Aiming Issues

[thelongbomber]

i think you and me are similar in many ways, i have proven that i can hit center ball and cue straight as my up and down the spots proves, however my consistency when i'm among the balls is shocking. and its not like i miss the difficult shots a lot of times its the easier ones.

i don't think its a case of technique either, what i think is like you i haven't found a consistent way to line up the shot or put in other ways getting myself on the line of aim.

i have read LongBomber comments about ghost ball in a future position, however i can't do that consistently, i find it hard to imagine something that is not there. so i look at BOB contact point. i think i have a problem either selecting the correct contact point or i haven't yet found a way to get myself lined up correctly to send the cueball to that point consistently.

To simplify the concept, just visualize the cue ball moving down the line of aim. Try to see it. See if it's going to pot the object ball. Do all of this while standing. At some level of intuition, you will know if it's going to pot the object ball. Once you see the line that you want to see (the line that makes the pot), get down into position in your natural way. Focus primarily on making sure the cue is on this imaginary line as you get down. This won't be second nature at first, but placing your cue on this line of aim (assuming centre ball striking of course, no english) is about as important as everything else. I believe very much that every single aspect of shot execution needs to be precise and specific and it starts with where you stand.

[Ramon]

Well, I always thought you have to imag a ghost ball only if you want to pot the OB in a blind pocket Because ., In this case, you kan'nt see the contact point of OB !!!!! But this stuff ... what LB says (use the ghost ball with every shot!) Is new to me....

[ace man]

...i have proven that i can hit center ball and cue straight as my up and down the spots proves...

Try it with lot of power and deep screw. If you can still go over the spots exactly with consistency, I'm impressed.
Or put the blue ball on its spot, cueball on brown spot. Shoot the cueball with stun into the blue so that blue double kisses off the cushion...double kiss must be exactly full ball. This is much harder than going over the spots with just the cueball.
I just do not believe that anyone who isn't a pro or a very high level amateur can consistently cue straight and time the ball well.

[itsnoteasy]

That blue ones hard, hitting it on the way back isn't too hard although not easy, but hitting it bang on to send the white back up to the brown spot is really really hard.

[alabadi]

To simplify the concept, just visualize the cue ball moving down the line of aim. Try to see it. See if it's going to pot the object ball. Do all of this while standing. At some level of intuition, you will know if it's going to pot the object ball. Once you see the line that you want to see (the line that makes the pot), get down into position in your natural way. Focus primarily on making sure the cue is on this imaginary line as you get down. This won't be second nature at first, but placing your cue on this line of aim (assuming centre ball striking of course, no english) is about as important as everything else. I believe very much that every single aspect of shot execution needs to be precise and specific and it starts with where you stand.

But isn't doing it this way assumes you can estimate the width of the ghost ball, i can easily pick out the contact point but trying to visualise the cueball in the plant position and then estimate where the edge of the ghost ball is so i can send the cueball to the same position is my problem.
its more like guesswork thats why its hit a miss with me at the moment.

i'm just going to have to work at it a lot more, because i feel this is my sticky point and once i am confident that i am on the correct line of aim i am sure i will improve

[alabadi]

Try it with lot of power and deep screw. If you can still go over the spots exactly with consistency, I'm impressed.
Or put the blue ball on its spot, cueball on brown spot. Shoot the cueball with stun into the blue so that blue double kisses off the cushion...double kiss must be exactly full ball. This is much harder than going over the spots with just the cueball.
I just do not believe that anyone who isn't a pro or a very high level amateur can consistently cue straight and time the ball well.

this was done almost 3 years ago skip to around 1:10 for screw shot.http://youtu.be/oUPd6zdmCpQ?list=UUz...9CTRp3Pd3k_EkA . i haven't tried the blue from the brown spot but will give it a go just to see whats its about.

don't get me wrong i'm not perfect (who is) sometimes i lose my form as we all do. i'm just saying when i am focused and in form my straight cueing is not bad

[thelongbomber]

But isn't doing it this way assumes you can estimate the width of the ghost ball, i can easily pick out the contact point but trying to visualise the cueball in the plant position and then estimate where the edge of the ghost ball is so i can send the cueball to the same position is my problem.
its more like guesswork thats why its hit a miss with me at the moment.

i'm just going to have to work at it a lot more, because i feel this is my sticky point and once i am confident that i am on the correct line of aim i am sure i will improve

The harder you try to see the ghost ball, the more it will elude you. Don't think about it. If you are happier with BOB and contact point for aiming, then so be it. But at some point, it will be beneficial to clearly visualize a line between CB and where the CB is supposed to go. This line should be your initial guide when standing and walking in. If that line is "foggy" or unclear, that COULD be a possible reason why you might miss the odd shot, because where you start isn't precise. Once you are down, you are pretty much committed but if you haven't committed to a clear path, then it can be a source of great frustration.

Personally, I'm able to visualize a ghost ball quite easily which aids me to stand in the right place more often, but I believe it's because of my other theories around visual and mental focus (on the cue ball) and that I essentially don't pay much attention to the object ball at all. I see the object ball as a secondary ball that does something. My main focus is on the cue ball, sending it with the right pace/angle/spin so that I'm maneuvering it into my next position. You might say i'm not potting at all, but I'm almost playing a billiard from one shot to another. For the longest time, I paid more attention to the object ball and that helped me in becoming a star potter, but cue ball control for the bigger breaks always eluded me. Now that I have changed my focus, I have far better cue ball control, and I haven't lost my potting game.

Sounds crazy, but that's what I do, and it works.

[ace man]

this was done almost 3 years ago skip to around 1:10 for screw shot.http://youtu.be/oUPd6zdmCpQ?list=UUz...9CTRp3Pd3k_EkA . i haven't tried the blue from the brown spot but will give it a go just to see whats its about.

don't get me wrong i'm not perfect (who is) sometimes i lose my form as we all do. i'm just saying when i am focused and in form my straight cueing is not bad

Nice effort, you cued low yes, but that was a slow drag shot, not a screw shot. At least to me it isn't. Your cueball lost its backspin long before it hit the cushion.

[alabadi]

no pleasing you is there..arggghhh

[vmax4steve]

Realize that the ghost ball is actually the cue ball at some future point in time. So send the CB from its present location to a future location.

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[itsnoteasy]

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Nice, now that fella has future vision!

[thelongbomber]

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Really? Are we still on this?

[vmax4steve]

Really? Are we still on this?

Surely this classic work of surrealist art by Magritte should be your avatar if you truly follow your mantra.

Not enough surrealism on this forum, I have Man Ray, join the club.

[thelongbomber]

Surely this classic work of surrealist art by Magritte should be your avatar if you truly follow your mantra.

Not enough surrealism on this forum, I have Man Ray, join the club.

I don't post something I don't do, so yes, I do follow what I write on these forums.

[Scott M]

How to aim:

-Stand far back from the table on the line between the object ball and the pocket. Look at the point on the object ball that you need to hit - then extend this point into a line going from top to bottom of the cue ball - and select a point on that line that doesn't have any light reflecting on it

-The reason you need to stand back is because you need to give yourself space to then WALK to the cue ball, keeping your eye on the contact point on the object ball. This is where most people go wrong: rather than walking, they will just SLIDE around from behind the object ball to behind the cue ball, and thus you are relying on keeping your eyes fixed on the contact point whilst you orbit around it, leaving much more room for error than simply keeping your eyes on the point whilst walking in a straight line

-You must not aim to hit the contact point with the centre of the white. The contact point should be where the white makes first contact with the object ball. For example on a thin slice, the centre of the white doesn't contact the contact point, the outside of the white does. This is where personal judgement comes into play: 'Hmm which part of the white will be contacting the object ball first?'. This comes with practice and will become second nature, although even for slightly off-straight shots you can still just aim the centre of the white at the contact point as the pockets allow some room for error

-Also, you might be hitting the ball too hard. You should never have to hit a ball hard, you can get the cue ball from one side of the table to the other even with only moderate pace. All that hitting it hard does is mean that gravity won't be working in your favour if it hits the jaw on its way in.

-Your stance must be perfect too - and this includes the fact that you should carefully plant your hand on the table in the correct spot and not move it from there. You could have the perfect aim, but if your stance is off or if you are sliding your hand along the baize even just a little bit (or catching it off the cushion on the way down), you will no longer be aiming at the spot you think you are

N.B. the reason I said to choose a point on the object ball that does not have light reflecting on it as your contact point is because, if you choose a point that has a circle of light reflecting on it, whilst walking to the shot you will be tricked into memorizing where that point was in relation to the light reflection - e.g. if it was at the centre of it. However this is incorrect, as the light tends to reflect on the exact same place on the object ball regardless of the angle you are looking at it from (kind of like how the moon is always in the same place in the sky regardless of how far you might walk). So you might still be looking at the centre of the reflection of the light, however your contact point is no longer there - it is to the left of the centre, or whatever