Trouble with almost straight in shots

iusedtoberich

iusedtoberich

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I'm having trouble with almost straight in shots. Shots that are just a half ball to a full ball outside of the corner pocket. I end up hitting them straight, instead of cutting them that tiny bit. Anyone have a similar issue?

I think it must just be a perception thing...
 
Try aiming the center of your tip at the contact point on the ob. It also is a perception thing.
 
I think i know what you mean, you have to treat them a little like a back cut. i occasionally have trouble with those in the side pockets. They look easy and routine and the next thing you know, you missed it. These are one of those typical shots that come up all around the table with variations. Once this shot and its variations becomes easily identifiable to yourself, they will become routine to make.
 
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where on the object ball do you aim? Once i started aiming at the very bottom of the ball (where the ball is touching the table) my cuts got much more precise.
 
possible errors might be:

-Cueing across the line of aim and making the CB deflect slightly on it's way to the OB

-Wrong perception because of wrong eye position

-Bad grip that leads to steering (not enough of a cradle)

Maybe it'll help to read and try what I
wrote in this thread:

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=299755

On Dr. Dave's webpage there are a lot of videos that might help you too:
http://billiards.colostate.edu/

one of multiple videos you'll find here:

Dr.Dave/grip and bridge: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PevddF2gRh4
Dr.Dave/vision center: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=680o8EChP_o

...although BoB Jewett steers to the left when he shoots the straight ball in too at 2:20 min:-)
(just where he wants to show how it is done correctly) cueing across the lign of aim to the left, making the CB slightly deflect to the right).
As he does not shoot very firm, and his cue shaft does not deflect a lot and the unintended left side English is already gone
when the CB makes contact with the OB, the CB does not rotate anymore although he makes contact with the cue ball around an 8th of a tip to the left of center ball imho.
It might only happen because of his elbow (upper arm) that goes slightly to his right (away from his torso) during his final stroke motion)

Nevertheless the video explains very good what you have to be aware of!

Maybe this videos of mine concerning grip and fingers or the video of Andy Segal will help you too:

grip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq3lCuScYWM
Notice: I sometimes tend to steer slightly to the left on very firm shots as well and am still working on this after more than 25 years of playing...

Andy Segal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3QgH0fl1kE

Last hint: try to film yourself while stroking from the front and from behind!

best of luck to you!
EKKES
 
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Cmon Ekkes :wink:

Give him a little of the good stuff.... I've been using SEE for almost straight since I got bought the system....
 
Thanks for the replies. I'll try some out. I'm a feel player, never look at or identify any contact points. But I like Neil's first suggestion. I will try that first.
 
What is happening to him is a 100% perception thing. He thinks he is seeing the shot correctly and is shooting the shot correctly, but it is wrong. It has nothing to do with grip,stroke.etc. I know the shot he is talking about i believe because i used to have trouble with it also. It comes across as an easy shot but the perception of that shot at certain positions on the table can fool you sometimes and you miss.
 
I just set up a video camera on my table. I've been recording my practice sessions the past few days, and have seen myself miss this shot a few times on the playback. I'm going to set it up a few times and work on it.

Off topic, but my goal with the camera, was to record all my misses in a session, and then set up my misses, (or missed position) and try again, repeatedly. In other words, work on my weakest parts, but with video proof to confirm they are weak.

If I stick to this, is a whole other story, lol...
 
take that shot you are having trouble with and start shooting that angle all over the table and in all the pockets. You will learn to see the shot/angle very quickly and will soon have no trouble with it.
 
RG1 said:
What is happening to him is a 100% perception thing. He thinks he is seeing the shot correctly and is shooting the shot correctly, but it is wrong. It has nothing to do with grip,stroke.etc. I know the shot he is talking about i believe because i used to have trouble with it also. It comes across as an easy shot but the perception of that shot at certain positions on the table can fool you sometimes and you miss.
Click to expand...

First things first, as RG is probably correct. Stroke some cue balls by themselves into a distant corner pocket. Stroke softly enough to see the spinning ball enter the pocket cleanly, are you crossing the true center of the pocket (where the points on the rails intersect)?

If not, there are some stance and alignment issues I or another teacher here can assist you with. Everyone assumes it's mechanical issues but there are throw and other issues on the object balls, too. First, see how precise you are both aiming and moving the cue ball...
 
RG1 is not an instructor, has never had a lesson and is just a player. There is always an answer but you must have the determination to find it. :)
 
Well, I set up the shot with donuts, and shot it 9 times each from 6 different positions. Cutting it both to the left and the right, and both a half ball and full ball outside of straight in. Then, I used another pocket of the table so that the table would hit my sides (to affect my stance).

I missed 4 times in 54 attempts.

Then I preceded to practice vs the 4 ball ghost, and played the worst I have in 3 months, to include missing the aforementioned shot twice in ghost play.

lol, so is pool. I'm done for today. Will try again another day...
 
lol :grin-square: continue shooting that shot until you can see it easy and know how to make it from all positions and pockets. My opinion is there are a handful of shots in pool but thousands and thousands of variations to that handful of shots. If you can figure out what the handful of shots are the game becomes a lot easier.
 
If you have parallax issues or crossing dominance the deal is they already look easy and you stand there in utter horror as you consistently miss what look like gimme shots...

Find a system ANY SYSTEM that lets you make them because you likely will continue to miss them for the rest of your life just by trusting what you see.... It can be CTE or SEE if you like the pivot aims or it can be Geno's Perfect Aim getting you on the right line while you use BoB, Ghost ball or fractions......

I use Geno's, SEE, TOI and a fractional pivot system and as long as my stroke is in good working condition the different systems work... For Straight/Almost straight I use Ekkes' See system manual pivot 0-7 and I will never miss a ball by letting my eyes double cross me again...

Thanks again Ekkes and Merry Christmas,

Chris
 
put a laser level on the first diamond on the short rail on top of a book or magazine so the beam height is center cue ball.

point it to the opposite end rail diamond centering a donut on the beam.

practice shooting from the level end to the donut center. the beam will be blocked from your bridge,stick etc until you finish your stroke.

my goal is to keep the cue ball centered when it reaches that donut hole ....and hitting that hole!
i care less about the return path of the ball, it's usually never enough to affect the tangent line and i'll often practice the shot with english.

i'm right handed.
planting my left foot parallel to the line and sliding my right foot back is easier to make the transition and stay on the line. < for me>
 
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The scientific method limits variables. Some of the finest players worked with a cue ball alone for quite some time early in their career. Make sure you are stroking the cue ball accurately before setting up a familiar donut shot where your subconscious may twist or swerve at the last moment to score a ball...
 
Here is something to try...I use this method for all shots...Before you look at the almost striaght in OB to the pocket line...look at the CB to the pocket line...then notice how the OB to the pocket line will be slightly off...you will now see the CB to OB line.

Many times that straight in shot is not quite as straight in as it looks.

Every shot has a relationship between CB - OB - Pocket that forms a triangle...visualize that triangle every time I say....it helps alignment no matter what aiming method you use....and if you pay attention...it will give you a big clue on what the CB is going to do after impact.
 
Why not do something simple like setting up a ghost ball to see where the correct line is then use a piece of chalk on the rail behind it along the right line with the CB. Use the chalk as the aiming point until you get the feel/perception for the shot? You could do the same thing with two of the white "donuts" (3 ring binder hole reinforcers or whatever they're properly called). There are several ghost ball aiming devices out there as well that can help. I use the one that came with the Poolology 101 DVD set and use it from time to time if I'm struggling with certain cut shots.
 
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