Learn To Aim Like The Pros!

[dr_dave]

Does anyone have a printable picture of the "Arrow"?

I f one were to draw a GB around the arrow, could one see where to line up the edges of the CB and GB overlap on the OB?

Here's a printable template that provides what you want (I think):

ghost-ball aiming template​

Some people also like the Cranfield Arrow.

This and other useful templates and diagrams are available here:

template and diagram resource page​

I also have lots of info (illustrations, videos, and articles) concerning the ghost-ball aiming approach here:

ghost-ball aiming resource page​

Regards,
Dave

 

[JB Cases]

Also the BAT is not intended for ghost ball aiming and the inventor of it specifically recommends against it. He is an advocate of fractional overlap aiming as Steve Davis teaches in snooker. You can see this by looking at the video promoting the product. Very nicely done video as well. Also he sells a book for $5 that describes fractional aiming in detail.

You can see the video on this page: http://billiardaimtrainer.com/

WORLDS BEST AIMING SYSTEM - by Paul Turner

World's Best Aiming System (October, 2010)
Learn the 3-cut aiming system used by all the world's greatest billiards players
Only $4.95 (eBook)

________________________________

So Mr. Pollak,

You might want to revise your first post to not include the BAT in your list of Ghost Ball Training Devices. The inventor f the device is clearly NOT a Ghost Ball advocate.

 

[Scott Lee]

cfrandy...Who's asking you to? Nobody has ever said there's anything wrong with ghostball aiming. Other methods work well for some other players, and many players, even pros, use bits and pieces of several methods, at the same time. "Feel" is probably the oldest, and longest utlized "aiming system" out there...long preceding ghostball aiming. Use what you like, and what works for you...but you need not badmouth others ways of doing things (even if they paid for it).

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

I do not feel that I need to change something that has worked for me for over 50 years. 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!

 

[JB Cases]

Hmmm, did he say anything about half-ball or any other method of aiming? In the video he clearly indicates the cue ball path with his stick. Over and over again both he and Thorsten say they look at the contact point on the object ball! Half-ball aiming is fractional aiming! Last time I checked 1/2 WAS a fraction!

Sir, fractional aiming is not Ghost Ball Aiming. Fractional aiming is when you aim by overlapping the actual balls on the table to determine the fullness of the hit.

Contact Point aiming is also not Ghost Ball sir. It is known in Snooker as Back of the Ball aiming. Also the contact points are used in Contact Point to Contact Point aiming which is highly accurate and also not Ghost Ball.

I'm not attacking any other aiming method in this thread.

Are you not sir? Did you not tell the readers not to waste their money and time on any other methods? I do not want to lose respect for you sir as your 98% success rate in pool is staggering and awesome. But would you please try to achieve that same rate or better with your statements so that we, your fans, don't have to defend inaccuracies.

If your system of aiming works for you...why should YOU change? In fact, I would suggest you DON'T!

Excellent advice. And certainly you also mean to say to others that if the aiming method they are using is not working then they should try something else.

I am simply presenting the system used by most pros as the easiest system to learn!

Could you provide the names of the pros who use the Ghost Ball method?

The WPA maintains a list of ranked professional players. When you say most I think of a simple majority being 51%. So are you saying that you know for a fact that 51% or more of the world's professional players use the Ghost Ball method of aiming? Can you cite your source on this sir. The readers here would love to have the facts.

I started a thread on this a while back asking for what methods the pros use and in my list the overwhelming majority did not use Ghost Ball. Granted the list was very small as I asked for people to post only what they knew from first hand experience or through published sources.

So sir would you be be so kind as to publish your source that GB is used by most pros?

 

[JB Cases]

Ghost Ball is so easy to learn that we have a plethora of devices to help anyone wishing to learn it.

Tom Simpson, BCA Master Instructor, invented the Ghost Ball Aim Trainer. http://www.poolclinics.com/

Ironically he now teaches alternative methods of aiming that he considers to be much better than GB.

The Spider Laser Aim Trainer

http://www.cuesight.com/spiderlaser.html

Porper GB Trainer -

Well that's all the time I have now for this but I want to repeat the link for Tom Simpson's website. As the inventor of the Ghost Ball Aim Trainer, which is still a great selling product, Tom's views on aiming now and what he teaches is worth reading about.

http://www.poolclinics.com/

 

[Mitchxout]

Just for the record, Hal Mix taught fractional aiming.

 

[JB Cases]

Just for the record, Hal Mix taught fractional aiming.

Who is Hal Mix?

 

[Mitchxout]

Who is Hal Mix?

The late Hal Mix was a teacher that worked with alot of pro players such as Nick Varner and Denny Searcy.

 

[JoeyInCali]

cfrandy...Who's asking you to? Nobody has ever said there's anything wrong with ghostball aiming. Other methods work well for some other players, and many players, even pros, use bits and pieces of several methods, at the same time. "Feel" is probably the oldest, and longest utlized "aiming system" out there...long preceding ghostball aiming. Use what you like, and what works for you...but you need not badmouth others ways of doing things (even if they paid for it).

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

You might have spoke too soon Scott.

 

[LAMas]

If you can imagine the perfectly round GB with it's contact point touching the OB contact point that sends it (OB) to the pocket/target, then can you accurately find it's (GB) center or where you imagine the spot where it touches the cloth to aim at?

Some shooters have difficulty shooting the CB up table at the far rail and having it's (CB) center return to the center of the tip of the cue. These shooters will have some difficulty sending the CB to the center of the imaginary GB.

So it is important to first be able to shoot the exact center of the CB to the exact center of a spot let alone the exact center of an imaginary GB.

For me, I find double distance aiming to be more easily learned and when the CB and OB are close together, transitioning to contact point to contact point aiming where the CB and OB appear to be about the same size and where the parallax view is less distorting.

 

[JoeyInCali]

If you can imagine the perfectly round GB with it's contact point touching the OB contact point that sends it (OB) to the pocket/target, then can you accurately find it's (GB) center or where you imagine the spot where it touches the cloth to aim at?

Some shooters have difficulty shooting the CB up table at the far rail and having it's (CB) center return to the center of the tip of the cue. These shooters will have some difficulty sending the CB to the center of the imaginary GB.

So it is important to first be able to shoot the exact center of the CB to the exact center of a spot let alone the exact center of an imaginary GB.

For me, I find double distance aiming to be more easily learned and when the CB and OB are close together, transitioning to contact point to contact point aiming where the CB and OB appear to be about the same size and where the parallax view is less distorting.

Great point.
GB does not have to be right next to the ob in visualization though.
Some like to visualize that ball crossing the ob.
I spoke to Parica once during dinner. He said his brain is just like a computer when pocketing balls. He also mentioned he learned playing Filipino pool first which is played with discs not balls. He says he still looks at the cueball like a disc ( or as he says petsas ).
So imagine a disc next to the ob instead of a sphere.
It might also help to visualize each shot as a rail shot where in you hit the ob and the rail at the same time .
If GB is so bad, I think GB aimers would be dead ducks on rail shots.
Not arguin, just sayin'.

 

[LAMas]

Great point.
GB does not have to be right next to the ob in visualization though.
Some like to visualize that ball crossing the ob.
I spoke to Parica once during dinner. He said his brain is just like a computer when pocketing balls. He also mentioned he learned playing Filipino pool first which is played with discs not balls. He says he still looks at the cueball like a disc ( or as he says petsas ).
So imagine a disc next to the ob instead of a sphere.
It might also help to visualize each shot as a rail shot where in you hit the ob and the rail at the same time .
If GB is so bad, I think GB aimers would be dead ducks on rail shots.
Not arguin, just sayin'.

I agree that the disk is what spheres appear to be as well, but accurately finding and hitting the center of the GB disk is still the rub. It requires great imagination.

Disks don't roll the same either.

About Parica, while trying to coax him to practice so we could watch his style, he declined by saying, "Practice is for those that don't know what they are doing". The year that he was named player of the year, he attributed his success to, "I practiced".

Just saying.:smile::thumbup:

 

[JB Cases]

cfrandy...Who's asking you to? Nobody has ever said there's anything wrong with ghostball aiming. Other methods work well for some other players, and many players, even pros, use bits and pieces of several methods, at the same time. "Feel" is probably the oldest, and longest utlized "aiming system" out there...long preceding ghostball aiming. Use what you like, and what works for you...but you need not badmouth others ways of doing things (even if they paid for it).

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

I said it Scott. but that was before I knew that one could attain a 98% success rate using GB. if I just practice as Mr. Pollack advises then I should be better than the pros in no time.

 

[JB Cases]

Great point.
GB does not have to be right next to the ob in visualization though.
Some like to visualize that ball crossing the ob.
I spoke to Parica once during dinner. He said his brain is just like a computer when pocketing balls. He also mentioned he learned playing Filipino pool first which is played with discs not balls. He says he still looks at the cueball like a disc ( or as he says petsas ).
So imagine a disc next to the ob instead of a sphere.
It might also help to visualize each shot as a rail shot where in you hit the ob and the rail at the same time .
If GB is so bad, I think GB aimers would be dead ducks on rail shots.
Not arguin, just sayin'.

so now it is imagining a disk? why not imagine a line through the ball and a ruler with a glowing red dot at the disk center along with a glowing green one at the contact point. and while we are at it how about imagining that line perfectly offset for throw? why stop at a ball? imagine the tracking lines from VirtualPool as well. go for the whole thing if the method of aiming you want to use relies on imagining things.

better still, while sitting down imagine a ghost player at the table perfectly lined up and step into his place.

forget ghost ball, ghost player is the nuts!!!

 

[cfrandy]

Here's a printable template that provides what you want (I think):

ghost-ball aiming template​

Some people also like the Cranfield Arrow.

This and other useful templates and diagrams are available here:

template and diagram resource page​

I also have lots of info (illustrations, videos, and articles) concerning the ghost-ball aiming approach here:

ghost-ball aiming resource page​

Regards,
Dave

Thank you Dave!

 

[cfrandy]

cfrandy...Who's asking you to? Nobody has ever said there's anything wrong with ghostball aiming. Other methods work well for some other players, and many players, even pros, use bits and pieces of several methods, at the same time. "Feel" is probably the oldest, and longest utlized "aiming system" out there...long preceding ghostball aiming. Use what you like, and what works for you...but you need not badmouth others ways of doing things (even if they paid for it).

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

How does this add constructively to the thread?

If you read my initial post, I presented this thread simply to help those who wish to learn more about the system! I did NOT "badmouth" anyone or any other aiming methods!

 

[cfrandy]

If you can imagine the perfectly round GB with it's contact point touching the OB contact point that sends it (OB) to the pocket/target, then can you accurately find it's (GB) center or where you imagine the spot where it touches the cloth to aim at?

Some shooters have difficulty shooting the CB up table at the far rail and having it's (CB) center return to the center of the tip of the cue. These shooters will have some difficulty sending the CB to the center of the imaginary GB.

So it is important to first be able to shoot the exact center of the CB to the exact center of a spot let alone the exact center of an imaginary GB.

For me, I find double distance aiming to be more easily learned and when the CB and OB are close together, transitioning to contact point to contact point aiming where the CB and OB appear to be about the same size and where the parallax view is less distorting.

You should start your OWN thread on double distance aiming. This thread was suppose to help anyone interested in learning GB. Obviously the aiming Taliban will not stand for that!

 

[cfrandy]

Great point.
GB does not have to be right next to the ob in visualization though.
Some like to visualize that ball crossing the ob.
I spoke to Parica once during dinner. He said his brain is just like a computer when pocketing balls. He also mentioned he learned playing Filipino pool first which is played with discs not balls. He says he still looks at the cueball like a disc ( or as he says petsas ).
So imagine a disc next to the ob instead of a sphere.
It might also help to visualize each shot as a rail shot where in you hit the ob and the rail at the same time .
If GB is so bad, I think GB aimers would be dead ducks on rail shots.
Not arguin, just sayin'.

I never had a problem on rail shots! To me, they are no different than any other shot, unless the OB is frozen to the rail. Then you must hit the rail an instant before hitting the OB to compensate for friction.
I believe anyone who does have a problem with rail shots, regardless of their aiming system, is someone who believes rail shots are somehow more difficult!

 

[cfrandy]

If you're quoting cfrandy's real name, this post is in extremely poor form.

It is NOT my real name, JB cannot spell properly. My real name is Pollak. However I would not have seen the post if you had not quoted it. JB has been on more ignore list! Isn't it amazing how JB ignores Mr. Wilson's warning, "If you have nothing constructive to add to this aiming thread, YOU MAY NOT PARTICIPATE." It's time the mods give JB a rest! He has destroyed more threads than anyone on AZ!

 

[JB Cases]

It is NOT my real name, JB cannot spell properly. My real name is Pollak. However I would not have seen the post if you had not quoted it. JB has been on more ignore list! Isn't it amazing how JB ignores Mr. Wilson's warning, "If you have nothing constructive to add to this aiming thread, YOU MAY NOT PARTICIPATE." It's time the mods give JB a rest! He has destroyed more threads than anyone on AZ!

My apologies. I will go back and edit the posts to spell your name correctly. I have added a lot of constructive information and thanked you profusely about your selfless help and complimented you on your amazing success rate. 98% rocks!