Ultimate Aiming - Finding the Line

[JoeyInCali]

I don't think Shane is kidding either. In this video he and Johnny are discussing how they aim and Shane seems genuinely surprised to hear that Johnny does not focus on his shaft.

https://youtu.be/iUT7-RdKdeA?t=2559

And Johnny says he uses a variety of GB and thirds. And feel for deflection and spin.
Uh oh!

 

[JB Cases]

I took sloppy's post to mean he focuses on a spot that the stick is to aim at to pocket it, not the contact point. This is how I was taught as a kid. I was taught to recognize the angle and relate it to 1/4,1/2,3/4 ball contacts etc... Slightly more fractions but I won't go into that. From there you know a 3/4 ball contact for example, the tip should point at the outer quarter of the object ball. From there you recognize if it's thinner or thicker than a 3/4 ball contact and shift the point the cue is to aim at very slightly and get down with the eyes locked on this point. Through repetition and hitting balls when practicing various angles you learn to auto adjust as you walk in and get down. It is very much a method to get you in the ball park and let your subconscious take over but it was surprising how quickly I was looking directly at the part of the object ball... Or outside of it that the tip should be pointing at without having to go through all the fractions.

Now, I've hit far too many balls to give aiming a thought. I tend to just visualize the shot now a few times before stepping in.

I've given it a go on some advice I over heard Ronnie O'Sullivan giving a fan. .. Play quickly and don't give your self time to aim. It works for him brilliantly but for me I'm a slow player by nature and find my self making silly mistakes because I've thrown my tempo out the window.

There is something to getting into a quick paced rhythm where the aiming is done in fractions of a second. Basically Ronnie is saying don't give yourself a chance to think yourself out of the shot.

Even with CTE a practiced user is done with the aiming part quickly and efficiently. So much so that it allows for a quicker pace and no one able to detect how the aiming is done.

 

[Shawn Armstrong]

And Johnny says he uses a variety of GB and thirds. And feel for deflection and spin.
Uh oh!

Yet Hal Houle said he used CTE aiming, and a few of the CTE users have noticed a pivot.

My question is: does anyone care which system anyone else uses? If my opponent uses the "every opposite light reflection from odd numbered tables" system to kick my ass at pool, it must work for him.

 

[Patrick Johnson]

I focus on the contact point and drop in to hit it but I don't worry about lining up or finding a spot on the table or ball to line up to. Just finding the spot is enough.

Me too. The only thing I add to that is noticing where I'm pointing the CB (my stick at centerball) in relation to the OB contact point. I don't consciously do anything with that visible "measurement", just feed it to my subconscious poolbot to file and use as part of the shot picture I recognize.

pj
chgo

 

[mohrt]

Actually, the aimpoint on the rail isn't the mirror image itself, but a point some estimated distance past that (because balls rebound less than 100%).

pj
chgo

Also the geometric mirror center isn't the rail nose, it's the gutter. I think the only book I've seen this illustrated correctly is Eddie Robin's Winning One Pocket. That book is a goldmine.

 

[Sloppy Pockets]

Well, except for the part in blue - you have to estimate what part of the CB to aim directly at it. That's always the challenge in aiming - and the reason for so many systems.


lol

I hope I was gentle. My point was really the second sentence.

pj
chgo

Lol! You were very, very gentle. But, Pat, you weren't the one I was referring to. Anyway, I just remembered that the certain special someone I was thinking about isn't allowed to post on other folks aiming threads, so that worry is gone at last (SP heaves mighty sigh of relief).

I'm not claiming my method is 100% objective, just that I've never heard of another method that is more objective. For me, there's not much estimating where to aim on the ball. I see the correct angle as clearly as you can see the contact point on the OB. It's then just a matter of seeing where the shot line hits the front of the ball and aiming right at it.

Contrast that with visualizing an imaginary CB and then trying to send a 2 1/4" actual ball 6' away and have it end up in the exact place that the imaginary ball was sitting. Or visualizing the CP on the OB and the CP on the CB and trying to send the CB 6' away so that these points touch at the moment of impact. I personally find it much easier to shoot at a precise point than it is to drive one ball at another one. That's the objective part - shooting at something you can actually see rather than something that you are visualizing in your mind.

 

[Sloppy Pockets]

I took sloppy's post to mean he focuses on a spot that the stick is to aim at to pocket it, not the contact point. This is how I was taught as a kid. I was taught to recognize the angle and relate it to 1/4,1/2,3/4 ball contacts etc...

Now, I've hit far too many balls to give aiming a thought. I tend to just visualize the shot now a few times before stepping in.

I've given it a go on some advice I over heard Ronnie O'Sullivan giving a fan. .. Play quickly and don't give your self time to aim. It works for him brilliantly but for me I'm a slow player by nature and find my self making silly mistakes because I've thrown my tempo out the window.

Yes, that's what I meant. Except instead of estimating thick or thin from an OB fraction (which is just one more thing to estimate and complicate the shot), I look to see whatever clue I can get from the ball itself as it's sitting there on the table. There are always reflections from the lights, and you don't need to approximate them like you do ball fractions, they are fixed in place on the OB and are clearly visible. So, yeah, I will decide to aim a little thinner than the reflection because I know I can't aim right at the actual reflection (in spite of what some might say) or I won't make the ball. But at least there is one clear physical reference point I can adjust from, rather than adjusting from yet another approximation.

BTW I can relate to what Ronnie was saying. I shoot at a pretty fast tempo. I've tried to slow down, but I usually one or two stroke everything when I'm actually playing well. If I am sure of what I'm are looking at, all waiting does for me is to erode away my confidence in what I am actually seeing, and I'll likely blow the the shot big time..