One Rail Kick Shots - Easy Pool Tutor

Kick shots are in most cases, similar to the bank shot. The difference lies in the fact the when doing kick shots, the cue ball will need to contact the cushion before the intended object ball. This lesson will explain the basic one-rail kick shot and its proper execution.

As we have learned from the lesson on bank shots, the rule of "angle in" equals "angle out" applies to kick shots as well. This rule applies to normal center ball hit on the cue ball with normal speed. Remember that speed and english affects the angle of the ball off the cushion (refer to the lessons on bank shots). Now, let's look at illustration below.

In this type of ball positions, you simply need to find the half way point from the cue ball to the object ball then draw an imaginary line going towards the opposite rail and that will be the point where you would aim your cue ball on the cushion to hit the 3 ball. This is just a simple geometric problem using a triangle to find the correct point (point X) on the cushion for your aim point. This calculation holds true even if the cue ball is at any point in line with "side A". The same goes for the object ball if it's at any point along the line of "side B".

When the cue ball and the object ball is on the same line at the base of the triangle (base C), it is easy enough to calculate point "X" on the cushion by getting the middle point of both balls and running a line across towards the opposite rail.