Should I first learn to jump or kick?

Both are important. Kicking will also help you control the cue ball's speed and learn the carom and tangent lines that will make your entire game stronger. I wish that I would have spent more time years ago kicking at a quarter or half of a ball. Returning a strong safety from a safety not only wins racks, but it forces your opponent to play tighter. The longer they play tighter the more mistakes they make. As far as learning how to kick. Keep it all two rails and short and gradually increase your distance and rails as the lines become more second nature. Parallel lines, Ghost ball, Spot on the Wall: any of these will get it done. Play around with everything; an open mind creates more options. good luck:)
 
buckshotshoey said:
Absolutely. ......and kicking is an excellent learning tool for banking! I play APA so jumping more then a quarter or half a ball Is not an option for me. Not allowed jump cues in APA. Learned to kick pretty well though. I can get out of a safe 90 percent of the time.
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Haven't read the whole thread, do if it has been mentioned, sorry for repeating.

You can jump a quarter ball using your break stick as a whole cue. Unless they forbid any jumps at all! Don't need a jump cue for quarter ball
 
Halter said:
As I begin to play better players, I find myself regularly hooked with their good safety play. While I'm sure the purist pool player believes learning to kick properly is a required skill for any legitimate pool player, I can't help but wonder if I should just learn to jump. It seems it would be easier to jump balls than learn the geometry behind one, two, and three cushion kicks.

I plan to become proficient at both, but which one would you recommend starting with? Giving up ball in hand is killing me.

Thank you.
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I think you should become proficient at two-foul rotation games. Then you would only need to learn how to push-out.

Knowing how to push-out playing two-foul 9-ball is a talent known to many 30 and under year olds on this site.

ONB
 
I'm with the kick first crowd though I have to admit jumping is an awful lot of fun. :)
 
Jump ok KIck/Bank?

Halter said:
As I begin to play better players, I find myself regularly hooked with their good safety play. While I'm sure the purist pool player believes learning to kick properly is a required skill for any legitimate pool player, I can't help but wonder if I should just learn to jump. It seems it would be easier to jump balls than learn the geometry behind one, two, and three cushion kicks.

I plan to become proficient at both, but which one would you recommend starting with? Giving up ball in hand is killing me.

Thank you.
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Kick and Bank then Jump. The act of banking lends itself to Kicking do doing both of those are good. Find some discount time somewhere and spend an hr or so rotating between each.

Equal angle in = Equal angle out

Learn how to shorten or widen the angle out to a successful kick or a successful bank safety.

It will teach you a lot.
 
9 ball said:
Learn to kick first, actually if you learn to kick well then you will never have to make the jump shot part of your game.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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That's not true. All of the top players jump and kick well because they understand the need for both.

There are many situations when the jump shot is absolutely the best option, many where the jump shot is the only option. Jumping and kicking are both skills needed for the modern game.

If you are evenly matched against an opponent who knows how to jump and you forgo jumping then you are at a huge disadvantage when you are faced with shots which you could and should jump. He has more options than you when he is faced with shots that he can either jump or kick. You have a harder time playing effective safeties if he has the jump option open to him.

Here are five shots where jumping works best.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_i7kJFY1zyI&list=PLCDAE91F25C56ADDC&feature=mh_lolz
 
JB Cases said:
Here are five shots where jumping works best.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_i7kJFY1zyI&list=PLCDAE91F25C56ADDC&feature=mh_lolz
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I'd have to say it is a matter of opinion because a couple of those, especially the first one seems to be fairly easy angle in/angle out on a kick shot. People with smaller hands (myself) find it harder to jump making kicking a more important tool to learn...at least for me. I should learn to jump as well, I just think kicks come up way more often then jumps do. Add to it you can't jump in some leagues make it the one I would focus on first. GL OP.
 
Spimp13 said:
I'd have to say it is a matter of opinion because a couple of those, especially the first one seems to be fairly easy angle in/angle out on a kick shot. People with smaller hands (myself) find it harder to jump making kicking a more important tool to learn...at least for me. I should learn to jump as well, I just think kicks come up way more often then jumps do. Add to it you can't jump in some leagues make it the one I would focus on first. GL OP.
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In kinda shot hizzelf in the foot with the link you quoted, I am pretty quick to jump and I might kick that ball in.

This one is better, to support his point: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=t3MXuziheWM

if you wanna win from here, you don't kick at the ball.
 
Thought I'd throw my two cents in.

I'm someone who misses a lot of kicks. There is some good instructional material available on kicking and jumping. I have made a lot of improvement in my game by learning systems on kicking. Long way to go.

I recently have just started jumping. My thought is, where is the object ball. If it is in the open part of the table as opposed to near a rail than it will be harder to hit. If I think I have the experience to hit the ball I will always kick first. If there are a lot of balls in the kicking path or I don't think I have a good chance (percentage wise) of hitting the ball then I may opt for the jump cue. I really think you need both skills to play the game. It is up to the situation as to what you do, especially if you have money on the game. If you miss then it's ball in hand. If playing a run out player, the game may be over.

I would like to add, seeing where no one has mentioned it yet (I don' think), until you develop these skills to get you out of a safe situation, if you don't think you can make the hit, then tie up a couple of balls. If you are going to give your opponent ball in hand then try and make it so they can't run out on you, or make it extremely hard for them to do so.

Of course, a good player will play position to break up the mess you have created, but if he does then you have to give them credit for a well played game. Pay attention to what they do, you may learn a lot from losing.
 
What is your playing level? ABCD in 9-ball? Do you play league, APA skill level in 8-ball? Just trying to get a better idea.

I've play league, and from my observation I've notice the D+-C+ players will break out the jump cue at every opportunity. They will either make ball contact or foul by having the cueball jump off the table. The success rate goes up with skill level. While the B+, A usually stick with kicking.

How are your banking? Kicking is a natural skill progression using the same principles as banking. If you have a solid foundation in banking, it may be easier to learn to kick than to jump. As others have pointed out, you don't need a separate cue for kicking.
 
Black-Balled said:
In kinda shot hizzelf in the foot with the link you quoted, I am pretty quick to jump and I might kick that ball in.

This one is better, to support his point: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=t3MXuziheWM

if you wanna win from here, you don't kick at the ball.
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Agree on that one...out of the five videos that one and the last one jumps have a higher chance of making it vs a kick most likely. The first one, jump cut when the ball looks close to frozen to the rail, and the 4th one all appear to me at least to be just as makeable with kick shots if not more on the kick cut vs a jump. To each their own of course. Some people are great at jumping and not at kicking. It is important to learn both at some point. I just believe it is much more valuable to master kicking FIRST as it comes up more often and like I mentioned in some places you can't jump including some leagues.
 
As a practical matter...as a new player...and with today's jump cue technology and techniques...probably learn to jump first. It will be easier, faster, and get you out of more jams sooner than learning to kick multiple rails.

Learn and practice some basic multiple rail kick systems too. You may find many uses for the multiple rail tracks....safety play, natural multiple rail shape paths, two way shots...


And once you can do both, don't forget the 'jump-kick' variation, and the seldom used 'kick-jump' version.:eek::eek:

More than one way to get to Burbank.:confused::confused:
 
Learn to jump well first.........
nothing frustrates a good player more than watching a C player who cant play a simple kick get out of a tough situation with a jump cue:thumbup:

Thefonz <== waiting for the day when they ban those things from the rulebooks.
 
Lynch said:
Not sure if this has been mentioned but in some tourneys jumping isn't allowed, but kicking is always allowed..... I would learn at least the basics of kicking first and then work on jumping. Being proficient at both is ideal at higher levels of play but alot of times you are too close to a ball to jump it or jumping isn't allowed so imo kicking is the better skill to have even though it will take longer to master. Just my two cents
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I've never seen a tournament where jumping was not allowed. JUMP CUES maybe, but not jumping.
 
hang-the-9 said:
I've never seen a tournament where jumping was not allowed. JUMP CUES maybe, but not jumping.
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Pretty rare but it does exist. Not in any place that is for serious players though. I have heard of/seen a rare pool hall or bar that forbids jumping (more often a bar), and that included for any tournaments they may have had as well. But those places did not cater to or have many serious players, and their tournaments were of the type only attended by their regulars.
 
Spimp13 said:
I'd have to say it is a matter of opinion because a couple of those, especially the first one seems to be fairly easy angle in/angle out on a kick shot. People with smaller hands (myself) find it harder to jump making kicking a more important tool to learn...at least for me. I should learn to jump as well, I just think kicks come up way more often then jumps do. Add to it you can't jump in some leagues make it the one I would focus on first. GL OP.
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I shouldn't have said jumping works best on all these demos. However the point remains that for SOME shots jumping is clearly the best and sometimes the only option.
 
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