Soft Follow Cue Ball Paths

C

CueAndMe

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Trying to get better at position play, I decided to create a visual to see the straightest cue ball paths I could achieve for soft follow shots with fractional aims. Here are photos of the "Y" that results for cuts to the left corner pocket. The left edge of the bottom yardstick is the path of the cue ball before collision. The right edge of the left yardstick shows the path of the object ball towards the pocket. The left edge of the right yardstick shows the path of the cue ball after collision.

All shots were struck with follow and no side spin at about pocket speed (object balls dropped softly in pocket).

The angles I used to set up the shots compensated for throw. Example: Half ball setup was 27 degrees rather than 30 degrees.

Here are measurements in degrees that I took for each fractional aim. 1st angle is the shot setup angle. 2nd angle is the angle formed by the paths of the balls after collision (inside edges of upper yardsticks). 3rd angle is the angle the cue ball is forced to deviate from its pre-collision path.

7/8 ball: 7, 24, 15
3/4 ball: 14, 45, 30
5/8 ball: 21, 62, 39
1/2 ball: 27, 65, 40
3/8 ball: 37, 74, 37
1/4 ball: 45, 75, 32
1/8 ball: 58, 82, 24

Here are photos of the first 5 aims. The other two will be in the next post.

7/8 Ball:

Y Seven Eighths.jpg

3/4 Ball:

Y Three Quarters.jpg

5/8 Ball:

Y Five Eighths.jpg

1/2 Ball:

Y Half Ball.jpg

3/8 Ball:

Y Three Eighths.jpg
 
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Keep this up, and if we ever run into each in a pool hall somewhere and decide to hit em for something friendly, this will be my reason for wanting a spot! :thumbup:
 
Thanks, Brian. I'd love to play sometime. This table is all I've played on for about 8 months. I just don't get out anymore, but it's great to have a table at home. Your table is sweet. I still follow your YouTube channel. Great work!
 
bluepepper said:
Thanks, Brian. I'd love to play sometime. This table is all I've played on for about 8 months. I just don't get out anymore, but it's great to have a table at home. Your table is sweet. I still follow your YouTube channel. Great work!
Click to expand...

Thank you! I get out to play every week now -- owner of local pool hall talked me into doing BCA 8-ball for the first time in several years.

I'll be adding more youtube videos when I get my table cleaned off. Right now it's loaded with books.... twice a year my older daughter and I take all the books off the shelves and clean and everything. Then I sort through them and select a couple hundred to give to the library. It's the only way to make room for incoming books.:embarrassed2:

I like what you're doing here for position training. Make it fun. Practice should be enjoyable, a positive experience.
 
bluepepper said:
7/8 ball: 7, 24, 15
3/4 ball: 14, 45, 30
5/8 ball: 21, 62, 39
1/2 ball: 27, 65, 40
3/8 ball: 37, 74, 37
1/4 ball: 45, 75, 32
1/8 ball: 58, 82, 24
Click to expand...

I don't know why this completely escaped me, but I didn't have to do the third measurement after I already did the second, or vise versa. The first and third angles add up to the second angle.

What's also interesting is how symmetrical the 3/8 ball shot is. It's the perfect "Y" shape. I would have guessed the 1/2 ball shot to have the perfect "Y", but no.
 
BC21 said:
Thank you! I get out to play every week now -- owner of local pool hall talked me into doing BCA 8-ball for the first time in several years.

I'll be adding more youtube videos when I get my table cleaned off. Right now it's loaded with books.... twice a year my older daughter and I take all the books off the shelves and clean and everything. Then I sort through them and select a couple hundred to give to the library. It's the only way to make room for incoming books.:embarrassed2:

I like what you're doing here for position training. Make it fun. Practice should be enjoyable, a positive experience.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Yeah, it's all fun to me as long as I'm improving.

It's nice to see a family that reads so much and not just social media. :thumbup:
 
great to post that but doesnt the "peace sign" rule give similar results??
 
What's the fun in that? :)

You're right, depending on speed, the 30° rule applies for shots from about 3/4 to 1/4 hits. I like visualizing that CB path, not sticking my piece sign out there. So I like this practice method, marking each angle and each CB path for visualization purposes.
 
Oh yeah! I forgot about that. I guess the peace sign is close enough for most shots. I just made pool more complicated. Just keeping in mind that 30 degrees is most accurate for 3/4-ball and 1/4-ball shots, and then adjusting for the greater deviation for the fractions in between those two, 1/2-ball being the most at about 10 degrees more. Also knowing that 7/8-ball is about half of the 30 degree peace sign and 1/8-ball and thinner are just about going to travel along the tangent line no matter what.

Sorry about all that, folks. Much ado about nothing. :embarrassed2:
 
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