Cue Sport Group

The idea with trick shot practice requires you to set up the balls and do the shot over and over again until you nail the techniques, the right stroke and every necessary detail to get it done. When you miss a shot, don’t just give up. Study why it happened and what went wrong to modify the next shot until you master it. That is not easy, of course. It would consume lots of time and effort just to make a single trick shot accurately performed. And there’s more than one trick shot in the bank.

A trick shot player needs patience, precision and the willingness to learn unlike recreational ones that just play regular games and leave everything to chance. Recreational players don’t usually take time to learn how the shot goes and the effect of one ball to another.

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So what’s so special with the cue ball? As a player, you know that this ball is the only ball on the bed that really touches with your cue stick and the most important for you is to control its movement, direction and impact. If you are aiming for a shot, you can apply different speed and spins on the cue ball to produce a desired effect. The Aramith Pro Cup Cue Ball is one of the most famous in the market because of its measles or six red dots that stand out among others. The dots will help the players to determine the kind of spin and how long it would probably last as well as for the audience to clearly see the spin.

The factors that influence the cue balls are the playing table, cue ball’s weight and magnet center. If the cue ball weighs more than the standard, it would be more difficult to give it a spin. The low-quality magnet centers on the other hand can make the cue ball wobbles. These variables would push you to use your own on your next game.

By raising the butt of the cue, the shooter, especially a beginner or intermediate player, invites serious problems. It will be very difficult for a student to learn how to aim if the ball does not follow a straight line. Advanced players use curve and massé shots to their advantage, but they know how, and it is not an accident. Beginners should never curve the cueball, and raising the butt of the stick invites just such a mistake.
Don’t start off with bad habits. Keep the butt of the cue stick as level as possible for all shots. When you become advanced, you will learn when and how much to raise the butt for specialty shots, such as curves, massés and jump shots. One side benefit of keeping the stick level: you are less likely to be charged with the cost of replacing the cloth. Driving the stick downward can force the tip into the cloth. The cloth, on most tables, is not glued to the top, but stretched across it. It can easily be torn.

Many top players suggest that the use of side spin (right or left english) is not critical to shooting good pool. I agree. Most of what can be achieved with side spin can be accomplished with top or bottom, if there is a clear path to the position point. However, knowledge of side spin can offer alternative “paths” to the position desired if the preferred path is blocked.

It is not the spin alone that makes it possible to alter tangents and rebound angles. It is the combination of spin and speed that makes the possibilities infinite. Consider the following:

1) Using top spin will bend a tangent path forward.

2) Bottom will bend the tangent path backward.

3) Shooting hard will close the rebound angle off the rail.

4) Shooting easy will widen the rebound angle off the rail.

By combining the appropriate top or bottom spin with the right speed, the shooter can send the cue ball off the object ball to about any place on the table, assuming interfering balls can be avoided.

Speed relates to distance. With a 3/4 hit, not only will the cue ball deflect at 25%, and the object ball at 75% of the contact speed, the object ball will travel 3 feet for every 1 foot traveled by the cue ball.

In the diagram above the cue ball was stroked with a speed that would send it 4 feet. When it hits the object ball (a 3/4 hit) the object ball is sent 3 feet, and the cue ball 1 foot. The distance is equal to the percentage ratio (3 /1 ft. = 75/25%.)

You can test this for yourself. Put an object ball on the head spot. Place the cue ball between the object ball and the head rail so that the inside edge of the cue ball is lined up as shown below. The inside edge of the cue ball is lined up to intersect a point 3/4 the distance from the outside edge of the object ball (25% from the inside edge.) If this is confusing, just set up as shown below.
Stroke the cue softly with a center ball hit. Drive the object ball 3 feet, and then measure the distance the cue ball traveled after the hit. It should be 1 foot.

If you drive the object ball 6 feet with this same set-up, the cue ball should travel 2 feet (6/2=3/1 ratio, or 75/25).

A good way to approach the table for your shot is to first look at possible safeties. This assures that you will not get so involved in thinking offense that good defense is never considered. Once you see a good safety, only then analyze the balls for an offensive attack. If you train yourself to look for good safeties, it will become automatic.
With the 8-ball in the open a failed attempt to pocket your ball will cost you the game. Go to the short rail using a very soft center-ball hit. If the object ball is frozen, the cue ball must drift to the rail after contact (or you must drive the object ball to another rail (which would be dumb.) If the object ball is not frozen, either the object or cue ball must go to the rail after contact. The key to this shot is speed. It requires a hit slightly harder than it takes to get to the object ball. If you pull it off (and you can do it easily with practice) you will hook your opponent tightly behind your ball and get ball in hand when he misses the 8-ball, or at the least a good second chance to sink your ball from a better position should he manage to hit it. Variations of this shot come up frequently. Try moving the cue straight back (toward the detail insert) to create more challenging angles off the short rail.

The Open Bridge
Some people have a lot of difficulty making a closed bridge. It does require supple joints in the fingers and wrist. Additionally, there are shots where a closed bridge is not the best choice, such as when shooting off the rail, over balls, or reaching for balls. In these situations the open bridge is preferable. Many (if not most) snooker players use the open bridge exclusively because aiming is so important and the open bridge offers an unbroken line of sight down the shaft. Many top pool players also prefer the open bridge for the same reasons.

5) Start with the same hand position described in figure #1.

6) Now, instead of wrapping the index finger around the shaft, simply raise the end of the thumb to create a “V” between the thumb and index finger and you have completed open bridge.

7) To raise the tip of the stick, simply pull the fingers in and cup the palm. To lower the tip of the stick, flatten the palm.

I have seen some shooters fold their fingers (except for the pinky) under as shown. I do not know why and I think it is a bad idea, but enough shooters use this bridge to show it.

Whether you are on a cheap budget or not, you can find pool balls according to your needs. Though the components differ from one purchased an expensive pool ball than the typical ones, these balls can still be used for a great game. Higher priced balls are made of phenolic resin that is harder, more resistant to temperature and has higher durability. The cheaper balls are usually made of polyester. In the market, the highest quality balls and built with aesthetic designs are Aramith Super Pro’s and Brunswick Centennials.

Aside from prices, the build quality of pool balls also varies. Some balls are just painted or inlaid with the colors and numbers while others are engraved with a solid core. The disadvantage with painted balls lies on the possibility that it might fall off after some games.

Last but not the least pool balls have differences in its characteristics like roundness, diameter and weight. What a player wants is that every ball in the bed would unite and match each other to come up with great results. It would make a shot predictable on its effects from one ball to another thus making a trick shot highly possible.

Don’t get surprised if you have seen several cue sticks when you attend a trick shot tournament. These equipments are used mainly to complete a difficult shot with its unique characteristics and components. If you already read the previous articles about the cues for pool and jump shot, then masse cues would not be unfamiliar to you. Among the trick shots, masse shot seems a bit more complex and thus its cue is quite hard to find.

Masse cues are rarely mass produced unlike other cues. One prominent mass cue manufacturer is Crown Cues. To distinguish this special cue amongst others, it is shorter than the regular playing cues but longer than the jump cues. Aside from the length, masse cues are heavier and stiffer than the others. Having a typical weight of 24-25 ounces, it would aid a player to make a good stroke for a masse shot. Of course, being fancy with the shot would not be feasible if you lack practice.

Do you know where to grip a cue stick? Here is an easy way for anyone to determine exactly where to grip the butt of the cue.

1. Place the cue ball on or near either one of the spots on the pool table. The spots should be marked. There will be dots at either end of the table, halfway in from the sides.

2. Hold your cue stick with the tip about 6 inches from the cue ball. It doesn’t matter how you hold it there right now, just hold it there.

3. Let the butt end of the pool stick rest on the rail while you stand at the side of the table as if you were shooting.

4. Grip the cue where it touches your hip or leg. Within a few inches, this is where you should be gripping the cue every time you shoot.

There will be circumstances when you may need to adjust your grip forward or back on the cue – but it is extremely rare to ever need to grip the very end of the pool stick.