shadow aiming???

J

jrockstangs

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Hey guys...just heard a new one to me tonight. ..it had to do with aiming the cb at one of the shadows of the ob to make damn near any bank...and aiming at a different shadow of the ob to make damn near any cut...has anyone ever heard of this?? If so please chime in...I for one have never heard of it, however the guy that was telling me it is a damn good buddy and a hell of a shot. He was taught it as a kid and he was trying his hardest to remember the technicalities of it...thanks in advance
 
I went to using the shadows when I was quite young after the equal & opposite overlap method, that I thought I had invented.

It works quite well but for me there is a transition point that is rather difficult to determine when to make the change as the angle increases to that point.

To me that's sort of how it is with all methods. None are perfect.

Good Luck with The Shadows.

Best 2 You & All,
Rick

PS If anyone invented The Shadows method, I wonder who that might actually be. Maybe The Shadows are perfect & it's just me/us that do not understand them perfectly.
 
Ron Vitello is very knowledgeable with the shadows. I don't think he posts here anymore, however. I'd try to email him at vitelloaim @ aol.com
 
jrockstangs said:
Hey guys...just heard a new one to me tonight. ..it had to do with aiming the cb at one of the shadows of the ob to make damn near any bank...and aiming at a different shadow of the ob to make damn near any cut...has anyone ever heard of this?? If so please chime in...I for one have never heard of it, however the guy that was telling me it is a damn good buddy and a hell of a shot. He was taught it as a kid and he was trying his hardest to remember the technicalities of it...thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Like most aiming "systems", the OB shadows are a potentially useful set of "reference targets" that you can use to "categorize" actual cut angles for help in memorizing them. Choosing the best "reference" system is just a matter of which one you relate to the most (the various versions of fractional aiming is another subset). I don't believe any are inherently better or worse - and, despite what many of their users believe, none are "exact".

pj
chgo
 
One thing about the shadows method is that the shadows reposition themselves relative to the location of the OB on the table. Hence it's a constantly changing 'consistent' target.

Best,
Rick
 
Patrick Johnson said:
Like most aiming "systems", the OB shadows are a potentially useful set of "reference targets" that you can use to "categorize" actual cut angles for help in memorizing them. Choosing the best "reference" system is just a matter of which one you relate to the most (the various versions of fractional aiming is another subset). I don't believe any are inherently better or worse - and, despite what many of their users believe, none are "exact".

pj
chgo
Click to expand...

I would believe that they are more exact than the operator.

randyg
 
ENGLISH! said:
One thing about the shadows method is that the shadows reposition themselves relative to the location of the OB on the table. Hence it's a constantly changing 'consistent' target.

Best,
Rick
Click to expand...

Are the shadows the same for two 4 ft. fluorescent lights vs. 4 incandescent bulbs?
 
Was attempting to get the shadow system down to a science at a buddies house last night (red felt)... I came home determined to figure it out, only to find out shadows were non existent on my table (black felt)... so needless to say I ordered some green simonis last night...lol
 
LAMas said:
Are the shadows the same for two 4 ft. fluorescent lights vs. 4 incandescent bulbs?
Click to expand...

I've never found a lighting situation where the shadows were not helpful. I think one's head height could affect their effectiveness though.

When one has a very low head height one can see the light on the other side of the ball. You sort of wind up with two 'triangles' one of shadow & one of 'light'. You then have multiple reference points available from which to make slight adjustments should you find or think that the light is 'off'.

Best 2 you & All,
Rick
 
Like most aiming "systems", the OB shadows are a potentially useful set of "reference targets" that you can use to "categorize" actual cut angles for help in memorizing them. Choosing the best "reference" system is just a matter of which one you relate to the most (the various versions of fractional aiming is another subset). I don't believe any are inherently better or worse - and, despite what many of their users believe, none are "exact".

pj
chgo
Click to expand...
I would believe that they are more exact than the operator.

randyg
Click to expand...
I believe (and I think reason shows) that they're only as exact as the operator - in other words, they're approximate and the user adapts them to "in-between" shots using his own learned skills

The clearest example of this is Hal Houle's original "3 Angles" system. Hal and many 3 Angles "believers" argued (nonsensically) that three cut angles were enough to make any shot on the table, without adjustment, because of pocket slop. Newer systems like CTE (a "refinement" of 3 Angles) have avoided such clear descriptions of how they supposedly work.

pj
chgo
 
LAMas said:
Are the shadows the same for two 4 ft. fluorescent lights vs. 4 incandescent bulbs?
Click to expand...

The shadows over every table are consistent.
The lights over every table are not consistent.

Shadows depend on the source the brightness and the direction.
Incandescents will cast more defined shadows than fluorescents.
.
 
LAMas said:
Are the shadows the same for two 4 ft. fluorescent lights vs. 4 incandescent bulbs?
Click to expand...

Ralph Kramden said:
The shadows over every table are consistent.
The lights over every table are not consistent.

Shadows depend on the source the brightness and the direction.
Incandescents will cast more defined shadows than fluorescents.
.
Click to expand...

As Ralph said, the incandescent bulbs have a more refined perimeter on their shadow. With flourescents, the main shadow is still there, just muted (football shaped under the ball) depending on the object ball location.

A little trick with the fluorescent bulbs is to hover your cue stick a couple of inches above the object ball and create a more defined shadow. It blocks the light and you can see the totality of the shadows. As you move your stick, the edges of the shadows quickly appear and disappear.

Who says there aren't secrets to this game? :grin-square:

Best,
Mike
 
Definitely glad I started this thread...getting some very informative information that I am gaining from. Making me think about cancelling my felt order and just replace my lighting above the table.. the system in my opinion is a science that obviously works, however it will only work if there is little to no user error...I have alot of work to do on it. Grey ghosts post from awhile ago was definitely informative
jason
 
jrockstangs said:
Definitely glad I started this thread...getting some very informative information that I am gaining from. Making me think about cancelling my felt order and just replace my lighting above the table.. the system in my opinion is a science that obviously works, however it will only work if there is little to no user error...I have alot of work to do on it. Grey ghosts post from awhile ago was definitely informative
jason
Click to expand...

Yes. Grey Ghost's thread was a good thread except for a few non believers that seemed to not even give it a good look see.

Keebe mentioned going CB edge to the shadow for the larger cut angles.

The one idea that I would add is to align shadow of cue ball to the object ball shadow for the intermediate cut angles.

There is much that one can do to make it their own depending on head height & how one prefers to 'aim' or align.

Good Luck with it & Best 2 You & All,
Rick
 
jrockstangs said:
Definitely glad I started this thread...getting some very informative information that I am gaining from. Making me think about cancelling my felt order and just replace my lighting above the table.. the system in my opinion is a science that obviously works, however it will only work if there is little to no user error...I have alot of work to do on it. Grey ghosts post from awhile ago was definitely informative
jason
Click to expand...

does someone have a link to his (greyghost) posts/thread??
 
I would like to see pictures of the relevant shadows cast on the cloth for different locations that the OB would/could be.
 
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