Learning the angles for position play.

[Jal]

If I roll this ball in with center ball at pocket speed am I going to come off at 90 degrees?...

I can't see the diagram, but judging from Patrick's post, what he and Scott said. Except for an absolutely full hit, the CB starts out along the "tangent line", curving forward or backward a bit later IF it has any topspin or backspin. As Scott indicated, this can happen so quickly with slow shots that it's not obvious that the CB spent any time moving in the tangent direction.

And as mentioned earlier, for a very slight cut, this "tangent line" can be very different than the geometric tangent line. But it's not of much consequence since the cueball isn't really going anywhere.... unless it has draw or follow spin, in which case it still doesn't matter much.

Jim

 

[duckie]

This is a good example to show the difference between rolling the cue ball versus sliding, stun shot, the cue ball.

If you stroke it with a easy center stroke, the cue ball will do what has already been stated. Do a stun shot where the cue ball gets no roll, the cue ball comes off the OB differently.

Its very important to know how spins affects the cue ball coming off a object ball. The drill I posted helps with this.

 

[grindz]

You can get pretty much the same thing by just putting a piece of paper on the table where you want the cue ball to stop after each shot. Use a whole sheet of typing paper at first and reduce its size as you improve. This has the advantage of being usable in any game you play, and teaches you to have specific shape targets during actual play.

pj
chgo

All the other advice, books and drills sound great. However the #1 thing, no matter what, is to do the above when you practice...always...at the very least image the spot you are trying for. Then just let your mind see what has happened. Your unconscious mind will learn all it needs to know and you will be amazed.

Above that, all the drills, tapes and book info. will just increase the pace at which you learn....so use it all....but don't forget #1

good luck

td

 

[JimS]

For information on the diamond system try Little Joe Villalpando's DVD's.

www.pooliq.net

Little Joe is a highly respected player and is now a fine teacher.

 

[Bob Jewett]

... I remember the Kicking Academy, as I'm typing this and hope I can find it on my harddrive again. I remember it had a lot of information about the diamonds, that I felt was just to advanced for me when I was concentrating on my shot making. Thanks guys.

I think that you are still probably not ready to try to use diamonds to plan out your position play. I think that the diamonds are useful on only a very small fraction of shots at pool for planning the path of the cue ball.

Here is different drill: Pick a spot for the object ball and a spot for the cue ball to end up. Put the cue ball where you like. Pocket the object ball and send the cue ball to within six inches of the spot you want without any cushion. This is the first kind of position to play and is what you should choose as often as possible during games.

Make the drill harder in two ways: Try to make that same object ball in each of the six pockets, not just the one that makes position play easiest. Second, once you find the easiest place to put the cue ball for a particular shot, see how far you can move it to the side and back and still be able to play the position.

Next level of drill: Try to play the same position but using one cushion. Use as many different pockets and cushions as you can.

Next level: try two cushions.

The problem with doing the above on your own is that you will probably make a lot of bad choices on your own. A typical problem with beginners is that they can't see how to make a shot easier by placing the cue ball where they want. The might put the cue ball back three feet instead of 10 inches from the object ball, or they might set up for a nearly straight-in shot when they need to take the cue ball sideways the length of the table. If you have any trouble with the first level of shots (easy pocket, ball in hand, no cushion), then you need to get someone to give you some pointers.