the middle of the cueball, I’m pretty sure you’d take that bet.
However, If we set up the same conditions, but this time put an object ball on the blue spot (center spot), and I bet you $100 you can’t hit the cueball into the object and make the middle of the object ball hit my finger, you’d probably think twice.
I think it is how human eye works. They lie a lot more than we think.
Main thing is that it works better than looking to object ball.
Player need to be open minded though to try. I think Ronnie O´Sullivan also uses same method. About year ago I noticed he get distracted a lot and often tell referee to make notice that people on shot line should stay still. I think he looks further away than others.
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Yes, you are totally right. But would my odds improve in the second situation if I aimed (looked) at your finger and not the object ball?
A problem I see with this: What looks like a dead ‘straight-in’ shot may not actually be. If you aim at the pocket instead of the OB, and the shot line is a degree or two off, couldn’t that magnify any error?
When I force myself to watch that spot on the OB (as I pull the trigger), I am activating the subconscious/automatic ‘muscle-memory’/hand-eye coordination system that required many years to develop/ingrain. If it fails, it must mean my CB hit was off-center, not my point of aim.
When I force myself to watch that spot on the OB (as I pull the trigger), I am activating the subconscious/automatic ‘muscle-memory’/hand-eye coordination system that required many years to develop/ingrain. If it fails, it must mean my CB hit was off-center, not my point of aim.
This is a very old aiming system. Part of the system is to pick out what part of the pocket you want to shoot to. If the cue ball is to the left side of the pocket, you need to aim very slightly farther to that same side and not at the center of the pocket.
Some players aim like this even for significant cuts. I believe Eufemia used an "aim to a spot on the rail" system. Ray Martin recommends it for spot shots in his book.
boogieman
It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that ping.
Out of curiosity, what was the aiming system called?
I was down practicing tonight and remembered this video. It worked amazingly well. Of course I started trying it on other shots and it worked well. If the cut is too large, it's like you need to cut the difference in half, kind of like some kicks. My head feels like I've just had a huge new concept burned into it. I'm going to experiment with this more, but damn it seems very plausible after one session.
I don't remember that it was called anything. I propose "aiming beyond the ball". I had a typo in what I wrote above. It should say:
If the object ball is to one side of the pocket, the cue ball needs to be sent even farther on that side.
That's obvious from a simple diagram of the shot. How much more to the side is not a fixed amount. It depends on how far from the pocket the object ball is. It looks like you want only a very small adjustment if the object ball is about halfway to the pocket from the cue ball. If the object ball is either closer to the pocket or closer to the cue ball, it looks like you will need more adjustment. By adjustment, I mean how far from wherever in the pocket "straight at the ball" points to. That is, if the object ball and cue ball are lined up to one of the pocket points, the cue ball needs to be sent towards a spot on the rail that is even farther from the center of the pocket than the point.
Here is a diagram showing a shot that has to be adjusted. The line that the cue ball has to be shot along is through the ghost ball, which is quite a ways from the center of the pocket.
To be really useful, the system needs to allow such adjustment.
In that instance, there's a couple good reasons to ignore the object ball.
1) You're jacked up and need to make sure you aren't going to curve the ball.
2) By ignoring the object ball, there is no angle to engage your shotmaking intuition. This is big for me. I determine the shot line as accurately as possible and damn the torpedos.