Spot Aiming - Kick Shots

M

mohrt

Student of the Game
Silver Member
I've been wanting to put some information up on kicking with spot shots, or spots off of the table surface as aim points. This is not anything new, there is a lot of information out there about it. I have merely condensed this information to one place and combined it with other kicking systems showing real world examples of how this stuff can be used. It has been a tremendous help to me, and just wanted to share it in my own way.

I have gathered a lot of information from web pages and books such as Dr. Cue "Spot-on-the-wall", Dr. Dave's library of information, and some awesome eye openers from Ron Vitello (I have only scratched the surface here.) I have created a few examples of how to use the "spot system" to quickly and easily line up one, two and three-rail kicks (or more.) Hopefully these demonstrations are enough to understand how to apply them to most any type of kick shot.

This is a work in progress, I only share this information in hopes to help others as it has helped me. Let me know about any blatant errors, and feel free to ask questions. Thanks!

spot aiming - one-rail kicks
spot aiming - two-rail kicks
spot aiming - three+ rail kicks
 
I recommend you do these on newly covered tables and new balls. The lines drawn in the 3 Rail page show strange angles. The first diagram shows the CB @ approx 3 going to 1 and the CB goes to 3 rather than 2 and on the backup (4th rail) the CB goes to the second diamond rather than the first on the short rail.

My numbers are based on how a 3C table plays and realize that most pool tables play short but the second rail is usually close to the system and the CB shortens up off the third and fourth as shown particularly on dirty equip.
 
3kushn said:
I recommend you do these on newly covered tables and new balls. The lines drawn in the 3 Rail page show strange angles. The first diagram shows the CB @ approx 3 going to 1 and the CB goes to 3 rather than 2 and on the backup (4th rail) the CB goes to the second diamond rather than the first on the short rail.

My numbers are based on how a 3C table plays and realize that most pool tables play short but the second rail is usually close to the system and the CB shortens up off the third and fourth as shown particularly on dirty equip.
Click to expand...

These are only hand-drawn lines, don't take them to heart. The actual lines at the table will probably be different. The only important things to soak in are the aiming lines and the ghost ball placements. I may replace these with cue-table diagrams to avoid the confusion.

Also, this system should work for any types of cloths and balls. It is up to you to determine how your particular table tracks. From there, the spots work themselves out the same way.
 
Last edited:
mohrt said:
I've been wanting to put some information up on kicking with spot shots, or spots off of the table surface as aim points. This is not anything new, there is a lot of information out there about it. I have merely condensed this information to one place and combined it with other kicking systems showing real world examples of how this stuff can be used. It has been a tremendous help to me, and just wanted to share it in my own way.

I have gathered a lot of information from web pages and books such as Dr. Cue "Spot-on-the-wall", Dr. Dave's library of information, and some awesome eye openers from Ron Vitello (I have only scratched the surface here.) I have created a few examples of how to use the "spot system" to quickly and easily line up one, two and three-rail kicks (or more.) Hopefully these demonstrations are enough to understand how to apply them to most any type of kick shot.

This is a work in progress, I only share this information in hopes to help others as it has helped me. Let me know about any blatant errors, and feel free to ask questions. Thanks!

spot aiming - one-rail kicks
spot aiming - two-rail kicks
spot aiming - three+ rail kicks
Click to expand...

The "Magic Spot" system has been around a long time. Bob Byrne describes it in one of his books and credits Ray Kilgore who referred to is as the "Opposite 3" system. I often use it for kicking practice with ball in hand. The actual magic spot varies from table to table. How to find the spot is described in http://www.sfbilliards.com/articles/1999-12.pdf
 
Bob Jewett said:
The "Magic Spot" system has been around a long time. Bob Byrne describes it in one of his books and credits Ray Kilgore who referred to is as the "Opposite 3" system. I often use it for kicking practice with ball in hand. The actual magic spot varies from table to table. How to find the spot is described in http://www.sfbilliards.com/articles/1999-12.pdf
Click to expand...

Thanks Bob. I linked to Dr. Daves video, and I think he has a link to your article there as well.
 
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