Ok, I admit it...I dont know how to aim!!!

JamisonNeu

JamisonNeu

Mr. Masse
Silver Member
I have absolutely no aiming system. I would call my aiming system guessing. Does anyone else feel like their aim is a guess? I feel like I am aiming to somewhere close to the hole...and then trying to will it in. I have a great % of makes for this method but...I know I could be better if I could see the spot on the ball and knew it was golden.

I have no idea how to aim in balls. I can aim the cue ball anywhere. I think I could hit a tooth pick dead center from 100 ft away (with the cue ball). But where do I aim the cue ball to knock the other balls into the holes?

If you guys don't mind. Could someone tell me how to aim? This is me being 100% humble, and genuine.

Please don't refer me to past threads. I have tried to read them...Most get ugly too fast to follow. I have to think that there is a gem of knowledge from everyone here. With that in mind I hope this aiming thread will help everyone that reads it.

I will say this about aiming I have to keep my eyes on the spot I am looking (object ball) to get any results. I personally have very little success looking at the ball I am hitting. (cueball)
 
Center Ball to Ghost Ball Center. :D

All aiming systems end up at this point no matter the process to get there.

JMHO

BTW, I have a sad feeling this thread is going to turn into a aiming system bashing thread again.

Carl
 
I hope not about the thread going sour. Before it does...lol

The ghost ball thing just does not work for me...I can not imagine a ball there. Is there a precise spot that that ghost ball spot is? Like a precise measurement on where the center of the ball should be. I might be able to see an inch away or a inch and a 1/8 or something...I can see distance better than create objects in my mind...
 
My main point about it was not matter the aiming "method" you use, it ends up at this aiming point. I make it a point to learn as much as possible about the game, from what works and doesn't work for me, and why.

My personal method for Ghost Ball is when I am practicing, I will literally line up a "ghost ball" with an actualy ball. Get down on the shot and aim. Take a mental picture, then move the "aiming ball".

Another GREAT method is using the paper hole reinforcements.

- Freeze two balls balls together directly lined up with the pocket.
- Put paper hole reinforcments under each ball.
- Remove the aiming ball and place the cue-ball anywhere the shot would be feasibly makable.
- Now aim for the empty reinforcement that was where the Ghost Ball would be.

Again, these are all just my opinions and do not reflect any particular persons system, just my practice techniques that I use.

Carl
 
So, I could mark the table like I do with trick shots...I could line a locked combo up then tap down on them. Just a little to scar the cloth that would give me the exact bottom of the ball!!!

Good stuff here! So far this is a good thread! See we can keep it positive!
 
I would recommend a form of Ghost Ball or Opposite Point variation. I picture a red laser dot on the point of the object ball furthest opposite of the line to the pocket. (Actually stand behind the object ball looking through it to the middle of the pocket you want it to go to. ) Then I picture a corresponding red laser dot on my cueball that would marry up to that when they collide. Then Imake those two dots collide.

The first thing I'd do to test your stroke out when aiming is put an object ball frozen to the middle dot on the head rail...then put your cue ball on the spot and aim with pure center ball to hit the frozen ball as center as possible. Holding my cue in my stroke hand, I lock my stroke hand on my hip, holding my cue over the line of aim, then step forward with my left foot as I lower over the shot. This is the only way I've found to consistently line my stance up. I like to pause on one of my forward practice strokes, then pull back and stroke. If your cueball is kicked back in a straight line, your stroke and aim is just fine. This isn't as easy as it sounds...

Next, put a small chalk tick mark on one of the long rails, and practice trying to hit it with the cue ball (think of trying to rub it off with the cueball as it glances off) at a variety of ever increasing angles. This will help you visualize and actualize your "corresponding red laser dot on the cue ball" that you would be hitting an object ball with. When I pull the trigger on any shot, I'm looking exactly at the "red laser dot" I'm imagining on the object ball...in this case, I'm staring at the chalk tick mark I'm trying to rub off the rail when I pull the trigger. In my opinion, staring at the point on the cueball you're going to hit with your tip is least important (you can see that with your peripheral vision anyway).

Finally, start with a object ball hitting a straight in stop shot from about two feet (two feet to the pocket, two feet between the cueball and object ball). Do it 10 times straight, then set it up for about a 10 degree angle, do it 10 times, then a 20 degree, and so on up to about 85 degrees (about as thin as you can cut it). Try this with the angle going both inside and outside as it increases. Don't crush these, just a light to light-medium stroke. It's okay to add a touch (half to full tip) of outside English (away from the pocket) as the angle increases, as collision induced throw is maxed out at center ball (no) English...and this will be your most common address when shooting cut shots. Once you have this down, you can start trying center ball and inside English on cut shots and see how you adjust.
 
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JamisonNeu said:
So, I could mark the table like I do with trick shots...I could line a locked combo up then tap down on them. Just a little to scar the cloth that would give me the exact bottom of the ball!!!

Good stuff here! So far this is a good thread! See we can keep it positive!
Click to expand...

if you use the green master chalk on dark cloth or dark chalk on light cloth I suppose.. after 15-20 shots at a marked OB location.. chalk heavy and as long as most are successful.. you will see the center of the ghostball and the first few inches of the tangent line.. draw themselves on the table right before your eyes..CB position does not matter.. but stick to center axis, sidespin doesn't draw the lines as well

works sweet and cleans up with a damp rag. I've trained like this extensively
 
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softshot said:
if you use the green master chalk on dark cloth or dark chalk on light cloth I suppose.. after 15-20 shots at a marked OB location.. chalk heavy and as long as most are successful.. you will see the center of the ghostball and the first few inches of the tangent line.. draw themselves on the table right before your eyes..CB position does not matter.. but stick to center axis, sidespin doesn't draw the lines as well

works sweet and cleans up with a damp rag. I've trained like this extensively
Click to expand...

Dude this is priceless little gem here!!! Thanks! Yes I wrote the word dude. I was excited about it too...lol

Ok I took a few min to think about what you said, and it is great. I think what I should try to do so far is set the object ball, and cue ball together in a locked combo...Tap them in, and then shoot with your method (chalking the OB) Then shoot a straight in shot like 20 times..(easy to achieve the line you are talking about) This is combining your post and westpoint. Then the line will be there, the dot will be there, and I can shoot the shot from anywhere.

Next thing would be to drill the angle's right? If you have the straight stroke then you just need to find the right spot to hit? This is turning out to be a great thread.

Does anyone else have any gems of info to share?
 
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Agree with Neil above.

I learned through trial and error when younger, initially starting out with some sort of GB type method, mostly because that was in the books I read. I would sometimes put the GB in place so I could visualize it more.

For me, I never could really visualize an invisible ball very easily by itself. Best way I could describe my previous aiming was sort of a ghost ball track, I would visualize how thick I needed to hit the ball to send it toward the hole, which would basically represent the ghost ball, and would sort of focus in on the track or path I needed to hit the CB on in order to reach that spot. Probably also why I was very CB centered for most of my playing career, and still am to some degree. I figured if I was lined up correctly, then if I hit the CB along that track I would make the ball. Sort of like making a 20' putt but figuring out the path needed and focusing on rolling the golf ball over a spot a few inches in front of you that's on that track.

I think through trial and error the eye/brain connection figures out when the shot looks right, based on positive and negative feedback, and over time if you have reasonable eye hand coordination you can end up making a large percentage of shots. Then you learn speed/spin corrections and over time get good at those as well.

I do believe that systems (CTE, 90/90, double the distance, fractional, etc.) can help people who can't visualize the GB or help accelerate the learning for some people. Frankly they are helping me even now, 20 years later, just feel more confident about my alignment and helping me get into the correction position to make the shot more often, especially on off angle or tougher shots.

I remember a guy that I was trying to help, I set up the same 20 or 25 degree cut on the rail 10 times and I swear he missed it the same way 10 times in a row, and badly. Then he adjusted and missed it badly on the other side. It was clear he just had no clear picture in his mind how to make that shot, and that transcended into many other shots throughout a typical game as well. I think for him, an aiming system of some sort would have helped immensely develop the necessary coordination to at least see the shot correctly, and improved mechanics would have helped him deliver the CB more accurately as well. But ultimately if you do have solid eye hand coordination then whatever method you use to see the shot and deliver the CB to the proper spot works.
Scott
 
JamisonNeu said:
I have absolutely no aiming system. I would call my aiming system guessing. Does anyone else feel like their aim is a guess? I feel like I am aiming to somewhere close to the hole...and then trying to will it in. I have a great % of makes for this method but...I know I could be better if I could see the spot on the ball and knew it was golden.

I have no idea how to aim in balls. I can aim the cue ball anywhere. I think I could hit a tooth pick dead center from 100 ft away (with the cue ball). But where do I aim the cue ball to knock the other balls into the holes?

If you guys don't mind. Could someone tell me how to aim? This is me being 100% humble, and genuine.

Please don't refer me to past threads. I have tried to read them...Most get ugly too fast to follow. I have to think that there is a gem of knowledge from everyone here. With that in mind I hope this aiming thread will help everyone that reads it.

I will say this about aiming I have to keep my eyes on the spot I am looking (object ball) to get any results. I personally have very little success looking at the ball I am hitting. (cueball)
Click to expand...

Jamison,

IMO, ALL aiming is guessing. I don't care what anyone says, when your holding a 58" long stick and you are pointing a 13mm tip on the end of said stick at a white ball and trying to send that white ball to a point on a colored ball possibly 8 feet away with precision that must be measured in fractions of a millimeter, unless that white ball is wired to a piano wire that is strung tighter than a cat's ass, you are going to have make SOME kind of an educated guess at which finite direction you are going to send that white ball in. There is NOT an aiming system/method anywhere that takes away the need to have to make a guess on ANY pool shot available. Your brain function on any given pool shot is split into the part of the brain telling you where to hit the object ball, while another part of your brain is questioning if where you are actually aiming at any given time is the right place or not. This is what makes it a guess. Your own mind actually has an internal struggle to percieve what the right choice is. We do not necessarily notice it happening, but is IS there. No aiming system can keep your brain from doing this. But they can give you more confidence that you are making the right choice, regardless of which system you choose.

Remember, you and you alone have to ultimately decide which path to send the cueball down. Even if someone SHOWS you where to hit the OB with the CB YOU still have to make that final minute adjustment. That decision is proceeded by CHOICES (however small they may be), and choices in pool aiming equate to guesswork.

We worry so much about things of this nature it's a wonder that we have any fun at all doing it.

While these opinions are not factual, they still have merit in my own mind, so please, if you disagree with them, refrain from calling me names and simply state your OWN opinions without feeling the need to belittle someone elses. Thank you.

Maniac
 
When the OB and CB goes where someone wants them too, there was no guessing used, but knowing what to do to make that happen. Big difference.

Where is a training device that is very helpful, the Arrow, also the book ain't to bad either.
http://books.google.com/books?id=dK...#v=onepage&q=the arrow babe cranfield&f=false

No matter what "system" you use, they all end up where the point of the arrow is. If you make the arrow, all you have to do is roll the bottom of the CB over the point of the arrow to make the OB go where you want.

Also, using center ball on the CB, the point of the arrow is where the cue tip is pointed at and this is where you stroke to. Through the CB straight toward the point. This is the hidden value of using center ball. The tip of the cue is always pointed to where the the CB will go.

While the arrow is on the table, using the top of CB and the point of the arrow is the closest to real aiming there is in shot making. The reason I say top of the CB is because the top will become the bottom once the CB starts rolling.

The point of the arrow is just the contact point on the OB extend out 1/2 ball the outer most edge of the OB.

There is also a ghost ball drill that Phil Chapelle shows in one of his books. This is taking another ball and placing next to a OB as the GB. Then, go to different positions around the table and just look at the ball used as the GB to get a good visual.

No matter how you do it, once you find whatever way suits our style of playing, stick with it. Real progress in getting really good at pool takes alot of time and work.

I've found that my slumps, misses, sub-par performance, bad stroking and so on were not caused of how I aimed, what chalk I used, what tip was on the cue and so on, but just plain ole piss poor playing on my part.
 
I'm going to jump in here and say that having a good understanding of speed, english, type of shot, elevation of cue, ability to see lines and patterns, tangent lines, an understanding of physics, etc are all needed in building up your aim. As I started out, I used center ball all the time, wasn't sure where the cueball was going, and had no clue about shape. As you get better, your focus increases, and your attention to detail not only improves, but is demanded. There really is a perfect way to hit every shot, regardless of how you play for position. I'm to the point now where I will visualize in my head those close-up, slow motion shots at that Colorado State website on my own, in my free time to have more of an understanding of the game, how english, rails, and speed affect EVERY shot. Aiming becomes ultimate when you understand it.
 
I tried what I posted earlier...I think that if given some time this would really help me out. I also think I have a couple more gems tonight.

I think that guessing is still part of everything. In my case I would like to refer to the "guessing" as a "hypothesis."

I think it could be possible that all aiming systems are a hypothesis not a exact science or a guess.
 
Strike First said:
this video has helped me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXlWEu2KuQo
Click to expand...

I have often wondered if I had a subconsious ghost ball aiming system in my game. I now know I most definately do not.

Is there an actual system that uses contact points? I don't aim at the ghost ball position as in that video at all, I aim to hit the contact point, I would be interested to watch a instruction video on contact point aiming if one exists.
 
I'm sorry, Jamison, that I don't have any words of wisdom to convey in response to your aiming question. (Although I believe that you've already gotten some good advice).

I do find it admirable, though, that a player of your obvious skills has the humility to come on here and admit that aiming remains a mystery. This only a couple of weeks after Venom posted here seeking advice on developing his stroke!! (I'm still trying to wrap my head around that one-- kind of like Shaq asking a bunch of pygmies for advice on dunking a basketball).

I guess it all goes to show that we are never done learning about this game. And that, for some reason, puts a smile on my face.
 
Aiming

JamisonNeu said:
I have absolutely no aiming system. I would call my aiming system guessing. Does anyone else feel like their aim is a guess? I feel like I am aiming to somewhere close to the hole...and then trying to will it in. I have a great % of makes for this method but...I know I could be better if I could see the spot on the ball and knew it was golden.

I have no idea how to aim in balls. I can aim the cue ball anywhere. I think I could hit a tooth pick dead center from 100 ft away (with the cue ball). But where do I aim the cue ball to knock the other balls into the holes?

If you guys don't mind. Could someone tell me how to aim? This is me being 100% humble, and genuine.

Please don't refer me to past threads. I have tried to read them...Most get ugly too fast to follow. I have to think that there is a gem of knowledge from everyone here. With that in mind I hope this aiming thread will help everyone that reads it.

I will say this about aiming I have to keep my eyes on the spot I am looking (object ball) to get any results. I personally have very little success looking at the ball I am hitting. (cueball)
Click to expand...

JamisonNeu,
Here is a book, try this. It begins at the most elementary start of equal opposite contact points and takes you through many perceptive methods as a journey and lands you with some aiming methods that work quite well. If you work with this book when you get done you will never be able to say you do not know how to aim. You will be an excellent center ball aimer with the tools to learn the allowances for English which is where we jump off the bicycle and learn to do it with feel. Even then there are built in principles that help with that and get you started putting you a little ahead of the game because you understand what you have to do.

336Robin :thumbup:

http://274928807619529663.weebly.com/
 
Maniac said:
Jamison,

IMO, ALL aiming is guessing. I don't care what anyone says, when your holding a 58" long stick and you are pointing a 13mm tip on the end of said stick at a white ball and trying to send that white ball to a point on a colored ball possibly 8 feet away with precision that must be measured in fractions of a millimeter, unless that white ball is wired to a piano wire that is strung tighter than a cat's ass, you are going to have make SOME kind of an educated guess at which finite direction you are going to send that white ball in. There is NOT an aiming system/method anywhere that takes away the need to have to make a guess on ANY pool shot available. Your brain function on any given pool shot is split into the part of the brain telling you where to hit the object ball, while another part of your brain is questioning if where you are actually aiming at any given time is the right place or not. This is what makes it a guess. Your own mind actually has an internal struggle to percieve what the right choice is. We do not necessarily notice it happening, but is IS there. No aiming system can keep your brain from doing this. But they can give you more confidence that you are making the right choice, regardless of which system you choose.

Remember, you and you alone have to ultimately decide which path to send the cueball down. Even if someone SHOWS you where to hit the OB with the CB YOU still have to make that final minute adjustment. That decision is proceeded by CHOICES (however small they may be), and choices in pool aiming equate to guesswork.

We worry so much about things of this nature it's a wonder that we have any fun at all doing it.

While these opinions are not factual, they still have merit in my own mind, so please, if you disagree with them, refrain from calling me names and simply state your OWN opinions without feeling the need to belittle someone elses. Thank you.

Maniac
Click to expand...

Maniac,

I think I will take your opportunity and respectfully disagree. I will say that aiming is not guessing. I understand your point, however, if aiming were guessing, then golfers, bowlers, etc would be guessing as well.

In my opinion, aiming is about repetition. Just like in golf, bowling and other precision sports. When a golfer lines up his shot, he is hitting a smaller ball a lot further of a distance, yet most of the time does so with extreme accuracy. Bowlers when they dont get a strike, have to adjust their aiming to pick up random pins left standing. Billiards is no different. Aiming is methodical, mathematical, and repetative.

While I will agree for some, it is guessing, I myself find that my vision, preshot routine, muscle repetition, amongst other variables all contribute to finding the correct aim point to pocket the ball. If at any point during my setup I feel that I am guessing, I stand up from my shot.

I want to make it clear that I understand your intent behind "guessing" however, I just wanted to offer my opinion in the most respectful way.

Carl
 
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