What do you mean by twisting? By using front hand, do you mean you move your bridge hand to the left?
Position Play: Straight-In Shots
- Thread starter Matt
- Start date
What do you mean by twisting? By using front hand, do you mean you move your bridge hand to the left?
This is one of those "an ounce of prevention... " things, as recovering from being straight in can be really tough. As others have mentioned, the rail-first and masse shots are good ones to get a feel for.
On the prevention side, I think what has helped me as much as anything else is simply playing on really tight equipment. On 4.25" or smaller pockets, you run out of offensive options really quickly as your angle becomes less ideal, because you can't simply pound balls into the hole to exploit what little angle you do have. I tend to err on the side of having a little too much angle - I'd rather have to shoot softer than try to force something.
Aaron
On the prevention side, I think what has helped me as much as anything else is simply playing on really tight equipment. On 4.25" or smaller pockets, you run out of offensive options really quickly as your angle becomes less ideal, because you can't simply pound balls into the hole to exploit what little angle you do have. I tend to err on the side of having a little too much angle - I'd rather have to shoot softer than try to force something.
Aaron
This is so true... and I'm guilty of it often. You should always have an exact position point in mind and not just a general area. Sure you'll miss the point by a bit sometimes, but you'll avoid hitting it "good", but getting in a bad place.
For position on a ball on the short rail (from the other end of the table) it is often safer to come at it two rails instead of just one and try to float into the final position. Two rails usually makes it so you're rolling into the position line and not across it.
This is a video I just created to illustrate my post #18. This shot can be quite handy to get out of situations like this. Usually I would have hit it harder to get it down farther for an easier shot, but this should be enough to illustrate it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVTf8NPtw3o&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVTf8NPtw3o&feature=youtu.be
I use to practice this shot/stroke quite often, except I would freeze the balls to the rails.
You can do a few things when frozen.
Forward out with left, up table to the top rail
Forward in with right, go 3 rails out to center table
Draw right out to the top rail or shorter if desired.
The shot that is shown you can do more with,more easily, as the balls are not frozen to the rail.
I have been frozen more than once and that stroke got me out.
You can't beat repetitive stroke practice.
You can do a few things when frozen.
Forward out with left, up table to the top rail
Forward in with right, go 3 rails out to center table
Draw right out to the top rail or shorter if desired.
The shot that is shown you can do more with,more easily, as the balls are not frozen to the rail.
I have been frozen more than once and that stroke got me out.
You can't beat repetitive stroke practice.
I had this situation last night to get to an 8 ball shot. One of the few (very very few) tricky shots that I was able to pull off positioning off of. Straight in on one corner, needing to get back to put the 8 home in the opposing corner (it was sitting about 18 inches off that short rail) with 3 of his balls blocking other pockets. I chose the cheater route. I hit it square with some hard low and slight left. The object ball, positioned about a foot from the pocket, just nipped the right nipple on the way home and cue ball drew back and left perfectly for a *just* off center shot on the 8 ball.