Using light reflection for aiming

brilliance

brilliance

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
One of people that I know used to be active pool player several years ago. He told me that he uses light dots (those that reflects from cue ball) for aiming and bank shots.

There are usually 3 dots all the time on the cueball.....

Anybody have more informations or instructions?
 
brilliance said:
One of people that I know used to be active pool player several years ago. He told me that he uses light dots (those that reflects from cue ball) for aiming and bank shots.

There are usually 3 dots all the time on the cueball.....

Anybody have more informations or instructions?
Click to expand...
if they're three dot that means they're three lights on the table. although all lights give some kind of reflection on the balls. on unfamiliar tables i always look to the lights first to see how the banks line up. with 3 lights banks that seem straight you line all on the CB and OB .to stretch you use inside light on CB to outside on OB to stiff outside light on CB to inside light on OB. with dashes on the balls use either end of the dash.
 
Light Brilliance

brilliance said:
One of people that I know used to be active pool player several years ago. He told me that he uses light dots (those that reflects from cue ball) for aiming and bank shots.

There are usually 3 dots all the time on the cueball.....

Anybody have more informations or instructions?
Click to expand...


This was told to me by someone that use to shoot on a league with me 15 years ago. I thought he was pulling my leg...until one night I found my self in a position having to make a tough shot. I wasn't quite sure where to strike the cue ball so I tried the "light brilliance" method and lo and behold made the shot.

Now, I'm not advocating this on every shot you play however when there is any doubt on those shots or cuts that come up...I use it. I will have to say that 8 out of 10 times I make the shot.

You aim where the light gleams on the cue and in it goes...it's really freaky how it works. I'm not certain how or why it exactly works....but.

-A
 
Scott Lee said:
That's an old wive's tale...aiming by light reflections is an inconsistent and inaccurate method.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
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Strangely Scott, Hal showed this to me and it worked every time. On his table. I wouldn't trust it beyond that though.

He did tell a funny story about teaching someone that system. They were on a table with 3 lights above and the guy was blown away by it. There was a tournament in Vegas and Hal told him he should play. Well, the guy signs up and it turns out the lights were different and the guy was screwed. He said he laughed all the way back to the east coast.
 
Koop said:
Strangely Scott, Hal showed this to me and it worked every time. On his table. I wouldn't trust it beyond that though.

He did tell a funny story about teaching someone that system. They were on a table with 3 lights above and the guy was blown away by it. There was a tournament in Vegas and Hal told him he should play. Well, the guy signs up and it turns out the lights were different and the guy was screwed. He said he laughed all the way back to the east coast.
Click to expand...

One day I spent more than 3 hours trying to figure out a way to make the points of light work. Not a chance.

Move the lights just a little bit wider or higher or longer... you get the idea.

However, if you someone wants to shoot by the stars, especially on a strange table, let 'em.

Flex
 
Flex said:
One day I spent more than 3 hours trying to figure out a way to make the points of light work. Not a chance.

Move the lights just a little bit wider or higher or longer... you get the idea.

However, if you someone wants to shoot by the stars, especially on a strange table, let 'em.

Flex
Click to expand...


No doubt buddy. On a normal table set-up with the lights right where they should be it will work. Otherwise you may as well close your eyes while shooting.
 
Banking by the lights is very accurate, no matter where the light source is. I banked by the lights exclusively for a year and did very well.
 
using lights is questionable

brilliance said:
One of people that I know used to be active pool player several years ago. He told me that he uses light dots (those that reflects from cue ball) for aiming and bank shots.

There are usually 3 dots all the time on the cueball.....

Anybody have more informations or instructions?
Click to expand...
This is a questionable technique, but if you want more info, see Bob Jewett's June '04 article.

Regards,
Dave
 
Scott Lee said:
That's an old wive's tale...aiming by light reflections is an inconsistent and inaccurate method.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
Click to expand...
it shouldn't be inconsistant and inaccurate, as the reflections are always in the same place. i use several different systems and they all seem to align to the same spot.
 
Either right edge of the CB reflection or left edge of the CB reflection (one is the nuts) to the center of the OB reflection.

If you're not making balls, you're stroking crooked or you're perception is off. Bottom-line. You can be in a pitch-black room with someone holding a flashlight 10 feet away in the corner and it works.
 
hi

Actually I meant banking, not aiming.. sorry

Basically banking via reflections and diamonds.
 
Scott Lee said:
That's an old wive's tale...aiming by light reflections is an inconsistent and inaccurate method.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
Click to expand...
I used to play pool every Friday night with a good friend of mine and he swore to me that he used the shadow off the ball on the table to aim certain shots with. I never could understand how he did it, but I do know that he was a VERY good player. He made the game look easy.

James
 
Scott Lee said:
That's an old wive's tale...aiming by light reflections is an inconsistent and inaccurate method.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
Click to expand...



Cmon Scott...If you are going to post Hal like responses....You need to do it in all CAPS..... ;)

The only shot I use the lights for is when I aim at the light reflection on the 1-ball for my break shot...No matter where you break from it is always square...I can then use that light as a reference to slightly adjust where I want to hit on the light to make the 1-ball...

My late father RIP although never a competatve player during my life time (but could actually play very well) used to play when he was younger as a kid in New York in the late 1950s and early 60s until he had a incident where the guys he was playing thought he was hustling them and he decided that $50-$100 was not worth getting killed over and quit playing for anything other than recreation...

He had mentioned a light/shadow system of sorts...and he mentioned that (like you) that it can be inaccurate, but it works very well for various situations. I never did get in depth with him about it as it was only a passing question I asked him of how he aims.

I don't think he would have any reason to make this up, so I doubt the method is a wives tale....but like all aiming methods it has its benefits for some and drawbacks for others.
 
SpiderWebbComm:
Either right edge of the CB reflection or left edge of the CB reflection (one is the nuts) to the center of the OB reflection.
Click to expand...

Can you be more specific? What are the "CB reflection" and the "OB reflection"? If there are multiple lights, aren't there multiple reflections of those lights on each ball? What if the number of lights is different from one table to the next? What if they're spaced differently over the table? What if one is flourescent tubes and the other is incandescent bulbs (different shapes)?

pj
chgo
 
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