Do you see what I see?

Mkbtank

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Do you see what I see?

Accidentally I found a brief essay, by an instructor whose name I can't remember, on the many magic qualities of the half-ball hit, the thirty-degree cut shot. Following up, I found that many of the recognized experts on the sport had similar good things to say about it. It can be seen as the starting point for just about all aiming systems, such as the well-known CTE program. Unless your cut shot is very thin or very thick, it is very close. To the half-ball hit. It offers the only absolute bullseye on the table, the edge of the object ball, and a guaranteed way to make a spot shot from the kitchen with ball in hand.



Bill I would love to read the essay you mention if possible. New info is always nice. Thanks for your post as usual.


Sheldon I agree. Reminds me of “Pleasures if small motions”. If anyone here has ever had that time that they were “In the Zone and couldn’t miss” then they must agree. Those days you are just trusting your subconscious (body) and man they are great. I usually look like I am in the dentists chair when I am shooting even if I’m winning. Can’t relax at all.
 

vapros

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Mitch, I was surprised to see that when I asked for 'the half-ball hit' Google knew exactly what I wanted. I think the item that got me started was from 'Dr. Dave' Alciatore, who instructs at Colorado State. His reference was from Fractional Ball Aiming. Mike Page of Fargo Billiards has a two-part video that is pretty basic. Robert Byrne and Mike Jewett have also written on the subject.

There might not be anything you didn't already know, but even so . . . .
 

Mkbtank

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Do you see what I see?

Mitch, I was surprised to see that when I asked for 'the half-ball hit' Google knew exactly what I wanted. I think the item that got me started was from 'Dr. Dave' Alciatore, who instructs at Colorado State. His reference was from Fractional Ball Aiming. Mike Page of Fargo Billiards has a two-part video that is pretty basic. Robert Byrne and Mike Jewett have also written on the subject.



There might not be anything you didn't already know, but even so . . . .



Thanks Bill. Every little bit helps!
 

youngstown

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Do you see what I see?

What most people don't realize, is that the subconscious is 100 times better at things than your conscious mind is. Natural talent can also make a difference, but if you don't train the subconscious, and let it do what it know how to do, you'll struggle forever.

Aiming systems have just a couple of good things going for them. One: they can get you close to where you need to be if you don't know the shot.



100% agree with the above. It’s hard to let go of aiming systems, though. Very hard imo.
 

One pocket Smitty

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Jan 10, 2005
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I never was a good ball striker but I know one when I see one. The best ball strikers IMO have the best alignment. Their foot work and body alignment is perfect. In fact all the Striking The Ball Games be it baseball, golf, ping pong and etc. require good footwork and alignment. The first time I saw Keith play it was his alignment that amazed me. He is the only person I know who could play so well and one stroke the cueball. Sure he knew where to hit the object ball but that wouldn't happen if the rest of his body wasn't ready as well. Good thread.

I agree with you Jerry, if more guys would get back to basics when they start missing shots, they would find some little something was out of alignment. I remember when I was really shooting good back 50 years ago when I got down over a shot I counld see the line from the pocket to the object ball and the line from the cueball as clear as day. It was like it was a lazer beam. Now the focus is just not there all the time.---Smitty
 

Npd12814

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Oct 16, 2016
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I have troubles with this too. I don’t eat to play much so seeing where to hit isn’t as natural for me now. I was shooting spot shots the other day and kept over cutting them. I had to take the cueball and put it on the contact point then get back and look at it from where I was shooting to picture the shot. I couldn’t convince myself to hit it that full because it didn’t look right, but after I saw it I started making them. I think it is just a vision problem but hopefully through repetition I can overcome it.
 

12squared

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Mar 14, 2005
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Fort Collins, CO
If I may add to what others have already discussed, Gene Albrecht teaches what he calls "Perfect Aim". Basically he first suggest you learn which is your dominant eye (if you only have one eye, this part is easy ;) ) and he talks about fractional aiming like 1/4 ball, 1/2 ball, 3/4 ball as discussed earlier in this thread. What makes this a little different is that he has you tweek your head so your eyes are in the "perfect" place everytime. The direction you move your head is based on the dominant eye.

So as others have mentioned, aiming begins with your stance, Gene just refines this a little by also slightly alinging your head/eyes to the proper spot. I'm told you can get good at this while still standing up, but you can adjust once down on the shot too. I took a lesson from Gene and have his CD, but I never put in the work to really use it to its potential - I'm old and too lazy to do anything these days but play the game. (My loss). I'm the poster child for buy you books and all you do is eat the covers. LOL

Here's a link to learn more. http://www.perfectaimbilliards.com/index.htm

For what it's worth: What I have been using recently when I feel lost and can't see the shot is find the spot on the object ball and whatever fraction of the ball its on when looking from the cue ball (the exact spot), I simply line up at the opposite fraction of the cue ball (so when they are together it would be like the ghostball). I do this while still standing, find that line and walk into it to get down on the shot.

My last comment is that I have been searching for an aiming system that I could use similar to those systems in 3-cushion for a long time, expecially since I no longer have the really good concentration that I once had. When I couldn't "see" the shot in 3C for whatever reason, I always had systems that I could fall back on to allow me to know where the cue ball should be going. After a while I would get back in stroke and have the feel of the game so systems were not as necessary. I have yet to find this kind of system for my pool game. If I'm not feeling it, I have nothing to really fall back on. They all have merit and help a little but nothing that I could really rely on. If I'm not feeling it today, I simply go back to basics: Aim standing up; keep head still; and stroke/accelerate through the shot.

Dave
 

Hardmix

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Feb 28, 2015
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Cumming Ga
A good golf swing starts from the ground up. As others have mentioned, a good pool stroke also starts from the ground up. I would venture to say, most shots are missed due to a poor set up.

How often have you found yourself over the ball making practice strokes only to find you are....
Making aiming adjustments
Can't see the shot clearly
Feeling tension in any part of the body

These are just a few examples of what I call "conflicts" that are created by a poor set up. Sometimes you recognize the conflict, sometime not, regardless most choose to take the shot resulting in a miss.:frus You get up, chastise yourself, and move on only to commit the sin again and again. We all have done it and will most certainly do it again. They key is recognizing a conflict, which is easier said than done sometimes.

With a proper set up you should...
See the ball clearly.....head in the correct position.
Unencumbered stroke....no tension or body parts fighting each other.
Correct alignment

A telling drill is to shoot long straight in diagonal shots. Place the CB where you can bridge on the bed of the table, railer shots are a different animal. Now shoot 10 stop shots and pay attention to the CB. On the misses is the CB consistently spinning in one direction. Right misses will have the CB spinning counter clockwise and left clockwise. Again, assuming we have a straight stroke, these misses are caused by a poor set up.

Here is a tip to help with the set up. Standing behind the shot, find your target point on the object ball. Once identified, while staying focused on the target, bring the cue down on the correct line and set up AROUND the cue. Now that you are in the shot you should not being feeling the "conflicts". If you are, get out of the shot and start over.

Try this on the diagonal drill and hopefully you will see a improvement.
 
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