12 Ways to AIM WITH A POOL CUE

hi dr dave here to demonstrate 12 ways to use a pool cue to aim different types of shots a cue can also be used for other things but i don't recommend it you might take an eye out with that thing and don't be a fool trying to show boat like tom cruise in the movie the color of money you might think this will impress the ladies but it won't and i wouldn't recommend drawing this in a room with low ceilings from personal experience it is not very healthy for the ceiling or your q-tip first i want to show you some shots i will use throughout this video i've set up the 9 and 13 so they are the same distance from the cue ball and the same distance to the pocket and the same distance from the cue ball line to the pocket so the cut angles are also the exact same you might think these shots would be equally difficult but they're not the 9 ball shot is much easier for most people partly because the effective size of the pocket is larger when shooting close to the rail at slow speeds but the rail also provides a visual line to the pocket that helps you aim the 13 ball shot is tougher partly because when you're down on a shot you're looking away from the pocket this is called a back cut into a blind pocket many people over cut shots like this we will look at the reasons why later regardless if you carefully aim while standing maybe using some of the techniques i'll cover in this video the shot will be much easier here's an example back cut into a blind side pocket again many people overcut shots like this and beginners who are not yet good at visualizing the required amount of cut will often hit a shot like this too full but again some of the techniques i will cover in this video might help you be more successful besides shooting into a blind pocket a shot like this is also difficult because the required aiming line is well outside of the edge of the object ball which might be hard for beginners to visualize with a shot like this it is better to over cut the shot than undercut it if you don't cut it enough there is no chance for the ball to go in this one is cut more into the heart of the pocket and this one is cut a lot more but still going in the pockets on this table are very large but the overcut advice applies to pockets on any pool table regardless of how tight they might be again make sure you don't undercut a shot into a blind pocket like this for some people it can help to visualize the required contact point on the object ball by using the cue to imagine shooting the object ball directly into the pocket this is what it looks like from the object ball aim position a striped ball has many more features on it that allow you to easily visualize where the required contact point is on the ball here it is just to the bottom right of the white circle now in the shooting position you just need to visualize where to send the cue ball to create the necessary contact point some people just need to see the angle to be able to aim effectively and know how much of the object ball to hit here i'm visualizing the required shot line and angle with the cue along the line to the pocket and here i am again visualizing the line to the pocket and the required line of aim to create that angle this technique can be especially useful with long back cuts when you are down on the shot looking away from the blind pocket the angle from where you are looking to where the object ball needs to go is very large that's one reason people often over cut shots like this but if you use the cue to visualize the required line to the pocket and cut angle in a standing position the shot is easier to aim remember earlier when we saw that the 13 ball shot was tougher than the equivalent nine ball shot against the rail well you can use the q to simulate a rail for back cuts into a blind pocket like this just place the cue along the edge of the object ball to the edge of the pocket mimicking a ghost rail you can pull the cube back to have more simulated rail in front of the object ball now you can aim the shot just like you aim a rail cut shot with the cue pointing the way to the pocket here's a side pocket back cut example here i'm also visualizing the center of where the cue ball needs to be at object ball contact here's what everything looks like from different angles [Applause] the ghost ball is the imaginary position the cue ball needs to be at object ball contact to create the necessary object ball line to the pocket if you place a ball at the required ghost ball position you can practice visualizing the required aim both while standing and while down in the shot you can also tap down on the ball to make a small mark on the cloth [Applause] now you have a precise aim point to target you can also place a self-adhesive whole reinforcement label donut to make the target point even more clear and by placing the cue over the cue ball with the tip in the center of the donut you can clearly see the required line of aim of the shot look how far outside the object ball edge you need to aim to pocket this ball you can use the single ghost ball position to practice shots of many different cut angles neglecting cut induced throw all the following shots have the exact same required ghost ball target here's a simple way to use the cue to help you aim fairly accurately first place the tip at the center of the required ghost ball position with the cue pointing at the pocket with an accurately placed donut you can practice judging how close the tip needs to be to the cue ball to locate the center of the ghost ball try to remember how big this gap looks or just remember that the tip needs to be half a ball's diameter in front of the object ball now pivot the cue to the center of the cue ball this gives you the required line of aim of the shot here's a shooter's point of view of the pivot when you pivot the cue it helps to apply downward pressure on the cue to prevent the tip from sliding during the pivot here's another example i like to pick a spot on the cloth or a far point on the rail as a precise aim target alternatively you can just visualize where the line of aim is relative to the edge of the object ball the cue can also be useful to visualize cue ball direction after the hit for a stun shot where the cue ball has no top or bottom spin when it arrives at the object ball the cue ball heads in the tangent line direction which is perpendicular to the object ball's line to the pocket this is called the 90 degree rule one way to visualize the tangent line is to position the joint over the ghost ball position with the cue pointing to the pocket the joint surfaces are perpendicular to the q so the joint points down the tangent line you can also do this in reverse pointing the joint at the pocket in which case the q points down the tangent line a better way is to hold the cue over the ghost ball position in an orientation that would be required to push the object ball into the pocket here the entire cue shows you the direction of the tangent line another way is to point to the pocket with the tip in the glass ball position and just visualize the perpendicular direction like the top of a capital letter t knowing the tangent line direction is useful to detect a scratch we can easily avoid the scratch here by just rolling the cue ball or in a different game situation you might want to use draw instead depending on where you want the cue ball to head for the next shot knowing the tangent line is also useful for planning breakout shots and it also helps plan carum shots in this case to clear an opponent ball from a pocket if you have watched some of my past videos you probably know about my 30 degree rule peace sign technique used to visualize the natural angle on rolling cue ball shots if you point one finger in the initial cue ball direction the other finger will point in the final cue ball direction notice how i move my head from the first line to the second to accurately visualize the final cue ball direction when some people try to do this they rotate everything like this which results in big errors if you have this problem leave your head along initial cue ball line and place your cue over the second finger to clearly see where the cue ball will head just as with the tangent line for a stun shot knowing the natural angle direction can help you plan rolling cue ball breakout shots and carom shots this is the kind of shot that helps you win games notice how i've left an angle on the last stripe to make it easy to go off two rails into the line of the eight also in the natural angle direction [Applause] the natural angle can also help you predict if you might scratch or not here the scratch is natural although it can easily be avoided by using a little less than full topspin roll or by using a little backspin or by using lots of backspin here's an alternative method from bob jewett to arrive at the natural angle direction using the q assuming you have a standard 58 inch cue you first need to mark or remember the 34 inch spot you can use a piece of painters tape if you don't mind a blue stripe on your queue first place the tip over the ghost ball position with the cue over the cue ball then pivot the butt of the cue toward the shot 90 degrees about the 34 inch point using the edges of the tape to verify the cue is now perpendicular to the shot line now a line through the butt and ghost ball position will point in the natural angle direction you can use the cue to visualize the line as with a well calibrated peace sign the method is very accurate here to show this i've placed the 13 in the direction the method predicted as expected the cue ball nails the ball dead center wouldn't you like to be this accurate when predicting cue ball direction i still like a well calibrated peace sign better since it is fast and easy and applies to a wide range of shots with a little adjustment but for those who have trouble being accurate with the peace sign bob's q trick might be a good option for those who have seen or used my three times the angle system you know the cue can also be used to predict cue ball direction for draw shots if you visualize the cut angle between the cue ball and the line to the pocket you just need to duplicate this angle twice to find the direction the cue ball will head for a good action draw shot notice how i shift the tip down the tangent line a little to account for cue ball path shift due to speed an alternative is to use your fingers to measure and copy the cut angle the final answer is the same although the finger method can be more accurate especially if you haven't practiced the q pivot approach here the scratch is natural for good action draw so you obviously wouldn't want to hit this shot this way a roll shot in the natural angle direction easily avoids the scratch here's another three times the angle system this one applies to predicting cue ball direction for full hits the 30 degree rule peace sign is used only for cut shots between a quarter ball and three quarter ball hit with a hit fuller than three quarter ball use the cue to measure off the cut angle pivoting with the tip at the ghost ball position then duplicate this angle three times in the direction of cue ball motion to predict where the rolling cue ball will head i've placed the 3 ball at the rail in the direction the system predicts to show how accurate it is with some kick and bank shot aiming systems you need to be able to count diamond distances beyond the table and you can use your queue to help with this here's an example using my 1 3 more than twice bank shot diamond system to bank the 9 into the upper corner the object ball will hit the end rail at the two diamond point so the cue ball must hit the nine along a line coming from one third more than four diamonds from the target pocket the two diamond point is easy to see but the fourth diamond and one third more than the fourth is difficult to see because they aren't marked but the q makes it easy just measure off two and one third diamonds on the q shift the tip to the second diamond and you have the answer and a pivot to the cue ball gives the required line of aim the queue can also be used to aim one rail kicks here i need to kick a cross table to pocket the nine and get a shot at the eight for the win start by choosing an aim point for where you want the cue ball to go then place your cue over this point with the tip along the diamonds of the kicking rail then pivot the cue until the tip is exactly in between the cue ball position and the part of the cue adjacent to the cue ball for most pool tables this gives you the required aim point on the rail for a rolling cue ball here's another way to use your cue to get the required line of aim first measure the distance from the cue ball to the line of diamonds then mirror this distance to the other side of the rail by moving the tip to the line of diamonds now look from your measured point on the q to the desired target to get the required point of aim on the rail this is the exact same line of aim i got with the other system and it gives me the win as i've shown the cue can be a very useful tool to visualize aim for a wide range of shots if you want to learn more about any system or topic mentioned in the video please visit the links in the video description links that are especially useful are the aiming system resource page and the how to aim pool shots instructional video series good luck with your game from dr dave [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] you

Channel: DrDaveBilliards

Views: 684,705

Keywords: billiards, pool, pool tutorial, pool lesson, training, instructional video, Dr. Dave, pool cue, how to use a cue to aim, blind pocket, ghost ball, ghost rail, tangent line, natural angle, trisect system, kick shot, diamond system, aiming system, see the angle, how to aim in pool, how to play pool, how to aim back cuts, how to aim bank shots, how to aim kick shots, how to aim in billiards, how to play billiards, contact point aiming

Id: hAYjgQN7bw8

Length: 17min 56sec (1076 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 29 2021