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Posts Tagged ‘Trick Shots’

This legend pool player became utterly popular for being the first ever showman in the world of billiards. He is the only billiard player capable of performing numerous trick shots that never fail to awe-struck everyone in the audience.

He had his first world title in 1919 and by 1937, he was able to win 14 more world titles. He continued to entertain audiences during his every match until his last days when he suffered from a heart attack in 1950.

Photo via poolroom.com

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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Let me continue the discussion about the trick shot subcategories. If you already read the previous article about the Draw shot, the reverse is true for the Follow trick shot. Topspins are produced after a hit above the cue ball’s centre so that it would continue moving on its original path after contact with a target ball. The Hug the Rail shot is a good example of follow trick shot.

For the bank and kick trick shots, rails play an important role. The difference between the two shots lies on the ball that is needed to make contact with these rails. For the bank shot, the target ball should hit a rail before dunking while on kick shot it is the cue ball that would perform this task before getting the target. The movie entitled The Hustler illustrated this kind of trick shot.

For the Prop/ Novelty/ Special Arts subcategory, the billiard balls are not necessarily got by the cue ball in one shot. But the speed during this type of competition is important and the number of balls dunked with the shortest time is the goal. Like the title itself, props or accessories are also used to give complexity to the game. Some players use bridges or racks for this one. This general amusement game could also require the utilization of only one free hand for a shot. This game is quite interesting, right?

Backspins are the key on the Draw subcategory where the cue ball needs to be shot below its centre. When this kind of shot was done, the cue ball would tend to go towards the direction of the shooter after contact with the target ball. If you’ve been watching television commercials, Jimmy Moore usually show off this kind of shot.

Professional trick shot artists mastered several tricks as a requirement for every tournament. With unlikely set-ups that require awesome execution, these artistic pool players routinely practices the eight trick shot subcategories that include trick and fancy, prop/novelty/special arts, draw, follow, bank/kick, stroke, jump, and masse. The next articles would give you an overview regarding each necessary shot and thus, allowing you to focus on learning them through trainings.

The first on the list is Trick and Fancy where the billiard balls are set on the table at different locations but with one cue ball shot, these target balls should dunk into the pockets. The Just Showing Off shot is a good example for this one. You better check out some videos on the internet as your guide.

Let me introduce to you the five most famous artists when it comes to trick shots. They were ranked according to their respective performance and scores in every tournament that they participated on. The Artistic Pool and Trick Shot Association screened each of the qualified players and determined their final places. The first on the list is Tom Rossman followed by Andy Segal then Nick Nikolaidis. The fourth on the rank is Sebastian Guemelli and Eric Yow comes in the fifth.

These men mastered the craft through exposures and practices for years. They are now highly respected and popular on the whole wide world.You may take these people as great inspirations to continue your endeavor with the trick shot journey.

If you’ve been watching billiards or pool game on your television set, you may have seen some magic shots where the balls may seem hypnotized. They amazingly do turns in circles and on some instance, balls are gone in just one fast shot. These are trick shots or sometimes referred to as artistic pool.

Players may also opt to utilize some materials as props to enhance appearance and even complexity. Though you must admit that it is quite entertaining, it would leave the audience with the question on how they did it. If you are a beginner, just focus on the less difficult ones both on the execution of the shot and the set-up. As you gain experience as a player, you will learn the harder ones which might include some ball spins and air jump. So for now, just take things one at a time.

Once you have an idea of what a trick shot is, you may wonder if that’s all in it. The answer is no because it is a broad interesting game. Let me help you narrow down the categories under it. First is the artistic shot where a number of balls dunk in the pockets at the same time. The set-up of the balls is the vital factor of this kind of shot.

Skill shots belong to the second category where the execution gives more critical element to the play. If players were aiming for this kind of shot, the balls are expected to have some spins upon collision. If you are more inclined to one kind of shot than the other, better give more time to practice the harder ones.

Stefano Pelinga has so many skills, but one that is undeniable is his command of artistic pool. He is considered to the master and has worked hard for so many years to perfect his tricks.

Trick Shots was taken to a whole new level when he started doing his Extreme Pool and Billiards discipline. It is said to be the hardest and toughest to learn since it demands precision and an artistic flair. Stefano Pelinga seems to pull it all off with grace to land that perfect shot.