Fractional Shot "Coverage"
- Thread starter Patrick Johnson
- Start date
I don’t visualize it that way, but of course to make the shot it has to be the same. Any “geometrically correct” method (DD, ghostball, parallel lines, etc.) ends up the same or it’s wrong.
pj
chgo
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Yep.....fractionally, from ccb perspective, the contact point on the ob will always be halfway between center ob and the fractional aim point being used. I have never been good at keeping the contact point in sight accurately enough to use it as a reference. I mean, anyone can stand behind the ob and determine the contact point, but keeping that point in focus or recognizing it from behind the cb is bit trickier.
The OB contact point is easier for me to see than fractions or any other "landmark" - I just naturally "see" the spot on the OB that's directly opposite the pocket. That's a great advantage, because of course it's the actual target - no "reference" angles or "adjustments". And it helps me see other things clearly,
like the tangent line.
pj <- lucky to have good spatial visualization
chgo
I agree.
You see pros walk around the table to line up the ob to the pocket on tough shots.
Even some who claim to use magical aiming systems.
I do that also, but I'm not focusing on a millimeter size contact patch/point. I'm looking at where the cb needs to be in order to send the ob toward the pocket. Then when I get back behind the cb I know where to aim in order to send the cb to where it needs to be. I wouldn't call it ghostball, as I'm not imagining a ghostball center aim or whatever. It is more of a ball to ball to pocket spatial relationship, sort of how a player can stand 45° from that tiny ob contact point and then estimate a parallel aim at just the right distance from that point, or using the cb cp to ob cp line with a parallel shift to ccb (as Nick Varner has taught).
About all aiming methods require a certain amount of spatial recognition skill, which is developed through experience of you don't have a natural ability for it. The particular method we stick with becomes our preferred aiming method. That's the only reason I find contact point aiming difficult to do.
And I think "our method" is just the part of the process we're most aware of - a lot, maybe most of how we aim is subconscious, and likely an amalgam of concepts and techniques from multiple concepts/systems.
That doesn't mean "our method" is meaningless or unimportant, just that it might be only the tip of the aiming iceberg.
pj
chgo
when you can see the contact point as also a fractional aiming point
it gives you a double valediction you are on the right sight line
on some difficult back cuts
i look at them as if i hit a half ball where would the object ball go
if i hit a 1/4 hit where would the object ball go
if i hit as thin as i can where will the object ball go
helps me dial in where i have to hit the object ball
i use contact point to contact point for those since i havent mastered the offset in space off the object ball for the thinner shots
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It's obvious, from knowing your past, that you stopped in for an intentional dig. Yes, even users of magical aiming systems will walk around the table to line up the OB to the pocket. Would you happen to know why?
Joey, the little digs are not helping the CTE wars in any way. If you ain't part of the solution....
I wouldn't call it ghost ball either.
I've seen them bend over and even place the tip of their cue under the ball pointing towards the pocket.
I've seen Efren place the tip past the ob towards the pocket a few times.
And I've seen Efren pivot. Good players use everything available.
I would like to know why?
Why we walk around the table?
Several reasons. First it never hurts to gather all the info we can
Second, could be a part of a pre shot routine
Third, CTE specific, It can help with picking out the proper perception and whether to use the inside or outside sweep.
Sounds reasonable. Experienced judgment is a must when determining whether a perception is a couple of degrees thin or a couple of degrees thick.
I sometimes walk around the table to stall and frustrate my opponent.:smile:
I guess I thought you would know which sweep to use when behind the cue ball. Either thicker or thinner. Did not think looking at the line from object ball to pocket would influence your decision.
Stan explains this very well in a few vids. He demonstrates how obvious it is to recognize which way to pivot/sweep by looking at where the ob would go if you shot it from the fixed cb as seen from the perception. This actually does require a little experience, at least enough to be able to estimate the ob path given a certain cb-ob relationship. Sometimes it's very obvious, other times not so much. Having a good understanding of fractional aiming can make it easier to recognize ob paths based on various cb-ob relationships.
I do, but i have a lot of experience. For players learning it can be very helpful