Here's how Platinum billiards describes pivot points. Read about it here:
https://www.platinumbilliards.com/rating_about_pivotpoints.php?sid=292d761d90b21dd07c8e1baa9596ebe0
Here's what they say:
About “Pivot Points”
Each shaft has its own “pivot point” which is directly determined by the amount of cue ball deflection or “squirt” it produces. The calculated pivot point for each shaft is given in the chart as measured from the front of the tip. If you bridge exactly at a shaft’s pivot point and hold your bridge very steady, you can pivot the cue by moving your back hand and no matter where you strike the cue ball it will track off on the same line as if you struck dead center. Pivot points are interesting and may be useful but the player must also consider “swerve” and “throw”. Swerve is the tendency of the cue ball to curve slightly in the direction of the applied sidespin, like a mild form of masse. Throw is caused by the friction between the cue ball and the object ball and is much stronger than most realize – for example, if you shoot a straight in shot firmly with left spin and hit the back of the pocket, if a snapshot could be taken at the moment the cue ball contacts the object ball you would see that the balls are actually aligned significantly to the left of the center of the pocket. There is a popular “pivot point test” that uses this sort of straight shot to determine pivot points but because the throw effect was not considered people have been getting wildly inaccurate results. The pivot points given in our chart are calculated directly from the actual measured cue ball deflection produced by each shaft and are correct.
Basicaly what Plantinum Billiards is saying in the above info, is that there is a specific bridge hand distance (pivot point) that's best for each individual cue cue when appying backhand english.They also explain in the above info as to why people were getting "wildly innaccurate results" with a populiar pivot point test that is out there.
Platinum Billiards also says on there website that they used a robot to do there testing, so human error is not a factor.
here's some info on their testing practices:
HOW AND WHAT WE TEST
We ask the question “which shaft deflects least?” because the butt of the cue has little effect on cue ball deflection. However, shafts are generally tested on the same brand of butt and the test weight for all is kept close to 19 ounces. All shafts are tested as sold by the manufacturer including tip type and tip curvature as noted. All tests are performed using a robot which makes precisely the same stroke with each cue, and for this test the machine is set to produce cue ball speeds of around 15mph. A series of four shots is made with each cue and the resulting cue ball deflection is recorded on a target 50” away which is exactly the distance between the foot string and the head spot on a 4 ½ x 9 pool table. The four shots are 6mm (about ¼”) and 12mm left of center, and 6mm and 12mm right of center, and these offsets are measured from the center of the cue ball to the center of the shaft. The actual cue ball deflection produced by each shot is measured and the average for the series is given in the chart below in millimeters and inches.
RJ