sidespin myths

[nicklaus21]

well hi again and now i have some questions regarding sidespin.

does anybody have a rough guide for beginners for using side spin? i know only 1 rule of thumb for side spin which is DONT USE IT IF YOU REALLY DONT HAVE TO.

1.does the pros apply a trace of side to every shot and what difference does it make?

2. when playing side spin, what do you have to adjust? stance? aim thicker thinner?follow through? speed? acceleration? any changes to path of cue ball?or object ball?

3.how to judge how much side to use? how much off centre to hit?

4.does stiff cues create less deflection? how to lessen deflection?

5.different table = different side spin effects? what kind of tables? what kind of cloth? what kind of cushion? create such drastic effects?

6.apply intended side before cueing through or apply the side a split second after cue tip hits the ball (something like carabao english) whats the difference?

anybody welcomed to comment for tips,thanks again,i feel like im spamming questions again

[trains]

How much side to apply to the white and strength of pace is purely a judgement call but when using left hand side you aim right of the target and using right hand side you aim left,how much to the right and left of the target is again purely a judgement call.

[cantpotforshíte]

How much side to apply to the white and strength of pace is purely a judgement call but when using left hand side you aim right of the target and using right hand side you aim left,how much to the right and left of the target is again purely a judgement call.

Surely it's the other way round?

[trains]

No think about it it makes perfect sense as your balancing things up.

[cantpotforshíte]

No think about it it makes perfect sense as your balancing things up.

I suppose it depends on what you mean as the target
I mean't that when you apply right hand side, you'd have to aim to the right of the spot on the object ball where you'd normally be aiming with plain ball striking.
But if you're considering the pocket as the target, then the reverse is true- you'd aim to pot the object ball left of the pocket when applying right hand side.

[BoBnoGG!n]

side is used purely for positional shots, when pacing alone cannot get you where you need the white to go. if u watch a pro snooker player, they almost NEVER play dead centre shots. always off centre. side spin is used mostly for angle shots, where you know the balls going to make contact with the cushion. its almost pointless otherwise, because learning to stun a lot of shots, and developing angles is easier than learning to use side to get reaction off an object ball.

applying side to the white ball, you should still be able to hit it dead straight. never cue too fast, or too hard. creates too much deflection. Stiff cues are a common problem to deflection. You should be aiming like you do, hitting a normal shot. with practise you should be able to play any shot with side and still pot it.

a good drill is to leave 2 balls near the pink dot, approximately 1.5 inches away from either side of the centre of the dot. (space them 3 inches apart) and practise hitting the white ball from the brown ball spot, in between the gap and watching the side take the ball off the back cushion. this is how i learnt to hit relatively straight with side on the ball. long distance side is always hard, because the cloth grips the ball and it runs off centre a bit. Practise this at different lengths so you can develop how much side, or how much off centre adjustment you need to balance it out.

i find thick (slow) cloth it grips the ball heaps, and you get a lot of reaction when you put spin on it. with fast cloth, sometimes it doesnt grip enough when you need it. I reckon practise on a table with medium speed cloth. that way u can adjust more or less when you need to.

[Giggity1984]

I suppose it depends on what you mean as the target
But if you're considering the pocket as the target, then the reverse is true- you'd aim to pot the object ball left of the pocket when applying right hand side.

Not as I understand it. If you line up a dead straight shot. and hit the white center ball and apply no side spin, it will go clean in the heart of the pocket.

If you apply left hand side, it will go towards the right hand jaw(as you look at it) so you need to compensate and aim to the right of the pocket.

vice versa is true too.

If you apply right hand side, it will go towards the left hand jaw(as you look at it) so you need to compensate and aim to the left of the pocket.

[cantpotforshíte]

Not as I understand it. If you line up a dead straight shot. and hit the white center ball and apply no side spin, it will go clean in the heart of the pocket.

If you apply left hand side, it will go towards the right hand jaw(as you look at it) so you need to compensate and aim to the right of the pocket.

vice versa is true too.

If you apply right hand side, it will go towards the left hand jaw(as you look at it) so you need to compensate and aim to the left of the pocket.

I mean't if we are potting a ball, Giggity1984. I know we're probably confusing the issue here, but if you look at my original post, I was correcting trains' post. In my second post I was trying to vindicate what he had said by assuming that he meant aiming the object ball left or right of the pocket. (as opposed to just potting the white).

[Giggity1984]

I mean't if we are potting a ball, Giggity1984. I know we're probably confusing the issue here, but if you look at my original post, I was correcting trains' post. In my second post I was trying to vindicate what he had said by assuming that he meant aiming the object ball left or right of the pocket. (as opposed to just potting the white).

tbh, I think I'm wrong! Don't really use side anyway!

[cantpotforshíte]

Probably the best way ... avoid side, and clichés, like the plague.
And it is starting to sound more complicated than it actually is.
It's just not always easy to describe it in words so that another person can understand.
What we need is somebody who can be bothered to come up with some diagrams

[Giggity1984]

http://billiards.colostate.edu/bd_ar...10/march10.pdf

We're probably saying the same thing!

[trains]

I suppose it depends on what you mean as the target
I mean't that when you apply right hand side, you'd have to aim to the right of the spot on the object ball where you'd normally be aiming with plain ball striking.
But if you're considering the pocket as the target, then the reverse is true- you'd aim to pot the object ball left of the pocket when applying right hand side.

cantpotfor,target as in where your aiming the object ball to go,if your attempting a pot and applying left hand side on the white you aim to the right of the pocket,conversely if your attempting a pot and applying right hand side your aim should be to the left of the pocket,the extremities of side on the white and aim to the sides of the pocket are a judgement call.Think about the apex of the white,thats the first point of contact on the object ball so from where your hitting on the side of the apex its a question of balancing out or compensation to put it another way.

[Watford]

Can I chuck in the distance between cue ball and object ball makes a difference.
Different cues throw differently too.

[magicman]

Can I chuck in the distance between cue ball and object ball makes a difference.
Different cues throw differently too.

Exactly. Side is not an exact science (see what I did there!)

I always felt it was easier to look at, and imagine, hitting the object ball in the same place as the cue ball. So, if you're screwing with reverse side, for instance, and aiming at 4 o clock on the cue ball then aim your cue through the cue ball at 4 o clock on the object ball. If that makes any sense at all. Always works for me!

if u watch a pro snooker player, they almost NEVER play dead centre shots. always off centre. side spin is used mostly for angle shots, where you know the balls going to make contact with the cushion. its almost pointless otherwise, because learning to stun a lot of shots, and developing angles is easier than learning to use side to get reaction off an object ball.

Sorry to have to disagree with this, but pro's play an awful lot of shots plain ball. Plus, the better you get, the more you realise you can use side to get position without the cue ball hitting cushions, so it's far from pointless imo.

[cantpotforshíte]

cantpotfor,target as in where your aiming the object ball to go,if your attempting a pot and applying left hand side on the white you aim to the right of the pocket,conversely if your attempting a pot and applying right hand side your aim should be to the left of the pocket,the extremities of side on the white and aim to the sides of the pocket are a judgement call.Think about the apex of the white,thats the first point of contact on the object ball so from where your hitting on the side of the apex its a question of balancing out or compensation to put it another way.

That's exactly what I was saying mate. Just that you were talking about aiming from the object ball's perspective, and I was thinking about it from the white ball's perspective.
Hence the initial confusion.