I play on equipment 99% of the time that needs a good cleaning. Friday night I missed a long, just about straight in, that cost me a match and sent me to the losers side because of skid. I was using just a touch above center to shoot. I should have used low, but hind sight is always 20/20. I've already discussed this with a friend who is a very good player, but thought I would throw it out here and see what other ideas are out there? The balls were clean when we started the tournament, but there was a lot of chalk dust on the tables. I even saw a pro player wiping the path his cue ball was going to take with his hand before some shots. I know Ralph Souquet puts the cb in his pocket before he breaks to clean it off, and I've seen players roll the cb against the cushions to clean it. Any other ideas guys? Sure would apreciate it, thanks in advance.
Skid-Missed Shots=Frustration
- Thread starter lstevedus
- Start date
Put a bath rag in your bag to clean dirty balls.
Brush the table in between racks if it is that bad.
Brush the table in between racks if it is that bad.
If this shot was just about straight in, your miss was probably because you did not cue with center ball. Right or left English was most likely the culprit.
You mentioned "skid". Usually that means something that happens at the instant the cue ball hits the object ball. Is that what happened to your shot? Can you describe it further?
skid
what the h--l is skid, i been playing this game for over 50 years and can't figure out what people mean by the term "skid".
An ob reacts to both the english and speed of the cb on contact, which will throw the ob off course but the ob will still rotate. In my world an ob's reaction to the cb's speed and english is called Throw.
You show me a shot where the ob is not rotating from the time of contact and i'll believe in skid.
Dale
what the h--l is skid, i been playing this game for over 50 years and can't figure out what people mean by the term "skid".
An ob reacts to both the english and speed of the cb on contact, which will throw the ob off course but the ob will still rotate. In my world an ob's reaction to the cb's speed and english is called Throw.
You show me a shot where the ob is not rotating from the time of contact and i'll believe in skid.
Dale
Bleh...whatever says this man.
Either you play it to go or you don't.
Did the balls get more "skiddy" at the end of the OPs set? Much more "skiddy" on his case ball??
Not saying it doesn't exist, but its not the kind of phenomenon that shows up in an instance and all of a sudden balls start missing pockets due to skid.
Really now....
No disrespect E, I know you can play....just sayin
Usually if a ball skids on a relatively straight in shot the ball will still go because of the margin for error but the cue ball might not go where intended. I've sometimes experienced this when shooting a ball straight in the side and slow rolling the cue ball.
Skids happen occasionally, are usually pretty obvious when they do. Dirtier equipment/balls, humidity, etc. can increase the occurences. Shooting the cue ball a certain way can also increase or decrease the chance for a skid, there have been some good articles on this over the years, might be able to search it and find them.
Scott
Skids happen occasionally, are usually pretty obvious when they do. Dirtier equipment/balls, humidity, etc. can increase the occurences. Shooting the cue ball a certain way can also increase or decrease the chance for a skid, there have been some good articles on this over the years, might be able to search it and find them.
Scott
heres an example, happens more often with lighter balls it seems. I had one yesterday at ten ball that killed a 2ft draw down to 6" 
http://youtu.be/KgirjCosDxE
http://youtu.be/KgirjCosDxE
I agree. I think there are ways to prevent it from happening, and I have never blamed a miss on a ball skidding. I think an exact part of the CB has to contact an exact part of the OB at the right speed for a skid to happen.
It's pretty impossible to say that balls DON'T skid, there are plenty of videos out there where you can see it happen. I do, however, think people over-use it as an excuse.
I always thought this was cling?
I thought skid was when the cue skidded along the cloth in an unexpected way which would mess up the shot due to the cue ball roll being unpredictable at the time of contact with the OB.
I've never heard the term "cling". Maybe different parts of the country have different terms for strange happenings on the pool table... This is turning into an interesting topic!
Catching a skidder usually occurs when there is a frictional material (almost always a chalk mark) at the point of contact. The best way I can describe it is the increased friction seems to cause the two balls to cling to each other briefly before the OB releases and goes on its way. It almost always results in a shot that appears to have been hit too full. You can literally see the OB skid unnaturally and usually it makes a distinct sound as well. I suppose another way of putting it is that it exaggerates the normal contact induced throw. When playing with dirty balls or a really marked up CB skid can perhaps be reduced by the use of outside english. The outside will put some throw on the OB opposite the direction of the skid. I guess the spin also sort of wipes the contact clean at impact, or something like that.
If the room you play at always has dirty stones, bring a bottle of Brillianize and a micro fiber towel with you.
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Skid is a form of extreme throw probably due to chalk at the contact point of the cue ball and object ball. It definitely exists -- there are some very good examples in snooker videos. For more info, see the April column in http://www.sfbilliards.com/articles/cols2009r.pdf
There are several terms used to describe "skid" including "cling" (US), "kick" (UK and other snooker areas), "bad contact" (European carom players) and "buttage" (French). Calling it "kick" is the most confusing for US players since it means something entirely different here. "Bad contact" is probably the best term for the problem.
TheThaiger
Banned
Here in the UK - or at least in my world - skid is used to describe the action of either the CB or OB after contact, particularly when the cloth and balls are brand new (or exceptionally clean). My table has just been reclothed, and the balls "skid" for an inch or two on contact, which can throw them off line. My friend likes to polish his Super Pros and they skid like crazy until they've dirtied up a bit - personally, I hate them too clean.
You can see the skid quite clearly if you focus on the number on the ball - it stays level for a bit, then starts to roll when the balls grips the cloth.
A kick is a bad contact, like in the Ronnie clip that was linked earlier. Cause unknown, but chalk is becoming increasingly discounted as a primary cause. Personally, I think it's unlevel cueing. The BBC has tremendous super slo-mo footage of how the balls react, and the correlation between the CB bouncing on leaving the tip and a kick on contact with the OB is high. It is amazing how much the CB bounces on the way to the OB - something that can't be seen with the naked eye.
There are probably multiple reasons for kicks, but my money's on bad cueing over chalk or dirty ball.
TheThaiger
Banned
Wrong!
Sorry, but that's no longer perceived wisdom. The BBC has done tremendous work in this area and no almost nobody in snooker believes a kick is caused by chalk or cloth fibers. You should see the video footage if you haven't already - they're a thing of beauty, even if they don't provide conclusively proof.
As i said, the correlation between a bouncing CB and a jump when there's contact with the OB is very high. Don't forget, slow rolling is where the highest cueing errors occurs. Kicks are also very noticeable on frame balls, when there's bound to be a bit of extra tension in the cue arm.
All this goes to show just how important good cueing is.