Your Favourite Angle

Pidge

Pidge

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
A friend pointed out I tend to leave my self a similar angle on a lot of shots. We played a couple of racks of 9 ball and I ran out each time on him leaving every ball around a half ball hit, slightly thinner. Over the next few games I took notice and I did, nearly every shot I left was around a 30 degree cut. This got me thinking, which is usually a bad thing in my case.

Why do I do it? A few reasons really. First is that I don't really run much risk of getting the wrong side of a ball if I pick a route to the next ball traveling along the half ball hit line into the OB, I can be out by a fair distance in judgment and not get the wrong side or get too thin on the correct side. Second is its very easy to aim a 30 degree cut, and use the half ball hit as a reference point so a hit thicker or thinner is going to X. Next is I can get almost anywhere on the table by leaving a half ball pot. Not much speed is normally needed to go around the table and its not too thin of a cut that I can't hold for some shots....some shots I physically can't hold for so I need to leave a thicker pot obviously. I think I've played so much I just don't realize I'm doing it when planning a run out. I'll pick a spot for the CB on each ball and oddly enough it tends to be slightly thinner than a half ball cut.

Does anyone else if the layout permits try leaving an angle of some sort on most balls?
 
Pidge said:
A friend pointed out I tend to leave my self a similar angle on a lot of shots. We played a couple of racks of 9 ball and I ran out each time on him leaving every ball around a half ball hit, slightly thinner. Over the next few games I took notice and I did, nearly every shot I left was around a 30 degree cut. This got me thinking, which is usually a bad thing in my case.

Why do I do it? A few reasons really. First is that I don't really run much risk of getting the wrong side of a ball if I pick a route to the next ball traveling along the half ball hit line into the OB, I can be out by a fair distance in judgment and not get the wrong side or get too thin on the correct side. Second is its very easy to aim a 30 degree cut, and use the half ball hit as a reference point so a hit thicker or thinner is going to X. Next is I can get almost anywhere on the table by leaving a half ball pot. Not much speed is normally needed to go around the table and its not too thin of a cut that I can't hold for some shots....some shots I physically can't hold for so I need to leave a thicker pot obviously. I think I've played so much I just don't realize I'm doing it when planning a run out. I'll pick a spot for the CB on each ball and oddly enough it tends to be slightly thinner than a half ball cut.

Does anyone else if the layout permits try leaving an angle of some sort on most balls?
Click to expand...

30 degree cut is mathematically the best cut to leave yourself. If you are into theory and some applied mathematics read this link:

http://billiards.colostate.edu/bd_articles/2005/feb05.pdf
 
zpele said:
30 degree cut is mathematically the best cut to leave yourself. If you are into theory and some applied mathematics read this link:

http://billiards.colostate.edu/bd_articles/2005/feb05.pdf
Click to expand...

I'll disagree slightly, the best angle to leave yourself is just shy of straight in because you leave yourself the most options in regards to draw and top.

By just shy, I mean like 5-10 degrees from a full hit - because, you cover the most area of the pool table with it. Adjusting your speed on your draw shot or follow shots let's you put the CB almost anywhere on the table because of the coverage options.

But - in a game it's not the smartest to set up for nearly straight in because it's easy to get on the wrong side of the OB, roll past that shot line, or not roll far enough into that shot line, or you can get straight in (which is the kiss of death in pool).

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Granted, on an open table, you can make the CB go just about anywhere, but nearly straight in shots give you the most coverage with the minimum amount of work.

Again though, they are not smart for position play because it's easy to get off point.

-Richard

Also! In my game, I tend to shoot set up shots between 30 and 45 degrees usually.
 
I'm with Pidge on this one...I like the half ball angle.
For snooker or pool....you can actually run the table without a ball hitting
the back of a pocket.
 
Good topic.

Sorta goes along with the concept of getting the cb back near mid table.

Those shots where ob a little off rail pick up some pocketing english as they hit the exposed facing.

A lot of good things about that angled shot.

Someone once told me that all shots are 1/2 ball shots, unless they aren't.;)

IMHO it's a good approach in general, unless cb traveling requirements dictate a different approach to the shot.

..thanks for the post...interesting and useful topic...therefore doomed:D
 
I'm happy just to see the next ball. :D

Seriously, my favorite angle is the one I need to get good position on the next ball. That might be straight-in or a 45-60 degree cut shot. If it gives me the right path to the next ball is all that matters.

I've had layouts before that were one 30-degree cut shot after another, but those are unusual.
 
I think this technical proof from Dr. Dave's site is also worth considering: http://billiards.colostate.edu/technical_proofs/TP_3-4.pdf

In summary, it says that the closer you are to the object ball and the straighter the shot, the more you can deviate from the ideal cue ball direction before missing the shot.

Of particular importance is the last page, where the graph shows the impact the shot angle has on the margin of error. It even states that a 30-degree shot is technically only 15% harder than a straight in shot whereas a 60-degree cut is nearly twice as hard as a straight in shot. If you factor in the advantage of being able to easily perceive a half-ball hit, I would say that, in reality, a 30-degree shot is actually easier to aim and execute than most of the angles between 0 and 30 degrees.

For me, the half ball angle is the point beyond which I start getting a bit hesitant to spin the rock very much unless the object ball is within about a diamond of the pocket.
 
I too try and leave a half ball hit in most cases. The reasons have been mentioned, keeps you on the right side of the ball even if you mess up position, gives you a consistent shot where you can dial in the speed, easy to aim, etc.

I find the 5 or 10 degree from straight difficult to aim as well as the thin cuts with the aimpoint outside the object ball.

Sometimes if its a tight layout my ideal position will be 3/4 ball, to slow the cue ball down abit.
 
I would say at straight pool a fuller angle than half ball is generally better. If you are clearing the rack area you want to be nearly straight on all your shots so stunning slightly to the side or a little follow or draw or just roll will get you a similar nearly straight angle on the next ball.

In the last Mosconi Cup many of the Euro run-outs did not go to a cushion or touched a cushion only a couple of times, which is similar to the 14.1 technique above. You have to have exact speed control to make this work.

If you are less precise in your speed control, going to a cushion gives you a lot of position options. Among other things, the cushion can kill the speed of the ball. If you have a half-ball shot, you nearly always have to go to a cushion.

In his book on 14.1, Babe Cranfield mentions the best exhibition of skill he ever witnessed on a pool table. It was a 60-ball run by Greenleaf, which in itself was not impressive. What made the run special was that Greenleaf hit a cushion only twice during the run. Greenleaf probably had very few half-ball shots.
 
Pidge said:
A friend pointed out I tend to leave my self a similar angle on a lot of shots.

Over the next few games I took notice and I did, nearly every shot I left was around a 30 degree cut.
Click to expand...

The Golden Angle
 
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