far side of pocket?

[tomlimcj]

when potting black off the spot, do you all aim for the black to pot at the far side of the pocket or the middle? i know the near pocket is not feasible. reason i ask is when i watch vids of pros potting blacks, they tend to pot the black at the far side of the pocket. wondering if this is like THE spot to get the black to pot much easier than other areas of the pocket (like the near pocket where chances of missing are higher)

[lennon11]

Yeah..aim at the big part of the pocket..ie the widest part from the angle of your shot.

[Big Splash!]

Depends on the table and how the cushions are cut. It's always a good idea to aim far side at dead weight or a bit more as the ball will usually drop if it does contact the inside of the knuckle. If the table has bags with an eliptical cut, I will always aim centre. If the pockets are round cut and tight, I like to take the pace off the CB and aim for the inside of the far knuckle; catching a bit of the near knuckle is fatal. So I aim to just miss that. Star tables and old billiard tables with 3.25'' pockets are like this and that's why you've noticed pros going for the far knuckle. Ronnie recommends this approach.

But if you're seeing the balls and pockets big and playing well, aiming dead centre on any table is ok I guess. If you're a bit edgy, aiming far knuckle may be wise, particularly for big stun/run through shots.

So if you're in a league or comp, have a look at the table and knuckles when you walk in to a strange club. :biggrin-new:

[tomlimcj]

great info! But I'm not sure what you mean by elliptical cut vs round cut.... could you explain further pls?

Thanks!

Depends on the table and how the cushions are cut. It's always a good idea to aim far side at dead weight or a bit more as the ball will usually drop if it does contact the inside of the knuckle. If the table has bags with an eliptical cut, I will always aim centre. If the pockets are round cut and tight, I like to take the pace off the CB and aim for the inside of the far knuckle; catching a bit of the near knuckle is fatal. So I aim to just miss that. Star tables and old billiard tables with 3.25'' pockets are like this and that's why you've noticed pros going for the far knuckle. Ronnie recommends this approach.

But if you're seeing the balls and pockets big and playing well, aiming dead centre on any table is ok I guess. If you're a bit edgy, aiming far knuckle may be wise, particularly for big stun/run through shots.

So if you're in a league or comp, have a look at the table and knuckles when you walk in to a strange club. :biggrin-new:

[Big Splash!]

great info! But I'm not sure what you mean by elliptical cut vs round cut.... could you explain further pls?

Thanks!

Yes, a lot of knuckles on an old billiard and true star tables will have a round shape. On a generous club table is will be curved but less round if that makes sense. In other words, curved knuckles take the ball down easier and are usually found on large 3.5'' pocket openings. Rounder knuckles are usually found on tighter pockets. Now you can cut a curved rubber on a tight pocket as well, if you ask a fitter to do this. This is one form of opening up the pocket. This is what WS fitters did to the world championship Star tables in 2016, so that players made more and bigger breaks.

Another is to also cut away more of the rubber that goes into the pocket, past the knuckle; cut it thinner, so the pocket gap opens up.

[ace man]

I don't consciously aim at anything in particular whatever the shot, i. e. just leave it to feel and prior experience. If I started thinking about pocket shapes and sizes, I wouldn't pot a ball. Anyone else feel the same?

[tomlimcj]

I don't consciously aim at anything in particular whatever the shot, i. e. just leave it to feel and prior experience. If I started thinking about pocket shapes and sizes, I wouldn't pot a ball. Anyone else feel the same?

i don't do that either. it's just that when u potting balls at an angle, there is definitely an easier way to get the balls into the pocket. So you don't really have to go right in the middle of the pocket (that would be the best of cos) since there is an allowance that will still see balls going in. tbh, i feel that knowing how much allowance you have makes the pot easier especially when the pot is not straight but closer towards the cushions. eg. the black spot.

i have frens who can slam the ball into the pocket even when the edge of the object ball is around an inch away from the cushion and i'm like....wtf, you can do that??

[ace man]

i have frens who can slam the ball into the pocket even when the edge of the object ball is around an inch away from the cushion and i'm like....wtf, you can do that??

Next time tell them to measure pocket opening from that angle and to consider very little margin of error prior to taking those shots on. They should start missing a lot.

[pottr]

I wouldn't worry about it... I'm yet to see a table where the balls were bigger than the pocket opening... Just put it anywhere in that opening and don't miss.

I'd consider this 'which part of the pocket' to be an unnecessary thought 99% of the time.

And in a game where getting as few thoughts in your head is paramount, this is definitely one you can do without...

If you absolutely need an answer though to help you sleep Lennon already nailed it when he posted:

Yeah..aim at the big part of the pocket..ie the widest part from the angle of your shot.

[tomwalker147]

Christ I have to be playing very well to start aiming at certain parts of the pocket

[itsnoteasy]

Sorry guys I don't understand, are you saying you hit the same part of the pocket whether it's a straight on black or a high quarter ball black as that's how it reads to me.

[Shockerz]

Yes, a lot of knuckles on an old billiard and true star tables will have a round shape. On a generous club table is will be curved but less round if that makes sense. In other words, curved knuckles take the ball down easier and are usually found on large 3.5'' pocket openings. Rounder knuckles are usually found on tighter pockets. Now you can cut a curved rubber on a tight pocket as well, if you ask a fitter to do this. This is one form of opening up the pocket. This is what WS fitters did to the world championship Star tables in 2016, so that players made more and bigger breaks.

Another is to also cut away more of the rubber that goes into the pocket, past the knuckle; cut it thinner, so the pocket gap opens up.

I'm told they even cut part of the cushion wood now to open the pocket up whilst keeping the rubber depth the same (so's not to reduce rubber depth).

[Shockerz]

I don't consciously aim at anything in particular whatever the shot, i. e. just leave it to feel and prior experience. If I started thinking about pocket shapes and sizes, I wouldn't pot a ball. Anyone else feel the same?

Generally aim for far part of the pocket and similar to big splash. Think about it more if not cueing great to make sure of the line as really annoying if I catch the near jaw.

I personally like to see where the leathers end, especially in the middle pockets as if I hit the end of the leather cut it ensures I don't catch the near jaw when hitting them at speed. If hitting it slow I like it to drift with the nap (when the table has some) but aim also at the far jaw.

[Big Splash!]

Generally aim for far part of the pocket and similar to big splash. Think about it more if not cueing great to make sure of the line as really annoying if I catch the near jaw.

I personally like to see where the leathers end, especially in the middle pockets as if I hit the end of the leather cut it ensures I don't catch the near jaw when hitting them at speed. If hitting it slow I like it to drift with the nap (when the table has some) but aim also at the far jaw.

Yep, a lot of old tables roll in to the middle from say the pink or brown spot, not least cuz some fitters can't level with the balls and rely on a 6 inch spirit; muppets. Anyways, near dead weight or dead weight and I'm aiming for the far jaw on the middles. This can help with tight shots to the middle as you aim to miss and it rolls in an inch like a bowling ball and folk are like, how did he do that! Yep, local table knowledge.

[pottr]

far side of pocket?

That's not the table, that's the nap of the cloth