Jumping vs. Kicking.

JCurry

JCurry

can I use my mulligan?
Silver Member
First of all, I am not asking which you prefer. I am looking for legitimate pros and cons of each from people who can do both.

I can do both, but don't always make the best choice sometimes on which I should use for a particular shot. Let's assume I am playing APA Masters 9-ball. If I am blocked and I think I am probably going to miss the kick I will jump just to make the contact to avoid giving my opponent ball in hand. My captain doesn't usually like this, "Why didn't you just kick at it? I would." To which my response usually is "I knew I could hit it if I jumped, probably would have missed the kick. You would have kicked because you can't jump." My captain and I get along great, this isn't meant to be insulting to him, but we definitely don't agree on this subject.

So anyway, from people who can do both. How do you know when you should kick or jump, and why?

Thanks.
 
I like kicking if there's a route available to make the hit and get safe or pocket the ball. If I have no way to kick at the object ball or pocketing the object ball is easier by jumping, then I jump.
 
jumping is so ridiculously easy and can keep u at the table alot of times. time and time again I've won matches b/c they hooked themselves by half a ball and have to kick but its not a shot hes going to pocket.
and time and time again a jump shot keeps my run going or gets me out of trouble.
with a little practice you can start potting jump shots a hell of alot more often than kick shots, safeties too.
 
I dont prefer either over the next,, I will jump if the angle of the object ball is along the path towards a pocket with hopes to make the ball..

When I kick, its because the jump is to far, or close..

If the object ball is on path to a pocket I attempet the kick shot,, But typically when I kick ,I do so to play a safe on my opponet....

Theres one method you forgot to mention which is the masse ,which in my opinion is the hardest to excute of the 3(kicking,jumping,masse)..

But when you are capable of excuting a masse consistently
(such as my self:grin-square:),, it opens your options, and in some cases is the best choice of the 3..
It boils down to personal preference....
 
Last edited:
Which use depends on what you want the cue ball to do after the object ball is hit. It is even possible to jump-draw the cue ball (difficult, but done). Kicking at the object ball usually puts side spin on the cue ball making it easier to move the cue ball around the table after the hit. You also can put extreme spin on the cue ball (half-masse) when kicking which can't be done easily by jumping. In other words, kicking gives you more options on control of the cue ball vs: jumping.
 
If a person can do both, he has to decide which is best for that particular
shot. Each situation is different. That's why the players that choose the
correct shot (jump or kick) more often are higher up on the food chain.
 
SKILLZELITE said:
I dont prefer either over the next,, I will jump if the angle of the object ball is along the path towards a pocket with hopes to make the ball..

When I kick, its because the jump is to far, or close..

If the object ball is on path to a pocket I attempet the kick shot,, But typically when I kick ,I do so to play a safe on my opponet....

Theres one method you forgot to mention which is the masse ,which in my opinion is the hardest to excute of the 3(kicking,jumping,masse)..

But when you are capable of excuting a masse consistently
(such as my self:grin-square:),, it opens your options, and in some cases is the best choice of the 3..
It boils down to personal preference....
Click to expand...

I can barely perform a decent half masse. It's on my list of shots to improve on.
 
Hmmm What to do?

I normally kick unless it's more than 2 rails or the ball I want is right in the pocket. I have problems keeping the rock on the table when I jump
 
Kicking versus Jumping is like asking when to draw versus when to follow. The situation will dictate the proper play. The advantages to kicking is that you often have a range of speeds you can employ. You can hit it anywhere from meeting the legal hit requirements to warp speed. On the other hand, jumping requires the ball is struck a certain speed.

As a rule, I will jump if I believe I will pocket the ball OR if it's the higher percentage route to make legal contact. With that said, I kick liberally.
 
Hmmm...I am not sure if this is dead wrong....or what other people do as well...

When hooked...my first look is usually to see if I can kick at it...my second look is usually to see if I can jump.....Sometimes the jump is so obvious though that it trumps even looking at the kick..


It (for me) is kind of along the same lines as follow or draw...I always look for a follow route before a draw route...unless one is clearly advantages over the other I will probably opt for the follow...
 
If you are unsure you can make contact with the kick, but are sure you can with the jump, then jump, you might even leave them safe or with a tough shot, the main thing is making contact.
 
When I am just practicing I work on mainly kicking because it is so much harder to do, and also there are times when the bar/pool hall won't let you jump or masse so IMO kicking is the most crucial. That being said jumping defiantly has is advantages but I guess I am a little biased because I'm not a fan of the jump shot in general. It just tears sh*t up and it doesn't make people better because they get lazy and don't pay as much position to position play. Just my thoughts.
 
If I can make the ball jumping and leave shape, I obviously jump.

If I can make it kicking, I kick.

If I can do both, it depends on my mood and how easy it is to reach for the jump shot.

If its easier to jump and hit than kick and hit I choose whatever is easier and a higher percentage shot. (leaving it safe vs leaving a duck)
 
I am from the "Pre-Jump" era and feel it takes more skill to kick (and make the ball) than jump (and hope you hit it). Earl Strickland was one of the 1st to jump a ball (WITH A FULL CUE) and even though he doe not like short jump cues, he will still occasionally use a full cue to jump.
 
nancewayne said:
I am from the "Pre-Jump" era and feel it takes more skill to kick (and make the ball) than jump (and hope you hit it).
Click to expand...

I have never jumped and HOPED to hit the ball. If you jump you should be sure you're going to hit the damn ball.
I think ppl dont realized how easy it is to jump if you just work at for an hour here and there. you can start making balls as well as play shape.
 
JCurry said:
First of all, I am not asking which you prefer. I am looking for legitimate pros and cons of each from people who can do both.

I can do both, but don't always make the best choice sometimes on which I should use for a particular shot. Let's assume I am playing APA Masters 9-ball. If I am blocked and I think I am probably going to miss the kick I will jump just to make the contact to avoid giving my opponent ball in hand. My captain doesn't usually like this, "Why didn't you just kick at it? I would." To which my response usually is "I knew I could hit it if I jumped, probably would have missed the kick. You would have kicked because you can't jump." My captain and I get along great, this isn't meant to be insulting to him, but we definitely don't agree on this subject.

So anyway, from people who can do both. How do you know when you should kick or jump, and why?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

I look at the percentages and what I want to accomplish. If the jump is something that I can do with a better than 50% chance of success then that's the shot I take and vice versa on the kick.

Except when I need to do something specific. Such as I need to keep the cue ball in the same area with a stop or stun shot and move the object ball far away then I choose the jump over the kick. Basically whichever shot allows me to control the cueball and the game best is the shot I take.
 
Jude Rosenstock said:
Kicking versus Jumping is like asking when to draw versus when to follow. The situation will dictate the proper play. The advantages to kicking is that you often have a range of speeds you can employ. You can hit it anywhere from meeting the legal hit requirements to warp speed. On the other hand, jumping requires the ball is struck a certain speed.

As a rule, I will jump if I believe I will pocket the ball OR if it's the higher percentage route to make legal contact. With that said, I kick liberally.
Click to expand...

Of course from a physics standpoint there is a minimum speed you have to use to make the cue ball jump but it's a lower than people think.

People are often surprised to see how softly I can hit the cue ball and make it jump.
 
In league, if it's the first round or so and the jump/kick choice is 50/50 or better, I'll jump IF the other team is all watching. I do this because if I make it, they get intimidated and thus our team increases our chances of winning. If I don't make it, so what? My teammates scold me sometimes, but they don't know why I do that and I don't tell 'em.

The most obvious reason to not jump is because of losing the cueball.

Jeff Livingston
 
No matter what the situation, I do a mental checklist of the situation to see which option is best fit to the situation. I work from the top down and stop asking the questions until I hit a "Yes."

- Can I kick and have a good chance at making the ball?
- Can I kick and hope to get a safe?
- Can I jump and make the ball with shape?
- Can I jump and make the ball without being hooked?
- Can I jump and play safe?
- Can I jump and make the ball?
- Can I kick and get a hit?
- Can I jump and get a hit?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top