The Draw Shot - Easy Pool Tutor

A Draw Shot is when the cue ball stops momentarily then draws away from the object ball towards you upon contact with the object ball. This is one of the more pleasing shots to see as the cue ball stops momentarily before it races back towards you. It is normally done by hitting the cue ball below center (see illustrations below). This is a difficult shot to master because hitting the cue ball below center normally creates a "miscue" specially for beginner players.

In order for the cue ball to return towards you, it needs to have back spin. The cue ball needs to be able to retain its back spin as it slides towards the object ball. This is done by hitting the cue ball below center and a slightly stronger stroke (compared to the stop shot). Remember that as the distance between the object ball and the cue ball increases, you will need to put more backspin on the cue ball because the friction caused by the table cloth will take away some of that back spin away. This is where the difficulty of the back spin comes into play. A lot of players find it very difficult to draw the cue ball at longer distances mostly because there is not enough back spin on the cue ball.

At shorter distances, hitting the cue ball one tip below center will draw the ball back. However, the speed of the stroke determines how far back your cue ball will go. The stronger you hit the cue ball below center, the more back spin it creates thus retaining most of its spin as it makes contact with the object ball. Upon contact, the cue ball should stop momentarily before racing back towards you.