Why do Pro's aim at the bottom of the cue ball

DanielDeTinne

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have noticed that most pro players seem to aim and do their practice strokes and the bottom of the cue ball. Whether they are drawing the ball or following or what not.
Why? I always do my practice strokes exactly where I plan on striking the cue ball?
 

Patrick Johnson

Fish of the Day
Silver Member
I have noticed that most pro players seem to aim and do their practice strokes and the bottom of the cue ball. Whether they are drawing the ball or following or what not.
Why? I always do my practice strokes exactly where I plan on striking the cue ball?

This thread may help to answer your question.

https://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=302087

John
That old thread's about aiming at the bottom edge of the object ball.

pj <- and it's the usual trainwreck
chgo
 

bbb

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
I have noticed that most pro players seem to aim and do their practice strokes and the bottom of the cue ball. Whether they are drawing the ball or following or what not.
Why? I always do my practice strokes exactly where I plan on striking the cue ball?

the bottom of the cue ball is the base of the vertical axis
when they want no spin they can start there and go up
 

M.G.

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have noticed that most pro players seem to aim and do their practice strokes and the bottom of the cue ball.

Only Pool players do that, and we can hardly call them "pros" compared against current Snooker and 3 cushion players haha.
 

stockbob55

Registered
Only Pool players do that, and we can hardly call them "pros" compared against current Snooker and 3 cushion players haha.

Some very good snooker players aim at the base of the cue ball on all shots.
Where the cue ball "appears" to touch the table is the vertical center.
It makes aiming easier for some players, my snooker coach did this on every shot with amazing accuracy.
Players have asked me why I put draw on every shot, of course I don't but it does look like I do.
 

Imac007

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have noticed that most pro players seem to aim and do their practice strokes and the bottom of the cue ball. Whether they are drawing the ball or following or what not.
Why? I always do my practice strokes exactly where I plan on striking the cue ball?

Probably the best explanations comes from snooker.
https://youtu.be/e9SlvoKziH0

Del Hill has more.
https://youtu.be/1n53CGDi-JM

Basically the premise is that due to the rail height and issues with needing clearance for the grip hand to avoid hitting the table edge, a level cue concept is crap. Even if you don’t have to deal with the rail the idea of a level cue doesn’t make sense. To maintain a level cue regardless of whether you use a pendulum stroke or not, the elbow must drop on the backswing. If the elbow doesn’t drop on the backswing the hand rises and the cue butt with it. When the butt is raised the tip drops. The cue must have a downward incline towards the table in the backswing. As the tip approaches contact it approaches level through contact.

Ronnie O’Sullivan and Stephen Lee talk about cueing through the ball on a downwards arc except on extreme high follow shots. They both talk about the resistance of the downward contact creating a feeling of getting bite on the ball. A downward plane even on an above center shot needs to overcome table resistance before forward spin takes hold. That resistance translates into a feeling of prolonged contact of the tip on the ball.
 

8pack

They call me 2 county !
Silver Member
I have noticed that most pro players seem to aim and do their practice strokes and the bottom of the cue ball. Whether they are drawing the ball or following or what not.
Why? I always do my practice strokes exactly where I plan on striking the cue ball?

I think their doing it because you get a better visual with the shaft lower on the cb on the shot. Maybe.:)
 

Ralph Kramden

BOOM!.. ZOOM!.. MOON!
Silver Member
.

Hitting the base of the CB, players can hit stop shot speeds on the OB.

Any amount of CB side spin makes pocketing the OB harder. If the CB
Is sliding, sidespin is minimized. Stop shots can be hit harder or softer
depending on how far your CB must travel a OB tangent line for shape.

All shots can't be hit at stopshot speed, but many that aren't should be.


.
 

BC21

https://www.playpoolbetter.com
Gold Member
Silver Member
I think their doing it because you get a better visual with the shaft lower on the cb on the shot. Maybe.:)

I know a couple of players that cue low on every shot regardless of how they plan to strike the cb. One cues center low, the other off to the side like Bustamonte. Both have said it allows them a less obstructed view of the shot with the shaft out of the way.
 

Buster8001

Did you say shrubberies?
Silver Member
If I remember correctly, it's called "grounding" the tip. You line up with your pre-shot routine grounded at the center of the cueball for an unobstructed view of your shot & object ball. You have to have a good stroke to ground your pre-shot routine, because you have to shift to your aim point when you execute the shot.
 

Low500

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Why do they aim at the base of the ball..??

Maybe it's because they've found that it helps them make the shots better that way.
:smile:
 

JoeyInCali

Maker of Joey Bautista Cues
Silver Member
If I remember correctly, it's called "grounding" the tip. You line up with your pre-shot routine grounded at the center of the cueball for an unobstructed view of your shot & object ball. You have to have a good stroke to ground your pre-shot routine, because you have to shift to your aim point when you execute the shot.

Boom, headshot!

I watched an old ESPN video of Jose Parica once.
They were wondering why Jose was doing that.
They said you are prone to scratching in doing that.

A decade plus later ( of that event ) when I went to the Commerce Casino to watch them play.
Just about everyone did that .
Coltrain dragged his tip on the felt often.
 
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Se7en6ix

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have noticed that most pro players seem to aim and do their practice strokes and the bottom of the cue ball. Whether they are drawing the ball or following or what not.
Why? I always do my practice strokes exactly where I plan on striking the cue ball?

dunno..,for my end, aiming is easier when my cue tip is below the cue ball....
you know the perspective of the OB and CB plus the view of the shaft is clearer...

but when i deliver the shot i can hit the cue ball anywhere other than bottom..

plus when you have played so much you tend to do it naturally for some reason.
 
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