The ghost ball myth

[Jal]

FWIW, it's pretty clear from the CB's after-collision paths that all the shots were hit with a sliding CB (no forward or reverse rotation). This also means that (in order to slide a foot or so to the OB) they were hit above lag speed.

Patrick, I just haven't had the time to do the math, but if the CB was stroked at centerball, and it appears they took pains to do that, then certainly the CB would have developed some topspin before the collision - not much, but some. Given the short distance it was allowed to travel after the collision, the fact that it would only slowly diverge from the tangent line for a while, and the position of the camera, etc., I think it's hard to judge the CB's spin state from the video. But I'm not saying it had much spin, either.

Jim

 

[Jal]

It's all clear now.

Well I certainly hope so, John. But if the topic has some interest to you, and you have a question or comment that I can possibly address....

Jim

 

[JB Cases]

Well I certainly hope so, John. But if the topic has some interest to you, and you have a question or comment that I can possibly address....

Jim

I was just joking as I find diagrams and charts rarely help people to play better pool even if they are 100% accurate.

BUT since you mention it....I will have some questions for you once I get the training studio set up.

As a lot of people do shower time is time to think and I stuck a couple of dvds to the shower wall to work out some thoughts on vectors and margin of error. At some point I will have a whiteboard set up to perfect scale with magnetic disks or half spheres and the ability to change pocket sizes on the fly. So.....the idea was to help students understand how much more precision is needed when the pocket size/cut is different.

The reason for this is because I think when people know that they can play looser it opens up a lot more position routes. I think it would be great to address this in our training facility. So I might ask you for some numbers or other information to back me up.

 

[pt109]

I mean really. Do we have to have a "How to aim thread every week or so? Give it a rest. All you're doing is confusing new players. Johnnyt

You know, Johnny, you just made me think of a scene years ago....
...four of us were discussing a difficult situation at snooker...what shot to play...
...and how to hit it....then the conversation expanded to similar shots.

A man on the side, who'd been banging them around for a year or so, said he hadn't had
any idea of the depth this game had....and it was inspiring him to get serious...
...took him about three years, but he had his first century run.

The players that were discouraged by these threads...
...weren't going to make it anyways.

 

[Jal]

I was just joking as I find diagrams and charts rarely help people to play better pool even if they are 100% accurate.

As Dr. Dave puts it, it's usually not the specifics in a chart or graph, but the general trends they show. Those with considerable experience typically already know the trends at some level, so even they (the trends) might not be of much help. For a relative newcomer, however, or some not so obvious aspect of how the balls behave, I think it can help.

So I might ask you for some numbers or other information to back me up.

I can probably be of some assistance, as can a few others around here. Appreciate the vote of confidence.

Jim

 

[Patrick Johnson]

I was just joking as I find diagrams and charts rarely help people to play better pool even if they are 100% accurate.

They're not for everybody, but if you're able to get their message then it's much more detailed info than you get from verbal/written descriptions - and it can be more help.

pj
chgo

 

[DaveM]

I find the physics instructive in a general sense. I don't want to dig too deep and get bogged down, but an idea of what's going, on coupled with table time, has helped me. So, I read these threads unless they get too combative. Learning a bit more about the physics to adjust for pocketing and position has helped my game.