How Do I Stop Scratching On This Shot?

MDSPHOTO

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I can make this shot 8 out of 10 times, unfortunately I scratch about the same amount of times. How do I not pocked the cue ball on this shot?
Screen Shot 2021-07-07 at 9.44.26 AM.png
 

couldnthinkof01

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Cut it thinner towards the long rail with a center or rolling cue ball. Stay still and trust your stroke.
If you still miss you are either hitting the object ball to thick or too hard.

watch around 8 min mark
 
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hang-the-9

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
The softer you hit that, the less stun to the right the cueball will have, so slower hit, with follow, and if your skill level allows it, aim to overcut it a bit.
 

mikemosconi

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Good advice here, if you must play this shot, with high- go higher on the CB than you would normally think is possible ( takes some practice to build confidence) , using all stoke and a softer hit- enough to make the ball - if possible on the thinner side of the 8.
 

JC

Coos Cues
I can make this shot 8 out of 10 times, unfortunately I scratch about the same amount of times. How do I not pocked the cue ball on this shot? View attachment 601336
People have given advice on how to hit it but what you really need is to learn what the tangent line is and how high and low influence it and your troubles will be over. On this and every other shot.

There are multiple good videos on this subject available on youtube.

Edit: High, Low and speed all alter the deflection line. Once you understand it only a very few shots are scratches that are unavoidable. And as a bonus you will also recognize these ones.
 
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middleofnowhere

Registered
With a natural stroke rolling the cue ball it's not a scratch shot. The cue ball's natural momentum should prevent the scratch. A lot of players though have a natural instinct to fire those in with draw.
 

DaveK

Still crazy after all these years
Silver Member
The softer you hit that, the less stun to the right the cueball will have, so slower hit, with follow, and if your skill level allows it, aim to overcut it a bit.
This is how I play the shot. Note that this method greatly reduces the scratch possibility, but has little or no safety element (ya miss, ya lose).

Dave
 

Bob Jewett

AZB Osmium Member
Staff member
Gold Member
Silver Member
"Hit with more top." Well, no, that's not necessary. From the distance shown, unless he hits the ball like he's killing snakes, even center ball on the cue ball will have it rolling smoothly on the cloth when it gets to the object ball. That's the best you can expect and more than sufficient to avoid the scratch. And by "not killing snakes" I mean that the cue ball will not come out past the side pockets after hitting two rails in the corner.

Of course if the object ball is this side of the spot, the scratch might be dead. Whatever diagramming tool that it, it is lousy.
 

fastone371

Certifiable
Silver Member
There are times you may have to draw due to the location of other balls on the table that may carom the cue ball into the corner pocket. For me its tough to draw out of a scratch here because I have scratched so often by banking the cue ball into the same corner as the 8. You have to use draw and slow speed to avoid the scratch. I prefer hitting this with a rolling cue ball.
 

ChrisinNC

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I can make this shot 8 out of 10 times, unfortunately I scratch about the same amount of times. How do I not pocked the cue ball on this shot? View attachment 601336
This should not even come close to scratching. As long as you are rolling the cue ball at an easy to medium pace, the cue ball should contact the end cushion comfortably clear of the pocket. Of course, if you undercut and miss the shot badly, then of course you could scratch. Only if you are hitting it harder and/or attempting to draw the cue ball off the side cushion will you risk scratching, if you successfully pocket the object ball.
 
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hang-the-9

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
This is how I play the shot. Note that this method greatly reduces the scratch possibility, but has little or no safety element (ya miss, ya lose).

Dave

It also depends on exactly how the shot is sitting, most of those angles you can still hit it at a pace to bring the cueball past the middle of the table. It's often hard to tell from a diagram. I love those shots that have an equal scratch no matter what side you shoot at also, just to annoy the player LOL

Another thing that people may not realize, or at least think about, is that the table setup will also affect the scratch. On a loose table with wide pockets, this shot will scratch a lot more than on a nice sharp cut corner pockets of a Diamond or a well setup Gold Crown with pro cut pockets. I don't know how many times I play a shot that I know will be close to the pocket but not "IN" and the width of the pocket makes me a liar LOL

Another thing is when playing on a bar table with a heavy cueball, you can actually avoid this scratch easier since the heavy cueball will carry it to a sharper forward angle. One of the few times when playing with a heavy cueball has an advantage.
 

Dead Money

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
People have given advice on how to hit it but what you really need is to learn what the tangent line is and how high and low influence it and your troubles will be over. On this and every other shot.

There are multiple good videos on this subject available on youtube.

Edit: High, Low and speed all alter the deflection line. Once you understand it only a very few shots are scratches that are unavoidable. And as a bonus you will also recognize these ones.

Learning that was a huge thing for me.
 

Patrick Johnson

Fish of the Day
Silver Member
The only way to scratch from that position is to hit it like a stop shot (with a sliding CB).
...learn what the tangent line is and how high and low influence it
Understand the Devil's Semi-Circle (the Semi-Circle of Death).
The Semi-Circle of Death is the half circle drawn from corner pocket to corner pocket passing through the spot. Straight lines to both corner pockets from any point on that semi-circle form a 90-degree angle. That means pocketing an OB that's on that semi-circle (including a ball on the spot) into either corner pocket with a stun hit (so the CB caroms straight along the 90-degree "tangent line") will scratch the CB in the other corner pocket.

pj
chgo
 
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