Multi-combo challenge

Oikawa

Well-known member
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Set up the balls like in this image. Line up drill style.

Hit the 1 ball straight towards the 2 ball. Your goal is to have a chain reaction as long as possible before the next ball in line no longer hits the next one directly. If a ball bounces away, comes back and hits some further ball, it doesn't count. Only direct hits to the next ball.

For example, if the 4 would hit the 5 directly, but the 5 misses the 6, your score would be 5.

Try this once or twice and see how well you can do. It's practically impossible to get all the way to 15 on a 9ft table.
 
Try this once or twice and see how well you can do. It's practically impossible to get all the way to 15 on a 9ft table.
Well it's not that hard on my 8 foot table. I placed the balls on 5 inch centers. Got 8 my first attempt. Ran out of gas at the 8 ball. Hit it harder the second try and got all 15. I did use a straight edge to get close to perfect on the Lineup. Couldn't be that much harder on a 9 foot table. 🤷‍♂️
So "practicality impossible " is relatively easy.
 
Try this once or twice and see how well you can do. It's practically impossible to get all the way to 15 on a 9ft table.
I think it was a video by DrDave that explained that with every added ball the initial deviation is amplified.

Lining up the balls perfectly might help the most. I'm curious what will be the record.
 
I think it was a video by DrDave that explained that with every added ball the initial deviation is amplified.

Lining up the balls perfectly might help the most. I'm curious what will be the record.
Yes, every consequent ball amplifies the error. I haven't tried this myself yet, but just from the math/geometry alone it would seem like 15 balls on a 9ft table spaced out evenly like in the line up drill would be exceptionally hard.
 
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Based on some crude and imperfect paint-illustrating, I could only go backwards from the 15 to the 9 ball until the drawing required less than 1 pixel level precision, so couldn't continue further. I'd be curious to hear some proper math about how precise the required hit is for 1 -> 15 for this or other setups. My guess would be between 0.1 to 1 micrometer range of an target on the 2 ball, to get all the way to 15.
 
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Yes, every consequent ball amplifies the error. I haven't tried this myself yet, but just from the math/geometry alone it would seem like 15 balls on a 9ft table spaced out evenly like in the line up drill would be exceptionally hard.
Give me the number for ball spaces and I will try. My first 2 attempts are recorded. So I have an 8 and a 15 in 2 attempts. Would like to try with 9 foot table spacing.
 
My calculations gave me 4.25 inches between balls which allows a line of 13. On the first attempt I got 9. Doesn't seem that hard.
 
I'd be curious to hear some proper math about how precise the required hit is for 1 -> 15 for this or other setups.
Are you speaking of the strike to the cueball or the first interaction between cueball and 1 ball?

To be accounted for is rotation of the cueball at the initial contact along with the point of contact. The influence of that rotation changes the sweet spot on the object ball.
 
Check out Stephen Hendry going up and back and the rotation influence. Well the demonstration is how precision Striking of the cueball is paramount.
 
Did you try it? I think it's a lot easier than I think you think, since the balls are pretty close together. Here it is on an oversized 8 table, not 9' but almost. Just like greg, this was my 2nd try; first time just didn't hit it hard enough. I lined the balls up w/2 cues; you can see that the 10 (I think) in the middle was out of line, but still straight enough.

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A lot harder w/fewer balls further apart:
 
Did you try it? I think it's a lot easier than I think you think, since the balls are pretty close together. Here it is on an oversized 8 table, not 9' but almost. Just like greg, this was my 2nd try; first time just didn't hit it hard enough. I lined the balls up w/2 cues; you can see that the 10 (I think) in the middle was out of line, but still straight enough.

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A lot harder w/fewer balls further apart:

I just took the 4-ball combo challenge on my 9 footer, all balls on long diagonal, CB on headstring, other 4 balls even with subsequent diamonds so last ball is on the footstring.

Took me 5 tries (you’ll have to trust me on that, lol - was stopping the recording after each attempt to reset):

 
Hey very nice! If you're into prop bets and feel pretty good at 5 tries you could do well with that. I'd probably be easily convinced to give 5-1 w/5 tries. (No lasers allowed!)
 
Hey very nice! If you're into prop bets and feel pretty good at 5 tries you could do well with that. I'd probably be easily convinced to give 5-1 w/5 tries. (No lasers allowed!)

Oh, I didn’t mention that I already had donuts placed on the diagonals on my table for Mighty-X practice, and I used a laser for that, so setting up the balls in a straight line was easy.
 
No bet! Ok fine, I'll give you 3-1

I’d have to pass with those odds. You saw that 4 barely snuck in the right side of the pocket, right?

It would look cooler if each ball stopped in place, but damn - that slight miss on the 1 got amplified all down the line.
 
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