3. PRACTICE MAKING A SHOT

The hardest part of learning pool is to hit the cue ball properly. Once you can hit the cue ball where you want to, you can then send it to hit other balls and subsequently sink those balls into the pockets. Here's how to prepare to hit a basic shot:

Setting up
Making the shot
Breaking

Setting up

  1. Grab a cue stick.

  2. With the stick in hand, stand close to the table with legs lined up perpendicularly to the edge of the table.

  3. Keep your feet parted about a shoulder's length and balance your weight equally between both feet.

  4. Bend the knee closer to the table slightly while keeping your back knee straight, and lean towards the table.

  5. Grip the butt of the cue stick with your dominant hand.

  6. Put your other hand palm down on the rail or surface of the pool table (depending on where the cue ball is) about 5 - 10 inches away from the cue ball.

  7. Lift your thumb slightly, and lay the shaft of the cue in the crease between your thumb and the side of your hand. Try sliding the stick back and forth in the crease. It should slide smoothly and evenly. (Because your hand is acting as support for the shaft, this is called a bridge.)

  8. If your hand can't reach to 5 - 10 inches from the cue ball, consider using a mechanical bridge, which is a cue stick with ridges on the end. You merely put the end of the mechanical bridge 5 - 10 inches away from the cue ball, and it will give your cue stick the support it needs to make a steady shot.

Making the shot

So you're in the perfect position to make a shot don't screw things up by feebly poking at the cue ball with your stick. Here's how to actually hit the ball:

  1. Slide the stick back and forth in your bridge a couple of times to get your arm moving and your balance together.

  2. When you feel ready, pull back and strike the cue ball at its center. At the precise moment that the stick comes in contact with the ball, your dominant arm should be at a 90-degree angle.

  3. Follow through on all your shots. Following through means extending your dominant arm in a straight line following the direction your cue ball went. You should follow through at least a couple of inches on all shots, and a whole foot or more on powerful or breaking shots.

  4. Before you strike the cue ball, you MUST aim. The trick to getting the object ball where you want it to go is to determine the point where it'd be propelled in the proper direction:
  • When you're first learning how to play, walk over to the object ball that has the greatest potential to drop into a pocket, and mentally draw a line from the pocket to the center of the ball.

  • Pretend that the line extends through the ball. The point where the line ends at the back of the ball is the exact point that you want the cue ball to hit it.

  • Aim the cue ball at this mental point on the object ball. If the cue ball has no way of directly reaching the point, there's no shot to be made there. Find another object ball.

Note the picture above. If you draw an imaginary line from the pocket straight through the 3-ball, you'll see exactly where you have to hit the 3-ball to sink it. So aim the cue ball at that exact spot on the 3-ball, and it should go in.

  • As you improve, you'll make this imaginary line out of habit; you'll be able to judge where you should hit the object ball simply by glancing its position on the table. But until you get to that point, ignore everyone else's groans and take your time drawing these mental lines. It's the only way to learn to aim.
Breaking

It can be particularly difficult for a beginning pool player to break a racked set of balls. Here's a good way to practice:

  1. Put the cue ball on the headspot. (When you get good, you can position the cue ball anywhere next to or behind the headspot to make the break.)

  2. Hit the leading ball of the rack squarely in the front.

  3. Follow through an extra 6 - 18 inches.

  4. Always hit the cue ball as hard as you can, or else the balls won't break apart fully. How embarrassing would it be to hit the cue ball into the racked balls, and not break any of them apart?