Half ball black into corner troubles.

[nullsys]

Hi all!
So, today I went through some angle routines on the black into it's corners.
But, I'm having a horrible time with half-ball.

I'm setting up comfortably with enough space for my arm on the table, there's no change in stance or power (just a medium shot, not soft, and not hard enough to hit the back of the pocket).

I'm certain I'm aiming at the same spot, but sometimes it just rattles and doesn't go in.

I can do the white down the table from brown and back every time.
I can get every other angle on the black.
I am certain I'm cueing straight.

Is it just really THAT hard for 1/2 ball?
Does power change the angle (not forgetting I'm not whacking these things in)?

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!
Thanks

[Reptile1]

Hi,

Try this taken from:

Steve Davis in-depth technique articles

When you hit the cue ball you should have your eyes fixed firmly on the part of the ball that you intend to "cover up" with
the cue ball. And indeed a more theoretically correct method would be to have your eyes fixed on that "imaginary" ball
that you mentioned.
With this in mind, then it should make no difference where the pocket is! Cover it up with a dust sheet! Unscrew it and
put it on a chair!
However, if you are choosing the wrong part of the ball to cover in the first place then perhaps you should go back to the
basic Half Ball pot as a method of recognising pots around the whole table and also very importantly the black off its
spot.
Put the black on its spot and put a ball "your imaginary one" in line and touching the black so that they are lined up as a
plant into the corner pocket (favouring the side cushion jaw).
Now place your cue ball on the table where you think it will be a half ball pot on the black so that the cue ball will then
hit the top cushion after potting the black.
To check you have done this very accurately, lay a pencil on the top cushion and line it up with the cue ball and the
"imaginary ball" on. Now take away the "imaginary Ball" and check that when you aim the cue ball at the pencil point it is
also perfectly in line with the edge of the Black ball. If not adjust the Cue Ball position and then repeat the whole process
again.
Then mark the table with a small cross w(where your cue ball is) and repeat the whole process for the "Blind Pocket" style
cut back but this time place the Imaginary Ball so that it favours the near cushion jaw. (why? see addendum at the
bottome)
You will now have two marks on the table that are Perfect half ball pots on the black.
The "Half Ball pot" is the only shot that you can ever play where you can actually aim at something with your Cue! Every
other shot you are trying to imagine something
Practice this shot from both positions and both sides of the table. It will teach you a lot about your cue action. Set other
positons up around the table.
Blue off the spot and cue ball very near the Brown spot is great practice.
When you strike the Cue ball make sure that your eyes are fixed on the edge (Half way down the ball!!) of the object ball.
This shot, more than any other will train your eyes to "forget" the pocket.
OK so you ask "that's great for "half ball pots" but I'm talking about thinner pots than that!"
Well, go away and practice the half ball pot and then after a while when you are playing in normal play you will start to
recognise these half ball pots everywhere on the table.
You will also start to recognise pots that are thinner or thicker than Half Ball. You will start to use the Half Ball as a
reference point. As a potting aid!
Before each shot talk to yourself and say "That's a half ball pot" or That's thinner than Half ball .... by a fraction ....
perhaps even only a "Quarter Ball" !!!!! Perhaps the Thick pots are very thick .... perhaps even a 3/4 ball !!!! OK
nothing to aim at with your cue but trust me this will take the whole "WORRY of the pocket out of the equation.
Remember .... The Half Ball Pot is your best friend in the whole wide world!!
Cheers!
Steve
Addendum: When playing any cut shot there will be a certain amount of "friction" between the two balls. For the split
second that they are in contact the cue ball (that has a directional force on a completely different line to the intended
potting line) will effectively be trying to "grab" the object ball and take it with him!. Depending upon the thickness of the
Cloth and the cleanliness of the Balls, this can create a marginally "thicker contact effect" or in extreme cases a fairly
obvious one

It certainly helped me!

Regards Repy.

[nullsys]

Thanks!
So it's not just me then, they really are THAT hard. Otherwise I guess it wouldn't of warranted such an in-depth analysis.

Hmm, so in other words:

1. Make absolutely certain it really is 1/2 ball.
2. Clean the balls.
3. Aim to the near jaw, see if the cloth / ball friction is causing change.

So, power can't change this shot's angle?

I think I'll practice this off the blue, much nicer to hit the square-on pockets. Give me a bit of confidence.

Thanks kindly!

[Chris Bedford]

Half ball black into corner troubles.

Nice one as you said aim for the knuckle so the ball falls into the pocket off it not the pocket this will help you.

[itsnoteasy]

Sorry but it doesnt say aim for near jaw, it says aim for side cush which is far knuckle, he says aim for near jaw when cutting back into a blind pocket, unless i am mistaken

[nullsys]

What do you all struggle with on this shot?
And if you don't, what do you think the reason is?

[Terry Davidson]

If the shot is a pure half-ball and you've set it up correctly then this is the ONE shot (outside of dead-in) that has a DEFINITE aiming point, which is the edge of the black at mid-ball. Just aim your cue for the edge of the black and if you deliver the cue straight you will pot the black 1/2-ball EVERY time.

An exercise you can try is if you continuously hit one side of the pocket then get down on the shot and try and hit that spot outside the pocket and once you get that then shift back to potting the black.

And with the black it's ALWAYS the far jaw, usually the edge of the leather on the side cushion side of the pocket to throw the black into the pocket.

Terry

[nullsys]

If the shot is a pure half-ball and you've set it up correctly then this is the ONE shot (outside of dead-in) that has a DEFINITE aiming point, which is the edge of the black at mid-ball. Just aim your cue for the edge of the black and if you deliver the cue straight you will pot the black 1/2-ball EVERY time.

An exercise you can try is if you continuously hit one side of the pocket then get down on the shot and try and hit that spot outside the pocket and once you get that then shift back to potting the black.

And with the black it's ALWAYS the far jaw, usually the edge of the leather on the side cushion side of the pocket to throw the black into the pocket.

Terry

Thanks Terry, I like the idea of trying to hit the spot I always hit, instead of the pocket.

Can speed actually cause the angle to change then as well?

[LittleMissAlexa]

Hi all!
So, today I went through some angle routines on the black into it's corners.
But, I'm having a horrible time with half-ball.

I'm setting up comfortably with enough space for my arm on the table, there's no change in stance or power (just a medium shot, not soft, and not hard enough to hit the back of the pocket).

I'm certain I'm aiming at the same spot, but sometimes it just rattles and doesn't go in.

I can do the white down the table from brown and back every time.
I can get every other angle on the black.
I am certain I'm cueing straight.

Is it just really THAT hard for 1/2 ball?
Does power change the angle (not forgetting I'm not whacking these things in)?

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!
Thanks

power changes the angle because it has less time to grip the table

[Terry Davidson]

In most cases power will not change the direction of the object ball (unless you get a bounce) however it ALWAYS changes the path of the cueball if using some type of follow or stun-follow (would some physics guy please explain that for me)

Terry

[LittleMissAlexa]

In most cases power will not change the direction of the object ball (unless you get a bounce) however it ALWAYS changes the path of the cueball if using some type of follow or stun-follow (would some physics guy please explain that for me)

Terry

Playing pool on an american table once my solid didnt pass a stripe but i forced it passed with pace please explain how it didnt affect the angle

[throtts]

I could not believe my eyes when I read the header of this thread because 3 days ago I had the exact same problem. it was half ball pot on the black with the cue ball bouncing off the black cushion for position to carry on a break. Again, it was potting blacks to the right black pocket then bouncing off the black top cushion for a red in the same pocket. I was making a right mess of both parts, pot and position and this was when I was playing well too.. I had to recompose and reverted back to " back of the ball" striking to find the damn correct point, I eventually cracked it. Tonight I was hitting the shot sweet with great position too, mind you I was having a good game all round tonight In my match, getting 6 reds with 6 blacks and only breaking down by 1 inch on my next red and along with other breaks as well in the evening..

Try and keep dead still on the shot with loose grip and leveliish cue ( as with all shots ). I think because your presuming it's a easy shot that when you start missing your probably becoming apprehensive and annoyed .. Just practise practise, it's an important shot, obviously..

[Terry Davidson]

Alexa:

I don't think you are following the question. Null asked if power can change the path of the object ball taking off from the cueball and the anser is no it doesn't.

To your question. First of all, if the path of an object ball is blocked by an intervening ball then there are only two (maybe three) ways the ball can be potted:

1. Using high power you actually jumped the cueball into the object ball which in turn bounced over the edge of the intervening ball. You may not be able to see the balls leave the table but on most power shots they do, especially using screw and to a lesser degree top-spin. This has been shown many times on the BBC when they show that very high speed camera and what is really happening to the balls.

2. You had just enough pocket past the intervening ball to slop the object ball in via the side of the pocket.

3. Last, but not least, you mis-read the shot and could actually pot the ball. (Sorry)

No amount of power will change the angle the object ball leaves the cueball, however it will change the angle of reflection of the cueball after contacting the object ball because the cueball was moving forward and there is some resistance in changing direction. The more power used the more resistance to the change in direction and the wider the throw angle of the cueball. If you don't believe this then set up a half-ball black and hit it with dead weight, middle pace and high power and if you pot the black every time the cueball will come off the top cushion at a different angle which means it left the object ball at a different angle (wider angle for more power).

This is a standard positional shot used in snooker all the time and I would assume in pool also, but I'm not sure since pool usually uses less power shots than snooker and more run-through shots for positional play.

The problem with trying to prove this to yourself is you can never be certain you hit the object ball at exactly the same spot every time and also you must ensure the cueball is placed in exactly the same spot every time. A half-ball black is a true half-ball pot at any pace...or do you understand different?

Terry

[alabadi]

I'm setting up comfortably with enough space for my arm on the table,
There's no change in stance or power
I'm certain I'm aiming at the same spot.?
I can do the white down the table from brown and back every time.?
I can get every other angle on the black.?
I am certain I'm cueing straight.?

Thanks

if you are certain of the above you should pot every time

Alabbadi

[DandyA]

I think the black is a difficult pot, it's at about 33 degrees or less to the corner pockets, very little to aim at ... pink is much better, it's at 45 degrees to the corner pockets so will go in off either jaw ... blue is nice if you're fairly straight(ish) on it to either centre or corner ... I personally am a big fan of yellow and green - they are roughly at 45 degrees to the baulk corner pockets and quite close to them, if I fail to get position on black or pink (which is very often!) I'll always have a go at yellow/green from 9ft away if I can see them with good success ...

But blacks are tricky, especially as you're probably also trying some delicate positioning to get on the next red at the business end of the table ... they are certainly not a natural shot ... lots, lots and lots of practice required ...

Also interesting that Steve Davis advocates cutting 1/2 ball blind blacks onto the near (end cushion) jaw whilst I think Terry always suggests the far (side cushion) jaw ...