The Existential Geometry Of Pool

[philly]

I have been meaning to put these thoughts into a thread for some time. Well here goes:
The table is a rectangle.
Many players see angles to get shape.
I think really good players consciously or unconsciously see triangles.
Certainly carom players see triangles.
Once again, the game is played on a rectangle.
Every game can be racked within a triangle.
As if we didn't have enough to think about but will an answer improve the way you see the game?

 

[HawaiianEye]

I have been meaning to put these thoughts into a thread for some time. Well here goes:
The table is a rectangle.
Many players see angles to get shape.
I think really good players consciously or unconsciously see triangles.
Certainly carom players see triangles.
Once again, the game is played on a rectangle.
Every game can be racked within a triangle.
As if we didn't have enough to think about but will an answer improve the way you see the game?

I think in triangles and rectangles also. If you cant' see the "shapes", you usually can't get "shape".



.

 

[michael4]

here goes:
The table is a rectangle.
Many players see angles to get shape.

If the rails were like mirrors, reflecting the balls at exactly the same angle they came in at, seeing all the angles (even after CB hitting several rails) would be much easier..


On the other hand, the better a player gets (generally) the less he will have to move to CB around

just some thoughts..........

 

[philly]

If the rails were like mirrors, reflecting the balls at exactly the same angle they came in at, seeing all the angles (even after CB hitting several rails) would be much easier..


On the other hand, the better a player gets (generally) the less he will have to move to CB around

just some thoughts..........

True, especially for 14.1 but for rotation games where you cannot pick the ball you want to get shape on, but is rather dictated, more movement is required.

 

[carolina_8ball]

A rectangle is nothing nothing more than 2 triangles put together!

It is kinda weird, though, that we have round objects confined by a rectangle and we see triangles.

Pool is fascinating!!!

 

[philly]

A rectangle is nothing nothing more than 2 triangles put together!

It is kinda weird, though, that we have round objects confined by a rectangle and we see triangles.

Pool is fascinating!!!

Good observation, carolina. The game gets more and more existential the more you think about it.

 

[Tramp Steamer]

Did you know that man-hole covers are round so that they won't fall through the hole?
Well, that's the way I see pool. One big circle. Sometimes, when I'm playing bad, I think of it as one big circle jerk, but that's beside the point.
Balls are like circles. Pockets are like circles. And, the table would be like a circle if it weren't for the corners. We play in circles. Back and forth, round and round.
I leave home and drive to the pool hall, excuse me, sports bar and grill, play some pool, leave for home, stop by the ATM, got to the store, get gas, then pull in to the driveway. That's a circle.
Yep. Pool is a circle. :smile:

P.S. I love this existentialism shit. CJ does, too.

 

[HawaiianEye]

I don't want to hijack your thread, but aiming is equally simple when you get down to the BASICS of it. This game is nothing more than knocking a spherical object into another spherical object with a stick and making that spherical object go in the direction you intended.

I created a rudimentary chart that gives examples of Contact Point To Contact Point (CP2CP) aiming.

I tried to keep the dimensions to scale in order to make it look as close as possible to what it would look like on a real table.

If you have ever listened to the TAR video where SVB tried to explain his aiming method, I think it would look something like this when put on paper. When asked how he aimed, he responded that he used the "edges of his cue"...left edge for left cuts and right edge for right cuts.

I use this method and then adjust, depending upon the amount of squirt my cue has. Nothing is perfect, but very close is better than "I don't have a clue where I aim".

I think most things on the table somehow involve shapes and "mirrors". CP2CP aiming is nothing more than visualizing and hitting the balls as "mirrored" objects.

 

[Tramp Steamer]

A rectangle is nothing nothing more than 2 triangles put together!
It is kinda weird, though, that we have round objects confined by a rectangle and we see triangles.
Pool is fascinating!!!

I see two guys in white coats coming after you. That's what I see. :grin:

 

[philly]

I see two guys in white coats coming after you. That's what I see. :grin:

Was hoping you would weigh in Tramp, but was looking for something a little more substantial and thought provoking from you, given all your wisdom. My wife keeps looking for the men in white coats to stop by also.

 

[Tramp Steamer]

Was hoping you would weigh in Tramp, but was looking for something a little more substantial and thought provoking from you, given all your wisdom. My wife keeps looking for the men in white coats to stop by also.

You want something substantial philly, my good friend. Okay, here it is.
We here at AZB cuss, and discuss pool. Do we not? That's because it's a pool forum. But, we're not the only forum on the internet, are we? Hell no we're not. There are thousands of forums out there. Forums for knitting (and quilts). Forums for hunting, fishing, car collecting, lonely hearts, coupon collecting, cat turds that look like dead Presidents, bird watching, fornication, hibernation, constipation. You name it, it's out there.
Now, the existential question of the day is: Which one of these forums is the most important? Is it ours? Is it the one with the bird watchers?
Well, the answer, my good friend, is none of the above. We all live in our own virtual reality. We invent what we want and discard the rest. Our particular VR is knocking balls into holes situated around a table, with a wooden stick, and then talking about it. Others marvel at how one particular piece of cat crap looks like LBJ, while another resembles Marilyn Monroe.
If there is one thing that I need to keep reminding myself of is that I am not unique. There have been billions of people that have gone before me, and there will be billions more that will come after.
Above all else, I think we here at the world's greatest pool forum should, from time to time, stop and remember where we are in the scheme of things. Just tiny little specks of life. Right pj, CJ, and Dj?
Peace to all. Your friend, the Maharishi Tramp. :smile:

 

[King T]

Question

Other than straight in, are you always using inside or outside English when you shoot?

 

[philly]

You want something substantial philly, my good friend. Okay, here it is.
We here at AZB cuss, and discuss pool. Do we not? That's because it's a pool forum. But, we're not the only forum on the internet, are we? Hell no we're not. There are thousands of forums out there. Forums for knitting (and quilts). Forums for hunting, fishing, car collecting, lonely hearts, coupon collecting, cat turds that look like dead Presidents, bird watching, fornication, hibernation, constipation. You name it, it's out there.
Now, the existential question of the day is: Which one of these forums is the most important? Is it ours? Is it the one with the bird watchers?
Well, the answer, my good friend, is none of the above. We all live in our own virtual reality. We invent what we want and discard the rest. Our particular VR is knocking balls into holes situated around a table, with a wooden stick, and then talking about it. Others marvel at how one particular piece of cat crap looks like LBJ, while another resembles Marilyn Monroe.
If there is one thing that I need to keep reminding myself of is that I am not unique. There have been billions of people that have gone before me, and there will be billions more that will come after.
Above all else, I think we here at the world's greatest pool forum should, from time to time, stop and remember where we are in the scheme of things. Just tiny little specks of life. Right pj, CJ, and Dj?
Peace to all. Your friend, the Maharishi Tramp. :smile:

Thanks Tramp for weighing in with your wisdom. I understand perfectly our significance or lack there of. I have really never heard anyone even able to prove their own existence without using the word "I." About all we can do is say we are experiencing the illusion. However I love the game and the geometry of it. By the way my home poolroom has no bar, no food, just pool and all nine footers and a heated Gabriels if one is so inclined. But dammit, it does have an internet julebox which I can't stand.

 

[HawaiianEye]

Other than straight in, are you always using inside or outside English when you shoot?

If I have MY way, I am using inside on every shot I can get away with it.

I plan my angles to allow for positioning using inside as my PRIMARY method. Sometimes I have to use something else, but I only do that to get "back in line" for using my "inside" method.

I have played for many, many years and I am comfortable with outside, but outside can get a bit "loose" if you aren't careful. Playing the ball "dead" around the table allows me to keep the cue ball on a more natural path.

Some will argue otherwise, but to each their own.

In edit: If you notice the cue angles in the chart, you will see that the cue is always aimed at some part of the object ball when you use CP2CP. If you aim much farther "outside" the contact point, your cue is aiming "into the air" and not at the object ball. Your cue may be on a parallel path as the shot line, but your cue will not be aiming at the object ball. I prefer pointing my cue to a "real" object (the contact point) and not a line parallel to the contact point and trying to figure in my mind how many inches or millimeters I need to adjust backwards.

I may have misworded this somewhat, but I think you may get the idea.

 

[MitchAlsup]

A parallelogram is more useful in kicks and banks than a rectangle.

 

[philly]

A parallelogram is more useful in kicks and banks than a rectangle.

Or a triangle or a rhombus, huh?

 

[bbb]

I have been meaning to put these thoughts into a thread for some time. Well here goes:
The table is a rectangle.
Many players see angles to get shape.
I think really good players consciously or unconsciously see triangles.
Certainly carom players see triangles.
Once again, the game is played on a rectangle.
Every game can be racked within a triangle.
As if we didn't have enough to think about but will an answer improve the way you see the game?

could you post a diagram of your concept???

 

[duckie]

I think that most really good players see in terms of direction of travel. Where are the balls going........this is the only thing that matters....knowing where the balls are gonna go.

 

[carolina_8ball]

I see two guys in white coats coming after you. That's what I see. :grin:

Lol!!! They have already came, and left!

Living here in the mountains of NC it was rather easy to hit the woods and elude those pesky captors. Thanks to steep-rocky hills and thick woods those over-weight slow pokes wearing solid white coats where easily spotted and I was able to keep a close watchful eye on them as I led them in a never ending CIRCLE!!! They gave up!!!

 

[pt109]

I think math is just a rough rule-of-thumb to describe what is happening at pool.
Most banks curve....carom angles tend to be curves.
....half-ball cuts go different places at different speeds.

To play the greatest Billiards that has ever been played, you would have to think like
Michelangelo......part scientist....part artist.


Did I mention that space is curved....and time is an illusion?