Seeing the contact point on the object ball.

Patrick Johnson said:
With fractional aiming, adjustments must be made on nearly every shot. Fractions only clearly define a few cut angles (full, 3/4, 1/2, 1/4…).

pj
chgo
Click to expand...
Actually, it’s not difficult to have aiming points for the in-between cut angles so actually you can have eight instead of four targets
Still like all aiming systems as you say PJ there is a subjective element
 
bbb said:
Actually, it’s not difficult to have aiming points for the in-between cut angles so actually you can have eight instead of four targets
Still like all aiming systems as you say PJ there is a subjective element
Click to expand...
Why limit yourself to discernible fractions? In dialing those oddball hits, you'd have to cut into your control range just to fudge the inbetweeners.
Conversely, with geometric alignment, you can be centralized on every shot and adjust through the full range of the shot.
 
straightline said:
Why limit yourself to discernible fractions? In dialing those oddball hits, you'd have to cut into your control range just to fudge the inbetweeners.
Conversely, with geometric alignment, you can be centralized on every shot and adjust through the full range of the shot.
Click to expand...
Could you go through the steps of geometric alignment one more time, please?
 
1777126637992.png

Patrick Johnson said:
A well known way to connect the contact points (assuming you can "see" the OB contact point) is to aim CB center to the point twice the distance from the OB's center or twice the distance from the OB's outside edge to the contact point. This is called "double distance" (when doubling from centerball) or "double overlap" (when doubling from the ball's edge
Click to expand...

The figure could be improved with some notes to get some of us up to speed quicker.
The two figures are of thick and thin cut shots. The Five ball's face is aligned with the cue ball direction with the thinner the shot, the more the Five ball's face turns to the right. The thinner the cut, the more turn to the right, and the more the orange showing in the ball left of the ball's '5'.​

I like an approach using CutShots training balls with their 100-some multi-colored spots as the object ball. It requires photos of the object ball from behind the object ball and from the cue ball. It allows one to see the the visible distance between contact point and ball edge of the cut shot. It also shows the distance from OB middle to contact point.

In left photo below, the object ball sits on a black line pointing at a table pocket. Looking at the back of the object ball, the middle point --- the OB contact point --- is the red circle that sits above a black star. To the red-circle's right to the ball's edge are a green star, a black circle, a red diamond, and barely visible, a black star at ball's edge.

The other photo is taken from behind cue ball and at the object-ball middle. The red-circle contact point is visible but it has shifted to the right of what used to be the ball center. Next to it are still visible the green star, and a bit of the black circle, but not visible are the red diamond and black star.

Like with your figure, one can find the distance from OB center to contact point (blue diamond to blue circle to red circle) and distance of contact point to edge (green star and part of black circle). These estimates point to colored spots on the ball and not just eyeballing spots.


45 degree from OB.jpg
__
45 degree from CB.jpg
 
Last edited:
maha said:
maybe just play enough to be able to look at the shot from anyplace and see where to hit the balls.
Click to expand...
In the long run, I think that's how everyone who turns into a good player does it, especially when they use side spin, but sometimes beginners need a little help.

Sometimes a lot of help. I once was about 15 minutes into the basics of aiming, including ghost balls and a variety of cut shots, and the student piped up, as if just discovering the idea, "So, to make the ball go to the left, I have to hit it on the right?" There's lots of stuff that's obvious to most here that is a secret to many who have played only a little pool.
 
correct of course but any beginner needs to hit many shots before he can even get to hit close to where he is aiming.

it is a long process to get to just hit where you aim and then know where to hit. few if anyone ever i see work on getting their stroke straight so the cue ball goes where its supposed to.

as can be seen from not being able to make any long shots. as there your stroke that isn't straight magnifies by the distance how much you are off.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bbb
Patrick Johnson said:
I’m guessing they won’t be going pro.
Click to expand...
The amazing part to me was that they were a graduate student in a technical field. And then there was the student who was about to enter college in computer science and was unclear on what an angle was. Not a particular angle, but any angle, as in the opening between two crossing lines. :eek:
 
  • Wow
Reactions: bbb
bbb said:
Actually, it’s not difficult to have aiming points for the in-between cut angles so actually you can have eight instead of four targets
Still like all aiming systems as you say PJ there is a subjective element
Click to expand...
I think even the major fractions (except half ball) need some “feel”, and dividing the major fractions into smaller ones adds another layer of estimation, kinda like compounding interest.

pj
chgo
 
Paul_#_ said:
View attachment 899970


The figure could be improved with some notes to get some of us up to speed quicker.
The Five ball's face is aligned with the cue ball. The Five ball's face shifts right, therefore, as cue ball shifts right with a thinner cut-shot angle . The left figure is a shot thinner than that in the right figure. The Five ball has more orange to the left than to the right of the '5' in the thinner cut.​

I like better an approach using CutShots training balls with their 100-some multi-colored spots. Take photos behind object and cue balls to see the change in visible distance between contact point and ball edge. The photos also show the distance from OB middle to contact point.

In left photo, the object ball sits on a black line pointing at a table pocket. Looking at the back of the object ball, the middle point --- the OB contact point --- is the red circle that sits above a black star. To the red-circle's right are a green star, black circle, red diamond, and barely visible, a black star at ball's edge.

The next photo is looking from behind cue ball at the object-ball middle. One can still see the red-circle contact point but it is now to the right of the ball. Next to it are still visible the green star, and a bit of the black circle, but not visible are the red diamond and black star.

Like with your figure, one can find the distance from OB center to contact point (blue diamond to blue circle to red circle) and distance of contact point to edge (green star and part of black circle). These estimates point to colored spots on the ball and not just eyeballing spots.


View attachment 900015__View attachment 900016
Click to expand...
The difference with your aiming balls and patrick’s double the distance is double the distance gives you a target to aim at
Your aiming balls you have to aim thru center cue ball and make 2 off center figures (the one on the object ball representing the contact point and corresponding figure on the cue ball) collide….you dont aim at the contact figure
Thats how i understand your aiming balls
Icbw
 
I had a student once who said she knew about ghost ball aiming. So I setup a shot and put a ghost ball in place and said "now aim at the center of the ghost ball." And of course she said "oh, you aim at the center of the ghost ball?"
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top