Cue sports techniques

In order to control the cue ball on a shot, a player must master a wide variety of techniques, and have a well-founded conceptual grasp of the mechanics involved.

As stated by George Fels, "pool's poet laureate":[1] The mere pocketing of a ball isn't that hard; in fact, it's relatively simple.

In either case, you'll fare much better when you understand the how and why of a ball's getting from one place to another.There is no single universally accepted stance, with a wide variation between players who compete at professional cuesports.

However, there are a number of common characteristics: generally the back leg is braced while the front leg is slightly bent with the player leaning into the shot; the player's weight is evenly distributed, and the body remains still for the duration of the shot.

English is used for position by altering the angle of reflection of the cue ball after it contacts a rail cushion.

For advanced players it is important to understand how the use of english can cause the cue ball to veer off its aiming line (an effect called deflection or "squirt").

Top spin is imparted to a ball by hitting it above the midpoint of its vertical plane as it faces the shooter.

Similarly, top spin will cause a widening of the cue ball's rebound angle after impact with a rail cushion.

Draw, sometimes called back-spin or "bottom" in the U.K., is backward spin applied to the cue ball by hitting it below the midpoint of its vertical plane as it faces the shooter.

Similarly, it will cause a narrowing of the cue ball's rebound angle after impact with a rail cushion.

"Massé" refers to imparting a high degree of spin along the vertical axis and often on the horizontal axis as well, so that the cue ball reverses direction, sharply curves, or both a few moments after being struck without the necessity of ever contacting another ball or rail.

While controlling the aim, speed and curve of the cue ball takes a great deal of practice to master, there is a science to it.

The time before vertical spin overcomes horizontal movement is determined by the force with which the cue ball is struck.

Massés are quite difficult for non-experts, and are not allowed in some venues, as the table's cloth can be easily damaged by unskilled players.

A massé shot is an equivalent to the hook technique in ten-pin bowling, used to impart spin on the ball and produce a curving pattern.

However, because in most billiards shots, the cue is slightly elevated, if english is employed, an unintentional (and often imperceptible to the naked eye) curve results.

The reason this occurs and how much the ball deviates from what seems like the obvious path is dependent on many factors that the player must be aware of to properly adjust the line of aim while using side-spin.

What is actually causing the squirt to occur is the off-center hit on a spherical object from a linear source of energy.

Various manufacturers since the late 1990s have developed low-deflection shafts which flex slightly upon impact, to absorb some of this sideways momentum and prevent imparting it to the cue ball.

These are essentially opposite the rigid shafts designed for breaking and for jump shots, which are intended to impart all available force into the cue ball.

It is not permissible in some games (e.g. snooker, blackball, and Russian pyramid) and may be frowned upon or even forbidden in some venues as attempts at it by unskilled players may cause damage to a table's cloth.

An oft-used way to illustrate this principle is to lay a coin on the table approximately an inch in front of the cue ball.

When shot very softly, the player will audibly hear the coin being struck and see the cue ball's reaction to that collision.

When the same shot is performed with any degree of speed no sound or collision is evident, and it is clear that the coin is being jumped.

The drag shot is a finesse stroke (usually over a long distance, often the full length of the table) where just enough backspin is applied to the cueball so that it will expire moments before contact with the object ball and finally roll with neither backspin or topspin at a slow pace.