If you visualize the hit and where the cueball goes after collision, aren't you aiming that object ball to a direction ?
Isn't cueball control an aiming system ?
- Thread starter JoeyInCali
- Start date
Joey I think Cue Ball Control is part of the Stroke, and happens after the CB hits a cushion/rail on a kick shot, or after the CB hits the OB. THE BEST Information I have seen for sale on Cue Ball Control is from Little Joe V. IMHO if you master what Joe teaches in his DVD you have Cue Ball control down pat!
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Cue ball control is done by where you hit the cue ball on the vetical axis, not by pocketing the ball. You can control the cb by cheating the pocket, but you are still going to aim to pocket the ball and then control where the cue ball goes by the vertical axis hit.
Good question. Yes, but it's a simple aiming process.
The visualizing process takes place while the player is standing and assessing the shot. First, he calculates where the ob must be struck to be pocketed. (That part is a simple aiming process because it doesn't involve lining up the cue stick.) Then he calculates the result of that simple aiming process, which is the path of the cb--- first, to the ob and then off of the ob. So, yes, the player has to figure out where the ob must be struck in order to calculate the path of the cb.
The second and more precise aiming process takes place when the player is down over their shot, lining up the cue stick to the cb. But by then, he has already determined where the cb will go.
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cue ball control
You don't really aim at an area where you want the cue ball to go. Cue ball control is learned in steps, as with everything in pool. First you learn where the cue "wants" to go when it is rolling when it strikes the OB. The path is determined by the point of contact on the OB. This path can be altered by increasing or decreasing the speed that the CB is traveling. Next you learn where the CB "wants" to go if it is skidding (not rolling) when it strikes the OB. This is the "tangent line" (90% to the desired path of the OB). The CB must be struck with sufficient speed to insure that it is still skidding on OB impact. In addition, although the CB leaves the OB at a 90% angle, the path can then change by using top-spin or bottom-spin on the CB. This is sometimes called "force-follow" or "force-draw". "English" or side-spin has minimal effect on the path that the CB takes after striking the OB. English "takes" when the CB strikes a rail or rails. Cue ball control is accomplished by first finding the spot or target on the OB that will send it to the desired location (pocket or other final resting place. If the CB strikes a rail after contact with the OB, it's path is once again affected by speed, spin AND the angle at which it strikes the rail or rails. Once this is determined, the shooter applies (learning from an instructor or by experimentation) the force and spin (where you strike the CB) to the shot that will send the cue ball to the desired final resting position. Once you have made the above choices, thinking is done. You let your muscle memory take over, look at your target on the OB and stroke away. This may sound complicated: that's why lessons from an instructor can speed up the learning process. Many pros have learned on their own by trial and error, but this can be a slow and frustrating process.
You don't really aim at an area where you want the cue ball to go. Cue ball control is learned in steps, as with everything in pool. First you learn where the cue "wants" to go when it is rolling when it strikes the OB. The path is determined by the point of contact on the OB. This path can be altered by increasing or decreasing the speed that the CB is traveling. Next you learn where the CB "wants" to go if it is skidding (not rolling) when it strikes the OB. This is the "tangent line" (90% to the desired path of the OB). The CB must be struck with sufficient speed to insure that it is still skidding on OB impact. In addition, although the CB leaves the OB at a 90% angle, the path can then change by using top-spin or bottom-spin on the CB. This is sometimes called "force-follow" or "force-draw". "English" or side-spin has minimal effect on the path that the CB takes after striking the OB. English "takes" when the CB strikes a rail or rails. Cue ball control is accomplished by first finding the spot or target on the OB that will send it to the desired location (pocket or other final resting place. If the CB strikes a rail after contact with the OB, it's path is once again affected by speed, spin AND the angle at which it strikes the rail or rails. Once this is determined, the shooter applies (learning from an instructor or by experimentation) the force and spin (where you strike the CB) to the shot that will send the cue ball to the desired final resting position. Once you have made the above choices, thinking is done. You let your muscle memory take over, look at your target on the OB and stroke away. This may sound complicated: that's why lessons from an instructor can speed up the learning process. Many pros have learned on their own by trial and error, but this can be a slow and frustrating process.
Yes. I learned carom billiards (without pockets) and pool at the same time. Weirdly enough, I didn't learn the same aiming in the two games. Often when playing billiards, I have only a vague idea of where the first ball is going. (I'm working on that.) There are a few shots at pool where I know that if I send the cue ball along that path, the object ball has to go to the pocket.
In general, you need to plan the whole shot, which needs to include not only the direction of the cue ball off the object ball but also the speed, since speed changes swerve and throw. One "trick" for making the game ball more consistently is to be sure to plan shape on the final shot. At nine ball, I try to park the cue ball on the cushion, preferably frozen to the middle of the head rail.