I don't consider this to be anything too awesome and clever, to me it just seems like common sense, but I don't see other people lining up combos this way so maybe it IS awesome =P
Have you ever had one of those slightly off-angle, not-quite-a-hanger combos available in 9 ball... and you get ball in hand and somehow dog it? It LOOKS easy, but combos tend to be a little harder than they look so there's no shame in missing it.
I think this method of lining up those combos is pretty dog-proof.
1. Put the cue ball down for a sec (keep it close to your bridge hand) and line up on the combo as if the first object ball is your cue ball. In this example, you're trying to make the 3-9 combo, so line up on the 3 as if you were going to shoot the 9 in. You want to actually get down in your shooting stance and hold the cue as if you really planned to sink it.
Also it helps me to remember to line this up as if I were going to shoot medium-soft. The speed doesn't affect the cut angle (much) but the plan is to actually use that speed when you shoot, so line up accordingly.
2. Now just let the tip drop all the way down to the felt but keep your back hand as motionless as possible.
3. Without disrupting your line of aim or stance.. pick up the cue ball with your freed-up bridge hand and slowly start to stand up. This might feel a bit familiar, it's similar to how you try to maintain your line of aim when standing up in preparation for a jump (or a jacked up rail shot). You must try hard to not let the back end of the cue stick waver left or right. You don't need to stand up much, just enough to create about some airspace under the cue. You're angling it maybe 20 degrees or less.
4. You should still be lined up and sighting down the cue exactly as if you planned to shoot (but with a slightly jacked up butt). In my case the cue is touching my chin here. You now want to plant the cue ball directly underneath the stick, so that the cue ball appears to be split in half by the cue.
You need to eyeball it carefully. A lot of it depends on how much you jack up. If you are confident you are in your ability to hold that line while standing, you can stand up quite a bit, and therefore plant the cue ball closer to the tip of the stick. This reduces the distance between CB and the first OB, which makes the shot a higher percentage. But if you tend to get a little wobbly as you stand, you may need to settle for only jacking up a little, and planting the CB further away. This will give you less margin for error though. Find the balance that works best for you.
5. Once the cue ball is exactly where you think it should be, you can stand up and line up your combo. The aiming now is very simple: Aim to hit the cue ball straight into the first object ball, without cutting it either left or right. You just want to hit as dead center as possible and ignore what your eyes might be telling you about whether the combo looks straight or not. Forget the third ball even exists. Often your eyes will trick you into thinking it's not "on" when it really is. Shoot with that medium soft speed... Not so soft that the 9 would hang near the hole if you miss... but a bit softish. In this example, if I missed, the 9 shouldn't bank off the rail hard enough to reach the opposite end of the table. Some players feel shooting firmly is more accurate. While it's true you won't let a ball roll off at firm speed, I think your accuracy goes down as your speed goes up.
Here's the shot all lined up and guaranteed to drop:
Have you ever had one of those slightly off-angle, not-quite-a-hanger combos available in 9 ball... and you get ball in hand and somehow dog it? It LOOKS easy, but combos tend to be a little harder than they look so there's no shame in missing it.
I think this method of lining up those combos is pretty dog-proof.
1. Put the cue ball down for a sec (keep it close to your bridge hand) and line up on the combo as if the first object ball is your cue ball. In this example, you're trying to make the 3-9 combo, so line up on the 3 as if you were going to shoot the 9 in. You want to actually get down in your shooting stance and hold the cue as if you really planned to sink it.
Also it helps me to remember to line this up as if I were going to shoot medium-soft. The speed doesn't affect the cut angle (much) but the plan is to actually use that speed when you shoot, so line up accordingly.
2. Now just let the tip drop all the way down to the felt but keep your back hand as motionless as possible.
3. Without disrupting your line of aim or stance.. pick up the cue ball with your freed-up bridge hand and slowly start to stand up. This might feel a bit familiar, it's similar to how you try to maintain your line of aim when standing up in preparation for a jump (or a jacked up rail shot). You must try hard to not let the back end of the cue stick waver left or right. You don't need to stand up much, just enough to create about some airspace under the cue. You're angling it maybe 20 degrees or less.
4. You should still be lined up and sighting down the cue exactly as if you planned to shoot (but with a slightly jacked up butt). In my case the cue is touching my chin here. You now want to plant the cue ball directly underneath the stick, so that the cue ball appears to be split in half by the cue.
You need to eyeball it carefully. A lot of it depends on how much you jack up. If you are confident you are in your ability to hold that line while standing, you can stand up quite a bit, and therefore plant the cue ball closer to the tip of the stick. This reduces the distance between CB and the first OB, which makes the shot a higher percentage. But if you tend to get a little wobbly as you stand, you may need to settle for only jacking up a little, and planting the CB further away. This will give you less margin for error though. Find the balance that works best for you.
5. Once the cue ball is exactly where you think it should be, you can stand up and line up your combo. The aiming now is very simple: Aim to hit the cue ball straight into the first object ball, without cutting it either left or right. You just want to hit as dead center as possible and ignore what your eyes might be telling you about whether the combo looks straight or not. Forget the third ball even exists. Often your eyes will trick you into thinking it's not "on" when it really is. Shoot with that medium soft speed... Not so soft that the 9 would hang near the hole if you miss... but a bit softish. In this example, if I missed, the 9 shouldn't bank off the rail hard enough to reach the opposite end of the table. Some players feel shooting firmly is more accurate. While it's true you won't let a ball roll off at firm speed, I think your accuracy goes down as your speed goes up.
Here's the shot all lined up and guaranteed to drop:
