Sean,
I see your line of thinking. A user could possibly shut themselves out of the pocket going in the other direction with a bad hit. While this is a possibility, the first step needs to be clarified as to how I do it.
I start the shot with the idea I'm hitting center ball and aiming that way. My aimpoint is to the edge of the pocket with no squirt. I make my parallel move slightly over for the inside cueing after I am lined up with center cue ball to the pocket edge.
I finish the shot with the idea I'm still not using any spin. I stroke through the ball and if I'm off in the wrong direction I hit center ball and I pocket it. My original aimpoint being off is the only possibility of me missing on the edge of the pocket. Then no method will help me if I can't find the pocket from the git! :smile:
Joey's point is a good one. You are aiming for the side of the pocket or you are aiming for the center. Two different animals at an advanced level of play. The first method is telling yourself you are making the ball. The second method is more lax at getting the ball in the vicinity of the pocket.
This inside cueing technique doesn't use adjustments other than cue tip placement. Aiming center pocket and compensating for squirt by aiming to a different part of the pocket is adding a guess to the shot. A variable that may not be accurate and may cause a miss. And what about tip placement? Will it be correct since this method doesn't emphasize specific quantities of squirt?
Whatcha' tink, mahn? :grin-square:
Best,
Mike
Mike:
I like your description. And like I said in my previous post, I agreed with Joey's clarification of what CJ is saying vs. what Pat is saying.
Like you, I've been playing with the technique. When I say "playing with," I mean "a couple three hours worth."
What I like about the technique:
[+] As long as you "root yourself" and can not only reliably aim at the near side of the pocket, but deliver accurately as well, you're a "lock" for pocketing the ball.
[+] You are using what in our industry is thought of as a negative aspect of hitting a ball off-center (i.e. squirt) to your ADVANTAGE. In other words, you're turning a negative into a positive.
What I don't like about the technique:
[-] You are hedging your bets -- and your margin of error -- all to one side of the pocket, leaving absolutely nothing for the other side of the pocket. So if you end up getting a fat hit, or if there are inconsistencies in the cloth that the cue ball is supposed to "squirt" over, or if you get what in snooker is referred to as a "kick" (i.e. the cue ball "sticks" and jumps), or you are just plain a wee bit off in your aim to that other side for whatever reason, you end up hitting to the opposite side where you are aiming, and you end up with a miss or bobbled ball, because there's no margin of error left that would normally "assist" you with an otherwise center-pocket aim.
[-] Maybe this is just me, but my natural inclination when I aim, is to aim at the center of the "abyss" of the pocket -- edge to edge -- in much the same way as when you pick up a pistol and you aim at "center mass." The natural inclination -- for me, anyway -- is to aim at "center mass" of the pocket, unless I have reason to do otherwise (e.g. cheating the pocket, or getting around a partially-obstructed pocket). As you know, I play 14.1, and my big thing is making sure you get into a rhythm of pocketing balls -- letting your natural instincts take over. For me, that's center mass -- no thought needed.
It could be that I need more time to commit the technique to memory, so that it's not a "center mass" thing anymore, but rather the near side of the pocket, in much the same way as when trying to walk in the rain, you hug the perimeter of a buildings as you walk. But that's a huge change in perception, and would require a lot of work to override it.
Of course, we can engage our conscious mind to do this -- override what comes naturally -- but you already know my thoughts on engaging the conscious mind in what should be a subconscious activity.
-Sean
