Potting Angles

[cheneyxuu]

Hi there,

By cuing straightly, the right potting angle is one of basic skills that we need. I know about 5 basic potting angles, but the thing i am struggling with is how to decide what kind of situation use which angle, even i know that like half ball will cause a 30 degrees separation, i still find bit difficult. Or could anybody teach and explain how you find the right potting angle in detail? i have tried several methods but still struggle with this. it will be really helpful and i would appreciate very much!!

[cyberheater]

You can try the ghost ball method.

Once you've understood the ghost ball method then it's really just about spending a lot of time on a snooker table until you can commit the angles to memory.

[thelongbomber]

Hi there,

By cuing straightly, the right potting angle is one of basic skills that we need. I know about 5 basic potting angles, but the thing i am struggling with is how to decide what kind of situation use which angle, even i know that like half ball will cause a 30 degrees separation, i still find bit difficult. Or could anybody teach and explain how you find the right potting angle in detail? i have tried several methods but still struggle with this. it will be really helpful and i would appreciate very much!!

Seeing the potting angle is one of the skills needed as mentioned. Have you tried looking at the bottom of the ball as I posted here eons ago? Have you tried standing behind the object ball to "get" the angle like Mathew Stevens often does? Have you tried moving your eyes to the pocket as Hendry does?

What angles are you missing? Are there any patterns? What is your regimen from the standing position and getting into the final position? If that hasn't been developed, that could help also. A common mistake is to simply get down into position as you are walking around the table.

[vmax4steve]

Have you tried standing behind the object ball to "get" the angle like Mathew Stevens often does? Have you tried moving your eyes to the pocket as Hendry does?

I think you should explain your comprehension of this, literally, in detail, before we get people trying to pot balls while standing behind the object ball and looking at the pocket.

[Terry Davidson]

Once you are delivering the cue reasonably straight then all it takes is practice and observation. Your brain will train itself to select the correct potting angle however you have to give it the feedback it needs while practicing. This means staying down on the shot and observing the path of the object ball with your eyes ONLY, do not allow the body to move. You should stay down up to 2 seconds after the cue has been delivered.

You are over-thinking the problem.

Terry

[mr.boy]

This seems too trivial to start a new thread, but how exactly are quarter/half/three-quarter/full-ball defined? It seems such a basic thing that every page I find talks about them on the assumption you know what it means. I thought I understood them but I am not 100% sure my definition is the proper one!

[cyberheater]

This seems too trivial to start a new thread, but how exactly are quarter/half/three-quarter/full-ball defined? It seems such a basic thing that every page I find talks about them on the assumption you know what it means. I thought I understood them but I am not 100% sure my definition is the proper one!

It's about how much the white obscured the object ball when hit.

Full ball. The white complete obscures the object ball.
Half ball. The white is halfway across the object ball.

See this image.

[mr.boy]

Excellent, thanks! And no that wasn't quite how I thought it worked so I'm glad I asked It's a bit contrary to how I see the table actually - I think angles rather than overlaps. Do I need to train myself to think in these terms or is it just a convenience?

A super-thin cut would then technically be a "0-ball" I guess, but you only ever see 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and full used, right?

[cyberheater]

Excellent, thanks! And no that wasn't quite how I thought it worked so I'm glad I asked It's a bit contrary to how I see the table actually - I think angles rather than overlaps. Do I need to train myself to think in these terms or is it just a convenience?

Nope. You don't need to train yourself to think in those terms although after a while you start to see them. Of course you won't often see a perfect half ball, quarter ball shot but it's useful to recognise them and they help with your aiming.

As an example. If you can see that it's a half ball shot. It makes the aiming easier because you only have to aim the center of the white at the far edge of the object ball.

[kbrown]

I think those 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 etc terms are mainly for making it easier to discuss the theory behind aiming etc. I don't think about these terms when I'm aiming at all. In the beginning I tried but it would only confuse me and I'd miss a lot more pots than before.

[jrc750]

Personally i think it's pointless learning 1/4 ball, 1/2 ball etc, because the balls are never in exactly the same place as a previous shot, so you need to learn how to pot any angle that crops up

[cheneyxuu]

Hi,

so you mean the only thing is just practicing and play with your instincts?

[jrc750]

Hi,

so you mean the only thing is just practicing and play with your instincts?

Yes, just hit the ball where you think you should, stay down on the shot watching the outcome, then when you miss set the balls up again in the same place and adjust your aim to where you think it would then pot it and try again, eventually your brain will just know how much to cut the ball

[itsnoteasy]

I quite like knowing and recognising (or at least trying to) the quarter, half and three quarter angles, I feel of you can recognise these easily, you then can say to yourself for example, this is just thinner than a half ball ,or thicker than a three quarter etc, they just give you reference points to start with, although as has been said most shots ( maybe someone good will know the percentages)won't land exactly on the four main points, full, three quarters, half, and quarter ball.
I don't really think it matters what method you chose as long as it works for you, some days it doesn't matter what I do I just can't see the angles very well. Staying down and learning from the outcome of shots, like Terry and JRC said is a must.

[j6uk]

it didn't get much interest first time around but still it might be worth another look
.http://www.thesnookerforum.co.uk/boa...ght=table+grid