Pocket entry

[poolnut7879]

Any tips or techniques on how to improve pocketing the ball in the part of the pocket you would like other than just aim here or aim there?

I feel that when I lose position a large percentage of the time it is because I made the ball "wrong."

I feel I pocket balls fairly well just not always to the desired part of the pocket so my aiming is ok just not where I need it to be.

Is it as simple as consciously making an effort at first in practice as in ok pocket the ball on this side or that side of the pocket?

Any tips, techniques, or thoughts would be great.

 

[Patrick Johnson]

Any tips or techniques on how to improve pocketing the ball in the part of the pocket you would like other than just aim here or aim there?

I feel that when I lose position a large percentage of the time it is because I made the ball "wrong."

I feel I pocket balls fairly well just not always to the desired part of the pocket so my aiming is ok just not where I need it to be.

Is it as simple as consciously making an effort at first in practice as in ok pocket the ball on this side or that side of the pocket?

Any tips, techniques, or thoughts would be great.

During practice I like to try to hit one of the pocket "facings" on either side - easier to see your imperfections than aiming for middle pocket.

pj
chgo

 

[BC21]

Any tips or techniques on how to improve pocketing the ball in the part of the pocket you would like other than just aim here or aim there?

I feel that when I lose position a large percentage of the time it is because I made the ball "wrong."

I feel I pocket balls fairly well just not always to the desired part of the pocket so my aiming is ok just not where I need it to be.

Is it as simple as consciously making an effort at first in practice as in ok pocket the ball on this side or that side of the pocket?

Any tips, techniques, or thoughts would be great.

It's just a matter of experience. But practice can definitely help speed up the process of fine-tuning your aim.

 

[poolnut7879]

It's just a matter of experience. But practice can definitely help speed up the process of fine-tuning your aim.

So my question is what to practice? Again is it simply making a conscious effort and then I will become better at it?

Are you saying I need to improve my ball striking skills?

Do you have any specific techniques that you recommend other than simply practice? Practice what? Hitting the ball with a conscious effort to one part of the pocket?

 

[Zerksies]

Where to aim in the pocket has to do a lot with how far you are away from the pocket. The closer you are the bigger the pocket is. As a beginner I would aim for center of the pocket.

The more advanced you get you can start aiming for the "Pro" side of the pocket. The theory with that is if you miss the ball, over cutting the ball pushes away from the pocket. (This is really hard to explain you more need a visual on this.)

 

[BC21]

So my question is what to practice? Again is it simply making a conscious effort and then I will become better at it?

Are you saying I need to improve my ball striking skills?

Do you have any specific techniques that you recommend other than simply practice? Practice what? Hitting the ball with a conscious effort to one part of the pocket?

Yes.....Hitting the ball with a conscious effort to one part of the pocket.

Here's a good way to practice it: place the ob in the center of the table and setup a straight in shot to the center of the side pocket. Now shoot the shot into the left portion of the pocket using follow so that cb rebounds off the side rail and back across the table. Do this about 10 times. Then shoot 10 straight in with a stop shot. Pay attention to make sure the ob goes center hole. Then shoot the ob into the right portion of the pocket 10 times. Pay attention to exactly what the aim difference is between a center pocket shot and a left/right pocket shot.

 

[boogieman]

Not an instructor, but I feel wagon wheel drills can be useful. They are not entirely about cheating the pocket, but you can add that into them. Most are shown with a side pocket, but you can do similar with other pockets.

 

[bbb]

You need to consciously pay attention to where in the pocket you want the ball to go
you need to improve your accuracy
you have gotten to where you are accurate enough to pocket the ball
now you need to refine that
i am not an instructor
jmho

 

[FranCrimi]

You say: " a large percentage of the time..."

I think you may be blaming your position errors on the wrong thing. Other than the priority of making the ball, shooting the ball into a particular part of the pocket in order to get position should be your last resort, when you have no other choice. You should be thinking --- a little more or a little less side spin, or a little higher or a little lower on the cue ball, or adjusting your speed to get where you want to land rather than adjusting how the object ball should go into the pocket. It's too risky.

First of all, you have to even have the luxury to be able to make that decision, like with shots along the rail, for example. No player in their right mind would choose to let the object ball slide into the pocket rail-first as a choice (even on a new cloth) when they can simply add a touch more side spin to get the result they need. It has to be a last resort.

Or shots at a sharp angle where part of the pocket is blocked by the point. No way. Don't mess with that.

And even if you were staring full-on into a nice wide pocket, why choose to mess with picking a part of the pocket just for position purposes when you have other options available to you?

 

[Patrick Johnson]

You say: " a large percentage of the time..."

I think you may be blaming your position errors on the wrong thing. Other than the priority of making the ball, shooting the ball into a particular part of the pocket in order to get position should be your last resort, when you have no other choice. You should be thinking --- a little more or a little less side spin, or a little higher or a little lower on the cue ball, or adjusting your speed to get where you want to land rather than adjusting how the object ball should go into the pocket. It's too risky.

First of all, you have to even have the luxury to be able to make that decision, like with shots along the rail, for example. No player in their right mind would choose to let the object ball slide into the pocket rail-first as a choice (even on a new cloth) when they can simply add a touch more side spin to get the result they need. It has to be a last resort.

Or shots at a sharp angle where part of the pocket is blocked by the point. No way. Don't mess with that.

And even if you were staring full-on into a nice wide pocket, why choose to mess with picking a part of the pocket just for position purposes when you have other options available to you?

Good advice, Fran. I imagine you also agree that the ability to target “parts” of the pocket is a worthwhile skill even for hitting center pocket.

pj
chgo

 

[phreaticus]

You say: " a large percentage of the time..."

I think you may be blaming your position errors on the wrong thing. Other than the priority of making the ball, shooting the ball into a particular part of the pocket in order to get position should be your last resort, when you have no other choice. You should be thinking --- a little more or a little less side spin, or a little higher or a little lower on the cue ball, or adjusting your speed to get where you want to land rather than adjusting how the object ball should go into the pocket. It's too risky.

First of all, you have to even have the luxury to be able to make that decision, like with shots along the rail, for example. No player in their right mind would choose to let the object ball slide into the pocket rail-first as a choice (even on a new cloth) when they can simply add a touch more side spin to get the result they need. It has to be a last resort.

Or shots at a sharp angle where part of the pocket is blocked by the point. No way. Don't mess with that.

And even if you were staring full-on into a nice wide pocket, why choose to mess with picking a part of the pocket just for position purposes when you have other options available to you?

Interesting perspective, thanks for sharing. I think a lot of folks think & shoot this way. I used to, as a kid.

When I came back to the game and worked on some stuff, my perspective changed. I view the 3 primary elements of pool, in this priority order: 1) angle, 2) speed, 3) spin. The reason is that spin seems to be the variable thats most affected by cloth/ball/table conditions.

Can’t cheat pockets all the time, especially on tight large tables, but working mostly vertical light inside CB & minorly adjusting aim & targeting mostly pro side of pocket lends to a more reliable, consistent game for me. Side spin used minimally, only as needed. A mosty sliding CB has very consistent angles off balls & rails but does sometimes lead to different ways of getting around the table, which takes an open mind to experiment with at first.

Just different styles.

 

[FranCrimi]

Good advice, Fran. I imagine you also agree that the ability to target “parts” of the pocket is a worthwhile skill even for hitting center pocket.

pj
chgo

Of course. For ball-pocketing, yes, it's essential. Maximizing the percentage of pocketing the ball should always be a player's priority. If you miss, your turn ends. Whether aiming for the center of the pocket or the side, depending on the angle, they're very much precision skills that should be practiced.

Also, there will be occasional position instances that require it, such as straight-in topspin shots where you need to create an angle. Other times you may be able to draw out of a straight-in shot and create an angle off of a rail with low side spin without having to cheat the pocket.

 

[WobblyStroke]

Getting good at cheating pockets is really getting good at ball striking such that the balls follow your intended paths. The more specific you can be with ball paths (both OB and CB), the more precise you can be with your aim.

Want to practice becoming more precise? Shoot combos in practice. There's a reason pros avoid even simple looking combos in favor of running out open racks....they require extreme precision and are easily missed. You get wonderful feedback on which side you missed on as well. Obv. at first, just set up straight in or slight cut combos that you can be sure of aim on so that you are sure your misses are execution related not aim related.

 

[Bob Jewett]

Any tips or techniques on how to improve pocketing the ball in the part of the pocket you would like other than just aim here or aim there?
...

There is a single point on the table that is the center of each pocket for all shots. It is useful to know what that point is when shooting. During lessons, I like to mark that point with a donut.

(If you shoot hard along the long rail, some pockets will reject more shots towards the rail side, and that moves the target for such shots. The pocket center remains within the donut.)

Once you have the center down, you can aim to the left or right of the donut, I suppose.

 

[pagaspoling]

Any tips or techniques on how to improve pocketing the ball in the part of the pocket you would like other than just aim here or aim there?

You could use a blocking ball in the pocket and try to not hit it with the object ball. Then as you get better you could block more of the pocket or/and increase the distance of the shot. Pocketing balls in various parts of the pocket is a very important skill not just for pocketing but also for playing precise positions. A ball thats on the spot has ≈4* degrees of pocket to enter and on cuts (more than 45*) that can change CB speed with 5-7%, so if you are playing a small position where speed is important a miss to either side could make you miss position. I aim cut shots played with straight ball on the thin side of the pocket to account for throw, middle pocket for gearing outside and almost a miss to the thin side when playing inside spin.

 

[Bob Jewett]

You could use a blocking ball in the pocket and try to not hit it with the object ball. ...

Something similar is to put a ball somewhere in the pocket and play the combination to leave the first ball in a particular location. That requires an accurate shot to a target in or near the pocket, which is also an important skill.