Shots off the point of the pocket
- Thread starter Neil
- Start date
Last night I tried your point shot. It was freaky because I made the two ball in the side pocket two out of three times. I quit after that but seriously, it is a practical kick IMO, particularly when the cue ball approach to the point is as shown.
I also notice but didn't try the other shots but if you extend the A, B & C balls to the foot rail, you will see that they happen to line up with the diamonds on the foot rail. That might be a good way to remember when the shot appears to be dead on for which pocket.
JoeyA
I also notice but didn't try the other shots but if you extend the A, B & C balls to the foot rail, you will see that they happen to line up with the diamonds on the foot rail. That might be a good way to remember when the shot appears to be dead on for which pocket.
JoeyA
JoeyA said:
You have no idea, I scratch that way ALL THE TIME. I go off the point of the side pocket and I know what's next. I don't even bother looking.
Neil said:
I have a system for aiming those shots which was derided on here many moons ago so I won't share it again, but suffice to say that you can control it surprisingly well.
I actually corner hooked myself on the case 9-ball one time (9-ball middle of the end rail about 2-3" off rail. It was a race to 7 for $50. I Played it off the side pocket point, off the side rail and made the 9-ball in the pocket. The guy I was playing told me he'd bet $1000 to my $100 and I could try all day to do it again. I said bet and he amended it to 10 shots. I made it again on the third shot. He didn't pay, but I don't think he ever played 9b again either
~rc
Okay.
I have a few minutes so I'll post up my thoughts. I developed this system on day when I was goofing around and it's far from mature, but it has turned the tables on my opponent enough times that it is definitely worth putting a little time into.
Obviously shots off the points are not high percentage shots, no matter how good you become at them, but I can frequently (maybe 40-50%) get a hit from a tough position if the ball is in the right pattern.
The other tough part is that the points are very inconsistent from table to table, both in their firmness and in their orientation. When you look at the side pockets, sometimes the points point in different directions.
So the first thing to do is to learn the reference points. The main one is, where do you put the CB so that if you aim directly at the point, the CB comes straight back at you. The margin of error is teensy on these shots because you have a curved surface hitting a point, if you miss your spot by a milimeter it could change where the CB hits the rail by a few inches.
Because a high degree of accuracy is required, I imagine tic marks on the end of my cue and visualize which tick mark I need to hit to get which angle. Imagine a clock but instead of having 10, 11, 12, 1, etc... you actually have the minutes ticked off from 10 (50 minutes) to 2 (10 minutes) Then when I line up the CB I put the tick mark I need on the point. Like I'm aiming a rifle. This allows me to control very, very fine differences in aim point. So I spend a few minutes once in a while just re-affirming those tick marks and watching the ball come off the point.
There are a few really important reference shots. (I'll try to do a cuetable if I have time later)
1) CB off point to center of far end rail.
2) CB off point across to just past opposite side pocket and back with english into side pocket of point hit
3) CB off point to opposite side pocket
4) CB off point to side rail between opposite side and bank into corner
5) CB off point to side rail between opposite side and bank to middle of end rail
6) CB off point directly to corner pocket on opposite side
I have found that if I just brush up on these reference shots and visualize where the tick marks need to be when I shoot them, that I can adjust to any point in between and get a fairly good chance to make a hit and an outside chance to make a ball. Especially if it's near the pocket.
The important part, like in the session I mentioned above, is knowing where you should hit it. Because I used this system, and I systematically chose where to hit the CB on the 9-ball I made, I knew how to hit it to make it again and I made it again on the third try. (The other two tries were close too btw)
I know that's confusing, but I don't have a lot of time at the moment and I don't know if I will have enough time to go through it in detail later this evening, but I'm happy to try and clarify or answer questions.
~rc
I have a few minutes so I'll post up my thoughts. I developed this system on day when I was goofing around and it's far from mature, but it has turned the tables on my opponent enough times that it is definitely worth putting a little time into.
Obviously shots off the points are not high percentage shots, no matter how good you become at them, but I can frequently (maybe 40-50%) get a hit from a tough position if the ball is in the right pattern.
The other tough part is that the points are very inconsistent from table to table, both in their firmness and in their orientation. When you look at the side pockets, sometimes the points point in different directions.
So the first thing to do is to learn the reference points. The main one is, where do you put the CB so that if you aim directly at the point, the CB comes straight back at you. The margin of error is teensy on these shots because you have a curved surface hitting a point, if you miss your spot by a milimeter it could change where the CB hits the rail by a few inches.
Because a high degree of accuracy is required, I imagine tic marks on the end of my cue and visualize which tick mark I need to hit to get which angle. Imagine a clock but instead of having 10, 11, 12, 1, etc... you actually have the minutes ticked off from 10 (50 minutes) to 2 (10 minutes) Then when I line up the CB I put the tick mark I need on the point. Like I'm aiming a rifle. This allows me to control very, very fine differences in aim point. So I spend a few minutes once in a while just re-affirming those tick marks and watching the ball come off the point.
There are a few really important reference shots. (I'll try to do a cuetable if I have time later)
1) CB off point to center of far end rail.
2) CB off point across to just past opposite side pocket and back with english into side pocket of point hit
3) CB off point to opposite side pocket
4) CB off point to side rail between opposite side and bank into corner
5) CB off point to side rail between opposite side and bank to middle of end rail
6) CB off point directly to corner pocket on opposite side
I have found that if I just brush up on these reference shots and visualize where the tick marks need to be when I shoot them, that I can adjust to any point in between and get a fairly good chance to make a hit and an outside chance to make a ball. Especially if it's near the pocket.
The important part, like in the session I mentioned above, is knowing where you should hit it. Because I used this system, and I systematically chose where to hit the CB on the 9-ball I made, I knew how to hit it to make it again and I made it again on the third try. (The other two tries were close too btw)
I know that's confusing, but I don't have a lot of time at the moment and I don't know if I will have enough time to go through it in detail later this evening, but I'm happy to try and clarify or answer questions.
~rc
Another interesting side pocket point shot I learned years ago...
With the cue ball in the area of the spot, you can hit the point just as it "goes around" toward long rail above it, and it'll walk right down the rail to make/hit a ball in the vicinity of the corner pocket. Use a smooth, high ball stroke. It's actually a low speed force follow shot. One of the easiest of the pocket point variety shots.
With the cue ball in the area of the spot, you can hit the point just as it "goes around" toward long rail above it, and it'll walk right down the rail to make/hit a ball in the vicinity of the corner pocket. Use a smooth, high ball stroke. It's actually a low speed force follow shot. One of the easiest of the pocket point variety shots.
The problem with "now and then" is that some players start using these as option 1 or 2, rather than further down the decision tree. I've seen these types of shots hundreds of times by players that shouldn't be shooting them, but they do so anyway.Neil said:
I lump all these into the: "I saw [Efren] do it, so I'm going to try it" category. [Efren] being any pro, but usually Efren
The shooter, however, is not anywhere close to [Efren]. More often than not, they just look foolish shooting it and end up losing the game/set/match/money/etc.Sure, it's ok to have specialty shots in your bag - but as the saying goes, "You'll lose more games missing the easy shots that you will win by making the trick shots." AKA - KISS.
-td
I was practicing with a friend and this came up... made him pretty sic... I got the hit but no return safety... it was cool though
Here is another one. I put the extra balls in to show an almost inescapable position. One of the local players did this against me. He did not make the ball, but did get a hit. I have used it a couple times in similar situations, but always as a last resort. It gets a little more complicated because you are using 2 points, but with a little practice, you can find the right spot.
Edit : MJR77 beat me to it.
Edit : MJR77 beat me to it.