Jimmy Reid's aiming method

[JoeyInCali]

Exactly, I understand the correlation of contact point on the object ball and the cue ball but a couple people mentioned distances between the balls and taking THAT measurement and.................doing something with it.

IF the contact point is one tip to the right of center, aim the center of the cueball, two tips to the right of the center of the ob.

 

[Joe T]

Jimmys method and a quote from "Answers to a pool players prayers" by Richard Kranicki (I think I just butchered Richs last name) about Mosconi matching up contact points are two of the biggest reason I came up with my method.

Jimmy absolutely loves pool and if you ever get the chance to be around him when he gets in the zone of expressing his thoughts on shots consider yourself lucky.

Always hit one good shot to sleep on before you leave "Jimmy Reid"

 

[JB Cases]

And therein lies the rub. I find all aiming methods fail me, I think you just have to shoot enough shots that aiming by feel just happens. Not this "muscle memory" nonsense as muscles don't have brain cells, but just plan old fashion Pavlovian & Skinnerian conditioning. We unconciously "learn" to repeat things a certain way when they are successful and avoid them when they are unsuccessful.

However if you are starting from the wrong premise each time then it's hard to get to successful.

Thus you can shoot a million balls and still be inconsistent. If however you begin with the proper alignment, which is what the systems do for you, then you can more quickly and accurately settle into the conditioning patterns that allow you to make the "right" adjustments as needed.

Pool represents infinite variables as to why a shot can miss the pocket. Improper alignment, improper stroke, swerve, deflection, improper body movement, cloth conditions, ball conditions and so on.

With an aiming system at least one variable is reduced to a simple approach that works. With this starting premise - getting on the right line - it makes it easier to identify the other factors contributing to failed shots.

That's my take on it as someone whose game went up two balls after learning to aim.

 

[JB Cases]

Diamond Jim. I first met Jimmy Reid in the early 90's in Germany. I had just started making cases and he and his girlfriend at the time Robin Layton were hanging around the same area that I was in.

Jimmy had so many systems and methods and to this day I still use the double the rail for one rail kicks.

I made him and Robin each personalized cases. Two of the first 10-20 that I ever made.

Jim wanted Diamond Jim on his case. He said that was his real pool name and not "Hippie Jimmy". So I made him a case with a large red Diamond and Jim embroidered on it. I did the embroidery myself.

Jim is a funny guy. Lots of stories, lots of knowledge. Knows a lot of tricks.

Get him to show the rope tricks.

Spending time with him is good for any pool player's game. Not so good for your wallet though, as his girlfriends and running buddies know. Jimmy's got a lot of heart and a lot of gamble.

 

[JB Cases]

I'd be surprised if we couldn't find a description of them from the 19th century.

pj
chgo

One reason that comes to mind that all of these systems are older than many think is that back in the 19th century and pre-television in the 20th people actually THOUGHT more. Instead of being spoon fed information they had to really think about how things work and invent these methods.

Judging by the enormous amount of patented gizmos and gadgets relating to pool that were filed from about 1890 to around 1930 or so I'd think that a lot of people put a LOT of thought into the game of billiards.

 

[Fuji-whopper]

IF the contact point is one tip to the right of center, aim the center of the cueball, two tips to the right of the center of the ob.

Will try that out tonight, thank you Joey for putting it in those terms you made it very simple to understand.

 

[Patrick Johnson]

Fart sniffer:
... I understand the correlation of contact point on the object ball and the cue ball but a couple people mentioned distances between the balls and taking THAT measurement and.................doing something with it.

There is an aiming method that uses the distance between the CB and OB. You imagine a line from the OB contact point through the point that's halfway between the two balls and that line points to the CB contact point. Pivot your stick over the halfway point to make imagining the line easier.

CueTable Help

There are more complete descriptions in other threads.

pj
chgo

 

[ceebee]

Lining up a Shot

here's another aerial view of the shot being analyzed

 

[SCCues]

I just take screenshots from a game called DDD Pool, then add a few lines in Paintbrush. I save to JPEG in photoshop so I don't get so much quality loss.

Colin

Colin,

That was pretty sharp of you to come up with this method for the table illustration. It looks very good.......

James