What do you aim at?

aiming could not be easier, but it could also be incorrect

8ball said:
Take 2 balls and hold them together towards a light source and you will get an idea of just how small the 'contact point" on the balls actually is. When you consider the circumference of the ball it truly demonstrates how difficult it would be to try and hit a "spot" on the ball!
Now for the good news, there are only 5 shots you need to know when aiming. When you look a the object ball you want to "cover it" with the cueball!
1.) full coverage (straight-in shot)
2.) 3/4 coverage
3.) 1/2 coverage
4.) 1/4 coverage
5.) THIN cut!
Aiming could not be easier!:)

i have had private discussions with people and have tested the above method for accuracy on a pool table. i am confident i was doing everything correct as a result of my discussions (thanks everybody!), and it is positively a fact in my mind, the above 4 aim points DO NOT cover all shots on a pool table. there are many cases where the shot will be in between 2 of the above aims. many of you already know this of course.

this makes sense in light of the following experiment: if you set up a certain shot and aim the cb at 1/2 coverage, shoot, then mark the table where the ball hits the rail (or the pocket, just mark where it hits). subsequently, set up the same exact shot, aim at 1/4 coverage, shoot, then mark the table where that ball hits the rail (or pocket). the space inbetween the two marks roughly represents the angles that this system doesn't account for. are the proponents of this system saying that these angles never come up on a pool table?

i do find some use in the system, but my problem is i don't understand how people know when the shot is on one of these in between angles. it would scare me to use it in fear that i may get an in between angle and miss, whereas if i used feel i would have given myself a better chance perhaps.

by the way, not trying to start an argument here but i wanted to respond to one other thing, which im not even sure if it was in this particular thread. joe T (i know joe's system differs from the one above) i'm sure is a nice enough guy and a good player. but, i feel that his post about system vs non-system use should (he said using a system is better) not be considered because he makes money off selling a system. imo, he'd be stupid to say anything else. i only mention it because he seems like a highly influencial member and i think there is a little conflict of interest in this case.
 
seen this thread here again so i just wanted to say i have this cousin that is a super shot maker and he is blind in one eye almost and this kid can split the pockets a fast shooter so sometimes he can make mistakes but when he takes his time and aims it up i swear he rarely misses the shot. Off topic but just wanted to add and share guys. Cole.
 
enzo said:
by the way, not trying to start an argument here but i wanted to respond to one other thing, which im not even sure if it was in this particular thread. joe T (i know joe's system differs from the one above) i'm sure is a nice enough guy and a good player. but, i feel that his post about system vs non-system use should (he said using a system is better) not be considered because he makes money off selling a system. imo, he'd be stupid to say anything else. i only mention it because he seems like a highly influencial member and i think there is a little conflict of interest in this case.

I don't think you are starting an argument at all. You are just pointing this out for consideration. But you should take everything he says for consideration. I can tell you that I have already purchased his system and when I come up with a shot that feels awkward to me, that system is ONE of them that helps get me through it. When feel fails you and it does to most of us at one time or another, I feel it is important to have more than one (many if you can retain them) way of seeing things.

Joe Tucker's system has made me see things in a way that really helps me. His 168 corner shot workout and his 90 side pocket shot workout has made me sees things, I have not seen before. I have to be honest, I have only had Joe's stuff for a short while. But it took no time to become one of my main methods for viewing shots that feel has failed me on.

I also use the Full to Thin (full, 3/4, half, 1/4, thin) method I learned from Bert Kinister along with his Tip to Object Ball Relation style (full cue tip outside the OB, make the tip just nick the OB when aiming, and so forth) style of aiming. Bert's drills that use his aiming methods really hone down what I was looking for in a shot.

I guess my point and advice (if it means anything to you) after explaining this is simple:

Learn as many ways of aiming as you can!

Because when you come up to a ball that feels awkward to you and you can't get a bead on it, you can look at it from all the perspectives of the many different aiming systems you know. Then, when you find one or two of them that tells your brain, "that feels right", BINGO! You probably just solved the dilemma and as time goes on, this will only increase your ability to shoot by FEEL.


I still have to read this entire thread from the beginning, so if I just stated something someone else already has, I'm very sorry. ;)
 
back to the front page

Bringing this thread back to the front page to go with Joey's new post.

My aiming style is poke and hope, my book and DVD's will be out shortly for those interested! :D :D :D

Hu
 
Joe T:
I physically look at the ob's contact point,
mentally visualize the cb?€™s contact point and
spend most of my time mentally matching up and connecting those 2 spots.

Exactly. (Most aiming systems are supposed to help with the "matching up and connecting" part of this. Joe T's aiming system does it better than most. DISCLAIMER: I don't use Joe's or any other system, but I'm familiar with most.)

Gerald G:
Do you aim for the center of the pocket, or do you aim to overcut to the point of the pocket?

Either you aim to overcut, or you overcut subconsciously, or you miss lots of cut shots. I do it on purpose.

pj
chgo
 
Patrick Johnson said:
Exactly. (Most aiming systems are supposed to help with the "matching up and connecting" part of this. Joe T's aiming system does it better than most. DISCLAIMER: I don't use Joe's or any other system, but I'm familiar with most.)



Either you aim to overcut, or you overcut subconsciously, or you miss lots of cut shots. I do it on purpose.

pj
chgo
Oops. I'm answering posts that are more than two years old!

Never mind.

pj
chgo
 
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