Many players get away with just getting that dead shot going in their games, but when they are having a bad night, they really have a bad night all the way through. It is somewhat like a boxer going to the ring with only one punch capable of knocking out the other guy with. A good boxer sets up his combinations with jabs. If the opponent is respectable enough, he has to divert his concentration to blocking and dodging punches. Billiards is just like boxing. Some horse around just taking fun pokes at each other. The ring boxers, though, have to have the heart, training, and imagination to set them up for a kill mode.
In pool, you have to set up your next two shots, at the very least, and go all the way until you get your winning ball. If you have no more options to launch your next offensive, you have to get your defensive shots going too. All of these cases require a good application of cue ball english together with your Executioner (shooting arm), and the most fun part of it all, your Mastermind (imagination). But let’s talk about the most basic use of english for now.
Applying english on the ball is like applying oil on the table. Most shots that require english alone, without needed help from the Executioner nor the Mastermind, are shots whose cue balls ricochet off the object ball at an angle where the two balls naturally travel in opposite directions after the shot (as opposed to a straight or semi straight shot). When english is applied at the side where the cue ball will naturally ricochet to, the cue ball will travel far enough even with just a little effort from the Executioner. Oiling the table is easiest especially on wide angles.
At this point, I have to mention two important tools regarding angles on the table. The first tool is bank knowledge. Whatever angle given to the rail with reference to the cue ball (without english) is the same angle that the rail will give in the opposite direction. Some players draw an imaginary bisector as their reference point. You can go on and on through the different rails giving and getting the same angles as long as the cue ball keeps on rolling. If you plot the ongoing lines, you will find out that they will be parallel, if not aligned with the lines that run through the dots on the table. This is what they call the diamond system. All the angles in a diamond are the same. Without the side pockets, as in carom tables, one can make a perfect diamond. With the side pockets on the billiard table, you can never get a perfect diamond.
You have to work your way around it with parallelograms. With parallelograms, you will find using two or three cushions can be done with accuracy. Move back between the two areas you want to travel to and stretch out your arms to draw that imaginary parallelogram on the table. This is very applicable especially in 9-ball where you have to avoid the three consecutive fouls that will cost you your game. The farther you move away from the table, the more you will see the parallelogram. A trained eye can draw limitless parallelograms around the table.
The second important tool is the knowledge of the tangent. The direction of the Cue Ball can be predicted with precision if you know what the tangent is. To get the tangent, first look at the spot where the object ball has to be hit in order to pocket it. Point your cue stick towards the pocket at the spot on the object ball you aimed at. With the cue tip pivoting on the table, move your cue stick towards the direction of the cue ball until you reach the straight yellow arrow in the diagram. That is where your cue ball will travel without english after a normal shot (without drawing or punching the ball).
Understanding your table is your first step to a mature pool game where you combine imagination with precision.