Visualize BOB

[Ramon]

As far as I'm concerned the contact point will be off the line of the cue ball on 99% of shots, you need to visualise it before you're down on the shot. See the shot, get down, cue straight. If you miss you've done one of those things wrong and you need to practice the shot till you get it right.

I see this is a hotly contested topic and if we disagree then we disagree, don't just say I'm wrong because the jury's still out on this one and it's difficult to prove either way.

good statment !!! may I ask you something jonny ?? what you saying is: IF a player do'nt cue straight , he miss the shot and can'nt pot the ball?? No need to answer if you do'nt want to !!!! I am not Jury Or ..... is just a question.

[Leo]

Don't get to technical there's no such thing as a wrong way if you pot the ball,it's only wrong when you miss.

[luke-h]

Technically speaking close shots you can cue horrifically and still pot, do that on the longer shots and you'll get found out.

[Wayne G]

As far as I'm concerned the contact point will be off the line of the cue ball on 99% of shots, you need to visualise it before you're down on the shot. See the shot, get down, cue straight. If you miss you've done one of those things wrong and you need to practice the shot till you get it right.

I see this is a hotly contested topic and if we disagree then we disagree, don't just say I'm wrong because the jury's still out on this one and it's difficult to prove either way.

Thanks Jonny. I understand what you're saying, but again, if you're focused on the BOB won't your hand follow your eyes so therefore you won't be cueing on the line of the shot? Sorry to be so thickheaded about this but it is a big problem for me.

[Catch 22]

Thanks Jonny. I understand what you're saying, but again, if you're focused on the BOB won't your hand follow your eyes so therefore you won't be cueing on the line of the shot? Sorry to be so thickheaded about this but it is a big problem for me.

I was told that although your eyes are focused on BOB , in the back of your brain you know it should be contact point to contact point . Your brain does the necessary adjustment as best it can without you really realising it and just does it .

Kind of like balancing on one foot ....you know to stand on one foot but all those little body movements to keep you on balance just happen automatically without you consciously being aware of it

[Byrom]

Couple of questions to get you all thinking

what do you do sighting wise when you cant see the back of a ball on say quarter ball shot or a thin cut?

can you still see the back of the ball at distance or do you change technique at any point.

V-max has already said he walks around to pick out the contact point BOB on a thin cut ala Mathew Stevens and this helps him remember as he walks bak in position behind the white - therefore maybe he uses the Ghost ball sometimes too or maybe you just know the angles from playing them over and over?

If you change your sighting methods or use more than one way - does changing it or use more than one method effect your own consistency or improve it and why?

Do you over think this part of the game or have you in the past?


If you know the answers or you are a pro player pray come on this thread and tell us all the secrets you use - don't be shy -

[vmax4steve]

Thanks Jonny. I understand what you're saying, but again, if you're focused on the BOB won't your hand follow your eyes so therefore you won't be cueing on the line of the shot? Sorry to be so thickheaded about this but it is a big problem for me.

C'mon Wayne, it's very easy to understand once you realise that the line of aim is as wide as the cue ball and your grip hand is holding the butt of the cue making your fist about the same width. your brain knows this subconsciously because your eyes are telling it so simply by looking at the cue ball and the object ball and seeing the path the cue ball needs to take and your grip hand is telling the brain that it's holding something about the same width as the cue ball so it all correlates into one

You don't have to think about any of this, all you have to do is look at the target and the brain subconsciously does the rest; which is why it's so very important not to look anywhere else, otherwise the stupid brain will think that you're trying to hit something other than the target because that's what you're looking at and your hand won't come through in a straight line.

Forget the tip of the cue, even when using side the tip of the cue will still be on the line of aim because the line of aim is as wide as the cue ball. You aim the cue ball not the cue, the cue simply propels the cue ball along the desired path and it's just as important to get the butt of the cue on the line of aim as it is the tip of the cue and both these things are achieved by looking at the target and letting both the bridge hand and the grip hand follow the eyes.

[vmax4steve]

V-max has already said he walks around to pick out the contact point BOB on a thin cut ala Mathew Stevens and this helps him remember as he walks bak in position behind the white - therefore maybe he uses the Ghost ball sometimes too or maybe you just know the angles from playing them over and over?

I believe it's all down to the short term memory Byrom, give it something to remember and it will guide you into position.

[Byrom]

I believe it's all down to the short term memory Byrom, give it something to remember and it will guide you into position.

please expand -

[vmax4steve]

please expand -

It's tied into the evolution of the hand and eye co-ordination of the human male as regards to target fixation. When the target is moving, when catching a cricket ball for example, the eyes don't watch the ball into the hand every last millimetre, there is a last split second point that the eyes will lose focus on the ball, but the short term memory has the trajectory locked in and as long as the catcher keeps the eyes on the ball until that last split second point the hand/s will intercept the ball so that the catch can be held.

Try throwing a ball into the air and catching it, you don't naturally focus on the ball all the way into your hand, there is a last split second point that the eyes will focus on the hand/s to see if the catch is held.

In regards to the thin cut snooker shot scenario where the trajectory of the cue ball needs to be worked out to contact the object ball in the right place. As the contact point cannot be seen from behind the cue ball, the short term memory can be used to lock the target in for several seconds while walking back to the line of aim. Once back behind the cue ball the contact point is remembered and the trajectory can be worked out by the subconscious mind.

The short term memory is used to see the trajectory of a moving object for several seconds or even just split seconds for a football goalkeeper making point blank saves, and is also used to work out the trajectory needed to hit a target and again can be utilised over several seconds or just mere moments.

[Byrom]

wow good explanation cheers -

[Ramon]

wow good explanation cheers -

Agree ,,, as always ,,,!!!!!!

[itsnoteasy]

Couple of questions to get you all thinking

what do you do sighting wise when you cant see the back of a ball on say quarter ball shot or a thin cut?

can you still see the back of the ball at distance or do you change technique at any point.

V-max has already said he walks around to pick out the contact point BOB on a thin cut ala Mathew Stevens and this helps him remember as he walks bak in position behind the white - therefore maybe he uses the Ghost ball sometimes too or maybe you just know the angles from playing them over and over?

If you change your sighting methods or use more than one way - does changing it or use more than one method effect your own consistency or improve it and why?

Do you over think this part of the game or have you in the past?


If you know the answers or you are a pro player pray come on this thread and tell us all the secrets you use - don't be shy -

I don't understand this Byrom, if you can't see the contact point from behind the shot, you can't pot the ball, it doesn't matter how many times you walk round the table to look at it,if you can't see it you can't hit it.

[Byrom]

I don't understand this Byrom, if you can't see the contact point from behind the shot, you can't pot the ball, it doesn't matter how many times you walk round the table to look at it,if you can't see it you can't hit it.

I was asking a question - v max has answered above - it is not what I do - but I kind of understand what he means.

People can get hung up on sighting - some are more instinctive or they get that way eventually after repeating the shots a million times - if what you do works for you it works I suppose.

It is interesting what others do and how they differ I think - be a boring world if we all played the same - and this forum would certainly be a lot duller

[Leo]

I was asking a question - v max has answered above - it is not what I do - but I kind of understand what he means.

People can get hung up on sighting - some are more instinctive or they get that way eventually after repeating the shots a million times - if what you do works for you it works I suppose.

It is interesting what others do and how they differ I think - be a boring world if we all played the same - and this forum would certainly be a lot duller

Agred,What works for one might not work for another, same with the approach and all other techniques,that's why I think these sort of threads end up looking like some Science exam and no real sense.