stolz2 said:
Just wanted to gain some knowledge. When using inside english on a cut shot, when i mis the shot it always seems to be high on the rail. Is this mainly due to deflection or mainly to due to throw, im sure both have a factor but what one is the biggest cause for the missed shot? It seems to me its deflection... but i dont have a problem judging this deflection when cutting balls in with outside english. So I just wanted to hear some thoughts on this.
Mack
Mack,
I think it is a little more complicated. Below is a re-post of my thoughts on developing a mastery of inside and outside English; considering squirt/curve/throw at soft, medium, and hard speeds. They are all a little different.
OK, here it is. I'm not a world-beater, but if someone had explained this to me 35 years ago I would be giving Efren the 7. If you want to master English (and you MUST if you want to be a top player), then you have to practice extensively until it becomes natural. My practice routine below is how I learned, takes 3-6 months. The only type of English I use is parallel English (with some exceptions I won't go into here) - where the cue is always parallel to the intended line of travel of the cue ball.
Set up an object ball about 2 feet from a corner pocket. Set up the cue ball about 2 feet away from the object ball, so that you have a cut shot. Now shoot the shot 5 times at a slow to medium speed with a small amount of inside English, and 5 times with outside English. Then shoot 5 times with a hard hit with inside, and 5 hard hits with outside. Do this at about a 20 degree cut angle, then a 45 degree cut angle, then a 65 degree cut angle. Do these shots every day for 2-3 months and you will be tremendously improved. Spend another 2 or 3 months using radical inside and outside (cueing as close to the edge of the cue ball as possible) English and you are ready for Derby City.
What you will find is that when you aim the cue ball, you will then move your body and cue an inch or so to the right or left so that the cue is parallel to your initial setup. When you stroke the cue ball with right English, it will initially: squirt to the left, then curve to the right, then "throw" the object ball to the left. The harder you hit the cueball, the more it squirts, the less it curves, and the less it throws the object ball. The further you cue towards the edge of the cue ball, the more it squirts, the more it curves, and the more it throws. The softer you hit the cue ball, the less it squirts, the more it curves, and the more it throws the object ball. The fuller the cue ball contacts the object ball the more throw occurs; the thinner the cue ball cuts the object ball the less throw occurs.
Knowing these principles, you will gradually be able to adjust your aim to allow for these factors, and to allow for the deflection characteristics of your cue (cues DIFFER from one another).
For me, with a low deflection Predator cue, here is the way I end up aiming:
With mild and moderate inside English and a soft to medium hit, I aim to allow 1" of squirt (in other words, I aim using center ball along a path one inch to the left or right of the path I would normally use to pocket the ball, then additionally move a little to the left or right of the center of the cue ball to move the cue parallel to this new path) and hit just hard enough that the curve of the cueball does not occur (its probably better if you can visualize this in your head and just set up slightly to the side of the center ball line, so you don't have to move once you get into your stance). With very heavy inside English I allow for about 2" of squirt (a little more if I'm hitting it very hard).
With outside English, there is much less difficulty because the squirt and throw tend to cancel each other out, as long as you hit hard enough to avoid cue ball curve. At soft speeds, the throw of the object ball is much more pronounced. Therefore at any medium to firm speed, my aim when using outside English is EXACTLY THE SAME as with no English at all (in other words the cue is parallel to the path I would use with no English, just a little to the left or a little to the right) - no matter how far from the center of the cue ball I choose to cue. If I am going to hit the shot slow with outside, I allow for a fuller hit, because the throw of the object ball is very pronounced.
This system may be totally different for your cue, but at least you have some principles to work with to develop your system - it takes practice, its definitely a little complex and confusing, but its worth it when you want to amaze your friends.
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