Is it possible to miscue on a center ball hit?

Maniac

Maniac

2manyQ's
Silver Member
After seeing a couple of recent posts here concerning miscueing and reading some posters comments about miscueing on center ball hits, I was wondering if it is scientifically possible to miscue on a center ball hit? I'm assuming that we are talking about a cue stick with a correctly shaped tip and the point of impact of tip to cueball is dead center. Personally, I don't think it is possible to miscue in this situation. I know in 40 years of shooting pool that I have never done it. I believe that anyone who THINKS they have done it probably hit a slight bit off-center thinking they hit center ball (which of course would NOT be a center ball miscue). Any thoughts on this???

Maniac
 
Not a true answer.... just starting the pondering...

Obviously center ball hit is a very unlikely place to miscue...

To gets some answers to your inquiry:
First of all, you'd definitely want to start with a non-chalked tip. Should probably even start with one of those brand new factory tips, that are not only hard, but coated. Could even go as far as using something like a broom handle...

Followthrough could play a factor... only since people don't have a truly straight followthrough. And now, the high speed video has shown that on miscues the ball hits the side of the stick... So you gotta have some way to give the stick a chance to get from the center to the side...

Maybe if you took an extreme example.... if you use something that is way more flexible than a typical pool stick.... Let's say a Twizzler... Seems like you could conceivably aim for center ball and get a miscue effect...
 
with a true center ball hit using today's standard cues and balls a miscue is not possible imo. the problem can come from the fact that some think they're hitting center ball but in fact their stroke is "sliding" or 'dipping" upon contact with the cue ball and they don't realize it. this can cause a miscue with a severley under chalked tip.
 
I hate dignifying this post with a response, so I'll keep this short with what little I know:

Anything is possible in pool.

Maniac said:
After seeing a couple of recent posts here concerning miscueing and reading some posters comments about miscueing on center ball hits, I was wondering if it is scientifically possible to miscue on a center ball hit? I'm assuming that we are talking about a cue stick with a correctly shaped tip and the point of impact of tip to cueball is dead center. Personally, I don't think it is possible to miscue in this situation. I know in 40 years of shooting pool that I have never done it. I believe that anyone who THINKS they have done it probably hit a slight bit off-center thinking they hit center ball (which of course would NOT be a center ball miscue). Any thoughts on this???

Maniac
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Rexactly!

StevenPWaldon said:
I hate dignifying this post with a response, so I'll keep this short with what little I know:

Anything is possible in pool.
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Rexactly what I was thinking! For a man of my skill and talent anything is possible, including miscuing on any conceivable shot. :D :D :D

Hu
 
I will say no, its not possible, unless you are hitting the center of the cb with the edge of the cue tip (as in a jacked up shot etc). The only place on the tip you can miscue is the edge, not the center. On a level stroke, centerball hit..... you never need chalk.
Chuck
 
Yeah, generally I'd agree with this. My initial post was sort of a cop-out; that if you try hard enough i'm sure you could miscue... or if something catastrophic happened in the universe that altered something.... I don't know. I just don't like to rule out [im]possibilities.

However: the reason I am posting (again) is that when I first start to warm up playing, I pull out my cue without chalking my tip, and start hitting balls. There's no real chalk to speak of left over from previous games on the tip, because before putting the shafts in my case I wipe all the chalk off. I do this so that the inside of the case doesn't get all chalky, since I put my shafts with the tip down.

Ok, all that nonsense aside: When I do start hitting balls without chalk, I rarely miscue. Yes, I make sure to stay around the center of the cueball with my tip, but I can do simple draws and english strokes provided that I stroke it well and without too much power.

So for practical purposes, it's not possible to miscue on center ball shots. And if you DO, it's your own fault.

RiverCity said:
I will say no, its not possible, unless you are hitting the center of the cb with the edge of the cue tip (as in a jacked up shot etc). The only place on the tip you can miscue is the edge, not the center. On a level stroke, centerball hit..... you never need chalk.
Chuck
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nonsense aside

StevenPWaldon said:
Ok, all that nonsense aside: When I do start hitting balls without chalk, I rarely miscue. Yes, I make sure to stay around the center of the cueball with my tip, but I can do simple draws and english strokes provided that I stroke it well and without too much power.

So for practical purposes, it's not possible to miscue on center ball shots. And if you DO, it's your own fault.
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Barring damage to the tip on that shot, a miscue is always the player's fault. Miscues come when you are pressing the limits of your tip material, shape, and grooming or you hold the stick sloppily. It is very possible to play with almost anything as a tip or no tip at all without miscuing, you simply have to accept the limitations of what you are hitting with and stay inside them.

Hu
 
It's possible if the shape if the tip isn't true. Other contributing factors: chalk, speed, stroke, tip type/construction, and shaft construction. As others have said the biggest factor is going to be the stroke 99.99% of the time.
 
In my opinion, the first part of the word miscue is the answere. If you hit center ball perfect, no miscue; however, if you miss, if you flinch, blink, wiggle or any of the thousand other things that make us not achieve perfect contact a miscue could happen.
 
With a perfect hit. I don't think it is possible.

But i've miscued tons of times smack in the middle of my tip, some with a regular stroke (can't figure those out), and i would think that some are because for certain shots, i am SWIPING across the ball as i stroke through it.

But that doesn't explain the center ball hit miscues that polish the center of the tip to a nice shine.

Who knows.

Maybe some of that string theory/multiple universe stuff can explain why it happens, but i can't.
 
A miscue shouldn't happen using center. However one night I shot a little short shot which had to be extremely close to center and miscued. I looked at the tip and there was a wet spot in the center. Not sure how it got there but thats the only time it ever happened to me.

Rod
 
Wipe all of the chalk of your cue and play some long shots with center ball. If your stroke is straight and you hit the cue dead center you should be fine. On the other hand if you tend swipe the cue ball, you will know pretty quickly.

Perhaps you can't grossly miscue, but bad things can happen when a lack of chalk coincides with a bad stroke. If it weren't the case why would you bother chalking up before hitting the cue ball exactly center?
 
Island Drive said:
No..............
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That was going to be my reply but maybe it can be done. I think I'd just have to be dammed clumsy to get'r done :eek: :rolleyes: :o :mad:
 
Maniac said:
After seeing a couple of recent posts here concerning miscueing and reading some posters comments about miscueing on center ball hits, I was wondering if it is scientifically possible to miscue on a center ball hit?
Maniac
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In general, no, unless you are hitting a power shot where the cue bends and deflection comes into play (even on a center ball hit IMHO), especially under the following conditions.

This reminds me of a time when I was playing in an APA tournament at Sports 2000 in Baltimore.

Our table didn't have any chalk, so I asked a referee to please get us some.

She came back with some brand new Master's chalk and I was very pleased, until I started to miscue on every freaking shot.

Then I noticed that the chalk was freezing cold. The bar kept the extra chalk in a bucket behind the bar I later discovered.

I pulled out my own chalk and the other player kept on miscuing without being able to figure it out.:D
 
JimS said:
That was going to be my reply but maybe it can be done. I think I'd just have to be dammed clumsy to get'r done :eek: :rolleyes: :o :mad:
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Years ago I used a flat tip on my break cue to see the effect, what did happen surprised me but not once I thought about it. When I struck the cue ball the impact would cause the tip to slide in some direction (left,right,up,down??) which was like a miscue but with no miscue sound. Since the flat surface could not displace the total force of the cue, the tip was looking for that spot. Because of this action the speed of the cue ball was greatly diminished.
 
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