(This is today's bit of advice from the book Safety Toolbox.)
When you are selecting a defensive shot from the many options available, you have one supreme goal and purpose:
Control the table by limiting your opponent's options. Continue reading
(This is today's bit of advice from the book Safety Toolbox.)
Use the exercise below and learn to move the cue ball over precise distances.
Repeat this once a month. During a competition, a couple of slow roll practice strokes are all that is needed to remind your muscle memory. Continue reading
(This is today's bit of advice from the book Safety Toolbox.)
Can you make the cue ball only travel an inch (2-3 cm)? When straight rail billiards and balkline billiards were international sports, a carefully mastered nudge shot could rack up thousands of points. The winners of these hours-long matches were determined by who had the best cue ball control within fractions of an inch (<2 cm). Continue reading
(This is today's bit of advice from the book Safety Toolbox.)
Once you know how the cue ball will react off the rail, there is still a problem. It is how to adjust your aiming routine to handle the squirt. There is one other mental adjustment - how to shoot the shot without using the cue stick as your aiming guide. This takes practice. If you are going to use cue ball side spin, you must go through a learning cycle. These exercises will help. Continue reading
(This is today's bit of advice from the book Safety Toolbox.)
Work on coming to the cushion with various top and draw side spins and speeds after contacting the object ball. Start with slower speeds and work your way up, watching what happens. It is necessary to know the results of each variation. Different distances out from center add more cue ball spin and exaggerate the out angles even more. Continue reading
(This is today's bit of advice from the book Safety Toolbox.)
Side spin (also known as English) occurs when the cue tip contacts the cue ball to the left or right side of the vertical line (12:00 to 6:00). The cue tip contact can range from a very small off-line of 1/8 to 1/4 tip away from true vertical) to contact points that are so far out (2.5-4 tips out from zero position) that the cue tip cannot make a firm contact. The result is a miscue with the cue skittering away and the cue ball reacting strangely. Continue reading
(This is today's bit of advice from the book Safety Toolbox.)
These exercises introduce the concept of grazing a target ball so thin that it barely moves. The closest offensive shooting example would be a very thin (85 to 89 degree angle) cut to pocket an object ball. Continue reading
(This is today's bit of advice from the book Safety Toolbox.)
The following ideas are provided to create your own drills. Below is a list of exercises where you designate the primary purpose of your own choosing. Here are a few suggestions. Continue reading
(This is today's bit of advice from the book Safety Toolbox.)
Without control over how far the cue ball travels, you are just guessing where things stop. This allows billiard god luck (chaos) to enter your game. With control, offensively you can play better position. With control, clever defensive shots can greatly frustrate your opponent. Continue reading
(This is today's bit of advice from the book Safety Toolbox.)
Few people consider the possibility of using the cushion first to set up a defensive situation. This technique can be used to control either ball. If practiced ahead of time, you have predictability. In the right circumstances, you can generate some interesting set-ups your opponent could never expect. This is actually easy to learn. Continue reading
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