Follow or Draw?

Michael Andros

Michael Andros

tiny balls, GIANT pockets
Silver Member
In most cases, whether follow or draw is needed on any given shot is fairly plain. But, in cases far less often, it can be follow OR draw. Now, given that most of the time, the CB is going to cover more ground with follow than with draw and most of us know, the farther whitey travels the more chances of "Oops!" happening. But, if all things were equal, which would you rather use, follow or draw? It's definitely a personal preference.
 
Follow

Next important step after pocketing the ball is making sure the cue ball lands in my leave for the next shot. For me, I'm more consistent on follow than draw.
 
Michael Andros said:
In most cases, whether follow or draw is needed on any given shot is fairly plain. But, in cases far less often, it can be follow OR draw. Now, given that most of the time, the CB is going to cover more ground with follow than with draw and most of us know, the farther whitey travels the more chances of "Oops!" happening. But, if all things were equal, which would you rather use, follow or draw? It's definitely a personal preference.
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When there are two possible positioning options, for me it seems like it's often a choice between high inside vs low outside. Every shot is different and it would depend on the individual shot, but as a general rule, I love inside english more than most, so I will often choose the high inside option.
 
Unless the cb/ob are very close to each other, follow is far more effective. Whether you like mustard on your stupid fries or not.

Remember:
Show dough draw cho blow de doe no mo.
Ho dee doh.
 
I'd rather stun than follow because as stated, follow adds a fair amount of unpredictability depending on the amount of stroke used and the interaction between CB\OB.

The above statement and action depends on whether stun\follow\draw puts me in position for my next shot. Positioning dictates what should be used in all cases.
 
Black-Balled said:
Unless the cb/ob are very close to each other, follow is far more effective. Whether you like mustard on your stupid fries or not.

Remember:
Show dough draw cho blow de doe no mo.
Ho dee doh.
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Iwas not even done laughing at "stupid fries" when I read the RED
 
I trust draw more than follow as long as the balls are clean. I can only follow well when I am playing really good. Soft follow has never been a problem, its the force follow that will make me cuss.
 
Michael Andros said:
In most cases, whether follow or draw is needed on any given shot is fairly plain. But, in cases far less often, it can be follow OR draw. Now, given that most of the time, the CB is going to cover more ground with follow than with draw and most of us know, the farther whitey travels the more chances of "Oops!" happening. But, if all things were equal, which would you rather use, follow or draw? It's definitely a personal preference.
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I've never had a preference. I know most do but some don't.

I'm equally bad with both.

Rake
 
If you're at a scratchy angle, it is much more difficult to beat a pocket with follow than it is with draw. A ball with draw grabs the cloth immediately, but follow jumps the CB off of the table and needs to wait to land before it grabs the cloth.

Follow may be a small bit easier to execute in long distance cases because the cue elevation is more level than the same case with draw. But if you have a good stroke or good squirt-swerve intuition then it isn't an issue.

When against the rail, if you hit top with spin, the CB will swerve immediately, faster than it squirts. If you learn to compensate for this you can get out of sticky situations with a lot of spin.

You can also use draw when you're against the rail by hitting through the edge of the bumper itself to catch the close edge of the cue ball, but it isn't very easy to execute well.

In general, a ton of players hit both top and draw shots too hard with a punchy stroke and too short a backstroke. Assuming you are using closed bridge, if you take a long backstroke, and then push the cue far through the ball and let the taper of the cue wedge open your bridge hand fingers, this is by far a better and more accurate stroke than punching at the cue ball and letting the cue come to rest by reversing the force using your stroking arm.

Steep angle top is also good for tickies to get to the corner.

That's all I can think of right now. Enjoy!
 
Robert Byrne stated in one of his books that follow is much easier to judge and control than draw. In my experience, he is correct. All things being equal, follow tends to be superior to draw. That said, many position shots are much easier using draw than follow. The "prefer-follow-over-draw" concept really comes into play when you have cue ball in hand. It is usually better to look for a follow shot as opposed to a draw.
 
LowRight said:
Robert Byrne stated in one of his books that follow is much easier to judge and control than draw. In my experience, he is correct. All things being equal, follow tends to be superior to draw. That said, many position shots are much easier using draw than follow. The "prefer-follow-over-draw" concept really comes into play when you have cue ball in hand. It is usually better to look for a follow shot as opposed to a draw.
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A valid point. When I have BIH, I almost always give myself the natural angle to follow. A few exceptions but not many.
 
I prefer whatever let’s me travel along the line of my next shot rather than across it. I like bouncing off a rail or two. I like follow/stun over draw. I like partial follow and partial draw over straight draw. And while draw might be low in my priority list, I feel I’ve improved my ability and confidence with it a lot over the last couple years.


Respectfully, Matt
(I don’t take myself too seriously. I hope you can return the favor.)
 
Do not prefer one over the other.

I do need to focus on draw. It almost feels contradictive to follow through, to me anyway.

But placing the cue ball exactly where it needs to be on a long draw feels like a good accomplishment.
 
i think one should be able to do either
but going along with the reasons for using follow with BIH
i would rather roll the ball than draw the ball
usually draw requires more acceleration and/ or power
jmho
 
Let's be honest here. The biggest problem most of us have with draw, particularly concerning a shot requiring considerable "power" draw, is our fear of mis-cuing. That is likely the main reason many of us have chosen to prefer follow, when we have a choice between follow and draw in regards to our cue ball positioning paths. I'll admit it is a concern for me, and I'm a pretty decent player.
 
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ChrisinNC said:
Let's be honest here. The biggest problem most of us have with draw, particularly concerning a shot requiring considerable "power" draw, is our fear of mis-cuing. That is likely the main reason many of us have chosen to prefer follow, when we have a choice between follow and draw in regards to our cue ball positioning paths. I'll admit it is a concern for me, and I'm a pretty decent player.
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Me too and me too.
 
For speed control, follow is generally more reliable because the behavior of a draw shot can vary so much based on the cloth and balls. A rolling cue ball is more predictable than a sliding one, especially over longer distances. With ball in hand, I will always choose to roll forwards into position over draw if the distances are similar. That said, I'll take a stop shot over either.

Fortunately, the layout of the table usually dictates the better option, so this decision doesn't come up too often. Most of the time, if one option brings the cue ball along your position line for the next shot, the other one brings you across it.
 
ChrisinNC said:
Let's be honest here. The biggest problem most of us have with draw, particularly concerning a shot requiring considerable "power" draw, is our fear of mis-cuing. That is likely the main reason many of us have chosen to prefer follow, when we have a choice between follow and draw in regards to our cue ball positioning paths. I'll admit it is a concern for me, and I'm a pretty decent player.
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Bull caca mama. That is like saying the reason people dont run faster is coz they are afraid to fall down.

People who do things regularly learn the ranges of ____ and in turn, do those things within those ranges.

Miscue doesn't even enter into likely possible outcomes...not to say it never happens, but when it does happen, it is coz the edge of the range has been tested or there is hardware failure.
 
LowRight said:
Robert Byrne stated in one of his books that follow is much easier to judge and control than draw. In my experience, he is correct. All things being equal, follow tends to be superior to draw. That said, many position shots are much easier using draw than follow. The "prefer-follow-over-draw" concept really comes into play when you have cue ball in hand. It is usually better to look for a follow shot as opposed to a draw.
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What LowRight said. I was scrolling through the thread and getting ready to offer up my two cents which was exactly as LowRight said. Agree 100%. To steal an old golf line … you draw for show and follow for dough.
 
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