problems with long straight in shots...
- Thread starter instroke2
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I used to have the same problem with straight in shots. Years ago an "old timer" gave me some information about that very shot. Now we include this info in every Pool School.
If your alignment & stroke are trustworthy then:
Because it is so difficuly to find the exact center of a 21/4 inch ball, try this. Once you have determined that the shot is straight in let your eyes focus on the "base of the object ball". By default you are aiming dead center.
Remember, the base of the object ball sits on it's vertical center, just point your cue there!
Hope this info also helps.....SPF=randyg
If your alignment & stroke are trustworthy then:
Because it is so difficuly to find the exact center of a 21/4 inch ball, try this. Once you have determined that the shot is straight in let your eyes focus on the "base of the object ball". By default you are aiming dead center.
Remember, the base of the object ball sits on it's vertical center, just point your cue there!
Hope this info also helps.....SPF=randyg
Straight Shot Drills
Someone at a tourney once taught me this really good drill for straight shots. You basically take a cue ball, put it a half chalk or less off the rail by the 2 diamond. Put the object ball same distance away from the 5 diamond. Shoot straight in shots into the corner and try for a perfect stop shot. This means, neither ball touches a rail on the entire shot. Depending on which side of the table you play this on, you either have a full bridge on the table, or a really messed up bridge against the rail. Trust me, if you could do this shot over and over again with an f'ed up bridge, you can make any straight shot anywhere in the middle of the table.
Someone at a tourney once taught me this really good drill for straight shots. You basically take a cue ball, put it a half chalk or less off the rail by the 2 diamond. Put the object ball same distance away from the 5 diamond. Shoot straight in shots into the corner and try for a perfect stop shot. This means, neither ball touches a rail on the entire shot. Depending on which side of the table you play this on, you either have a full bridge on the table, or a really messed up bridge against the rail. Trust me, if you could do this shot over and over again with an f'ed up bridge, you can make any straight shot anywhere in the middle of the table.
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Well said Randy, you beat me to the punch. I might also add that if you have a straight in shot you can ground your cue ball where you line up your stick with where the Cue Ball touches the cloth in line with where the object ball is touching the cloth. Hopefully this is helpful to those with problems on their long straight in shots.
I play straight in shots a lot during practice - it's a great way to tune your stroke and make sure it's straight.
Usually what I do is start simple, with the cue ball about 2 diamonds away from the object ball, and play about 50 shots. Once I feel comfortable there, I move the balls twice as far apart, or four diamonds, and then start over. Line it up from corner pocket to corner pocket - they'll help you line your shots up.
Obviously you don't have to play as many shots, but the point is to get as comfortable as possible with the shorter distance straight-ins, and then move up to the longer ones. Do you struggle with the shorter straight in shots at all, or is it just the long ones?
Hope this helps...
Usually what I do is start simple, with the cue ball about 2 diamonds away from the object ball, and play about 50 shots. Once I feel comfortable there, I move the balls twice as far apart, or four diamonds, and then start over. Line it up from corner pocket to corner pocket - they'll help you line your shots up.
Obviously you don't have to play as many shots, but the point is to get as comfortable as possible with the shorter distance straight-ins, and then move up to the longer ones. Do you struggle with the shorter straight in shots at all, or is it just the long ones?
Hope this helps...
How does he get the cut shots then if he doesn't have a straight stroke? If he doesn't have a straight stroke, he will not hit where he is aiming at properly during those cut shots. But as he said, he gets the cut shots in.
I think it's just because he's not used to measuring a very straight shot. Just practice it all the time and get it off your head. It's all in your head I think lol. I used to be like that too. Until I made it a point to shoot those long straight in shots as a warm up before matches.
Make sure you are aligned properly too. Do what Masayoshi said and walk in the shot to make sure you are properly aligned. During practice, shoot this shot with one practice stroke. It will force you to align properly before shooting.
I seriously don't think there's anthing wrong with your stroke as you are shooting other shots properly. If you are missing everything else then yea go get your stroke checked
gpeezy
for sale!
I like to think of replacing a whole ball with a whole ball when shooting these. But I use thickness as a aiming system. Also practice hitting them at different speeds. There is probably a speed where you are more comfortable and use that till your confidence grows. Its between your ears my friend.
This is your answer and it's so simple.............
Hi there, Go to www.perfectaimbilliards.com and see all the testimonials. With PERFECT AIM the straight in shot is the easiest to line up. The whole secret is getting the eyes in the right position. On the cut shots that you are talking about you are getting the eyes in the right position naturally and that is why they look so easy. Look at PERFECT AIM on the AZ site here. There's been a discussion ongoing for about 2 months. All the testimonials are glowing. Good Luck. Geno.................
Hi there, Go to www.perfectaimbilliards.com and see all the testimonials. With PERFECT AIM the straight in shot is the easiest to line up. The whole secret is getting the eyes in the right position. On the cut shots that you are talking about you are getting the eyes in the right position naturally and that is why they look so easy. Look at PERFECT AIM on the AZ site here. There's been a discussion ongoing for about 2 months. All the testimonials are glowing. Good Luck. Geno.................
That's what I'm talking about. www.perfectaimbilliards.com is the place to go to get the answers. If your not seeing the shot right nothing seems to work. Geno............
Okay.. this may sound really stupid and simple, and I'm not sure if you can do this, but hey.. give it a go.
First off.. can you visualize a line coming from the pocket, along the cloth, under the object ball and extending to the cue ball?
If you can visualize this, simply shoot the cue ball along that line. That's it.
The way most people aim, is by looking at a spot on the OB. Well, when it's the dead center of the OB, that can be pretty hard. If you can see the line you want the ball to travel along, and you can shoot the cue ball on that same line, physic dictates the object ball will go in it's place.
I LOVE straight in shots. I make them 98% or better. Does not matter how far they are. Usually the only reason I miss is lack of focus, or I'm jacked up. (or trying to cheat the pocket just a bit too much).
If you can see the lines, you're good to go, if you can't.. then not so much.. Hope this helps some people at least.
First off.. can you visualize a line coming from the pocket, along the cloth, under the object ball and extending to the cue ball?
If you can visualize this, simply shoot the cue ball along that line. That's it.
The way most people aim, is by looking at a spot on the OB. Well, when it's the dead center of the OB, that can be pretty hard. If you can see the line you want the ball to travel along, and you can shoot the cue ball on that same line, physic dictates the object ball will go in it's place.
I LOVE straight in shots. I make them 98% or better. Does not matter how far they are. Usually the only reason I miss is lack of focus, or I'm jacked up. (or trying to cheat the pocket just a bit too much).
If you can see the lines, you're good to go, if you can't.. then not so much.. Hope this helps some people at least.
sausage
Banned
because most people shoot long straight shots with some force to avoid roll-off, it's easy to miss the exact center of the cue. after missing a few long shots you begin to question your aim then you've had it. to determine if it's your aim or a center ball hit, concentrate on the cue-ball rather than the object ball after you lined up your shot. if the shot goes in, you are not hitting the center of your cue. this is the most probable cause for the miss.
Providing that all the factors mentioned by previous AZ'rs are met like stance and stroke One other factor to consider is are the shots always missed right or left. The problem with straight in shots is the mind is saying that you are looking at the ball straight but instead you are a fraction off center. I am right eye dominet and I have to aim a fraction to the left of what I think is center then the ball goes straight in if I don't I will always miss to the left. I am not the only one that does this there are other good players that also do it. So see if you constantly miss to one side.
Ron
Ron
I can be wrong but I am of the opinion that if you are able to pocket long cut shots confidently and have problems with straight shots it means like you have problems not with your skills level...
I believe you just dont feel psychologicly comfortable preparing for the shot
I believe you just dont feel psychologicly comfortable preparing for the shot
Long straight in shots are a great way to measure the baseline margin of error for your technique. There's no judgment involved in how much of a cut to make because the CB and OB centers are perfectly lined up. It's purely about getting the CB from point A to point B as accurately as possible. In a cut shot, you have to use judgment to decide where point B is (i.e. how much cut to make), but then it's just a straight shot to there with the same margin of error to point B as your regular straight in.
In fact, the more the cut for given CB/OB and OB/pocket distances, the smaller the total error for the shot geometrically. If you have a 4 degree error on a full ball straight in, that's a fundamental 1/16th ball error in your technique. At 1/4 ball hit that 1/16-ball error becomes 5-6 degrees, and at 1/8 ball hit is 7-9 degrees (more than a diamond across the table length.)
By introducing the extra judgment factor, it makes it more difficult to really know why you're making or missing shots. Did you miss because you picked the right point and your stroke was off, or did you pick the wrong point and hit it perfectly? Did you make it because you picked and hit the right point perfectly or picked the wrong point and hit it bad? Without a reliable baseline, iit's impossible to know for certain.
I think it's a common misperception players have when we say we make every cut but miss straight shots. I think it's due to statistics, and humans are wired to have bad intuitions about them (bad for us, good for casino owners.) We're obviously missing cuts too, or we'd happily be giving weight to Efren. The question is cut percentage vs straight percentage, and its not so easy to compare them properly.
In pool, we play for angles in order to have better position options, so we're already shooting many more cuts than straight ins to skew the numbers. Although there are exceptions, we're usually only straight in when we're out of line. That means we're likely shooting a harder than normal shot to begin with to get back in line, which will distort our perceptions of them even further.
These are some of the reasons to be careful about exaggerating the difference between straight ins and other shots. In a way, every shot is a straight in shot. Learn to embrace them for the fundamentally simpler shots that they are.
To practice them, use a long shot where the CB is 6 or 7 diamonds from a corner pocket and the OB is midway between them to minimize margin of error. Shoot a stun shot and try to stop the CB without any sidespin whatsoever. Sometimes you will make the shot but leave the CB spinning, which is bad. That means you hit the OB off-center and threw it in with english. Watching for a flat CB is super important when practicing a straight stroke this way (measles ball is helpful for this.) Once you can do the stun, then try following the ball into the pocket (moderately harder) or draw back into an opposite corner pocket (a *lot* harder.)
Good luck!
Robert
In fact, the more the cut for given CB/OB and OB/pocket distances, the smaller the total error for the shot geometrically. If you have a 4 degree error on a full ball straight in, that's a fundamental 1/16th ball error in your technique. At 1/4 ball hit that 1/16-ball error becomes 5-6 degrees, and at 1/8 ball hit is 7-9 degrees (more than a diamond across the table length.)
By introducing the extra judgment factor, it makes it more difficult to really know why you're making or missing shots. Did you miss because you picked the right point and your stroke was off, or did you pick the wrong point and hit it perfectly? Did you make it because you picked and hit the right point perfectly or picked the wrong point and hit it bad? Without a reliable baseline, iit's impossible to know for certain.
I think it's a common misperception players have when we say we make every cut but miss straight shots. I think it's due to statistics, and humans are wired to have bad intuitions about them (bad for us, good for casino owners.) We're obviously missing cuts too, or we'd happily be giving weight to Efren. The question is cut percentage vs straight percentage, and its not so easy to compare them properly.
In pool, we play for angles in order to have better position options, so we're already shooting many more cuts than straight ins to skew the numbers. Although there are exceptions, we're usually only straight in when we're out of line. That means we're likely shooting a harder than normal shot to begin with to get back in line, which will distort our perceptions of them even further.
These are some of the reasons to be careful about exaggerating the difference between straight ins and other shots. In a way, every shot is a straight in shot. Learn to embrace them for the fundamentally simpler shots that they are.
To practice them, use a long shot where the CB is 6 or 7 diamonds from a corner pocket and the OB is midway between them to minimize margin of error. Shoot a stun shot and try to stop the CB without any sidespin whatsoever. Sometimes you will make the shot but leave the CB spinning, which is bad. That means you hit the OB off-center and threw it in with english. Watching for a flat CB is super important when practicing a straight stroke this way (measles ball is helpful for this.) Once you can do the stun, then try following the ball into the pocket (moderately harder) or draw back into an opposite corner pocket (a *lot* harder.)
Good luck!
Robert
Try this drill:
Putt a OB in the middle of the table, place the CB down in one of the corners, about one diamond from the rail.
Try potting the ball in the middle of the pocket across the table, and for doing it harder, try to follow with the CB and try to shoot it down in the same pocket as the OB.
Works for me!
Sorry for bad english
Putt a OB in the middle of the table, place the CB down in one of the corners, about one diamond from the rail.
Try potting the ball in the middle of the pocket across the table, and for doing it harder, try to follow with the CB and try to shoot it down in the same pocket as the OB.
Works for me!
Sorry for bad english