Aiming Systems

[Hello, Mr Big Shot]

Many American pool players swear by aiming systems, such as Centre To Edge (CTE), Pro 1, the SEE System etc etc.

I am interested to know how many snooker players have heard of these systems, and how many use them. I am also interested to know how you aim in general - I just get down and bash it lol.

[rovnos]

A couple of months ago i read about aiming systems and came to the conclusion i didn't really have one and that maybe if i found one that worked, i'd become a better potter. I tried different systems like 'ghost ball' and ' contact point' on object ball. I have to say, the more things i tried the WORSE my potting became ! The worse it became the more things i tried and it became a vicious circle and i was left confused and frustrated. I have since tried to forget about these 'systems' and get back to what i was doing before and it's starting to come back. I also realised that i did have a system but just didn't realise it ! All i concentrate on when down and looking at the object ball is the path i want it to travel along. I try to picture it going along that path in my mind . Don't know if anyone else does this but it works for me. I would be very cautious about using any 'system', then again, it might work for you ? I should add that i do all my shot alignment and work out my angles before getting down on the shot . In theory, i should only have to cue straight ! but as we all know, thats the hard bit !

[Csmith]

Aiming seems trickier than it is since we don't really get accurate feedback. You may aim at the right spot but miss it to the left because your execution was flawed. Unfortunately the misdiagnoses here would be to assume the player needs to work on their aim and give limited focus to mechanics.

I see these aiming methods as merely training wheels to get players on the general line of the shot. At some point you need to consign aiming to your subconscious and learn to trust what you've been training to do over the months, years and decades you've been playing. Putting too much emphasis on aiming and thinking too much about your process will limit your potential, not unlike trying to ride a bike with training wheels long after you've developed the ability balance on two wheels.

[Csmith]

Aiming seems trickier than it is since we don't really get accurate feedback. You may aim at the right spot but miss it to the left because your execution was flawed. Unfortunately the misdiagnoses here would be to assume the player needs to work on their aim and give limited focus to mechanics.

I see these aiming methods as merely training wheels to get players on the general line of the shot. At some point you need to consign aiming to your subconscious and learn to trust what you've been training to do over the months, years and decades you've been playing. Putting too much emphasis on aiming and thinking too much about your process will limit your potential, not unlike trying to ride a bike with training wheels long after you've developed the ability balance on two wheels.

I think players who are concerned about their aim, tend to have a bigger problem with alignment than anything.

[alabadi]

i have heard of the CTE, and to tell you the truth they don't work, especially for snooker, i have seen numerous videos on YouTube, however if you notice the participant in the video explaining the CTE (center to edge) is really not using it correctly how he explains it, they start lining up center to edge and the swivel or something and on delivery move the cue tip to correct the error in misalignment. i think because they know where the contact point is subconsciously they automatically steer towards it, and then say its because of CTE

i think that a combination of BOB and Ghost ball is what most use nowadays in snooker, and takes a while to get use to, i'm afraid its just constantly practicing until u get use to one that suites your style of play.