Aiming Issues

[Byrom]

end of the day there are different ways of playing the same shot and each player has their own preference - I do think to hold position use of side helps obtain position where as with using other shots that exact position would not be possible and you would play for a different position.

Therefore my conclusion must be you give yourself more options by learning to use it.

Sorry as well to the original poster for going slightly off topic

[vmax4steve]

Sorry as well to the original poster for going slightly off topic

I wonder if it is though, it maybe that those who aim the tip of the cue cannot use side because of it. A lesson for everyone on aiming the cue ball at the object ball and to disregard where the tip of the cue is pointing in relation to the line of aim, is learning to play with side.

[itsnoteasy]

Also not to discredit the ghost ball method too much - sometimes it helps - like when you cant physically see the contact point - as here it does help pick out the angle roughly but I think it overcomplicates something in aiming that is more simple to do than some realise.

V-max has mentioned the correct way numerous times I think but long bomber still likes his ghost ball thing - if something works for you stick with it what do I know but I do think think ghost ball or dummy ball over complicates the aiming side of things.

Here is a simple video that explains it much better than words.

During this clip, he has the cue ball on one side of his line of the shot as he calls it, and then puts the spotted ob on the line, he's done this to allow for the offset , but he doesn't explain the hard bit of judging it. The way he tells it is you just play straight for the contact point and that's not right. Or am I missing something.

[Terry Davidson]

During this clip, he has the cue ball on one side of his line of the shot as he calls it, and then puts the spotted ob on the line, he's done this to allow for the offset , but he doesn't explain the hard bit of judging it. The way he tells it is you just play straight for the contact point and that's not right. Or am I missing something.

No, you are not missing anything. The line of aim when using side is ALWAYS off-set from what the line of aim would be using centre-ball

Terry

[itsnoteasy]

He's not using side,?

[alabadi]

This is what i mean - when I say side.

I know this one player that does this 'I call him hot pot bangem' -

WE have one of those

There are people that over use it and there are those that live in number 10 steel block cushion heaven where you use less of it but back in normal club land I played on a table last night so dead i needed to ping it about a bit.
.

like i said there are a few players at our club that use it on every shot almost, its really funny, cause they curse when they miss shots the shouldn't, i just keep quite because the answer is obvious. they can barely make 20 breaks regular and use side more than a pro would.

i use it when necessary most of the time for safety, or if i cannot achieve an angle coming off a cushion. but some just use it regardless.

[Ramon]

WE have one of those


like i said there are a few players at our club that use it on every shot almost, its really funny, cause they curse when they miss shots the shouldn't, i just keep quite because the answer is obvious. they can barely make 20 breaks regular and use side more than a pro would.

i use it when necessary most of the time for safety, or if i cannot achieve an angle coming off a cushion. but some just use it regardless.

Some players useing side just to pot The ball !!!!!!!!! Some players useing side to hold the right position ( angel )for the next shot.!!!!!! these are two different stories. you disagree???

[alabadi]

Some players useing side just to pot The ball !!!!!!!!! Some players useing side to hold the right position ( angel )for the next shot.!!!!!! these are two different stories. you disagree???

i don't disagree to use side when its absolutely necessary, but as i said every single shot is not necessary.

we all know that using side really is guesswork to some extent even if you have played it reasonably well before, just a change in table conditions, i.e quality of cloth different balls even room temperature can change how the shot is played and sometimes playing a shot that you have played with side before with some success might not work and you are left scratching your head to why.

i just think sometimes there are alternatives without using side which is less of a risk and easier to judge, some have been using side so much they don't see the alternatives or it may be a case they have never tried them.

so the bottom line is it should be use in moderation when the alternatives will not gain the desired position needed.

[j6uk]

if i see someone lumping up on the side every other shot or always using the same amount and more than is needed i know there knowledge of the cue ball is limited. okay when your a junior, we've all done that.
with side less is more. you'd be surprised, if you go just outside the center of the white how straight the white will stay to the ob but also how much reaction once it comes off the cush

[vmax4steve]

if i see someone lumping up on the side every other shot or always using the same amount and more than is needed i know there knowledge of the cue ball is limited. okay when your a junior, we've all done that.
with side less is more. you'd be surprised, if you go just outside the center of the white how straight the white will stay to the ob but also how much reaction once it comes off the cush

I always address the cue ball a tips width from the centre every time I use side. Just how much side I put on is then down to how I strike the cue ball.
Ray Reardon in his book 'Classic Snooker' called this 'sharp impact striking' in which the stroke is played with a short backswing and the cue is flicked forward with the fingers of the grip hand, or maybe the wrist, at varying degrees of sharpness, timed to give maximum grip of the tip on the cue ball without hitting it too hard.

This is how I play a lot of my shots using side, especially those where I need to swerve just a tad around an intervening ball.
When played properly you can really feel the tip bite into the cue ball on strokes played at even gentle pace.

This sharp impact striking is done by a lot of players without them realising that this is what they are doing, those little flicks of side that J6 mentions are played this way and not by taking the usual length of backswing that you would for a centre ball stroke at the same pace.

[ace man]

I see now that people have very different idea on what is considered a shot played with side. Fine, no problem.
But I think we will all recognize players who simply abuse side or those who are scared to use it when needed.
First group are those lunatics who not only use side far too much, but who also adress the cueball on the extreme edges...
Second group are those who will not play side even if staying on centre axis means a certain bad position, unwanted cannon or a high risk of in-off...etc.
I am sure you've seen both types.

[Terry Davidson]

I use side I think as much as I need to, but only in small amounts. However I've come across conditions where it is a little dangerous to use it and that's with a brand new 6811 or #10 cloth that has not been used at all. I find those cloths when new (and perhaps it's my actual technique) the cue ball will slide more than it normally does on a cloth that has a little wear on it.

As far as I know I don't use what's called 'helping side' on pots at all but I will cheat the pockets sometimes to get a better angle on the cueball. I have never agreed there is a requirement for helping side on some shots however I've had a student who was a very good player and he insisted that no one can ever hit the cueball dead centre with any consistency and he used helping side on virtually every cut shot.

Terry

[j6uk]

i'll have to look at ray's work a bit more and look out for this sharp impact striking thing. for me whatever shot i play i always want it to be timed well, with side, drag or deceleration. again though less is more, i go half a tip out of the center and manage to create as much as i need. and if your on a proper table then is more that enough

[vmax4steve]

I use side I think as much as I need to, but only in small amounts. However I've come across conditions where it is a little dangerous to use it and that's with a brand new 6811 or #10 cloth that has not been used at all. I find those cloths when new (and perhaps it's my actual technique) the cue ball will slide more than it normally does on a cloth that has a little wear on it.
Terry

What do you mean by 'slide' Terry

[vmax4steve]

i'll have to look at ray's work a bit more and look out for this sharp impact striking thing. for me whatever shot i play i always want it to be timed well, with side, drag or deceleration. again though less is more, i go half a tip out of the center and manage to create as much as i need. and if your on a proper table then is more that enough

It's a great book and contains lots of very useful info. It's not a 'how to do it' manual but explains how he did it.

Half a tip from the centre of the cue ball is nowhere near enough of what I need when using side, and to Peter Ebdon half a tip would still be centre ball

But then I'm not a very good player most of the time and only hit the odd purple patch.
I just know what worked for Ray Reardon also works for me, just not as often, but that's my fault.