potting down the cushion

[lukeeyw]

if I had to pick one shot that was my weakness it's be balls close to the cushion, I've been told that putting side on the cue ball can help but I never know which side? can anyone help?

[snookerdad]

A touch of running side, ie, strike the cue-ball on the side nearest the object-ball.

Tim Dunkley (World Snooker coach)

[lukeeyw]

potting down the cushion

so for example if the object ball was on the right cushion and the cue ball was inline with the black spot you'd play it with a tad of right?

[DandyA]

if I had to pick one shot that was my weakness it's be balls close to the cushion, I've been told that putting side on the cue ball can help but I never know which side? can anyone help?

I know you play UK 8ball as well as snooker - here's quite a reasonable video regarding UK 8ball pool ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKfdT...3&feature=plcp

[Particle Physics]

You should always attempt to visualise the angles and play the angles honestly before putting side on the white ball for all the shots you learn. You should only put side on the white ball if this improves position afterwards. Look at the angle the object ball makes with the white ball, look at the path of object ball to pocket. Set yourself up, get down and visualise the angle. Anything less than 90 degrees is potable when hitting the white ball in the middle. It doesn't matter where the object ball is on the table, in open play, on, or near the cushion. The cushion doesn't stop balls being potted or help them being potted so ignore it. You apply the same rules to the cushion as in open play; visualise the angles.

[damienlch]

I would say this is a tough shot for anyone... and on tighter pockets, anything other than playing it absolutely correctly would result in a miss everytime.

For myself, I tried to use the simultaneous hit method mentioned above by Particle Physics but it didn't work out. Didn't fared much better with the running side too. The best way for me is to just play the angle with no side... even so, I probably only get about 1 or 2 out of 10, and those I get I dropped them in.

PS. I blame the missed shots on the Earth's curvature.

[renniwevarb]

I have mates that take these shots for breakfast lunch dinner and some supper! Not only dropping them in but using side/stun/screw to get position...

Tried to gather more insight into aiming methods for this and I'm flooded with so many different concepts each one of them has.

Yes basically it is just to figure out the potting angle and hitting it right, but which way of visualisation can actually help you best.

I found that one way that was suggested by one of my mates works better for me. Instead of the simultaneous hit method, he told me to try and hit the cushion first fractionally. Well this way of visualisation works better for me as I could get more of them potted. Will leave the positioning to a later stage when I can confidently get more of these shots as a snack.

[CoachGavin]

A touch of running side, ie, strike the cue-ball on the side nearest the object-ball.

Tim Dunkley (World Snooker coach)

Isnt this check side? Ie red down black rail into left hand corner pocket would need left hand side on white for running side. That would be side furthest from object ball.

[lukeeyw]

potting down the cushion

after watching a video that's exactly what I was thinking

[alabadi]

if I had to pick one shot that was my weakness it's be balls close to the cushion, I've been told that putting side on the cue ball can help but I never know which side? can anyone help?

these are very difficult shots and it depends on where the cueball is in relation to the cussion and in which direction you are aiming. i find that the ones that are just a couple of inches off the cussion but striking up the cussion are very difficult to bridge.

i found that the Reardon on Snooker videos were great intuitive and helpful. i think its on part 6 of 14 where he explains difficult bridging, from off the cussion at various angles, some near the centre pocket which are alway tricky. here is the link take a look, i hope it helps

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_FcqjnfVoI

Alabbadi

[Terry Davidson]

This has been an on-going discussion on here before.

When a ball is frozen (or nearly frozen) on the cushion there are two methods you can use. The first one, which I use is to put a touch of running side on the white (say a red frozen to the top cushion on the yellow side and playing into the top pocket, then right-hand side...but just a touch of it. Of course it also depends on the position you're after.

The other method is to aim just around 1/16" behind the object ball so you are in fact playing it off the cushion, but this method cannot be used if you want to use a lot of power. On a tight table this may not matter anyway as you have to play at near dead weight to pot the ball anyway.

When the object ball is slightly off the cushion I may use some running side or else I may not use any side but the big mistake a lot of players make with these type of shots is they select the wrong point of aim. The correct aim is to just miss the near jaw by a fraction of an inch and put the ball in off the inside of the far jaw.

This is the one shot where players might select the wrong point of aim since the margin for error is very small and again using dead weight is the best option to pot the ball until you get used to using the correct aim and then you can up the power if you need to for position.

I find the most dangerous way to play these shots is with check side and if that is what I need for position on the black I might choose to use top running side and play either the black from further away and up towards the pink or else play for pink if it's free, or even blue if the table is fast enough. The objective being to get the cueball off the cushion for the next shot.

Terry

[vmax4steve]

Object ball actually touching the cushion, depends on the angle of the shot and whether you can use the natural slide of the cushion to help the pot. On obtuse angles between half and 3/4 ball then you can play the shot plain ball to hit the cushion just a fraction before the object ball and the natural slide of the cloth makes the cue ball hug the cushion for a short distance before it leaves it, so when the cue ball is actually hugging the cushion it strikes the object ball in the correct spot to pot it.
On more actue angles this natural slide is a lot less and difficult to judge so a touch of running side when aiming just a fraction before the object ball will make the cue ball hug the cushion for a short distance striking the object ball while still in contact with the cushion in the correct spot to pot it.
On balls that are close to the cushion but not actually touching it then play the shot plain ball as you would normally, ie: aim for and keep your eyes on the contact point of the object ball.
One must remember that when playing to strike the cushion just before the object ball that ones eyes must be fixed on the point of the cushion you are aiming for to make sure you hit what you are looking at. To initially aim at the cushion and then fix your eyes on the contact point on the object ball will result in you missing the shot which is a mistake that is so very easy to make and is what I believe is the reason why many people cannot play this shot this way.
Of course you could just as easily play all shots by aiming for and keeping your eyes on the contact point on the object ball, but the cue ball hugging the cushion, whether naturally or by the use of running side, does increase your chances of making the pot.