Do you have to put chen on cue to aim ?

[Bob Jewett]

... However I'll get a little more specific in this case and say to watch a few vids of Ronnie O'Sullivan cue action break downs....

I agree that many pool players could benefit from being more like snooker players. That particular video gets a few things wrong and misses what seems to be a very important part of Ronnie's technique on power shots.

I think the main benefit from having the chin on the cue is that your head is in the same place relative to the cue on every shot. I think that even if you do not have the cue in the "best" position as far as seeing the shot accurately, having the same view on every shot is huge for developing consistency. The second most important benefit in my view is that there is tactile feedback during the stroke of the position of the cue. That requires the chin to remain in contact during the forward stroke.

 

[boogieman]

I play in a more upright position for the most part. For long, thin cuts I get a little lower, but only then.
I'm one of the best bankers in the region, and I feel my stance has something to do with it (see the angles better).

I'm really good at kicking. My default kicking stance is not fully standing, but about half way between standing and chin on the cue. When dealing with kicks it seems to eliminate some visual distortion.

 

[Geosnookery]

I know most top pro players put chen on cue, Is this a must to aim ?

Depends.

If playing Snooker in a match I always do. ‘Usually’ in Pool but maybe only 2/3rds of shots as no need to be as accurate.

At home on the Snooker table playing on my own? Likely 20% of shots cue on the chin. Depends on the shot.

I have no particular logic. I’ve just always played the way I was taught. No aiming method, just to concentrates on stance and stroke technique. Stay consistent and you naturally get the balls to drop without a lot of thought.

Take the last 4 world Snooker champions. Every shot chin on the stick. However 4 different strokes. Judd Trump and O’Sullivan very different. But they are all consistent ‘within their own’ technique.

 

[Guy Manges]

I agree that many pool players could benefit from being more like snooker players. That particular video gets a few things wrong and misses what seems to be a very important part of Ronnie's technique on power shots.

I think the main benefit from having the chin on the cue is that your head is in the same place relative to the cue on every shot. I think that even if you do not have the cue in the "best" position as far as seeing the shot accurately, having the same view on every shot is huge for developing consistency. The second most important benefit in my view is that there is tactile feedback during the stroke of the position of the cue. That requires the chin to remain in contact during the forward stroke.

Can you just imagine Shac with chin on cue for shot ... this may be a major change for playing pocket pool from the old days... Guy

 

[jrctherake]

If a person can touch their chin to the cue while in stance:

They are to young/healthy for me to play.....

 

[Sharivari]

Your personal right cue alignment is most important for straight shots. It decided if a shot just looks straight to you, or if it is really straight. With the wrong alignment, the two 2D images that your brain receives by your eyes will be shifted, therefore a slight angle will look straight to you.

On angled shots it's not that big of a deal. You don't really see the aiming line from behind. The way it has to look to you has to be learned anyways. However, it can be the reason why you prefer a certain cutting direction (to the left or right) and have a higher success rate.

Your cue doesn't necessarily have to be exactly under your dominant eye. There are more factors that determine the right position, e.g eyesight of each eye, the tilt of your head, or simply if there are any anomalies of how exactly your brain is putting the images together.

I have made a video about that a while ago aswell.

 

[Rusty in Montana]

I'll join the ranks of so called old time players who use a higher stance when playing pool , the main reason is I've had my neck fused twice now so it's nearly solid so bending it literally is out of the question .
My stance at the table is considered a combination of a American and European stance by a person who has played in both .

 

[The_JV]

I think the main benefit from having the chin on the cue is that your head is in the same place relative to the cue on every shot. I think that even if you do not have the cue in the "best" position as far as seeing the shot accurately, having the same view on every shot is huge for developing consistency. The second most important benefit in my view is that there is tactile feedback during the stroke of the position of the cue. That requires the chin to remain in contact during the forward stroke.

I completely agree... I know I'm not cueing in line to my "vision center", but my heavily engrained HAMB library is based off this 'bad' view.

 

[The_JV]

No aiming method, just to concentrates on stance and stroke technique. Stay consistent and you naturally get the balls to drop without a lot of thought.

They should make this into a banner at the top of the aiming forum and lock the rest down.

 

[eastcoast_chris]

I know I play with my chin on the cue because every so often I'll rip a chin hair out if I haven't shaved.... they somehow get wedged in the joint.

But I grew up playing snooker and therefor still have a lots of that style in my stance when playing pool.

I'll often revert to a snooker stance/stroke completely if I'm trying to make a very precise shot that doesn't require much spin.

 

[ShootingArts]

I have to talk about yesteryear when talking low stances. Just doesn't happen now. However, when I wore a younger man's clothes as Neil said so well, my stance on various shots went from ten or twelve inches above the cue, tried center chin, liked corner of jaw better, Even as high up as just under my eye when I was trying to just polish a ball nine feet away. I wore a full beard during all of my pool playing obsession so I had no difficulty with the cue sliding freely.

All of these anchor points worked and adding a third or fourth anchor point is always of value in my opinion. However, I also learned that when I was feeling lazy I could lean well over the table from the side, reach both arms what would be directly overhead if standing up, and pocket balls quite well.

I think there is a geometric consistency when your eye is very close to the line of the pool cue, however, there is also a consistency when your eye is essentially the third point of a triangle when you move it further and further away. Some old time shooters shot very well with very erect stances.

Back to anchor points, I think more anchor points allows gentler contact with each anchor point and is better. when we shoot with bridge and grip we only have one true anchor point since one is in motion. Three anchor points gives us two fixed anchor points and four points may give us close to full circle contact around the cue at points along the length of it. In theory this is best. So many things work in practice because humans are a pee poor mechanical design for playing pool or other cue sports. With no perfect way to do things multiple less than perfect ways may be nearly equal.

Hu