Pieces Of Eight - Tip
Of The Week
Number:
78 Jim Tellier April 2013
TOPIC: Are
you ready to shoot?
CATEGORY: Beginner/Intermediate
INTRODUCTION:
Have
you ever walked up to the table, picked a ball to shoot at, set up your aim
line, got down to shoot the shot shot the shot, heck--- even made
the shot! --- only to be left wondering: now what?!?!? Forget
something? J Like. Planning
for the next shot.!?
TECHNIQUE:
Its
going to happen at some time no matter what your skill level is! Youll
forget to plan the next shot. Thats why its one of the fundamental
lessons that newer players absolutely must learn if you dont plan, youre
absolutely leaving the outcome of the game to chance, which is really
not a good thing, since we all know, its a game of skill, right?
Advanced
players will be looking ahead on planning 2 or 3 shots ahead, at a minimum.
Once you are a SL 5 and above, you probably feel pretty comfortable planning
the complete run-out. On an easy table, with all the balls spread out, a
higher level player tries (at least should!) plan that from the shot
following a good break.
But,
lets say youre usually just happy that youve got a turn at the table, and
youre happy to have a shot at something makeable. OK, how do you plan
from here?
First,
and most importantly, you have to develop a feel for where the
cue-ball is going to travel after you make a shot. Most people learn this by
simply playing and practicing more. But, in order to get some book
learning check out the following, on Dr Daves website: http://www.billiards.colostate.edu/bd_articles/2011/nov11.pdf
He
mentions the peace sign technique, which I have described before, and also
uses the terminology rolling (cue) ball. This is very important, and has a
large effect on the path of the cue ball after it contacts the object ball.
In a nutshell, the rolling cue ball is achieved under a variety of
conditions. First, if you hit the ball with a center ball hit, and
medium speed, it will not roll forward immediately --- it will slide
for some distance, before it begins to roll. Why is this important? If the
ball is sliding when it contacts the object ball, vs rolling, it will
behave differently. There are a lot of words already written about this, and
it is perhaps not even necessary for most people to understand the
physics/reasons behind the behavior. But the important thing to know
is: how to ensure that the cue ball is rolling forward when it contacts
the object ball.
For the long-winded explanation, see this article: http://www.billiards.colostate.edu/bd_articles/2011/sept11.pdf
But,
the simple answer (from that article) is this:
Hit
the cue ball about 0.4 above the center line, when you use a medium speed
stroke. This is shown here:
So,
OKIve digressed a little bit from the planning next shot discussionbut I
think you get the point. Knowing how to predict the cue ball path is a BIG
part of this game it may even be the most important part of it. So try not
to leave it to chance its definitely something that you can learn and
master!
A
couple of very useful links to instructional materials are:
http://www.azbilliards.com/2000instruction.php
http://www.billiards.colostate.edu
Shoot well, and keep your opponent in
his chair!
Capn
Carom
ARRRR!!!! J