aiming

[komakino]

@DandyA

I also employ aiming adjustment if the conditions are quite different. One summer we were playing in the stuffiest pool hall I've ever seen. The air was that humid you could feel the air moisture on the balls. This actually made the normal potting angles play slightly thinner as there was less throw! This meant we had to play pots slightly thicker than usual.

Conversely, sometimes when we go to some pubs to play pool, the balls are often that old, dirty and scratched (usually by the internal table mechanism) that they actually throw more than usual and you have to aim pots slightly thinner.

[komakino]

@vmax4steve

what do you make of this example? I can't see how a swerve can occur over such a small distance...would love to see a slo-mo though to be 100%

http://billiards.colostate.edu/normal_videos/NV4-15.htm

[vmax4steve]

@vmax4steve

what do you make of this example? I can't see how a swerve can occur over such a small distance...would love to see a slo-mo though to be 100%

http://billiards.colostate.edu/normal_videos/NV4-15.htm

If right hand side applied to the cue ball is throwing the object ball then how come the object ball doesn't spin to the left ? To throw the object ball the cue ball must surely grip the object ball to impart side on it and throw it to the left. And to be honest, it doesn't look to me that the so called interfering ball is actually in the way enough to warrant putting side on the cue ball as the object ball is struck too thin where a plain ball shot would probably have potted it
Try playing your throw shot from about two feet away from the object ball at drop in pace, first with the nap and then against the nap and see what happens. On a snooker table BTW not one of those bucket pocket nine ball tables.

[komakino]

Hi,

Size of pockets is irrelevant I reckon. The fact that the OB gets cut to the left about 6 inches (overcut actually) is enough for me. With regards to imparted side...that's hardly ever that effective. It may pick up a fraction of left hand side but not enough to see it spinning significantly or even keep it for long. I think the whole phenomena of throwing a ball with side is more about the short period of grip between the 2 balls. CB rotating anti clockwise in the example grips the OB and pushes it left across the table a fraction (like cogs but the OB isn't fixed on an axis) before they part again. This causes a deviation in the leaving angle. When you get a forwards force and a sidewards force at the same time then the direction is always a combination. The effect in the video I will concede is magnified because of the nine-ball type cloth.

[vmax4steve]

First with the nap and then against the nap and then come back to me o.k.

[throtts]

I always apply running side on the CB for a shot on the OB which is along a cushion. It is said that it encourages the OB to hug the cush. So that must impart some reaction on the OB..Works for me anyway.

[komakino]

First with the nap and then against the nap and then come back to me o.k.

Done it hundreds of times both ways. The nap will effect the travel of the spinning CB agreed - differently for either direction.

The object ball however I agreed previously above hardly picks up any spin at all so the nap won't matter much.

Its the rotating grip on contact that pushes the OB sideways a little.

[komakino]

I always apply running side on the CB for a shot on the OB which is along a cushion. It is said that it encourages the OB to hug the cush. So that must impart some reaction on the OB..Works for me anyway.

I never use it for along the cushion shots personally as I don't believe in significant transfer of spin from CB to OB on a snooker table. I just play them plain ball.

(say CB is rotating at 10 times a second, i don't believe that OB would ever be spinning much faster that 0.25-0.5 times a second after contact - probably slower. This has no visible effects off the cushion etc - 9ball table however can be different - see advanced banking shots by Eddie Taylor etc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hspz078Hmyw)

I do however believe it may helping you with along the cushion shots as the CB may be arcing out and then back in a little and hitting the OB from a slightly different angle..i.e more from the side.

The 1st particular video example a few posts above for me doesn't really display any CB swerve as it's only over 1 ball's diameter in length. The guy playing the shot is using back hand english/side or the aim and pivot method in any case so there's no significant CB squirt to the left either. If there was he'd have hit the OB on the left, cutting it to the right. The opposite cut effect is clearly seen in the video.

[farlex11]

Hi everybody,

I have 2 questions , what is more accurate , subconcious aiming or concious aiming ?
I use the approach below ,do you think that it is wrong ,or leads to inconsistency.
I just approach my shot with with eyes fixed on the object ball bottom center part touching the table cloth ,while indirectly keeping my mind on the pocket and cue ball ,till i feel comfortable and then go down .
i never imagined a ghost ball or a looked at a B.O.B ,yet used to make average breaks of 45.

[komakino]

Hi everybody,

I have 2 questions , what is more accurate , subconcious aiming or concious aiming ?
I use the approach below ,do you think that it is wrong ,or leads to inconsistency.
I just approach my shot with with eyes fixed on the object ball bottom center part touching the table cloth ,while indirectly keeping my mind on the pocket and cue ball ,till i feel comfortable and then go down .
i never imagined a ghost ball or a looked at a B.O.B ,yet used to make average breaks of 45.

Unsure...if it works for you then that's great. When things start to go wrong though how do you adjust? Subconciously again?

[farlex11]

That happens a lot and I honestly wish to find a way to re-adjust consiously
when i was young i was consistent and never used to think of anything while playing beside enjoying the shot details.
these days i seem to be so confused about aiming ,cueing ,delivering ,body timing especially after missing an easy shot.
This inconsitency is depressing me as in top form i can make impossible shots look so easy and compile a half century in 4 minutes ,while on the other hand i sometimes feel easy shots so difficult and start missing the pocket by big margins.
I hope if anybody knows how to maintain the trance state while playing subconciously

[komakino]

Dunno really. I'm aware of most methods of aiming although I usually employ only the one that I'm most comfortable with. It is nice to fall back on another if you're feeling a little unsure though.

For example, if I'm looking at a half ball pot but I suspect it may be a little thinner, I imagine 30 degree and 45 degree lines from straight forwards and see if the pot is indeed thinner/wider than 30. (30 is approx a half ball, 45 is approx a quarter ball). Similarly, if I'm looking at a quarter ball pot but i suspect that it may be a little thicker, I'll visualise the same lines again in order to decide for certain.

[cantpotforshíte]

That happens a lot and I honestly wish to find a way to re-adjust consiously
when i was young i was consistent and never used to think of anything while playing beside enjoying the shot details.
these days i seem to be so confused about aiming ,cueing ,delivering ,body timing especially after missing an easy shot.
This inconsitency is depressing me as in top form i can make impossible shots look so easy and compile a half century in 4 minutes ,while on the other hand i sometimes feel easy shots so difficult and start missing the pocket by big margins.
I hope if anybody knows how to maintain the trance state while playing subconciously

This book is as good a place as any to start: 'The Inner Game of Golf' by W Timothy Gallwey. It is widely available, widely read and it's all about not letting your conscious self meddle with your natural ability and likewise not letting it tell your sub-conscious self what to do.

Don't be put off by the title, all the principles apply directly to snooker with little or no translation.

[vmax4steve]

I always apply running side on the CB for a shot on the OB which is along a cushion. It is said that it encourages the OB to hug the cush. So that must impart some reaction on the OB..Works for me anyway.

Side is not transmitted to the object ball, running side on the cue ball gives a greater margin for success for a cushion shot because it makes the cue ball hug the cushion while the side is taking effect. If the cue ball hits the exact point of BOB and cushion together then the ball is potted. If the cue ball hits just before the cushion and BOB then running side makes it hugs the cushion for a fraction before making contact on BOB and the ball is potted. If the cue ball contacts the object ball at a point other than BOB and cushion together or the cushion too far before the object ball then the running side will have no effect on the pot, the pot will be missed.
Komikano's theory of throw states that side on a cushion shot would be the wrong way to go as running side would throw the object ball into the cushion rather than along it and check side would throw the object ball away from the cushion rather than along it.
Maybe that's why he plays cushion shots plain ball as he believes that "throw" will make the object ball leave the cushion.
Myself I believe that throw of the object ball is just complete bollocks and that komikano is deluded by an effect that he doesn't understand.

[komakino]

That "complete bollocks" got me out of trouble tonight in the middle of a break!