How to use Side Spin

How do they do it? well lets start with a simple cut shot. I like to use a "rule of thumb" on these shots that makes pocketing them much easier, If I were to shoot a cut to the right, I'd want to use outside english to the shot, or in this case left hand spin. This eliminated friction between the cue ball and object ball and applies what I like to call "rolling english" and this is what makes some cut shots that seem impossible possible.

There are two techniques in putting English on the cue ball. One is the regular kind that you normally see being done by majority of pool players, including the Pros. The other is the kind whose execution you do not see, and which is used by most Filipino masters of the game. I’d like to call it "Carabao English".

There are good defensive players who try to get us out of our rhythm, forcing us to take legitimate shots off the rail just to avoid fouls. There are also times when we make mistakes in preparing for the next shot where the object ball becomes completely obscured. It is hard enough to make a legitimate shot using natural angles off the rail. But what if there is no natural angle? English will help us estimate where the white can divert from its natural course if a parallelogram (see "Of Parallelograms..." article) is not available.

In this article, I will discuss how english affects the direction of the cue ball after it hits the rail cushion. As illustrated in the picture below, when left english is applied on the cue ball, it will bounce to the left side after hitting the cushion. Similarly, when the cue ball is hit with right english, it will bounce to the right side after hitting the cushion.

English can be used to control the speed of the cue ball after making contact with the object ball. This is illustrated below.

In the lesson about using english or spin, I have discussed briefly about throw. In this lesson, I will discuss this aspect in a little more detail.

You may have heard other players use the terms "inside" and "outside" english. To help you understand these billiard terms, I will try to explain them with a couple of illustrations.

Curve

Another effect of english is what is known as "Curve" or "Swerve". When a cue ball is hit low with a downward stroke using english, the cue ball tends to curve instead of moving in a straight line. This is a similar effect, though to a much lesser degree, to the masse shot. The illustration below shows you what I mean. Notice that the cue stick is at a downward angle hitting the cue ball low. If you put english on this type of shot, an effect called "curve" will be the result.