What's this about aiming for the jaws?

[misspentoldage]

I keep reading posts which mention aiming for the near jaw or the far jaw, depending on which spot. What's this? Isn't the best way to pot a ball to aim for the centre of the pocket? I always look for the the centre stitch of the object pocket. Am I wrong?

[warren132]

sometimes when you have a straight pot and you need to force an angle to get the required position on your next ball then you can make the angle by using the far away knuckle of the pocket.....the knuckles are there so they can be used to your advantage if you know how to use them...

[travisbickle]

When the object ball is near a cushion it's always best to aim for the far jaw at a nice pace because hitting the near jaw is fatal. Also aim for the far jaw when playing the black at pace to split the pack of reds.

[misspentoldage]

I was aware of the kind of situation that Warren mentions but not of the one travisbickle mentions of aiming at the far jaw when playing the black at pace. I can see the logic of that. Interesting.

[Terry Davidson]

misspent:

Always aim for the part of the pocket that allows the most room for error on either side. A good example is the black where aiming for the centre of the pocket will cause you to hit the near jaw and miss the pot whereas aiming for the inside of the far jaw (the edge of the leather on the side cushion rail) will ensure the black will drop at any pace.

The other correct answer is to aim for the centre of the fall of the slate as you see it from behind the object ball however there is no guide with this one as the edge of the leather provides a definite aiming point

Terry

[eslim]

How about pink on its spot? I am not sure if the pink will drop, off either side on the cushion. Do you aim for the centre then?

[Terry Davidson]

You aim for the spot where you have the most margin for error on either side. So for the pink off spot (or blue, brown, yellow & green you would aim for the centre of the leather.

However, you can't do that with the black off its spot. So as has been said, balls nearer the cushion you should aim for the inside of the near jaw which is most often the edge of the leather on the far cushion. For instance, you have a red level with the pink spot and about 12" off the side cushion so in this case you would not aim for centre pocket but rather you aim to miss the near jaw, in other words the edge of the leather on the far jaw.

Terry

[misspentoldage]

This is great stuff, Terry, thanks. Are you able to explain a little more about 'the centre of the fall of the slate'? How would I recognize where that is?

[circle]

For straight shots I aim for the middle of the pocket. However, for angled shots I aim for where the pocket leather meets the baize on the cushion rail as this is (on most tables)the widest part of the pocket. I call this the sweet spot and for me it works a treat. Try it.

To experiment this: simply try to pot the cue ball straight into the pocket by aiming at this point - at a moderate pace it is quite surprising how 'wide' of the pocket the ball can be yet it will still go in.

[Terry Davidson]

misspent:

This is pretty basic stuff and since you don't understand it I might confuse you more than you are already. Basicall, circle up above ^^ has it correct. On any pot where you cannot see the centre of the pocket FROM BEHIND THE OBJECT BALL IN A STRAIGHT LINE then your 'sweet spot' is almost always the inner part of the far jaw and that's on any pocket.

The only place where this theory goes a bit wrong is on table with REALLY TIGHT middle pockets. As an example, let's say you have a red ball 6" from the middle pocket but only about 2" from the side cushion. If you stand behind the red and look at the middle pocket there's virtually no pocket opening there! The way to make these shots is at dead weight, aiming to JUST MISS the near horn of the pocket opening and hoping the red will just catch the fall of the slate (the slate drop-off point in the pocket opening) and gravity will draw the almost stopped red into the pocket.

On some tables this shot will be impossible, like those with the IBSF templated pockets where the jaws of the middle pocket are covering the pocket opening entirely.

The safest way to approach any pot is what I've already said (twice) aim to get the centre of the object ball to the spot on the pocket where you have the largest margin for error on both sides. Most times this will be the inside of the far jaw, on any pocket since the jaws are designed (if installed properly) to throw a medium-paced or less shot into the pocket

Terry

[LittleMissAlexa]

also if you know the cloth is rolling of going for the middle of the pocket isnt a great idea

[Terry Davidson]

alexa:

If the table is rolling that badly then surely a player would compensate by aiming off a bit to account for the roll. In any open pocket situation you should aim for the middle of the pocket unless you have to cheat a bit to get the position you require (like getting a slight potting angle on what would have been a straight-in pot).

[misspentoldage]

Thanks, guys. Apologies for asking such basic questions, but the answers are really valuable to me.

[davisskeggsm]

Big help Terry cheers