This is what I do. I've never considered anything like what the op is talking about.
How do you Aim Off to compensate for sidespin
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This is what I do. I've never considered anything like what the op is talking about.
Nonsense! While it's true that no aiming method works for all shots and all situations (except perhaps "feel"), ALL aiming methods work...provided you have an accurate and repeatable stroke (whether that is traditional or nontraditional). It's also true that no aiming method works with a poor stroke. While your method of "trial and error" will work eventually...with a nonrepeatable stroke it will take forever.
Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com
Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com
If you're following a pre-shot routine, then you need to complete all critical thinking before you go down to commit to the shot. If you have second thoughts, its best practice to 'reset', get back up and re-start the PSR.
I use BHE and FHE. Post pivot, I'm still looking through the center of the object ball at my original contact point.
BHE will deflect less, and FHE will deflect more.
I use the BHE pivot point for a medium/hard shot, and base it all from there.
So for left cuts with the Pure BHE pivot point:
If I hit it softer than medium/hard, or that ball is farther, I'll add touches of left FHE to have to it squirt over more.
If I'm hitting it harder than medium/hard, I know that it's going to squirt over too much, so I'll add a bit of right FHE to have it squirt more over to the left, but I'll use the BHE to still be on the left side of the ball.
A bridge shorter than the pure pivot point won't add enough compensation: so if you use BHE, you have to hit it muuuch harder, or favour a higher FHE to BHE ratio.
A longer bridge will compensate too much, so you either have to hit it much softer, or add FHE from the other side to make it squirt back.
I kind of look at it like playing an instrument. You can move up and down the neck of the cue, and still play the same chord, but you have to adjust the notes.
To elaborate, you start knowing the "recipe" for a shot: Like I know if I'm using a shorter bridge, this medium shot is going to require 3 tips of left FHE to make it squirt over more than usual, and you use BHE to bring the tip back closer to center so the net result is a tip of left. Or if you're using a medium bridge and you think it's going to swerve too much, so you put half a tip of right BHE and half a tip of right FHE to get a tip of Right. Finally if you're gunna wallop it with say right spin, You crank it all the way over to the left with FHE to make the ball squire to the right, and then you use BHE to put the actual right spin on the ball.
Another option is you just change your bridge length. If you want to hit the shot softer or it's farther, you can just bridge further back, and the pivot will compensate more. It's a very fluid system with lots of options.
BHE will deflect less, and FHE will deflect more.
I use the BHE pivot point for a medium/hard shot, and base it all from there.
So for left cuts with the Pure BHE pivot point:
If I hit it softer than medium/hard, or that ball is farther, I'll add touches of left FHE to have to it squirt over more.
If I'm hitting it harder than medium/hard, I know that it's going to squirt over too much, so I'll add a bit of right FHE to have it squirt more over to the left, but I'll use the BHE to still be on the left side of the ball.
A bridge shorter than the pure pivot point won't add enough compensation: so if you use BHE, you have to hit it muuuch harder, or favour a higher FHE to BHE ratio.
A longer bridge will compensate too much, so you either have to hit it much softer, or add FHE from the other side to make it squirt back.
I kind of look at it like playing an instrument. You can move up and down the neck of the cue, and still play the same chord, but you have to adjust the notes.
To elaborate, you start knowing the "recipe" for a shot: Like I know if I'm using a shorter bridge, this medium shot is going to require 3 tips of left FHE to make it squirt over more than usual, and you use BHE to bring the tip back closer to center so the net result is a tip of left. Or if you're using a medium bridge and you think it's going to swerve too much, so you put half a tip of right BHE and half a tip of right FHE to get a tip of Right. Finally if you're gunna wallop it with say right spin, You crank it all the way over to the left with FHE to make the ball squire to the right, and then you use BHE to put the actual right spin on the ball.
Another option is you just change your bridge length. If you want to hit the shot softer or it's farther, you can just bridge further back, and the pivot will compensate more. It's a very fluid system with lots of options.
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It differs depending on;
cue
shaft
ferrule
tip
type of cloth
distance to OB
speed of shot
temperature
humidity
barometric pressure
lighting
time of day
how dirty cloth is
how dirty cue ball is
how dirty object ball is
How much you've drank or hadn't drank
How much you've smoked or haven't smoked yet
Do you have a woman waiting, how big is she
You'll get it figured out
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I think a shot is about the interplay of Spin, Speed and Aim. It's a sort of pick 2 out of the 3 type situation. You can have a little wiggle room with any two of the categories, but it locks you into having to do the third element very specifically.
You can choose:
1. A rough estimate of Spin and Speed, but only one aim spot will make the ball.
2. A rough estimate of Aim and Speed, but only a certain tip offset and elevation will make the ball.
3. A rough estimate of Spin and Aim, but only a certain speed will make the ball.
Edit:
Ideally, a good player is precise in all three. And I think you need to actually be precise in all three to make the shot and get the shape. Real world, you put roughly the right spin, and roughly the right aim, and roughly the right speed, and you get roughly the right shape.
You can choose:
1. A rough estimate of Spin and Speed, but only one aim spot will make the ball.
2. A rough estimate of Aim and Speed, but only a certain tip offset and elevation will make the ball.
3. A rough estimate of Spin and Aim, but only a certain speed will make the ball.
Edit:
Ideally, a good player is precise in all three. And I think you need to actually be precise in all three to make the shot and get the shape. Real world, you put roughly the right spin, and roughly the right aim, and roughly the right speed, and you get roughly the right shape.
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Good post.:grin:
Ultimately all those factors can be addressed by asking if you need to make more squirt or not.
Either you're squirting too much or not enough and you adjust accordingly.
That's what she said.
I...walked right into that.
That's what she said.
Johnnybgood
Banned
It's an easy answer with a complicated outcome.
It's experience. It's the only way I found to be able to do it with consistency. Too many variables involved.
Sent from my iPhone using AzBilliards Forums
It's experience. It's the only way I found to be able to do it with consistency. Too many variables involved.
Sent from my iPhone using AzBilliards Forums
This isn't exactly true either. It's not just that they don't work for all shots and situations, it is that none of them work even a significant portion of the time without subconscious adjustments based on experience--otherwise known as "feel". Some of them, like ghost ball, typically need smaller amounts of subconscious adjustments in regards to how much you need and how often you need it, and others, like some of those that are being sold and have gotten somewhat of a cult following among a few in recent years, require very significant amounts of subconscious adjustments almost all of the time and in fact are really just a series of steps that serve to disguise that you are actually playing almost solely by feel because you are in fact forced to be for the system to "work". Bottom line is that feel (subconscious adjustments) is involved with all of them but it is much more extensively involved and has to work much harder with some "systems" because they feed much higher levels of inaccurate info which has to be overcome so you don't miss so many shots as a result.
You're a goddamn genius Gump! Best post so far!!! If I could rep you, you would get double green
Jason
I do something different. But discussing here is fruitless.
If I read 336Robin correctly, I do and teach basically the same thing. I think it's all fine and good that so many people can subconsciously aim for all kinds of English at various speeds and distances. For those that can't, and especially for those that are going the wrong direction in their compensation, they might want to have a discussion with people who have an organized instruction method for teaching English.
Everyone is different in how they learn. We live in a beautiful time where we have so many options.
Freddie <~~~ before and after
I am curious as to whether you compensate your shot (when you have to, for some of us) before you go down for your shot or after - assuming you know which side to compensate.
If before you go down for your shot, where do you look at when you aimed? At a spot on the object ball or just guesswork?
If after you go down for your shot, then how do you make the adjustment so as to aim off? Sideways, or rotate your bridge hand or simply by moving your thumb?
If before you go down for your shot, where do you look at when you aimed? At a spot on the object ball or just guesswork?
If after you go down for your shot, then how do you make the adjustment so as to aim off? Sideways, or rotate your bridge hand or simply by moving your thumb?
Actually, you are selling something, like I said, so you will argue that aiming systems work.
To be fair, they will put you in the relative ballpark on which side of the ball to hit (when you first start to learn pool), but if you ever use an aiming system after you have played for any period of time, you are fooling yourself.
I compete, as well as teach, but I don't teach aiming systems. I know the majority of them and they all require "adjustments" for everything.. This is a failure of the system as you can just guess at a spot, then make adjustments.
You can show me any aiming system and I can choose virtually any shot and make it fail. If its unreliable, its no better than a crooked stroke..
There are too may variables for a system to work, and there is no short cut to increasing your skill at pool other than time.
The stroke is more important and that should be the focus. The "other stuff" is learned as you go.
I don't want this to become an argument aiming vs no aiming systems, but I am trying to provide a method for the OP to learn what they can do...
This is sort of trial and error, as you put it, but its not derogatory. You learn to do everything in life by trial and error, even if someone shows you some "system", it won't work until you make subconscious adjustments each time you miss.
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