Learn To Aim Like The Pros!

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cfrandy

cfrandy

AKA: The Road Runner
Silver Member
First I would like to say, this thread is entirely about the Ghostball method of aiming. It is presented here in hopes of helping those who wish to become more proficient in the method of the pros. If you have something to add specifically to this method or it's variations, by all means do so! If you are looking for a debate on alternative aiming methods or wish to add negative comments...start your own thread!

Ghostball aiming and it's variations is how most pros aim. The Secret of Pool? or Basic Instinct...
It is also the easiest method to learn. However, it is not a shortcut to great pool. You must still learn the fundamentals and be willing to spend many hours of practicing. Playing pool is not enough, you must practice practice and practice ALL the fundamentals to become proficient. Aiming is important, but only 1 small part of the basic fundamentals of consistent shot execution!

All pros have mastered these basic fundamentals!
1.) They begin shot execution with a pre-shot routine, which includes visualizing the object ball path and the required required line of aim (cue ball path) while standing.
2.) They align their chin with the cue ball path...never leaving it even when going down on the shot.
3.) They align the bridge hand in the exact required position so the bridge guides the cue along the necessary line of aim for the shot.
4.) They adjust the cue tip to whatever the shot requires for either pocketing the ball (CIT or squirt) and for positioning the cue ball!
See this video: Cut Induced Throw (CIT)
5.) They stroke the cue stick down the line of aim in a consistent manner.​

The ghostball method I have found to be most effective is object ball fractioning. Here's how to practice this method. In the following illustration, draw or snap a chalk line along the "Object Ball Path" line from points A to B.
cuetable1.jpg
You do not have to follow the exact placement of object ball in illustration. In fact, you could do this anywhere on the table making sure A is in the center of the pocket! Anywhere along this line, make 2 marks on the line exactly 2 1/4 inches apart. Now take a 2 white "Avery® Reinforcements for Hole-Punched Pages" or "hole donuts" (get them at OfficeMax) and center it over each mark on the "Object Ball Path" line. The line should bisect the center of the hole donuts. The hole donut closest to the pocket is where you will place the object ball (as is the 9-ball in the illustration). The other hole donut represents where the ghostball will be.
Now place the cueball anywhere on the table, as if to prepare for pocketing the object ball. Make a chalk mark where the cueball is on the table. Draw or snap a chalk line from the cueball mark through the center of the ghostball hole donut. Do this from one end of the table to the other as in C and D in the illustration. This is the "Cue Ball Path" line. The reason we draw this line from one end of the table to the other is that when we practice we want to be sure that the cue never leaves this path, That includes during your backstroke!
Place any ball on the ghostball hole donut. Looking down the cue ball path line to where it meets the object ball you can see how much of the ghostball will be covering the object ball during this shot. In the illustration, this will be about 50% of the ball.
cuetable2.jpg
When you begin to practice, this is what you will be looking for! These videos show you what I mean:
Snooker Tips - Ghostball
Snooker Tips - Line Of Aim
Here's a great article on Ghostball Aiming and It's Fractional Variation:
Aim, Align, Sight - Part I: Introduction and Ghost Ball Systems

NO method of aiming is perfect! However, an effective method which is easiest to learn and easiest to tweak should be the one you try first! It has worked for most pros and it will work for you too! Here are more videos/resources you should watch (most by the pros themselves):
Aiming Part 1
Aiming Part 2
Ghostball Aiming Dr Cue
Ewa's Pool School: Aiming-The Ghost Ball
Proper Aiming Techniques - Ghostball Aiming
Aiming- How To Play Like The Pros With Johnny Archer and Loree Jon Jones
Using the cue stick to help visualize aim
Willie Mosconi - Sighting The Ball
Cowboy Jimmy Moore instruction

Don't waste your money on DVD's that could lead you astray on some new aiming system! Instead, invest your time practicing the method of the pros! The resources presented here are FREE! Here's another free resource: CueTable Ghostball Aiming Software
If you do wish to spend a few dollars on a gimmick that can assist you with aiming, I suggest you buy Allison Fisher's Billiards Aim Trainer (BAT): Allison Fisher's Bat Trainer Video

Any questions about this system of aiming? Feel free to PM me! I hope this helps! With 56 years of playing, this system has not failed me yet! I'm 62 and still pocket 98% of makeable shots...even though I was declared disabled because of my eyesight!
 
MahnaMahna said:
Sure you do.....

This statement is 100% bullsh*t.

WTF is it with you aiming guys?
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He made this thread to knock aiming systems, not because he's for them.

He's a 98%er. I dunno -- does that mean he'd shoot a .980 or something?

I wouldn't mess around with him, Mahna. This guy looks like he's GOOD and means BUSINESS.
 
SpiderWebComm said:
He made this thread to knock aiming systems, not because he's for them.

He's a 98%er. I dunno -- does that mean he'd shoot a .980 or something?

I wouldn't mess around with him, Mahna. This guy looks like he's GOOD and means BUSINESS.
Click to expand...

Yes, I know its his response the the naysayer-yaysayer crap that is going on. But clearly he has become one of the aiming guys, the symptoms are all there:
-super long drawn out posts (5 paragraph minimum)
-picture aids
-links
-wild claims of success

I will watch out for the 62 year old blind guy who only misses 2% of "makeable" shots..... Wait a minute, maybe that means he can't play position????
 
LOL plus he has been shooting for 56 years and is 62 years old..... So he has been practicing ghost ball since he was 6 years of age.

This gets more ridiculous by the minute!
 
I got a friend who 62 or better

and uses the ghostball aiming systems !! We learned yrs ago from (99 Critcal shots from Robert Bryne. and other great bks. He plays golf on the 6-12 , he uses many billiard rail aiming systems too. He spots most guys 2 times around the table to his 1. He cuts balls into the snooker pockets, like on a Pool table with 5 inch holes. He played the 5 railer in the side last wk on the boys. His shots and take outs are a pleasure to watch!! any day of the wk. And yes he does play with South West Cues. He and his son have run a local construction company for yrs-successfully. mark+02
 
duckie said:
This is how I use ghost ball

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=231742&highlight=aiming+isn't

There is more on page 2 of the thread.
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I think visualizing the ghostball is something you do in practice.

Determining what fraction of the object ball I need to cover is something I do when standing. Once the cue ball path line is determined, I make sure my chin is on the line and then I go down on the shot. Once down on the shot, I focus on whatever aspect of the shot that will allow me to continue my inning. Of course, sometimes the focus is on a safety which will end my inning but bring me back to the table!
 
I guess some of you folks just don't get it when Mr Wilson says, "If you do not want to add constructively to the aiming threads, you may not participate."!
 
#12 ranked Ne s li O'Hare explains
what she was taught. "The technique I use
was t a u g ht to me by Efren Reyes.
According to Efren, there are three kinds
of hits on any object ball. First, there's
looking at the center of cue ball to the
point of aim if the shot is a full ball hit. If
not, you can divide the object ball into four
quarters, sighting your cue ball edge to the
point of aim.




Cue ball edge to point of aim, sounding familiar.
 
How about C.J. Wiley ""There are certain things you don't tell.
Last time I wrote anything about aiming,
somebody copied it and started selling it."
 
HollyWood said:
and uses the ghostball aiming systems !! We learned yrs ago from (99 Critcal shots from Robert Bryne. and other great bks. He plays golf on the 6-12 , he uses many billiard rail aiming systems too. He spots most guys 2 times around the table to his 1. He cuts balls into the snooker pockets, like on a Pool table with 5 inch holes. He played the 5 railer in the side last wk on the boys. His shots and take outs are a pleasure to watch!! any day of the wk. And yes he does play with South West Cues. He and his son have run a local construction company for yrs-successfully. mark+02
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I occasionally have the pleasure of playing with a Pro from upstate NY...he's not a pro anymore! He was NY state amateur champion (14.1) in 1949, the year I was born! He doesn't play much anymore, but when he does, he shoots the lights out of most. He also loves to share his knowledge of the game. When he teaches aim, he teaches ghostball!

Anybody that goes to Marietta Billiards Club know Vic and Arthur. Both are well over 60 and both have sparred often with Johnny Archer and Kim Davenport plus many other pros at MBC and Mr Cues. They both use a ghostball system or their variation of it! Johnny Archer has taught the ghostball system, along with Loree Jon Jones. I would say it is very likely he also uses it too! HOF Willie Mosconi and Jimmy Moore teach ghostball, as does Tom Rossman and Ewa Mataya.

I was originally taught the ghostball system by my Uncle Booie, "The Trench", who owned a billiards bar in Chicago. I was only 6 when I first began learning the ghostball method. That's how easy it was to learn the system. No graphs, no DVDs, no devices...just table time is all I had! More importantly...it has stayed with me my entire life. I do not feel that I need to change something that has worked for me for over 50 years. That is not to say other systems would not work for other people! I'm only saying the ghostball system has worked throughout the history of billiards for pros and amateurs alike. You only need to practice it!
 
cookie man said:
Then in the section ON CUE, a lot of stick or shaft aimers.
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That is true. However, stick and shaft aimers are people who put their chin on the shaft (they get very low when they go down on the shot). Many of us do not go down that far. Just as Mike Massey says in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPn3Wzp4NT8
He stands more upright when shooting. Therefore it would be impossible for him to aim that way. I too stand more upright. I have severe arthritis in my neck and back because of my injuries in Vietnam. It is physically impossible for me to get that low, but it has worked well for others!
Next time you see a shaft aimer, ask him where he is aiming the shaft. Most I have talked with say they aim the shaft down the intended cue ball path line after determining what fraction of the object ball they must hit.
 
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