Simple Trick Shots?

timothysoong

timothysoong

TS Billiards
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I've been asked by a friend to open up a pool club for high school & college students to join and learn pool.

And I was thinking of making a cool video to recruit people.

I play pure pool, never learnt any trick shots.

The only one I can think of is to do several jump shots. What else can I do?

Please suggest some cool tricks that I can use to make students want to join and learn pool.

Thanks
Tim
 
I've got a video of me miscueing, jumping the 9 and going around table to make the 6 in the corner...if they ask just tell them I meant it.
 
Here is a fun and simple one that you only occasionally hit yourself with :smile:
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Just hit the cue ball firmly into the short rail with high to high left and it will jump off the rail and run into the 1-9 at the other end.
 
These two shots are pretty simple and I have shot them both in live games. Up top you shoot the 9 in the corner without scratching. Elevate your cue and shoot firmly hitting the cue ball above center making it jump slightly. The cue ball will rebound off the back of the pocket back onto the slate.

Down below use the same stroke to jump the cue ball over the solids and get shape on the 8.

Both these are real easy to master and will impress kids. Plus they come up in games.



JC
 
You might reconsider how important the type of shots are in the video. For high-school and college kids, I'd focus on break shots; lots of noise and action. Some long shots down the rail, etc.

Far more important than the shots used (trick or regular) are the people shown (good-looking), the atmosphere (having fun) and the music. It's the production values of the video that will get kids' attention.

You run the risk of spending many hours learning trick shots and in the process convincing yourself that they are important to the success of the video. They're not. If you don't have experience producing video commercials, find someone who does (don't be offended when that person isn't interested in trick shots; he'll be much more concerned about whether or not the pace of the shot matches the tempo of the music).
 
DoubleD said:
The high has nothing to do with the jump and will make it harder to sink the nine.

Just hit down on the ball, like a tiny jump shot.

I hit these with either stop or slight draw, which creates spin in the correct direction for rolling down table.
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You apparently don't understand the shot. You hit the cue ball into the short rail on the left end of the table using high english. This allows the CB to jump off the rail clearing the balls and heads towards the 9 ball combo.

Here is my example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=EzxTd-KYun4#t=243s or use this link depending on your browser.http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=EzxTd-KYun4#t=243s
 
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Here are some very simple "trick" shots. They're not really trick shots, just some cool looking stroke shots.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdWnR1wFsc0

And I agree with bdorman. The timing of the music with the shots is important (notice the timing in the above video). Subtle, maybe, but it does make a difference.

You might also like the 4-rail shot at 52 seconds into this video. It's not as complicated as it seems. It's much more impressive if you can shoot it live, in front of an audience, but it might help with your video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2gcgqUt00w

Good luck with your endeavor. Thank you for getting involved!

-Blake
 
SloMoHolic said:
Here are some very simple "trick" shots. They're not really trick shots, just some cool looking stroke shots.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdWnR1wFsc0

And I agree with bdorman. The timing of the music with the shots is important (notice the timing in the above video). Subtle, maybe, but it does make a difference.

You might also like the 4-rail shot at 52 seconds into this video. It's not as complicated as it seems. It's much more impressive if you can shoot it live, in front of an audience, but it might help with your video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2gcgqUt00w

Good luck with your endeavor. Thank you for getting involved!

-Blake
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What is your video setup for shooting those? What camera and how fast is the shutter speed? Very nice!

Thanks,

JC
 
Atlatlien said:
just show them a Venom video from YouTube :thumbup:
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DoubleD said:
Venom looks like a monkey running around a table doing stuff that would never be used in a match.

Show a Semih video. Sure, it's 3-c (but the OP is in Taiwan), but it is very amazing.

dld
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Well I'll be the one coaching them. So basically I need to be the one doing the shots, not showing them videos on the internet which they could find themselves.
 
No jumps or masse shots or they will be trying them out of the gate.... I would shoot the railroad shot.. and some 3-4-5 rail kicks and banks on the 8ball with balls in the way making it look like you have no shot.....
 
JC said:
What is your video setup for shooting those? What camera and how fast is the shutter speed? Very nice!

Thanks,

JC
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I have two high speed cameras (aka slow motion cameras). They shoot at the following frame rates. As the speed gets faster, the resolution declines (a lot). "FPS" means frames per second.

30 fps (regular video camera)
120 fps
240 fps (my favorite for pool)
420 fps
1000 fps

As for actual shutter speed, they can actually go up to 1/40,000th of a second. It's unbelievable what technology can do these days.

Both cameras are Casio EX-FH25.

Glad you liked my videos! Thanks for the compliment! I have several more at www.youtube.com/slomoholic if you'd like to see more.

-Blake
 
Check out trick shot artist Tim Chin's homepage: http://www.trickshottim.com/

I was asked to do a small trick shot exhibition last year and I was lost until I found that site. There are lots of easy, but cool-looking shots with videos and detailed explanations on the setup as well.
Good luck!

Vic
 
-Thanks Vic. You caught me as I was posting ;)

It depends on how much time you want to put in learning different shots. Some are setup intensive and can be frustrating if you're not careful in how you set them up. Others will depend on your skill (which I assume is pretty good based on the fact you'll be teaching). Here's a small selection of shots to get you started:

http://www.trickshottim.com/video/red_sea - super easy for the first part, start with only 2 or 3 sets of blocker balls and work your way up
http://www.trickshottim.com/video/classics_iv_plus_one/ - probably the most popular shot on the internet since everyone does it. Forget about the 5th ball until you get the rest of it down.
http://www.trickshottim.com/video/backward_bank/ - a curious shot that's not too difficult
http://www.trickshottim.com/video/inside_escape/ - another good bank shot
http://www.trickshottim.com/video/five_rail_escape/ - easier than the previous one since you don't have to lean over the table
http://www.trickshottim.com/video/dipsy_doodle/ - good-looking shot demonstrating follow
http://www.trickshottim.com/video/dont_hug_rail/ - another good follow shot; try without the blocker ball first
http://www.trickshottim.com/video/robin_dodson_jump/ - nice looking shot showing off jump and spinhttp://www.trickshottim.com/video/rail_jump_reverse/ - another jump and spin shot. move the object ball to the corner pocket and it's easier
http://www.trickshottim.com/video/just_showing_off/ - break this down into the two separate clusters and use them individually; or put the whole thing together if you're ambitious
 
DoubleD said:
I learned that shot 17 years ago. I've taught kids how to do that shot. The shot is easier to do as I described.

At least for me.
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Which makes it a different shot. It sounds like you are doing a jump shot into the rail. The point of this shot is to make the rail cause the jump. If you are simply going to do a jump shot why even bother using the rail? Just jump the line of balls that are in the way.
 
timothysoong said:
I've been asked by a friend to open up a pool club for high school & college students to join and learn pool.

And I was thinking of making a cool video to recruit people.

I play pure pool, never learnt any trick shots.

The only one I can think of is to do several jump shots. What else can I do?

Please suggest some cool tricks that I can use to make students want to join and learn pool.

Thanks
Tim
Click to expand...
There are several books of trick shots. If you are considering opening a club for students it would be a huge mistake to not have a good library. It would also be disrespectful of the game.

For trick shots: Byrne's "Treasury of Trick Shots in Pool and Billiards", Massey's "World of Trick Shots", Chef Anton's " The Pool Hustler's Handbook", Mosconi's "Winning Pocket Billiards", JImmy Caras's "Pocket Billiard Fundamentals and Trick Shots Made Easy." Most of these cost only a few dollars used. You can find sellers of all of them at www.addall.com or used.addall.com
 
DoubleD said:
... the cueball won't bounce up off of the rail from topspin alone. ...
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That depends on the cushion. I've seen cushions low enough and sticky enough that a ball rolling into the cushion will jump up.

If the cue ball is partway up, for example it hits the cushion at its equator, follow will cause the cue ball to come off the cushion at a higher angle.
 
Another trick shot book is by Nick Varner, but I think all of his shots are in the book by Caras. You should also eventually get Byrne's "Complete Book of Pool Shots" which has over 350 different shots, some of which are "trick" shots.
 
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