Straight in follow option

[forcefollow]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yw4dGbb3dwA

A video about a shot that snooker players may not always see.

[hatterboard]

the margin of error for nicking the pocket at snooker is nowhere near the same as at massive pocket american game.

[DeanH]

Quite a standard shot in snooker and 8 ball pool in my opinion.
As mentioned by hatterboard, even easier to do in snooker and English pool due to the smaller pockets.

[jrc750]

.... even easier to do in snooker and English pool due to the smaller pockets.

Lol, surely you mean harder

[DeanH]

My thoughts are that as the pockets are tighter you have "more" leaway to have the cue ball hit the cushion closer to the pocket, so you do not have to generate so much forced angle into the cue ball to not follow in, also as less angle is required the object ball does not need to be forced to the extremes of the pocket as much.
I maybe wrong though

[Gerry Armstrong]

Bigger pockets mean more scope to play the shot and more margin for error therefore it's easier to play the shot on a 9 ball table.

[DandyA]

well it's a valid point but your diagram is wrong forcefollow ... if you hit the cueball *hard* onto a very nearly straight object ball, the cueball will take the stun line (ie 90 degrees) before any top or bottom takes effect ... so in terms of your diagram, the line should go northwest for an inch or two or three before the top takes over and makes it goes northeast ...

you can see it in the actual shots in your video, particularly the second shot with the red ball (it goes southeast before going southwest) ... so it's a valid point but I wouldn't try to teach snooker players how to suck eggs ... snooker players, I think, would normally call it "widening the angle" ...

oh, and I think the snooker players learned it from the (English) billiards players where it's a standard technique for making "losing hazards" ... or in-offs as snooker players call them ... or scratches as you call them ...

edit - just to add I love your videos forcefollow so keep up the good work ... I'm just pointing out that snooker players aren't as dumb as they look

[damienlch]

Lovely video, forcefollow...

As mentioned in earlier posts, not as uncommon a shot to be played in snooker and I'm just a two-bit player. But I would agree that it is more often used in American pool.

Obviously, the further the distance between cue ball, object ball and the pocket, the more difficult it is to execute this shot, especially on snooker tables where the pockets are tighter... A fast table helps make it easier but I'd not say it is an easy shot to make.

[nrage]

Nice video. Another difference, to add to the list; snooker pockets are cut with a curved shape, vs the sharp corner seen on many a pool table. What this means is that if you get too close to the pocket with the white it can come off at a "hard to predict" angle. That said, it is possible on a snooker table to be further from the pocket (because the table is just larger), meaning that with only a small angle to work with you can actually miss the pocket by a large enough margin to make this viable.

[<CuePower>]

My thoughts are that as the pockets are tighter you have "more" leaway to have the cue ball hit the cushion closer to the pocket, so you do not have to generate so much forced angle into the cue ball to not follow in, also as less angle is required the object ball does not need to be forced to the extremes of the pocket as much.
I maybe wrong though

I agree although you have to very precise to not rattle and end up in the jaw of the pocket.

[kellydouglas]

Great shot, i would like to play the same way

[kevy62]

Nice video. Another difference, to add to the list; snooker pockets are cut with a curved shape, vs the sharp corner seen on many a pool table. What this means is that if you get too close to the pocket with the white it can come off at a "hard to predict" angle. That said, it is possible on a snooker table to be further from the pocket (because the table is just larger), meaning that with only a small angle to work with you can actually miss the pocket by a large enough margin to make this viable.

Hi there, you are correct in your statement about the cut of the pockets (on older snooker/billiard tables) being curved.
However most new tables are flat cut, like the Riley table (as pictured below) which has flat cut pockets & this type of table is used in most televised matches now.

[nrage]

Hi there, you are correct in your statement about the cut of the pockets (on older snooker/billiard tables) being curved.
However most new tables are flat cut, like the Riley table (as pictured below) which has flat cut pockets & this type of table is used in most televised matches now.

I agree, tables are cut with less of a curve nowadays, but compare your image to the table forcefollow was using. The corner pockets on his table are even sharper than the riley table, and the middle pockets are very different. You can play this shot using a middle pocket also, but you have to get further from them on a snooker table, or you might 'check' back due to the curve.

[RedThunder]

Nice Video. Keep them coming :-)


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OT: I wish I could do a decent draw.... any draw for that matter :-(