aim to back of ball, what about the aiming line?

[var1234]

hi there.. with the kind help from terry and nrage.. i am happy now with my stance.. my elbow and grip...

sorry for multiple post but i can't learn too much at a time....

here comes to the aiming.. i aim using the back of ball method... i learnt it from mutliple post here and combined them into one...
or may be i am wrong as i am not a very good english user

here is my way with my limited understanding:
stand straight with nose pointing to the contact point.. walk in and keep the nose on the line to the bob during the process.. get down.. with various technique learnt here and stroke...it usually get good result

i first read it here from nrage... it works really well!!!

is there a problem of this method as i dont know where is the line of aim
or if i try to imagine where the cue will send the cue ball, (i.e. the line aim / or line of stroke???) i feel confused and usually miss

am i on the right track??? please kind advise

[Terry Davidson]

You are doing everything correctly. You must remember though that on any angled pot the line of aim of the CUE is not directly at BOB as that only works on dead-in pots. With experience plus a consistently straight cue delivery your brain will automatically work out the correct line of aim for the cue for any given angled pot.

However, here is a little hint to help you understand what I am talking about. This is called the 'ghost ball' theory and it is my belief that everyone uses this method in one form or another. If you imagine a ghost cueball in the plant position against the OBJECT BALL with the plant aimed at the part of the fall of the pocket you want to hit then it is a simple matter to try and REPLACE that ghost cueball with the actual cueball by aiming at the very centre of the ghost cueball.

For some people it is a little difficult to try and imagine a ghost cueball there but with any angled pot there is always an off-set between BOB and the line of aim for the cue, because you have two spheres and the LEADING EDGE of the cueball must contact BOB and except for a straight-in pot that leading edge is NOT the exact centre of the cueball.

But don't worry, the brain is a very excellent computer and with experience your brain will automatically determine this off-set.

Terry

[var1234]

Thanks so much terry for such a prompt reply... i can feel i am automatically compensating the off-set you mentioned...

I used to use the ghost ball theory and point the tip straight right to the center of the ghost ball... didn't work out very well..

once i read the BOB here and tried on the table... the result was surprising..

I had some 1-on-1 session with the local coaches.... asked me to point the tip through the cue ball to the edge of object ball for 1/2 pot...

I missed most of the shot thin....
I didn't ask what if the pot if thinner than 1/2, but he has good reputation and i could feel if the delivery straight easier in this method...

thus i was in doubt with this...

with your confirmation i am confident continue to use my method secretly during the coaching... (i changed to my own method secretly since the 2nd session and the coach was happy with the result too)

so it is totally fine if i only visualize the line to BOB instead of line of aim during the feathering?

[sealer]

Teach your coach the proper way, shouldn't be doing what you are doing pretending you actually follow his advice
Does not sound like a coach at all though
See as many mentioned here the bob is always in the same point of ball, does not matter from where you are looking at it, with the other method it is always balancing and adjusting and most of the time you would have to try to aim your cue next to the ball
Just tell your coach not to make things more difficult that they are already

[nrage]

Hi var1234,

I'm glad to hear that my advice on aiming helped. I tried all sorts of aiming techniques before deciding that for me, it was best to leave the actual cue placement and line of aim up to my brain/subconscious.

I tried imagining a ghost ball and laying my cue on the line to the center of that, it worked ok, but my subconscious method was more consistent. I tried the 3/4, 1/2 and 1/4 ball "known" angles and line of aim positions with minor adjustment method, and found that too mechanical, and more difficult for 1/4 ball type contacts where the line of aim is outside the object ball and there is no clear position to point at.

I believe aiming in snooker/pool is a bit like catching a ball. We can all do it, to varying degrees, without having to think about it. Thinking about it too much inhibits the process and makes it too mechanical. We get better at aiming (and catching) through lots of practice, which trains the brain to become more accurate and faster at it.

That said, there are some aspects of aiming we can and should think about. Like for example understanding where to aim (which part of the pocket) and adjusting for drift etc. So, it's not all some sort of unconscious magic.