Terminology question

justadub

justadub

Rattling corners nightly
Silver Member
Probably a stupid question, but it's all mine. :p I just saw the term used in another thread and decided to ask.

"Inside" vs "outside" english.

Is inside english the direction opposite the closet rail, ie towards the center of the table? Makes sense to me, but what do I know?

(Had a slight disagreement with a friend over the usage of the term.)

Thanks
 
Disclaimer: I am not an instructor and I could be wrong :cool:


if your cutting a ball to the left, inside english would be on the left of the CB. Outside english (helping english would be right spin)

if cutting a ball to the right, inside english would be on the right, outside on the left
 
ustadub...It's not a stupid question. In fact, there is almost always considerable confusion about these terms. That's one of the reasons why good instructors simply refer to sidespin with 'left' or 'right' designations, as opposed to inside or outside. Depending on the shot, inside (or outside) spin could be running or reverse, and left or right. Using L or R clears up the confusion for the student...at least on a particular shot! Hope this helps...:D

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

justadub said:
Probably a stupid question, but it's all mine. :p I just saw the term used in another thread and decided to ask.

"Inside" vs "outside" english.

Is inside english the direction opposite the closet rail, ie towards the center of the table? Makes sense to me, but what do I know?

(Had a slight disagreement with a friend over the usage of the term.)

Thanks
Click to expand...
 
At times, you want to use inside/outside instead of left right to describe a way to shoot a shot, because depending on the side of the table the shot is being taken, left and right can be reversed, but inside or outside stays constant. Like others have said, I'm not an instructor, but I'd rather say "use inside on this shot" rather than say "use left or right depending on where you are shooting from".

I think "inside" is english that is going towards the inside of the table. Say if you are shooting off the right rail, "inside" from there is Left (spin going to the "inside" of the table). "inside" from the left rail, would be Right spin.

I guess Inside would always be "running english" where the cue ball picks up speed after contact. I could be wrong there though, because then we can say "running english" and "reverse english" where Scott said that it would change depending on the shot.

Maybe we need some diagrams?
 
I'm somewhat with Scott on this one, but inside would always be on the side of the cue ball that is going to make contact with your object ball. Outside would be on the opposite side of the cue ball from the side that will make contact.
It can get confusing, so that is why instructors usually stick to left and right...then there is no doubt what you mean.
Steve
 
hang-the-9 said:
I guess Inside would always be "running english" where the cue ball picks up speed after contact. I could be wrong there though, because then we can say "running english" and "reverse english" where Scott said that it would change depending on the shot.

Maybe we need some diagrams?
Click to expand...

As explained by Pooltchr, inside english is always english on the side of the CB that is going to contact the OB.

But, no, inside english is not always running english. In the example, inside english here is left hand english and as you can see the angle the CB takes off the OB will hit the rail where left english will slow or kill the CB.

CueTable Help

 
3andstop...Good explaination and good example! :thumbup: This is a good example of why left and right spin are easy to understand, where inside and outside are sometimes open to interpretation.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

3andstop said:
As explained by Pooltchr, inside english is always english on the side of the CB that is going to contact the OB.

But, no, inside english is not always running english. In the example, inside english here is left hand english and as you can see the angle the CB takes off the OB will hit the rail where left english will slow or kill the CB.

CueTable Help

Click to expand...
 
Thanks for the replies.

I understand it better now. I agree that left and right is probably easier overall, but at least now that I know the proper usage of the terms, I can understand it better when that term is used. Especially reading here or any other place online. I don't hear it used in my room very often...

Again, my thanks.
 
It's context-based

Left and Right are fairly obvious.

Inside, Outside, Running, and Reverse are less obvious, because they're situation dependent.

Inside english, as stated previously, is left if you're cutting left or right when you're cutting right. The easiest way for me to get it straight is, for inside english, the line of the cue is between the centers of the CB and OB. For outside english, the line of the cue is outside the centers. Inside and outside english affect throw to varying degrees. Inside english will tend to increase the cut, outside english will tend to decrease the cut, making it straighter by a couple degrees.

Running and Reverse english have to do with how the cue ball will react after it hits the rail. The terms are appropriate regardless of whether you've hit a ball before the cue hits the rail. Let's say you're on the head spot, aiming at the long rail, past the side pocket, on your right side. If you put Left on the cue ball, the cue ball will "run" around the table because the left spin throws it off the rail in the same direction as its original travel. If you put Right on the cue ball for the same shot, the ball will tend to die faster and not go as far around the table. Both types of english also change the angle of rebound from the rail. The easiest way to see the difference is cutting a ball into the corner pocket that's just off the rail.

The terms make sense as long as you're using them the right way, in the right context.
 
Inside -outside spin

First time posting here...I'm no instructor, so forgive me, please.

The simplest way to describe english on a shot that is not dead straight...

Think of the cue-ball, the object-ball, and the pocket as an 'angle'.
When you spin, your tip is either 'inside' or 'outside' the angle.
 
pt109 said:
First time posting here...I'm no instructor, so forgive me, please.

The simplest way to describe english on a shot that is not dead straight...

Think of the cue-ball, the object-ball, and the pocket as an 'angle'.
When you spin, your tip is either 'inside' or 'outside' the angle.
Click to expand...

Good point. This has been the definition forever, with the correction the word "angle" you used I believe you wanted to say "triangle".

It kind of remains a bit difficult to visualize for some on "almost straight shots. I do believe it is the "definitive answer" though. The word inside or outside was shortened from inside the triangle or outside the triangle.

Still easy to say inside english is the english on the side of the CB that you are hitting the OB with.
 
justadub said:
Probably a stupid question, but it's all mine. :p I just saw the term used in another thread and decided to ask.

"Inside" vs "outside" english.

Is inside english the direction opposite the closet rail, ie towards the center of the table? Makes sense to me, but what do I know?

(Had a slight disagreement with a friend over the usage of the term.)

Thanks
Click to expand...

When playing a running shot if you cue on the right when ball hits cushion/rail it will spin right, cue on left ball will go left.
When playing the draw shot and it hits the cushion/rail hitting right will cause the ball to go left upon hitting rail, when hitting left on draw, ball will go right, very confusing I admit, hope this helps.
 
Guys, this almost got a touch confusing for me lol. Bottom line all these terminologies have a different meaning. Inside english refers to inside the angle, and outside is outside the angle( CB to OB to Pocket). Running english is the particular english that carry the ball versus Killing english which will slow the cue ball or even bring it backwards. <---- All that is only considering that you are hitting one rail, meaning that there are times that you use a Killing english and you are stroking it to a rail to spin off that rail the opposite way of momentum and hit another rail for shape. These terms are the same in some instances as Top, Middle, and Bottom, but in some cases, they all can mean a different shot, and different outcome. Ultimately, they all mean a different english depending on the shot and shape needed.
 
To make matters more confusing, I use 'inside' and 'outside' differently when banking. For a bank, 'inside' is inside the bank angle (as opposed to the OB cut angle). So, spinning inside a bank always shortens it up...

Anyone else say it this way?

-s
 
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