Cue Sport Group

Archive for the ‘Trick Shots’ Category

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.

If you are an avid fan or just a spectator of the recent happening in the world of billiards or pool, here is your chance to meet the game masters up close and in action. On March 18 – 21, catch the 2010 Masters Artistic Pool Championship at Valley Forge Convention Center in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.

Witness the amazing shots of the top players in trick shot tournaments as they reveal once again their respective skills on the table. As guided by The Artistic Pool and Trick Shot Association, this event is a must-see for those interested in learning the trick shots or even those that find this kind of competition highly entertaining.

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.

To get you inspired and motivated on learning the trick shots, let me give you an example. This shot is not just a diagram. It was done during the 1970’s by Steve Mizerak on a television commercial for a beer product. A totally classic where on one shot, all six balls dunk into the pockets.

At first, the cue ball hits one ball and end up getting the ball hanging on left uppermost corner. The first contact allows five balls to be dunked; two on one side pocket, one in the opposite and one each on the lower corners. Both the execution and the set-up are critical in this one. This trick shot is quite amazing but really doable with lots of practice and perseverance.

If you are interested on doing a trick shot, you better have an idea on how it could be possible. When aiming for a shot, you think on where the balls will go after the contact. The directions of the balls depend on their respective centers. This is quite true in general and easy to imagine if only two balls are involved. If you consider the frictional effects as well as more balls, that would seem complicated.

But this section is for the basics. Let’s have two to three balls for examples. If the cue ball comes in contact with an isolated target ball, the target would go in the direction that connects the two balls’ centers. You could make an imaginary line for this purpose.

In another scenario, if the cue ball targets ball A and ball A has contact with ball B, where would the target balls go? The ball B would be in the direction that connects ball A and ball B centers while ball A would be on the tangent line’s direction drawn between the two target balls or simply perpendicular to ball B path.

When you shoot the cue ball across the table to cut shot, it becomes likely that your cue ball falls into that side pocket. The slightest miscalculation can lead your cue to scratch in the side. Besides this, it becomes even harder to focus on leaving the cue ball on the left side of the side pocket. This shot should not be done unless you rehearsed it multiple times and are already fully comfortable and confident on not making any miscalculations.
Do not use the side spin as you may first instinctively consider on doing first. You may concentrate on doing the top and back spin instead to reduce the number of variables involved. It will also increase your consistency from table to table. When you have this mastered, you will have a feel on pocketing the 1 then positioning your cue ball for the next shot.
Avoiding the side pocket is a sound advise for beginners but once mastered, it can be a trick you can bring along with you to get you that win.

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.