Advanced Shots & Shotmaking

For many players the most difficult shot in pool is the long straight in shot. I must admit that at one time this was also one of my most difficult shots. Over the years I developed an aiming system that have made long straight in shots relatively easy for me and it should work for you too. I won't go into detail on the aiming system here as I have already addressed that in another lesson but will give you the part that is essential for making a long straight in shot. Most players pick out a spot on the object ball and aim at that.

Combination shots are shots that are usually avoided unless there is no other alternative. In 9 ball a combo on the 9 can easily win you the game and often gives you a chance to win a match against a better player. If you understand the interaction between the cue ball and the object ball you will greatly increase your chance of making the shot. Object ball deflection is the key to the making the combination shot. If you don't understand object ball deflection please read the lesson How Did I Miss That Easy Cut Shot. This lesson is just a logical extension of the Cut Shot lesson of which I will go over the more important parts again. When the cue ball is struck in the center without appling english the cue ball doesn't deflect off the line of aim and goes directly to it's intended target. This is show in the diagram below.

One of the stumbling blocks that prevents a midlevel player from moving up to the next level is the ability to shoot a longer distance shot with english hard enough to move the cueball around the table using 2 or more rails.  Normally I don't believe in shooting the cueball with a hard stroke especially when using english.  There are some cases however that leave little choice unless there is a viable safety available.  I have seen many good B Level (7 to 8 rated in Arizona) players that get stuck with one of these shots.  Using english they shoot harder than normal and usually end up with close to perfect shape.  The only problem is that they almost always miss the shot. If you understand the mechanics of shooting the cueball harder with english you will have another weapon to help move you to the next level.

Have you ever missed your shape and ended up frozen against the rail or another ball with the object ball 3/4 of the way down the table with a difficult angle to the pocket?  This is a sure end to most runouts for the average player.  I have learned 3 techniques over the years that help me with these type of shots.  I still miss some of them but I now make a lot more than I miss.  First of all it should be common sense that you don't shoot these type of shots with a hard stroke.  Keep you stroke in the soft to medium range to maintain your accuracy.  The biggest reason these type of shots are missed is because the tip of the cuestick bounces off the cueball unless you shoot very softly. 

When the ultimate object ball is near the pocket, it is easy to apply English on the cue ball to set up the next shot (on the same immediate object ball). But if the ultimate object ball is far from the pocket, and there is no other choice but to combo, here is one tip in aiming.