Force follow

[onepocketron]

Draw a line from the nine through the one. You aim where the line intersects the BACK of the one ball. Takes a little practice to get comfortable aiming at the back of the ball Works every time.

 

[Patrick Johnson]

Draw a line from the nine through the one. You aim where the line intersects the BACK of the one ball. Takes a little practice to get comfortable aiming at the back of the ball Works every time.

Pretty sure that only works within a certain range of shots...

pj
chgo

 

[Texas Carom Club]

Is there a good method for determining aim on force follow shots?


try feel it out

 

[straightline]

Here's a crude diagram of a basic carom and how that ancient incorrect aiming point actually works.

The ball takes off in the direction of the aiming point but parallel to and displaced by a predictable amount contingent on the thickness of the hit. Obviously at some point, the cue ball will cross this line or attempt to converge depending on the speed of the strike. The touch and pertinent dynamics need to be sussed out the old fashioned way. (fancy that...) This type of shot is easily diagrammed on poster sized paper and the shot can be tested directly on the paper. Real pool will be slightly different of course but the calibration to your judgement is invaluable.

 

[dr_dave]

Dr. Dave's Rolling Carom Angle System (which I think of as the "2/7 Rule") is very accurate for predicting rolling carom angles when you're shooting an OB in a known direction (hopefully toward a pocket). Here it is adapted for situations like this when you know the carom angle you want and need to calculate the cut angle that will produce it. It's not as complicated as it might look, but it takes some careful visualizing and estimating.

1. Hold your cue over the CB, pointed (dashed black line) so that it crosses the Carom Line's "tail" (dashed white line) at 2/7 (between 1/4 and 1/3) of the distance from the ghost ball back to the CB.

2. Shift the cue parallel until it's over the OB (dashed yellow line). That's the cut angle that produces the rolling carom angle you want.

Don’t ask me how this works - it’s Dr. Dave’s method; I just adapted it for this kind of shot.

pj
chgo

View attachment 606037

For those interested in this approach, Diagram 3 in my BD article dealing with this topic and the following demonstration might help:

 

[dr_dave]

Draw a line from the nine through the one. You aim where the line intersects the BACK of the one ball. Takes a little practice to get comfortable aiming at the back of the ball Works every time.

Pretty sure that only works within a certain range of shots...

Agreed. For more info, see the "back of the ball" info and links on the full-hit CB control resource page.

 

[hang-the-9]

View attachment 605891Is there a good method for determining aim on force follow shots? As an example: Playing 9 Ball, it is your shot and you are playing a force follow shot on the 9 ball. Do you have a method to aim this besides repetitive feel? Billiard players seem to make these accurately.

Why play the one shot with follow, you can make the 1 in the side off the 6, the 8 combo off the 6, the 6 may make the 9 off the side rail. That's like a 4 way shot.

 

[Tennesseejoe]

Why play the one shot with follow, you can make the 1 in the side off the 6, the 8 combo off the 6, the 6 may make the 9 off the side rail. That's like a 4 way shot.

Just an example for Force Follow.... Not to confuse folks. Thanks

 

[Tennesseejoe]

Here's a crude diagram of a basic carom and how that ancient incorrect aiming point actually works.
View attachment 606085

The ball takes off in the direction of the aiming point but parallel to and displaced by a predictable amount contingent on the thickness of the hit. Obviously at some point, the cue ball will cross this line or attempt to converge depending on the speed of the strike. The touch and pertinent dynamics need to be sussed out the old fashioned way. (fancy that...) This type of shot is easily diagrammed on poster sized paper and the shot can be tested directly on the paper. Real pool will be slightly different of course but the calibration to your judgement is invaluable.

Very good example...Thanks

 

[onepocketron]

Pretty sure that only works within a certain range of shots...

pj
chgo

I would agree

 

[Patrick Johnson]

Draw a line from the nine through the one. You aim where the line intersects the BACK of the one ball. Takes a little practice to get comfortable aiming at the back of the ball Works every time.

Pretty sure that only works within a certain range of shots...

I would agree

Still, it has a special place in my poolplayer's heart... it was the first CB control technique I learned, *cough* years ago.

pj
chgo

 

[Bob Jewett]

Agreed. For more info, see the "back of the ball" info and links on the full-hit CB control resource page.

For small cut angles (nearly full hits), the "back of the ball" system seems to predict the cue ball will be deflected about twice the cut angle. That compares with 2.5 (ideal) and 3.0 times the cut angle for other systems. I think twice the angle (back of the ball) would have worked better with ivory balls -- Hoppe described the system (1941) and he played with ivories.

It is important to remember that a lot of these systems only work for nearly full shots. As an example, the "back of the ball system" if asked how to make the cue ball deflect 90 degrees with a follow shot will tell you to shoot for a half-ball hit.

 

[Tennesseejoe]

I would like to thank everyone for the posts and private messages. By the responses, it seems like a quite a few folks have an interest in force follow techniques. Your input is a big reason why I like AZBilliards. Thanks again.