the pool gems tips tricks and secrets

The Pool Gems Tips Tricks and Secrets

1. Fundamentals
1.A session with an experienced and qualified instructor can be very helpful to players at all levels.

2.Make sure your stance is stable, provides clearance for the stroke, and is comfortable.

3.Keep your grip relaxed during the entire stroke.

4.Make sure you bridge is stable and still during your stroke .

5.Use a bridge length appropriate for you and a particular shot .

6.Keep your cue still and eyes quiet when checking your cue alignment and aim .

7.Don t rush the transition between the final back stroke and forward stroke .

8.Don t drop your elbow during the stroke into the ball .

9.Stay down on the shot ... don t move your head or body during the stroke .

10.Don t use more speed than is appropriate for a given shot.
2. Aiming
1.Use a consistent and purposeful preshot routine.

2.Make sure your vision center is always aligned properly.

3.Ghostball aiming can be a useful visualization tool.

4.The contactpointtocontactpoint or parallellines system can be a useful visualization tool.

5.The doublethedistance or doubletheoverlap aiming system can be a useful visualization tool.

6.Your cue can be used to help you aim .

7.Make sure you are sighting shots consistently and purposefully.

8.Be leery and suspicious of exaggerated claims concerning some cutshot aiming systems. Having said this, these systems do offer benefits to some people.

9.With good technique, HAMB ( Hit a Million Balls ) is the best system for aiming success.
3. Cue Ball Control
1.The 90 degree rule predicts the CB heads down the tangent line for stun shots.
2.The 30 degree rule predicts a rolling CB heads in the naturalangle direction.
3.The Dr. Dave peace sign can be very useful in applying and making adjustments to the 30degree rule.
4.The trisect system predicts the angle the CB direction changes for a goodaction draw shot is 3times the cut angle.
5For a fairly full hit, with a ballhitfraction greater than 3/4, the CB will deflect about 3times the cut angle (see where the CB goes for different cases).
6For a fairly thin hit, with a ballhitfraction less than 1/4, the CB will deflect about 7075% (about 3/4) of the angle between the aiming line and the tangent line (see where the CB goes for different cases).
7.With all shots, more speed shifts the cueball farther down the tangent line before curving to the final direction (see CB path speed effects).
4. Speed Control
1.The optimal tip height for speed control is 20% of the radius above center .

2.With a fullhit rolling CB shot, the CB travels about 1/7 the distance of the OB after impact .

3.With a rollingCB halfball hit, the CB and OB separate at close to same speed and same angle .

4.With a 45degreeanlge stun shot, the CB and OB separate at the same angle and distance .
5. Draw Shot
1.Keep your grip relaxed, keep your cue as level as possible, accelerate smoothly into the ball .

2.In general, for best draw distance control, use more spin with less speed .

3.For a stunback shot, with a small and controlled amount of draw, a firmer hit closer to center offers better CB distance control .

4.Elevate the cue only when you need quick draw.

5.Don t push the miscue limit so much with long power draw shots.

6.The trisect system can be used to predict final CB direction with a goodaction draw shot.

7.Draw is a lot easier on slicker cloth (or with a CB treated with Silicon spray) and with a lighter CB.
6. English
1.The miscue limit is half of the cue ball s radius from the center, which is the width of the stripe on a striped ball .

2.A solid understanding and feel for squirt, swerve, and throw effects is critical to being able to use sidespin effectively.

3.backhand english (BHE) and fronthandenglish (FHE) can be used to compensate aim for squirt and swerve when using sidespin.

4.Outside english can be used to eliminate throw, and this can be useful in clingy conditions (see gearing outside english).

5.Running english can greatly reduce the difficulty of rail cut shots.

6.Going ballfirst or cushionfirst with sidespin on rail cut shots makes a big difference in CB control (see NV B.72).

7.A drag shot can be used to increase the effect of sidespin off a cushion (see maximum sidespin effect).
7. Position Control
1.It is important to know various useful CBcontrol reference lines when planning position.

2.It is much easier to control CB travel distance with naturalrolling follow shots (see follow shot accuracy).

3.Always try to leave an angle and come into the line of a shot.

4.When you leave yourself straight in, there are still options for position control (see NV B.30).

5.Pocket cheating can help create an angle.

6.Rail cut shots offer many position control options.

.Coming off a cushion can increase your margin for error when targeting a position close to a rail.

7.The 45 degree rule, that predicts a ball rolling into an end cushion at close to a 45 degree angle heads close to the center of the table, if very useful for position play.

8.Practice positioning the CB to the center of the table. This comes in handy in many game situations.
8. Safety Play
1.Always play safe when it increases your chances of winning a game.

2.Use twoway shots where possible when faced with a difficult shot (e.g., a bank).

3.The 30degree rule is very useful in safety play (see 30degree rule examples).

4.When playing a safety in 9ball, try to leave the OB away from a cushion (see big ball effect).

5.Come into the line of blockers when hooking your opponent.

6.With ballinhand, try to be strategic with combos, clusters, and problem balls (see 30degree rule examples).
9. Strategy
1.Follow best practices concerning how and when to play safeties .

2.Don t bump into or disturb other balls on the table if it isn t necessary.

3.Keep the CB away from the cushions to enable a wide range of tip positions without cue elevation.

4.Pocket or move balls that clear the way for other balls as early as possible.

5.Break out clusters and deal with problem balls as early as possible.

6.In 8ball, choose stripes or solids wisely and identify key balls for the game (see 8ball strategy).

7.In 8ball, if you can t runout, play a safety early in the game.

8.In 8ball, break out clusters when an insurance ball is available.

9.In 9ball, break out clusters and problem balls at the right time .
10. Bank and Kick Shots
1.To bank and kick effectively, it is important to understand and have a feel for all of the bank and kick effects.

2.For rollingball kicks or banks, the throughdiamond aiming system is very reliable.

3.Faster speed can help bank shot accuracy and consistency (see advantages of fast speed).

4.With shallowangle kicks, the contactpoint mirror system can be very effective.

5.For crosscorner bank shots, it is very important to know how to detect and avoid double kisses.

6.Sidespin can be used to alter bank shots (see spin transfer bank shots).

7.For aiming two and threerail kicks off a short rail, the Plus System is very useful.

8.For aiming two, three, and fourrail kicks off a long rail, the Corner 5 System is very useful.