Bob Jewett

One Thing at a TimeThis s olid philosophy for life is also an effective way to practice.

Bob Fancher has updated his book onthe psychological aspects of playing pool,"Pleasures of Small Motions." He makesmany interesting points, but the one Inoticed most was that learning pool worksbest if only one thing is learned at a time.Below is an outline of a procedure that Ithink puts Fancher'spoints into practice.

Fancher is a firmbeliever in separate prac-tice time and play time.During practice time,work on developing spe-cific skills and thinkabout what you aredoing. Moreover, noticehow all aspects of theshot feel. During playtime, thought is mostly ahindrance. You must relyon your feel (this will bescary for the over-thinkers among you), andthought for the most partmust be put aside duringthe execution of the shot.

Well, let's suppose youwant to improve and areorganized enough topractice, and you have alist of things to work on.What's the best way towire up the circuits thatmust be in place in yourbrain/spine/arm to makeone of the shots you'rehaving trouble with?Isolate! Work on just thatshot for an extended peri-od of time, perhaps anhour. After your practiceon that single subject, don't try to learnanything new. It's okay to play and runpractice racks, but don't try to work on anynew skills for at least six hours.

For example, your list of problem shotsmight include break shots, draw at a dis-tance, open table cuts such as the spot shot,and precision stop/stun shots. You mightwant to fix all of these at once and put intwo hours on each. Fancher suggests thatthis is a bad strategy, and that you shouldconcentrate your time on just one aspect. <

Let's take stop/stun shots as an example

and work through it for a whole week, sup-posing you can get to a table three times ina week for at least half an hour each time.

Monday is league night, and you canarrive an hour early for practice alone. InDiagram 1 is your job for the night: pro-gressive practice stop shots. The goal is to

shoot the straight — in shot and have the cueball move no more than its own diameterafter contact. Another way to say this is thatthe cue ball must come to rest overlappingthe ghost ball. (The ghost ball is where thecue ball is at the instant of contact.)

As in all progressive practices, if youmake the shot with all of the requirements,set the next shot up a little harder by start-ing the cue ball farther back. If you miss,make the next shot easier, adjusting the cueball position in either case by half a dia-mond.

During your practice, try to get a feel forthe shot. Note your body position, themotion of your arm, the feel and sound ofthe tip on the ball, and the cue ball slidingdown the table straight at the object ball.The goal here is to build up images of theshot to replay when it's time to play it in a

game. One thing that mayhelp on this particularshot is to use a stripedball (or a training ball) asthe cue ball, so that whenyou start the cue ball withdraw — as you must —you can see the draw ebbdue to friction with thecloth until the instant ofcontact.

Score the drill by howfar back you are startingthe cue ball at the end ofyour practice. Since youhave moved the cue ballposition each time, thisone number gives yourscore for the night. Thecue ball is shown atpoint-value 2.

If you have gonethrough a couple of racksof this shot, and there isstill some practice timebefore league, try twoother variations. Youhave probably been play-ing the shot with a medi-um amount of draw;instead try the maximumand minimum draw youcan use and still get astop shot. When hittingthe cue ball as low as

possible, you will probably also have toreduce the speed for most shots. With theminimum-draw option, you will have tocrank up the speed, so the cue ball doesn'thave time to acquire follow on the way tothe object ball.

Later that night during league, just playyour regular game and let the practice sinkin. If you happen to come up to a stop shot,remember how it felt in practice and try toduplicate the feeling.

On your second session of the week,practice the stun shot, which is a stop shot

24 I ED-JANUARY 2003

Bob Jewett

at an angle. Set the balls up as in Diagram2, with each ball exactly a ball off the cush-ion, and place a coin straight sideways onthe stun path. Pocket the object ball andmove the cue ball to the coin. The precisionrequired is up to you. Leaving the cue ballon top of the coin is best, butmortals will settle for a palm'swidth of space (about fourinches) between the coin andthe ball. Move the coin pro-gressively farther away as yourskill improves.

You will probably find thatthis shot feels a lot like the sec-ond part of the first night'spractice. You are shooting a"stop" shot at various speeds.To get the distance, you need acertain speed, and to get thestop, you need a certainamount of draw for that speed.

If you have time in your hour of practice,try the shot with the cue ball starting a dia-mond further back. This is a much hardershot, since there is less angle to the pocketand you have to hit the cue ball harder toget it to move sideways. After the hour,challenge someone to straight pool.

For the final night of practice at stop/stunshots, try the shot in Diagram 3. The object

ball goes on the center spot — rightbetween the side pockets — and the goalcoin is placed along the kiss line startingone diamond toward the end. For that posi-tion goal, try various angles on the cue ball.Of course, nearly straight — in is what you

practiced on night two, but see how muchcut you can have and still get the cue ball tothe coin. You will probably find that this iseasiest when you place the cue ball only afew inches from the object ball. Do you seewhy?

After you have tried moving the cue ballone diamond from various approach lines,move the coin another diamond down thetable and try the various cut angles again.

Continue until the goal is to leave the cueball on the end cushion. Suppose in a realgame you had the shot to the side with ballin hand, and you had to move the cue ballto any position along the long string (thecenterline of the table). Do you have a feel

for the best starting point forthe cue ball?

The third practice hour con-cludes your work on stop/stunshots for the time being. Playfor a few weeks to let thingssettle in. You will probablyhave chances to apply whatyou've learned. Finally, takejust a few minutes to giveyourself an informal test. Setup five or six shots from allparts of the practice time, andsee how well you do on thevariety. Play them in shooting

mode — by feel — and not in practicemode with your brain turned on. How'syour progress? Try the progressive drillagain. Has your score improved?

It may seem like working on only onething at a time is too slow with all the facetsof your game that need polishing, but lookat it this way: If you fix just one problemper week, in a year you'll be out of prob-lems.

26 BD • JANUARY 2003

Bob Jewett

Physics and Pool?Is science really helpful in cue sports?

Can your p lay really benefit from anunderstanding of the math and sciencebehind the game? That's a question I hearall the time, and the answer is not so clear.

I think that during a match, too much cog-itation is a bad thing. If you have a tough 7-ball shot that needs outside draw to spinfour cushions to get on the badly-placed 8,it is the wrong time to be calculating decel-eration rates based on coefficients of fric-tion and relative surface motions. I'm afirm believer in the simple technique: "Seethe shot, shoot the shot." That may startlelong-time readers of this column, butplease note that I'm only referring to aplaying situation.

During practice time, you need to bethinking about what you're doing and whythe balls behave as they do. Well, it's notrequired; you can become a championwithout ever really understanding what'shappening on the table. It just takes a lot oftalent and practice time. For most of us,learning how the balls work, and especial-ly how each factor can change the outcomeof shots, makes practice time more effi-cient. If you can put your experience into acoherent framework, and build that base,your game will become solid more quickly.

A second area where science can help isto knock down bogus ideas or give supportto valid and useful ideas, and perhapsextend them. An example of the former isthe old advice on how to make a ball that isfrozen on the cushion: "Hit the ball andcushion at the same time." It is remarkablehow many confused, poorly-read playersstill believe this "obvious" but wrongnotion. It is simple enough to disprove, butbecause a champion or two has passed onthis "wisdom," it is still in circulation.

An example of old advice that physicscan illuminate is the "perfect draw" shot.Major Broadfoot, in his excellent 1896book "Billiards," discusses the shot shownin Diagram 1. The problem is controllingthe path of the cue ball, and specificallysending it along the line perpendicular tothe cue ball's original path.

Broadfoot's solution is to play the shotwith a half-ball contact (aim the center ofthe cue ball at the edge of the object ball)and use "best draw." Broadfoot goes on tosay that if you don't get a perpendicular cueball path, you must have hit the object ball

with more or less than half ball. This basicidea has been covered several times in thismagazine, first in Dr. George Onoda's May1989 column, and more recently in myNovember 2000 article on half-ball shots.

A closer look at the physics of the shotexplains how it works, and what can bemodified. The final cue ball angle for anydraw shot can be found by complicatedequations or a simple graphical methodgiven here in June 2001. It turns out that fora half-ball hit, "ideal" draw — that is, as

much draw as a smoothly rolling ball hasfollow, so that the surface of the top of theball is not moving at all — is not quiteenough to pull the cue ball back to the per-pendicular line. This means that if you doget the right path on the cue ball, either youhit the cue ball slightly fuller than half ball,or you managed to get "retrograde" drawon the cue ball.

When seated comfortably in your arm-chair, physics doesn't tell you the limits toshots. For example, without actually tryingthe draw shot above, you can't tell whetheryour tip, chalk, stroke, cloth, object ball,and cue ball can achieve Broadfoot's per-fect draw. For that you have to go to thepractice table and try a few shots. The prac-tice is also necessary so that the next timethe shot comes up, you will recognize itand be able to execute it.

Another shot where science provides atleast a partial solution is the masse. Almost200 years ago, a French scientist namedCoriolis worked out the amazing resultshown in Diagram 2. If you want the cueball to curve into the final path shown, yourstick needs to be pointing through the cueball to a spot on the cloth on the "directionline" which is parallel to the final path.Coriolis also showed that the curved part ofthe path is a shape called a parabola, whichis the same sort of path a ball follows in theair if wind resistance is not a factor.Unfortunately, Coriolis failed to provide auseful formula for how hard to hit the ball,just as a baseball coach won't tell you howhard to throw to get the ball to second base— you learn by doing. For more details onthis way to aim masse shots, see RobertByrne's book on "Advanced Technique."

Sometimes physics can provide generalguidelines on how an experiment is likelyto work out. People often wonder about thebest weight for a break cue, where the mainconcern is how fast the cue ball is going.The actual experiment is very hard to do. Ifa person is swinging the stick, it is neces-sary to give him time to get used to the heftand balance of each different weight. Justbecause you break well with a 21-ouncestick doesn't mean it's best for you, but itcould take you a month to get your timingdown for a 17-ouncer. Basic physics doessay that if you plot your break speed versusstick weight, the resulting curve should be

24 BD • FEBRUARY 2003

Bob Jewett

quite smooth, like the plot in Diagram 3.On the vertical axis is the estimated energyin the cue ball compared to 100 percent at20 ounces — the assumed best weight. Theexact width of the curve needs to be deter-mined by a sports kinesiologist (bodymotion scientist) but I expect no more thana few percent change in cueball energy for a plus-or-minus two ounce change instick weight.

This kind of smooth opti-mum is often seen in phys-ical situations where thereare two competing factors.In the case of a break stick,a light stick just can't getany speed into the ball —imagine breaking with justthe shaft of your cue. Onthe other end, a very heavy stick is too hardto accelerate with just your arm — imaginetying a couple of bricks to the butt.Somewhere in the middle is the bestweight, and the general nature of the prob-lem says that you won't get 50 percentmore power from a one-ounce change instick weight.

Another area where knowledge of thephysics of the game can help is in referee-ing. Usually when judging which ball was

hit first, you can detect a bad hit by thedirections and speeds of the balls just afterthe shot. This is good, because it's oftenimpossible to actually see the order of con-tact. Many players haven't caught on tothis, and will call someone over to watch ahit when the legality of the hit will be clear

from anywhere in the room. An example ofthis type of call is in Diagram 4, where thecue ball may hit the 7 or 9 first. The dia-gram shows the path of just the cue ball,something which you could certainly trackfrom across the room. This alone is enoughinformation for a physics-savvy referee tomake a call. Can you tell which ball was hitfirst?

Another refereeing application is in dou-ble hits on close object balls. Balls do

things for good physical reasons, and oftenplayers are confused about those reasons.In particular, if the cue ball hits a closeobject ball full, it will stop dead, just aswhen it hits a distant object ball full. I'vehad one player tell me that the subsequenthigh speed on the cue ball — it caught up

with the object ball — wasbecause he had "specialstuff' on the ball, whichdecays rapidly as the ballmoves off the tip, so it isnot seen on longer-dis-tance shots. Yeah, right.

A final application ofphysics in billiards is tothe design of the equip-ment. Most recently, thishas been seen in stickdesign where the underly-

ing mechanisms of squirt (sometimesincorrectly called deflection) have beenfirst revealed by high-speed camera, andthen developed into a theory that can guideuseful designs.

Do you need to know pool physics to playwell? Goodness, no! Look at all the fineplayers who don't know tensor from tennis.It can help you learn more quickly, though,and for some people it's fun studying all onits own.

26 | ED • FEBRUARY 2003

Bob Jewett

Experimental ResultsReaders reveal their findings on the question of throw.

In Mike Sigel's columns last August andOctober, he presented a remarkable hypoth-esis: There is no throw between the cue balland the object ball on normal shots. Sincethis conflicts with what has been saidbefore by the likes of Willie Mosconi,Robert Byrne and Joe Davis, there wasunderstandably quite a bit of controversy,expressed both in letters to the editor and inlively exchanges on Internet discussiongroups.

In my December column, I proposed anexperiment (actually, three) for readers totry and to report back on. The response wasthe largest I've had to such a proposal, with13 sets of results turned in, including twofrom group efforts. Several of the amateurscientists had started work before my callfor testing went out, and a couple had evenfinished their studies. One of the responsescame from a player who is in prison — didyou know that the leather tip was inventedby Francois Mingaud while a prisoner inFrance? — but the analysis had to be donewithout the aid of a table.

The award for creativity goes to 15-year-old Dave DeSimone, who came up withthree different tests. In the early stages ofhis experiments, to demonstrate the idea tohis dad, he used what happened to be avail-able at the time: a cue ball and a baseball.The result was that the baseball was thrownby an easily visible angle, larger than seenwith pool balls. He concluded, I think cor-rectly, that there is large friction betweenthe cue ball and the baseball, which makesthe angle large. While this doesn't directlyaddress collisions between pool balls, itdoes establish the occurrence of throwbetween balls at least under some condi-tions. This kind of test is often useful in sci-ence — do an experiment that is not quitewhat you want but is easier to do orobserve, and try to work the results into atheory that could apply to the test youwould really like to do.

Dave realized that the main problem withtesting for cue-ball-to-object-ball throw isthat you need to know the location of thecue ball when it hits the object ball. Hepoints out that because there is an uncon-scious tendency to correct for squirt, it'sreally hard for a shooter to know exactly —within a millimeter or less — where the cueball is at the instant of contact. His next test

was to set up the cue ball and object ballfrozen to the side of the triangle as shownin Diagram 1. "Rack side" English and afull hit are used, and the object ball isdeemed to have been thrown if it movesaway from the straight-ahead line of theshot. This is an effective way to control the

position of the cue ball because, as Davesays, "Even if the object ball is contacted tothe right instead of dead on, the rack willabsorb the energy and send the object ballat the angle the rack is pointing." In effect,the rack is a very dead rail that makes theball go nearly parallel to its side.

In Dave's final test, he forced the cue ballto be in a known position by setting up twocue sticks as in Diagram 2, with justenough space between them for the cueball. He reports that the object ball wasthrown and that at least on some shots,there was side spin visible on the ball whichmade it take a noticeably wider angle when

contacting a cushion. He makes the inter-esting extension that this transfer of sidespin is the same thing as the cue ball'stransferring follow to an object ball whenyou play the cue with draw, the usefulnessof which any decent player can attest to.

Another reader who started experiment-ing without being prompted was RonnNadeau, who wrote a brief article on theno-throw idea complete with three colorpictures. While doing his research, Ronndiscovered (or rediscovered) the possibilityof "two-ball English-induced throw." Hissetup is in Diagram 3. It is a simple two-ball combination. When testing this shot,make sure you tap the balls into place oruse paper reinforcement donuts for repeata-bility. Normally, you would throw the com-bination by hitting one side or the other ofthe first object ball. Suppose that you haveto hit that ball full for position or other rea-sons. Will side spin on the cue ball changethe path of the second ball? Ronn thinks so.Check it out.

One semi-anonymous reader named"Pete" from cyberspace tried only the lasttest I proposed, which was to place severalballs as if spotted on the foot spot and see ifthe back one could be made into a cornerpocket. He found that with four balls spot-ted, and the cue ball starting even with thehead spot, about half way to the side cush-ion, without side spin on the cue ball, it wasjust barely impossible to cut the fourth ballinto the corner pocket as the third was inthe way. With side spin (on the side of thethird ball) he made the ball ten times in arow. Since the third ball prevents the cueball from swerving in for a fuller hit, Peteconcluded that the only explanation wasthrow on the object ball: "Although I havenot clouded the issue with a lot of spread-sheets, theories of plane geometry orphysics, or gobbledygook, I feel that [...]this cuts to the core of the issue and provesthat English applied to the cue ball doesaffect the path taken by the object ballwhen the two collide."

Of the eight experimenters who tried thislast setup, six found that spin helped makea ball that was just barely impossible with-out it, but two found that side spin didn'tseem to help. This is an easy one for you toset up on your own, although it's hard toput an actual number on how spin changes

24 | BD • MARCH 2003

Bob Jewett

the shot.Nearly all of the experimenters had trou-

ble with my second proposed test, which isshown in Diagram 4. The set up is like the"back spotted ball cut" mentionedabove, but with more precision in thepositioning. The idea was to see if theobject ball could be brought acrossthe centerline of the table with spin.The blocker is placed so that the cueball, when frozen to both balls, islined up with the object ball straightup the centerline. I have a proposedmodification now for this shot, andthat's to place a second blocker on theother side so that the cue ball can onlybe struck at one spot. This is similarto Dave DeSimone's use of two sticks torestrict the position of the cue ball.

Ken Shafer came up with his own test aswell, shown in Diagram 5. First, set up afrozen ball combination on the 9 — use the4 ball — that needs to be thrown by hittingthe 4 from an angle. Tap the balls or usedonuts for repeatability. With the combo setup on the table, line up the 1-2-3 balls in aperfectly straight line pointed to hit the 4ball absolutely full and at the needed anglefor the throw. These balls also need to berepeatably placed. Now remove the 4 balland shoot the 1-2-3 combo at the 9. The 3

will arrive exactly where the 4 was if youare careful. Ken's result was that the 9 wasthrown just as much by the loose 3 ball asby the frozen 4 ball.

How does this show cue ball/object ballthrow? Imagine that the 3 ball is the cueball. In fact, you could use the cue ball in itsplace, as the last ball in the three-ball line-up. This shot can test whether the cue ballthrows the object ball even without side

spin on the cue ball, just as a frozen ballwill throw its neighbor. Many authors thinkthis happens, and this kind of throw iscalled "collision-induced throw." Believers

claim that it occurs on all cut shotswithout side spin. Try the test foryourself.

The best results in terms of quanti-fying throw were from tests of thefirst position I proposed, which islike Diagram 4 but without theblockers. You have to be careful withthe setup to make sure that squirt andswerve do not pollute the measure-ments, but the test is quite easy to do.

Next month, I'll go over the numer-ical results from the 12 shooters who

reported on my first position, and we'llhave a for-the-time-being final word onwhether throw exists, and how big an effectit has if it does exist.

Deciding on the two sets of results to winthe prizes was hard, given the innovativeapproaches. In the end, I chose the resultsthat were most complete in careful setup,number of measurements, and analysis.The winners are Dan White (who did use aspreadsheet) and the team from the rec cen-ter at New Mexico Tech, including RayPiworunas and his coworkers, August,Lloyd and A.J.

26 BD • MARCH 2003

Bob Jewett

The Results Are InReaders responding to the Jewett challenge find evidence of throw.

When you can mea-sure what you arespeaking about, andexpress it in num-bers, you knowsomething about it;but when you cannotmeasure it, whenyou cannot expressit in numbers, yourknowledge is of ameager and unsatis-factory kind: it maybe the beginning ofknowledge, but youhave scarcely, inyour thoughts,advanced to thestage of science. —Lord Kelvin

In last month'scolumn on experi-ments in throw, Iwent over some results from readers thatwere mostly qualitative in nature — that is,there were usually no numbers involved,just observations. For example, there wereno conclusions such as "With old balls andmaximum side spin, it is possible to get upto six degrees of throw." Instead, the resultswere mostly of the nature, "I saw somethrow in my setup."

Lord Kelvin, who gave us the Kelvin tem-perature scale of measurement, would notbe satisfied with such results. To start to bereal science, the experiment needs not onlya number attached to the result, but an esti-mate of the confidence (or uncertainty) ofthe number. Even if the measured throw isclose to zero, the result should include an"error bar" like: "We consistently measuredless than +/- 0.5 degrees of throw for allcases."

The setup that I proposed to measurethrow is shown in Diagram 1. The balls arepointed straight up the table. Trials aremade using three different types of English:Center-ball, left and right. The English isapplied while shooting straight at the objectball, and the landing location on the farcushion is noted. Care must be used in thesetup to avoid known pitfalls. For example,the cue ball must be close to the object ballto avoid the well-known phenomena of

squirt and swerve. The effects of these arein opposite directions, and are known to beplenty large enough to ruin the results if notwell-controlled. Also, it is common forplayers to subconsciously apply a little cor-rection angle on the cue stick when apply-ing side spin, and the close positioninghelps to reduce this effect as well.

Results were submitted for eleven differ-ent shooters following the above diagram.The most thorough and careful setup wasby Dan White, who took the following stepsto ensure accuracy. He positioned the ballson paper reinforcement donuts for positionrepeatability. He set the balls up so that thecue ball travelled only one inch before con-tacting the object ball. He controlled thespeed to two table lengths to avoid any roll-off contamination. He used an object ball asthe cue ball so that the amount of Englishcould be easily seen on the ball. (Someexperimenters used a training cue ball forthis same reason.) He applied the Englishwithout any squirt-compensating pivot andwith a level-as-possible stick. He cleanedthe "cue ball" before each shot and posi-tioned it with the same side "forward." Torecord where the object ball hit on the cush-ion, a camcorder with a macro lens wasused and a ruler was positioned just abovethe cushion. The camcorder was reposi-

tioned for each case so that it was lookingstraight down on the landing location forthat case. Ten trials were done for each caseto allow a determination of consistency.

The best sets of measurements alsoincluded an estimate of the error, asdescribed above. For some of these, all ofthe measurements were included.

In Diagram 2, I have combined theresults and represented them graphically.The distance above center on the chartreflects the amount to the left the cue balllanded on the cushion for right English, andthe distance below center is the how far tothe right the cue ball landed for left English.The initials give the experimenter, and foreach experimenter, an average for both leftand right results is shown. All but one set ofresults demonstrated throw; John Cundiff(JC) observed no throw within his estimat-ed margin of error. The entries that beginwith "NM" are results for four shooterstesting on the same table and with the sameballs.

Some experimenters had multiple sets ofresults. Frank Zrinski tried multiple speeds,strokes, and offsets, and I chose a represen-tative set. He also observed the landingpoint when the object ball came back to thesecond end cushion, and managed to pock-et the ball under some conditions.

2 4 BD-APRIL 2003

Bob Jewett

Some experimenters also tried extensionson the original experiment's set-up. Forinstance, Rick Malm, who recorded lowthrow under his conditions, also tried thesame test after chalking the object ball, andfound 9 inches of throw on some shots.

You may want to draw your own conclu-sions from the results, but here are mine.Cue-ball-to-object-ball throw exists and issignificant. It seems to vary with conditionsand shooter. It can be as large as six inchesfor a ball path six diamonds in length,which is clearly enough to affect a signifi-cant number of shots. Some players seem tohave a bias towards left or right throw. (Thiscould be due to an error in alignment, forexample.)

Of course, as a fellow scientist, you maywant to take these conclusions on a proba-tionary basis until you can do your owntests.

When I first read the original hypothesisthat throw does not exist, I was quite skep-tical, but the scientific approach is not tosimply ignore or deride ideas that don'tseem to lit, but instead to establish tests tosee if they have merit. Of course, it doesn'thelp the original hypothesis that it com-pletely ignored the measurements that hadbeen done in the past to demonstrate throw,such as those by Jack Koehler in his book

"The Science of Pocket Billiards." Yetanother set of measurements were made bythe several experimenters who participatedin a test I proposed in my first column forthis magazine, back in April 1992.Scientific methodology demands that youinclude or at least consider those who havegone before, and those who ignore previouswork lose credibility.

Lastly, a hypothesis has to fit into gener-ally accepted theories of physics. In thecase of throw, the applicable theories arevery basic ones, such as conservation ofmomentum and energy, and the way fric-tion works. The original hypothesis — thatthere is no throw — does not fit into thisframework at all. As Professor Hilden of theUniversity of Hawaii math department said,"If a cue ball cannot throw an object ball,then much of classical physics can bethrown ... out the window."

Well, whether you're convinced or not ofthe existence of throw, I hope that you willcheck for yourself the next time you'replaying how large it is on your equipmentand for your stroke. Check also to see if youhave a left/right bias, as some of the exper-imenters seem to. If so, you may want torecalibrate the way you look at the table, orat least realize that this bias can affect yourplay.

26 BD-APRIL 2003

Bob Jewett

Progressive MasseLearn to swerve.

Masse shots are a delight to playand see, provided that you're not theowner of the table. Here are someuseful and fairly gentle masse shotsto practice and have ready for play. Agood way to avoid irritating theowner is to find out when a table isgoing to be recovered, and arrangetime on the table the week before.

Diagram 1 shows one of myfavorite drills. It is set up as a pro-gressive practice, which means thatthe difficulty is automatically adjust-ed depending on your progress. Theobject ball is in the jaws of the pock-et, the blocker ball is on the cushionat a location marked by a coin, andthe cue ball is half a ball off thecushion and about a ball from theblocker. The goal of the shot is tomake the object ball with a masse,but you should also be working ontwo other aspects of the shot. Try touse as little speed as possible; mak-ing the ball just roll over the brinkwithout the cue ball touching anycushion is ideal. At the same time,try to use as little elevation as possi-ble — I think you'll be surprised athow shallow an angle will work forthis relatively moderate curve, if youcombine a little draw with the sidespin. Do not attack this shot likesome yahoo killing snakes; easydoes it.

The progressive part comes aftereach attempt. If you make the shot,move the coin a little farther fromthe pocket, perhaps half a diamond, andmove the blocker ball to match. If you miss,move the marker closer. You could just usethe blocker ball to keep track of yourprogress if you don't hit it very often. Thismethod will automatically adjust the shot tothe distance where you can make it abouthalf the time, which is not too hard or tooeasy. At the end of each set of 15 shots orso, you can record the location of the coinas your score and measure your progress.

If you find that you can make the shotmost of the time from eight diamondsaway, it's time to move the cue ball fartherbehind the blocker ball, so that it is fullyeclipsed. If you can do that shot from eightdiamonds away half the time, let's go on

the road. Practice curving in both directionsso your game doesn't get lopsided.

If you find you do occasionally hit thetable with your tip, get additional protec-tion for the table by placing a piece ofleather or thick cloth on the table under the"corner" of the cue ball where the tip hits.On this shot, the tip's landing spot shouldbe out the path of the cue ball.

Another very common situation in play iswhen you are only slightly blocked by aball, and a combination of a little bit ofswerve and throw will move the ball overenough. In Diagram 2 is such a shot. Thereis a straight line between the edges of thecue-ball, blocker ball, object ball and cornerof the side pocket. It might help to stretch a

thread on the cloth for quick alignment.The shot is shown in the easiest position.

It is made progressively harder by movingthe cue ball and blocker farther from thepocket. In this drill, you can again holdyour place with a coin. A slightly harderversion is to move the object ball with theothers. For still more challenge, move thecue ball so that its edge is slightly over thethread, so that you need more curve.

Because the object ball is farther awayfrom the pocket, this shot requires quite abit more precision than the first one. Youwill find that if you use minimum speed,spin and elevation, your job will be easier.

A use for masse that many players over-look is to move the cue ball after contact

Expo

24 | BD • MAY 2003

Bob Jewett

with a close-by object ball. Often somekind of safety is involved. In Diagram 3,Shot A shows a situation from 9-baIl thatneeds a safety, but how? The angle doesn'tquite allow hiding thecue ball behind the 8-9with just side spin.Elevate a little and useright draw to get the cueball to curve just afterleaving the 7. The shotprogresses by movingthe pair of balls backalong the arrow shown.

Shot B shows a similarsafety situation withoutany hiders handy. Onthis shot, the goal is toleave the cue ball at theother end of the table,and the object ball closeto the end rail — let'ssay less than a hand-span. In this case,"outside" English is needed along withdraw. Progress is made by moving the pairof balls farther up the table. This shot is notdangerous to the table if hit properly, but atfirst you might want a landing pad. Onething to note while playing this shot is howlittle the object ball moves for the strengthof the hit. As you elevate the stick, more of

the shot's energy goes into the slate andless into moving the cue ball.

Shots like A and B come up frequently inone-pocket and straight pool. In either, you

will find yourself stuck to a ball or most ofthe rack, and any normal angle to a cushionfor a safe is not safe. Often, a little curve onthe cue ball solves the problem. A particu-larly useful example is when the cue ball ison the side of the rack, as in Diagram 4.You want to freeze the cue ball on the farend cushion. The normal kiss angle off therack goes to the end cushion (or maybe the

pocket) and requires excellent speed con-trol if the cue ball is to touch the rail butstill be left close.

The masse solution is to elevate just a lit-tle to curve the cue ballafter contact, so that itfirst hits the side cush-ion. Now if the cue ballstops a millimeter shortof the end rail, youhaven't fouled, and thesafety is very tough toescape from.

If the cloth is stickyand the cue ball is oldand worn, good masseaction is much harderto obtain. A siliconelubricant likeArmorAll on the cueball will help make thecloth play like new,

and is much less expensive. Unfortunately,it is only a temporary solution, as it wearsoff.

For further study, check out RobertByrne's "Advanced Technique in Pool andBilliards," which covers the standard wayto aim masse shots. If you have back issuesof this magazine, check in February of1998 for some other suggestions.

26 BD-MAY 2003

Bob Jewett

Handicapping 14.1Start up an even-handed straight pool league.

It seems that the demise of 14.1, AKAstraight pool, may not happen for awhile.

While there has been no major 14.1tournament that I'm aware of since the2000 edition of the U.S. Open in NewYork City, I've heard of several activeleagues from NYC to Fargo, Minn., toMountain View, Calif., where I play inone. More players show up each season,perhaps attracted by the lower luck fac-tor — compared to those smash-and-pray games that are more common — orthe fact that you can more easily keeptrack of your progress in learning thegame as your run lengths increase.

The local league runs with "seasons"and a round-robin format, so everyplayer gets to play every other player,just as the teams in most 8-ball leaguesdo. Since each "team" is just a singleplayer, it's easy to schedule makeupmatches. The turnout this season is solarge that we've had to split into A andB divisions. At the end of regular play,we'll have a two-week playoff of thefour players with the most wins in eachdivision.

Handicapping is done by setting thenumber of points each player needs fora win, with the best players going to140 and the novice players going to 50.This length was chosen to give roughlya two-hour match.

In the past, adjustment was done onlyat the end of the season. The handicapsof the top third of the field were raisedand the bottom third lowered, typicallyby 10 points. This system is pretty sim-ple and gives everyone a chance to winat least some games.

In the next season, we are going toadopt an automatic rating adjustmentsystem to be applied after each week'splay. This is based on the player ratingideas discussed by Mike Page in hisanalysis of the results of the 9-ballWorld Championships in BD's October2002 issue, "Sizing Up with the Pros."The adjustments are also similar to a 9-ball system I discussed here inDecember 1996.

Each player is assigned a rating — thehigher the better. Someone who some-times runs 50 in the league might have

120-Point Chart

Rating Diff.

0-3

4-9

10-15

16-22

23-29

30-37

38-45

46-54

55-63

64-72

73-83

84-94

95-106

107-119

120-133

134-149

150-167

168-188

189-212

213-241

242-277

278-326

327-400

Match

120-120

120-115

120-110

120-105

120-100

120-95

120-90

120-85

120-80

120-75

120-70

120-65

120-60

120-55

120-50

120-45

120-40

120-35

120-30

120-25

120-20

120-15

120-10

a rating of 700, while someone who hasa season-best of 20 balls might be a600. The actual number is unimportant,since the handicap is determined just bythe difference between the ratings. Thehandicap tables are set up so that a dif-ference of 100 rating points leads to a50 percent handicap of the length of thegame.

The first table, printed in the middleof this page, shows straight pool match-es in which the better player goes to120 points. For our two hypotheticalplayers who are 100 rating points apart,the match would be 120-60. If the play-ers are 300 points apart, they wouldplay at 120-15, which is probably notsuch an interesting match, and meansthat the league needs to be split intodivisions.

Other charts can be calculated forother game lengths so that the gamescome out about the right length of time.For example, if two weaker players arematched up, the 60-point table on page26 might be used.

Other lengths of matches from 50 to150 points are available online at theSan Francisco Billiard Academy Website, at www.sfbilliards.com, to allowtailoring to your time constraints. If oneplayer is particularly slow, you couldtake his matches from a shorter chart.

Ratings are adjusted after each match.The winner goes up by three ratingpoints, while the loser goes down bythree points. This is easy to put into aspread sheet, but is also easy enough todo by hand. The next week, everyonefinds the difference between their ratingand their opponents', looks on the post-ed charts, and begins the matches. It'sbest to have a score sheet at each tablewith the handicap written down, sincethe matches will be changing every week.

In a player's second season, adjust hisrating by only two points per match,since he has some track record. In thethird and following seasons, adjust byjust a single point for each match.

In some handicapping systems —14.1, 9-ball and carom — it is necessaryto keep track of per-inning averages.Often this leads to sandbagging, wherea player will intentionally drag the

24 | BD • JUNE 2003

Bob Jewett

game out to appear to be much weakerthan he is so he will get an unfair startfrom the other players. This is not apleasant situation. In the above system,there is no requirement to keep inningaverages and much less chance to sand-bag.

One of the hardest parts of running ahandicapped league is figuring outwhere to start new players. One goodway is to have them play an establishedplayer to see how they match up. Youcould even look at one of the charts tofigure out the rating. Suppose the newplayer won the test match, 60-45.Looking in the 60-point chart, on thispage, that puts him roughly 40 ratingpoints better than his opponent. Ofcourse, either player could have beenhaving an exceptional day, and a longermatch would give a more accurate ideaof their relative strengths, but it's astart.

Sometimes new players need to beadjusted significantly after the first fewweeks of play. One way to handle thiswould be to look at the scores of eachmatch as above, and figure out theinferred rating difference from the

60-Point Chart

Rating Diff.

0-6

7-19

20-33

34-49

50-67

68-88

89-112

113-141

142-177

178-226

227-300

Match

60-60

60-55

60-50

60-45

60-40

60-35

60-30

60-25

60-20

60-15

60-10

scores, and then the inferred rating foreach match from the ratings of theopponents. In the example above, if theopponent is a 630-rating, the new play-er is estimated — for that single game— to be a 670. The average of the esti-mates from several matches, or perhapsthe middle one of an odd number,should be a good estimate of the newplayer's performance.

A good league operator is essential tothe success of any league. Our league isa low-budget effort, with our volunteerleague operator, Alex Balogi, doing allthe work for zero pay. His frequent e-mails and posted schedules keep every-one up to date. The $8 per week chargegoes mostly for table time plus an occa-sional pizza night. This season the win-ners of the two division playoffs willeach get a set of billiard balls in a hand-made presentation box.

If you do try a straight-pool league,don't be discouraged by a low turnoutthe first few sessions. As word getsaround, and people see the game, theleague will grow, and players will havefun and build skill at a game thatdeserves to be played more.

26 BD-JUNE 2003

Bob Jewett

Odds and EndsTake the $200 challenge.

This month, I'll wrap up a few looseends from previous columns, and repeatsome things which seem not to have beenunderstood by all.

Last month, 1 covered a hand-icapping method for a straightpool (14.1) league. Recently,that scheme has been put intooperation at a local pool hall inDublin, Calif., with a twist thatyou might find useful. Insteadof the usual round-robin formatfor teams, it is what you mightcall a "drop-in" format.Whoever shows up each weekgets to play, with a randomdraw. Since the matches arehandicapped, it doesn't makemuch difference who you draw each week,but the draw could be adjusted to match upmore pairs who haven't played before inthe season. If an odd number of peopleshow up, the League Operator sits out thattime.

At the end of the season, the top finish-ers are decided by most games won, withlosses used only for tie breaks. Half of theweekly $10 entry fee goestowards cash prizes at the end ofthe season, with the other half tothe house. This format could beused for 9-ball as well, andgives players a reason to returnto the pool room at least onceeach week.

In my June 1992 column, Iproposed the experiment incurve shown in Diagram 1.Some people claim to be able tomake an object ball curve. Idon't believe them. Unlikesome non-believers, I'm willingto put my money where my mouth is andpay $200 to anyone who can teach me howto make the ball curve. So far, I've had notakers. The balls are as shown, with theobject ball in question exactly a ball off thecushion. Can it be made to curve into thefar pocket? The shot must be legal to col-lect on my offer. Since it is impossible toprove an impossibility, I can't say that theshot absolutely can't be done, but until I seeit, I'm a skeptic, and will put the "objectball curvers" in the same camp as the ChalkBorers.

In my first column for this magazine, Iproposed an experiment to determine thebest way to cut a ball that was frozen to the

cushion straight down the rail. Some books,like Mosconi's "Winning Pocket Billiards,"get it horribly wrong when they say to hitthe ball and the cushion at the same time.In response to my column, BD's readers(and, separately, Jack Koehler, in hisdetailed study of the problem) showed thatyou almost always need to hit the cushionfirst, typically a quarter-inch from theobject ball.

Sadly, some authors continue to push themyth of "ball and cushion at the sametime."

Here is a quick test you can do to con-vince yourself of the error in that idea.Suppose you are cutting a frozen ball down

the rail at 45 degrees as shownin Diagram 2. The problem indoing the test is to be sure thatthe cue ball touches the objectball and cushion simultaneous-ly. The trick is to use the cueball as a combo ball so that wecan set precisely where it hitsthe object ball and cushion.Place the cue ball frozen to theobject ball where some say itmust land to make the shot.Now very carefully move thecue ball one millimeter awayfrom the object ball and one

millimeter away from the cushion. Youcould use a coin as a gauge. Note that youhave moved the cue ball at 45 degrees awayfrom the object ball. If you now send thecue ball back along that 45-degree line, thecue ball will hit the cushion and ball simul-taneously.

Now, using an object ball as the cue ball,set the shot up at 45 degrees so that a full

hit on the object ball will drivethe cue ball back to its startingposition.

The reason for the lmm sepa-ration is so that the cue ball willhave left its contact with the"object cue ball" before contacton the frozen ball is made, andavoids any complication of allthree balls touching at the sameinstant.

If you want to repeat the orig-inal experiment, set up the shotas above, but then move thefrozen ball down the rail a little

until it starts going into the pocket. It ispossible to move it nearly the width of achalk down the rail and still make it if youshoot hard.

Perhaps the best advice for shooting thisshot is from Steve Mizerak, who advisesignoring the cushion, and just shooting theball into the pocket with the same aimingmethod you use for all other shots.

In several recent issues, there was a livelydiscussion of the existence of throw. BD'sreaders conclusively showed — if anyonereally needed proof — that throw does

24 BD • JULY 2003

Bob Jewett

exist: sidespin on the cue ball can alter thepath of the object ball from the line of cen-ters at the instant of contact. One authorwho has shown the utility of throwingrather than cutting an object ball into thepocket is Ray Martin in"The 99 Critical Shots inPool." He shows a typicalsituation in 14.1 (though italso shows up in 9-ball) inwhich the shot is almost butnot quite straight in (shot16, page 50). The goal is tominimize the sidewaysmovement of the cue ballbut still get the cut angle.

A recent discussion on theInternet put this shot intoquestion. Diagram 3 showsanother quick test you cando to see how well the shotworks with your equip-ment. The goal on this shot is to get boththe cue ball and the object ball to movetoward cushion A. For the object ball, try tohit the target ball (TB) on the cushion. Forthe cue ball, you measure success by seeingwhether the cue ball ends closer to thecushion than it started. The measurement— I hope you remember Lord Kelvin'sadmonition about numbers — is to see how

far apart the balls can be started before thetwo goals cannot be met. I hope you quick-ly see that if the balls are an inch apart, bothcan be moved easily towards the cushion.This alone proves the existence of throw.

Now, what is the distance at which you canno longer meet the goals?

A final item is a major misconceptionabout how cushions work. Some instructorssay that when you bank the ball hard thereis some kind of cushion compression andthe ball is returned on a more perpendicularpath to the cushion than it is for softershots. There seems to be no truth to this

idea (and I have to plead guilty to teachingthis bogosity before I did learn the truth).

The test shown in Diagram 4 has beenpreviously covered a couple of times in thismagazine, and in Bob Byrne's "Advanced

Technique" book, as wellas countless times inInternet discussions, butthere are still many play-ers who remain unin-formed, but perhaps notuninformable. Set up athree-ball combo on thecushion and close to thecushion — as close as youcan put them without thelast ball being interferedwith as it exits the rubber.For repeatability, aimthem at a far target — aspot on the wall — or tapthem into place. Try hard

and soft shots. Move them back from thecushion a diamond, and try again. Movethem back two diamonds and try again. It isfollow on the banking ball and not cushioncompression that explains the results that Ithink you'll observe.

Have you encountered a loose end or anidiocy that you would like illuminated?Send it in as grist for a future column.

r ;

26 BD-JULY 2003

Bob Jewett

Bumping BallsIf Efren does it, shouldn't you?

Perhaps the best advice on how to planyour way through each rack is to keep itsimple. In an ideal world, the cue ball neverbumps into extra balls, cushion use is min-imized, and stop shots dominate. The realworld is different, andusually some complica-tion creeps in, often as aneed to bump into balls— either to break clus-ters or just because thecarom can't be avoided.

A couple of years agoat the L.A. BilliardExpo, there was a con-current invitational 8-ball tournament. I gotup early one morningand found Efren Reyesat the tournament tableabout to practice. Therewere two noteworthyfacts. First, I was theonly spectator, in abuilding full of poolplayers, who seemed towant to watch one ofthe greatest positionplayers in the worldpractice tough positionplay. For free.

Second was the wayEfren practiced 8-ball.He would carefully setup two or three clustersof balls near cushions,and then try to getthrough this tough lay-out. When he took thecue ball into clusters, itwas with only enoughspeed to move the ballsa little apart. How often do you drive half abroken cluster to the other end of the tablefor fear of getting stuck against one of theballs?

If Efren needs practice at bumping balls,maybe you do too.

In Diagram 1 are several good drills forlearning how the cue ball reacts when it hitsa second object ball just after the targetball. In Shot A, the object balls are frozenand aligned straight up the table. Place thecue ball as shown, more or less parallelwith the short rail, so that you are forced to

touch the 2 ball a little. The first drill is topocket the 1 ball and get position on the 2for the same pocket. Try follow, draw andstop on the cue ball as well as differentspeeds. Once you are comfortable with a

little bump, move all the balls farther fromthe pocket so that you will bump the 2 hard-er. Finally for this drill, move the cue ballfor a thicker or thinner shot on the 1 ball,for several positions of the object balls.

As a second drill, start from this same setof positions but try to move the cue ball tovarious spots on the table after bumpinginto the 2, such as XI, X2, Yl, Y2 and soon. Perfection is hard on this drill, but ifyou end up on the wrong side of the table,rethink your method.

Next, try the very similar situation in the

second shot of Diagram 1, in which the 4ball is about a ball from the 3. To make bothballs, you may find it easier to use soft fol-low, and play the 4 up the table, dependingon the line the cue ball takes off the 3.

In Diagram 2, thedrill is to practice land-ing on clusters to get asecond shot. Set your-self up with a prettygood angle to get to thepair of balls on thecushion, and then try tocall your next shot.Does breaking hard orsoft work better foryou? It's not so easy toname which ball in acluster is next, but it'seven harder if you nevertry for anything specif-ic. Of course, youwould prefer to have a"safety ball" positionedin the jaws of a pocketfor a sure next shot, butlet's suppose the ducksare all gone.

Start with the balls allfairly close to the pock-et, and as you get a feelfor the break-outs,move the balls for aharder shot, or so thecue ball has more travelto get to the cluster,such as the 4-5. Youwill want to review thehalf-ball follow angleto find the best placefor the cue ball. (That'swhen you hit the first

ball about half-full, the cue ball has followat the time, and the resulting angle the cueball takes is the most predictable andrepeatable in pool.)

These kinds of close bumps and break-outs are more common in full-rack gamesthan in 9-ball. In the early stages of a rackof one-pocket, position from a second con-tact is often vital.

You may run into situations like thoseshown in Diagram 3. You have a shot, butyou're guaranteed to hit a ball near thecushion, and you have to move the cue ball

24 BD • AUGUST 2003

L

Bob Jewett

a fair distance. InShot A, the goalis to get to theother end of thetable using leftEnglish. In ShotB, you have aneasy shot in theside, but the 7ball complicatesposition on the 4.Use right Englishand make sureyou hit the 7 onthe right side.Several plays likethis are shown onRobert Byrne's latest tape,"Game Breakers."

When controlling the path of the cue balloff a second ball, it's critical to know wherethe cue ball will land on that ball. Usuallyyou can judge close shots by the simplekiss-line (or tangent line, or perpendicular)principle: The cue ball comes off the objectball at a right angle to the path of thatobject ball. If you can visualize the cue ballat the instant of contact (the ghost ball), youshould be able to estimate fairly accuratelyhow it will land on a nearby ball. If you canfigure that out, just apply the principle to

the second collision as well to find the ini-tial path off that second ball.

This "path planning" is easier when theballs are close together as in Diagram 1,Shot A. Since the cue ball travels only a fewmillimeters from the first to the second ball,you know exactly how the second ball willbe struck. For Shot B in that diagram,things are not so clear because of the largerdistance between the balls. If you play theshot with soft follow, the cue ball has timeand space to bend forward some before ithits the second ball. With soft draw, youmight be able to avoid the second ball

entirely, depending on the cut angle.While it's much better not to bump balls,

if you practice the above shots for a fewminutes each, you'll be better prepared forthe next time you can't avoid it.

For a little fun, in Diagram 4 is an inter-esting proposition based on hitting twoballs. With the balls as shown, can youshoot between the pair and draw the cueball straight back to make the hanger? Theshot is duck soup if the pair is just the rightdistance apart, and near-impossible if theyare much closer or farther apart. Can youfind that distance?

26 BD-AUGUST 2003

Bob Jewett

Jumping As It Should BeTake the leap to a higher level.

In the October 2000 issue of BD, I point-ed out some uses of jump shots in play.Pool books, such as "Byrne's AdvancedTechnique," also show examples, and rec-ommend techniques for getting moreheight. Below are several practice drillsthat will let you prepare for your next jour-ney into the third dimension.

I hope all readersknow by now that it isillegal, immoral, andunpatriotic to jump byscooping under the cueball to get a miscue toget over the obstacle.Jumping is only legal ifdone by driving the cueball into the cloth withan elevated stick, andthe obstacle is clearedon the rebound.

First, a word aboutthe cloth. A small scrapof pool cloth can beplaced under the cueball to reduce thechance of tears andthose ugly white spotsthat a jumping cue ballleaves, but you can'tfully learn the reactionof the cue ball off thecloth with that protec-tion. And if you'regoing to shoot morethan a couple of shots,you better have theapproval of the personwho owns the cloth. Agood strategy is to findout when the cloth isabout to be changed,and practice just before.Another aspect of clothis that some styles arereally hard to jump on— maybe the table bed contributes to this.

In Diagram 1 you'll see a standard trickshot with the two object balls exactly a ballapart. Two other balls (those on the outside)have been placed on paper reinforcingdonuts to allow quick repositioning of theobject balls if you hit them. The goal of theshot is to pocket the ball by the side pocketwithout touching the two interferers. Let's

set the additional goal that the cue ball mustnot hit the side cushion. This shot is aboutas easy as jump shots get. If you make it,move the obstacle balls slightly closertogether. The two outside balls — the oneson the paper reinforcers — allow you to seeeasily how much you have moved the innerballs together. Try a quarter inch (6 mil-

limeters) or so closer. Each time you makethe shot, narrow the gap, but if you miss,make the next shot easier. After a dozenshots or so, you should reach the limit ofyour current ability. Did you remember tomake the shot easier or harder after eachattempt?

For variations, see how softly you canshoot and still get the jump. Then, see if

you can draw the cue ball back to the railyou are bridging from. Then, move the cueball and blockers out onto the table somemore, so you have to bridge on the tablerather than on the cushion. Then, try differ-ent separations between the cue ball and theblockers.

After a little practice, you will come tothe conclusion thatwith a normal cuestick, you (and yourparticular technique)can clear x% of a ballthat is y inches awayfor a given speed ofstroke. After that limityou have two choices:get one of these new-fangled jump sticks,or shoot somethingelse like a kick ormasse. If you do get ajump stick, rememberthat you will retainmore aiming accuracywith your normalstick, but you can getmore height with theshort, light, hard-tipped jumper. Ineither case, you needto find your limitsand the drills abovewill help.

In Diagram 2 is adrill that probablyrequires a jump stick.The idea is to getover a whole ball.Begin with the block-er at your best dis-tance from the cueball. For me, that'sabout one diamond.To find our own bestdistance, enlist a

friend to watch on a few shots without ablocker —just try to get good height on thecue ball. Your friend needs to note wherethe cue ball came back to the cloth. Youmay be able to see the landing spot your-self, as the cue ball's return will leave whitemarks on some cloth.

After you have some success at your bestdistance, try moving the object ball closer

24 BD • SEPTEMBER 2003

Bob Jewett

gradually. Some suggestions: dart grip;release the stick on contact; throw the stickat the ball; play lower on the cue ball, butnot so low that you miscue; get a harder tip.Work that blockertowards you until youfind your absolute close-ness limit.

Next, try the sameshot, but move theblocker farther away. Ithink you'll find that thisdirection is muchtougher to deal with.The cue ball needs to bein the air for a longerdistance, and on the sec-ond bounce (the bounceafter the landingbounce) it is likely to hitthe object ball high andproceed off the table.You may want to try this shot in the longdirection of the table to allow the cue ball tosettle down before it gets to the object ball.

This drill suggests something about howto play safe. If you leave the cue ball with-in an inch of the blocker, a good hit isunlikely. On the other hand, if the blocker isa couple of diamonds away from the cueball, the speed required for a good hit is

likely to cause a trip to the carpet. There isone way to keep the cue ball from jumpingon such a shot, and that's to hit the objectball just as the cue ball is landing. As long

as the cue ball contacts the object ball nearthe equator, any forward jump is muchreduced. However you're going to playsafe, try to avoid the middle distance —about a diamond — that is most comfort-able for jumping.

Can you play jump shots with follow?The high cue tip will tend to trap the cueball on the cloth, but try it to find your own

limit. Begin with the easiest shot possible,as in Diagram 1. Can you follow forwardand back across the table? What if theblockers are tighter and you have to elevate

more — is follow stillpossible?

While we're spinningthe cue ball, let's try yetanother dimension —jump masse. Diagram 3shows a good place toleave your opponent.Clearing the first ball isnot hard, but goingstraight over that secondone is a real challenge.The recommendedoption is to jump the firstball and curve around thesecond. In this case, rightEnglish is needed, anddraw may help as well.

Start with the second blocker barely in theway, and move it farther from the cushionas you get the knack.

Jumping is fun, and nothing electrifies acrowd more than when a champion exe-cutes a full jump to make the object ballfrom a stone-cold safe, but always remem-ber that other ways may be better, and youneed to have them ready as well.

26 BD-SEPTEMBER 2003

Bob Jewett

Sharks and ScamsTo untangle some of these tri cks, you have to do the numbers.

Recently in the on-line discussion grouprec.sport.billiard (www.groups.google.com/groups?group=rec. sport, billiard), Iasked the participants to describe notablesharks, moves, and scams. The responsewas very enthusiastic. If you prefer to thinkof the game as a pure, intellectual pursuit ofgeometry and physics, you may want toskip this month's installment, which dealswith the sordid and unseemly.

One recurring theme was methods of dis-traction. Mentioned several times was thestrategic positioning of attractive womennear the table. I've seen this in person whena local big-money player showed up for amatch accompanied by a mini-skirtedhelper who perched on a bar stool by thetable. Effectiveness is reported to beinversely proportional to clothing.

Talking during your opponent's turn is tooobvious. A twist is to launch into lengthystories on your own turn and then clam upwhen you're seated. While you're at it,don't watch while your opponent is shoot-ing — look away as if you have no interestin the game. Of course, some players arepainful to watch, and your apparent disin-terest can be excused. Luther Lassiter wassaid to sleep during some of his matches.

Does your opponent like to listen to heavymetal rock? Get to the juke box first andpunch up five bucks' worth of Frank Sinatraand Britney Spears.

One of the most common lesser sharks isvisiting the rest room. When you finish anice run, and suddenly your opponent boltsfor the John, it's easy to suspect your five-minute wait is more due to his desire tocool your streak than any gastrointestinalurgency. Would it be impolite to offer sucha person a bottle of Kaopectate? Most larg-er tournaments have rules about breaks —number and duration — and some playersalways seem to press the limit. I'm general-ly against shot clocks, but I recently heardof a system used in Europe that might beworth a try. Chess clocks are used, and eachplayer starts with so much time. Need abathroom break? Fine, you're on the clock.

Among mildly irritating activities toemploy are putting the chalk on the cushionface down, getting talc all over everything,moving all the chalk to your chair, rackingfor a few minutes or nit-picking your oppo-nent's rack to death, saying "nice try" for a

lousy miss, saying nothing for a world-class shot, and lots more. Timing of thechange of players at the table gives lots ofoff-putting possibilities. Linger at the tableafter each miss until your opponent is readyto shoot; jump up from your chair as soonas you're sure your opponent has missed(an antidote to the preceding method), ortake an extra five seconds to get to the table,which will seem like an eternity after manyrepetitions.

Another fertile situation is the concessionof the final balls at games like 9-ball. Themost blatant form of this is to get up as if

Would it be impolite tooffer such a person abottle of Kaopectate?

you're going to concede a shot that's a littleharder than average, and then sit backdown. A variation of this technique is usedif you have been on a good run, and thenmiss on a late ball, leaving a very easy run-out. Concede all the balls so your opponent,who has been seated for a rack or two, hasno hangers to warm up with. Around here,some tournaments have the rule that if youconcede a 9, you lose the next game, too.

There are lots of less-direct distractionmethods. A good source is Steven Potter's"Gamesmanship," which has been dis-cussed in this magazine by Robert Byrne.Potter tends toward the "mind worm" ploy,such as the suggestion from the group toask, "Do you usually exhale before thestroke?"

You may encounter more aggressive sharksas well. One player told me he would makemy life a living hell if I left the game for abrief dinner break, and at the time heseemed to mean it. Another player in thisarea would pick a fight over any slightthing. When I offered him the first break ina 9-ball match, he accused me of trying topull something and demanded to flip. Of

course, if your opponent isn't Bustamante,the break probably is a disadvantage onmost tables with most racks. A study byAccu-Stats Video Productions of pro resultsshowed that the breaker lost more than halfthe time at 9-ball. So, maybe I was trying topull something.

Some players smash things when they'remad, and again it's not clear whether it'sspontaneous release or with some purpose.Ranting at your own bad play is a mildform of this. Others get mad at everyonearound them — sometimes in WorldChampionships — perhaps because theyhave a need to feel like a lone underdog, orperhaps to rattle all concerned.

When gambling is involved, the betterplayer may need moves to get or keep the"client" interested. One report was of aplayer who saw his fish about to swimaway, so he conceded a tough 9 ball. Thegenerosity got him a few more barrels.

Often the inducement to play comes as aspot that's not a spot. (The break at 9-ballmay well be one of these.) I'm guilty ofspotting my opponent — who was myroommate at the time — the removal of fiveof his balls at 8-ball, so he only had to maketwo before the 8. If I remove them, there'sno way Efren can beat me. Please note: Ifound out it's not a good idea to use suchtricks on your roommate.

"I'll shoot left-handed," may be a sinisterinvitation, and "You played so bad againstme, I'll bet that girl can beat you," may befollowed by an introduction to a pleasantyoung woman named Karen with a funnyaccent and an open bridge.

One report on the Internet was from aone-pocket player who was spotting hisopponent 8-6. (Shark needs 8 balls beforethe fish gets 6.) After a threat to quit, thefish agreed to continue at 9-7, since itwould be harder for the better player to getto nine balls. Well, you can calculate thechange in advantage here, and the shark'schances improved by about 6 percent. Thatis, if the first spot were even, the secondwould give the better player a 6 percentadvantage, in the long run. It helps if thedonor suffers from innumeracy.

Ron Shepard reported a move from atournament. The better player was on thehill (needing one more game), and theopponent needed a bunch. The offer was a

26 BD-OCTOBER 2003

Bob Jewett

side bet of $20 on each rack played for therest of the match. The player who was onthe hill could only win $20, while the othermight win $100, so it seemed like 5:1 onthe money. Of course, if someone is betterthan you are, it's a losing proposition to betat all, but this situation may cloud yourmind.

One correspondent mentions giving upthe "8 and the last four" at 9-ball. Thismeans that the client wins if he pockets the8 ball at any time or any of the last fourballs on the table. When that didn't go well,it was adjusted to the "6 and the last four,"which seems like more, but is it?

There are lots of word dodges that mightbe used. Be prepared for one in "PoolhallJunkies," if you haven't seen it yet.Examples are: "I bet you can't make thatball." (Brunswick made it.) "I bet I can rollthe ball under this bridge on the table."(Roll it under the table.) "I know where yougot those shoes." (On your feet.) "I bet I canroll over 250 at bowling." (Write "250" ona piece of paper and then roll a ball over it.)My own feeling is that such tricks shouldbe rewarded with broken thumbs or worse.If the parties to a wager do not agree onwhat the conditions were, there was nowager. You can quote me.

Sometimes the scams are more complex.I know one player who was about to leave

the area, so he arranged a match at his homeroom with a visitor. All the locals backedtheir guy, of course. The result was a"dump." The lesson: If you need to wager,bet only on yourself.

An extension of the dump was related tome by a player who toured the South with acouple of old-time hustlers. The usualarrangement was for A to go into a town,and gradually work his way up the localpecking order until he was beating every-body by playing better pool than the towns-folk had ever seen. A few days after theaction had subsided, B would get to town,and a match with A would be arranged.Player A would play great pool, better thanhe had showed before, but B would playeven better than that. I suppose this sort ofplan was safer before the days of Internetchat rooms and the instantaneous world-wide broadcast of descriptions of remark-able touring players.

Sometimes unusual games can be confus-ing. Eddie Robin describes lots of strangespots at one-pocket in his two excellentbooks on the game. How about a gamewhere nothing I do counts — is there anyway for me to win? Assume that scratchesdon't count against me, if I make a ball foryou, it doesn't count, but if I make my own,they don't count either. I'll describe theway out of that fix next month.

In a strange match several years ago at thelocation of a major tournament, two playershad a strange one-pocket game: 2 to 1. Yes,the weaker player needed only one ball towin. Now, it's possible to try to comparethis very short game to a longer game, say10-5. It turns out that simple theory says theshorter match favors the weaker player byabout 10 percent compared to a long game.This may confuse on-lookers as to the prop-er odds. I didn't hear how the two playerscame out, but the on-lookers were reportedto have lost $30,000.

As far as proposition bets go, be sure tokeep an eye on Willie Jopling's column forideas. Amazing things can happen on a pooltable without any kind of flim-flam. Keepyour wallet in your pocket and rememberthe advice of Sky Masterson's father(according to Damon Runyon):

"Son, someday a man is going to walk upto you with a sealed deck of cards freshfrom the factory, and say, 'I bet I can makethe jack of spades jump out of this deck andsquirt cider in your ear.' Son, when youmeet this man, do not take his bet. For assure as the sun rises every morning, if youdo take the bet, the jack of spades will jumpout of the deck and squirt cider in your ear."

Oh, and if you play me, don't try any ofthe above, or I'll call you for unsportsman-like conduct.

28 BD • OCTOBER 2003

Bob Jewett

Practicing Inside SpinProgressive drills will drive home the lesson.

When an object ball is close to the cush-ion, there are two standard ways to usespin on that cushion to move the cue ballaround the table for the next shot: insidespin with follow and outside spin withdraw. This month, we'll talk about insidespin.

First, we'd better make clear what ismeant by "inside" and "outside" spin. Inthe shot shown in Diagram 1, where theobject ball is being cut to the right, Englishon the right side is "inside" English, whileleft English would be "outside." You couldthink of inside English as being more onthe inside of the shot, that is, near the mid-dle of the cue ball and object ball as seenalong the line of the stick, while outsideEnglish is more on the outside of the shot,being away from the object ball.

So, we're going to play the shot withright-side spin. As with all spin shots, thefirst thing to do is check your tip for prop-er chalking. Does it have a thin, smoothcovering of chalk? Far too many beginnerscripple their learning of English by nothaving such a friction-aiding layer.

The first drill is shown in Diagram 1. Theobject ball is placed just off the cushionand a diamond from the pocket, and thecue ball is placed for about a half-ball cutshot with the stick passing over the seconddiamond on the side rail, as shown. Tobegin with, put the cue ball fairly close tothe object ball to minimize the difficulty inaiming.

Use mostly right spin with some follow.Both of these act to carry the cue ball for-ward and give it more speed. Combiningthem on a shot like this allows you to movethe cue ball a long distance with minimumeffort.

The goal is to move the cue ball to a par-ticular point along the path shown. Markthat spot with a coin, and begin with loca-tion 1. You have to leave the cue ball with-in a small distance of the coin — say, thewidth of your hand — to call the shot asuccess.

Try the shot several times, and whenyou're confident you have spot 1 mastered,begin a "progressive practice" drill. Eachtime you put the cue ball near the coin,move the coin to a harder position (2, 3, 4,...). When you fail to position whitey prop-erly, move the coin to the next easier posi-

tion and try again. After your first failure,it's better to move the coin only half anumber at a time for each subsequent shot— harder after each success and easierafter each failure. Shoot the shot 10 or 15times, and the location of the coin at theend will tell you your score for the drill.

This kind of practice — with self-adjust-ing difficulty — is called "progressivepractice" and is explained in more detail inthe free Basics Clinic handout on the SanFrancisco Billiard Academy web site atwww.sfbilliards.com.

You will probably find that there is a"natural angle" that the cue ball seems towant to take off the second cushion. In a

way, the shot is self-correcting, in that ifyou have an excess of right English on thefirst cushion, the cue ball will go straighterinto the second cushion, and then the extraspin will grab and bring the path back towhat it would have been with less spin.

Try various amounts of side and follow.Move the tip all the way out to miscue ter-ritory on the equator of the cue ball. Tryequal amounts of the two spins (called1:30 with reference to a clock face), andvarious tip offsets. Look for the easiest,most consistent way to move the cue ballto the desired spot.

If you feel you are doing pretty well onthis drill, tighten up the requirement and

24 BD • NOVEMBER 2003

Bob Jewett

place the cue ball so that it partly overlapsthe coin. If you find it impossible to makemuch progress with this much more strin-gent goal, give yourself two or threechances for each distance.

A second way to make this drill tougheris to move the cue ball back toward theside cushion so the shot is longer. As youdo this, you may notice that the aim for theshot changes significantly. This isbecause, with a longer run to the objectball, the cue ball has time to swerve to theright and will hit the object ball fuller thanexpected, driving it into the end cushion.There is no fix to this problem except topractice.

Another way to make this drill tougher isto change the angle of the cut shot by mov-ing the cue ball to one side or the other. Ifyou make the shot fuller, you will probablyfind that the "natural" angle off the secondcushion is more toward the side pocket,while if the cut is made thinner, the cueball will need a lot more side to get it intothe desired path. For this last case, thecloth on the cushion may have a largeinfluence. If it is slippery, the English can'tgrab enough, and the cue ball will tend togo parallel to the long rail, and cannot becoaxed into the desired path.

It should be pointed out that there may be

other ways to playthe required posi-tion. For example,to get to 5 inDiagram 1, youcould play the shotwith no spin exceptfor a little draw. (Ina game situation,there may beobstacles in theway which blockthis path.) Try toget to 5 with justdraw, and see ifyou can do it asconsistently aswith insideEnglish. Try mov-ing the cue ballback near the sidecushion and com-pare the two meth-ods again.

A second drill is shown in Diagram 2.Here the angle off the first cushion is notso acute, because you are using less sidespin. This is also a progressive practice, soyou again are taking the cue ball to I he spotmarked by a coin. In the first drill youprobably needed at least as much side spin

Last month I mentioned a strange one-pocket handicap: "Nothing I do counts."The way to win this game is to get myopponent to make balls for me, whilemaking sure he never has a shot towardhis pocket. If he has a ball in the jaws ofhis pocket, I'll Shoot it in for him. It spotsback up, since nothing I do counts. If nobetter shot is available, I'll just roll the cueball to the jaws of his pocket — it's a foul,but nothing I do counts. When possible,I'll herd balls toward my pocket, but Ihave to be careful not to make any, sincethey wouldn't count. I've played thisgame, and it seems to be about the sameas giving up a 10-4 spot. Try it and seehow it goes. If you discover clever plays,let me know and I'll pass them on here.

as follow on thecue ball (1:30 orlater on the clock-face cue ball), butwith this drill morefollow than side isprobably needed.Again, try to findthe combinationthat gets the cueball to the desiredresting spot withthe least effort.

For this seconddrill, with only alittle bit ofEnglish, there islittle of the self-correcting effectnoted above, andyou will have to bemuch more precisein the amount of

side you apply.If you are not already proficient at these

kinds of shots — see if you can get thecoin out to 5 consistently — it is worthspending a few hours on the above drills.Space them out in half-hour segments overa week, to give the feel of the shot a chanceto soak in.

26 BD • NOVEMBER 2003

TRY THIS SPOT

Bob Jewett

Practicing Outside SpinTry this progressive practice to improve your game.

Last issue, the subject was using insidespin off the cushion to position the cue ball.This month I'll discuss its complement,outside spin. Remember that "outside"English is spin applied to the "outside" ofthe shot, as shown in both diagrams. Forcuts to the right, as shown, it is left English,and would be rightEnglish for cuts tothe left.

As with the drillslast month, becauseyou will be spin-ning the cue ball,you need to chalkwell. This is evenmore important thismonth, as you willbe using both drawand English. Mostplayers chalk poor-ly, and I hope thatafter my nearlyi n c e s s a n tharangues, you arenot in that group.

Diagram 1 showsalmost the sameposition of the balls as last month, but thistime the requirement is to pull the cue ballback along the indicated shape line. Lastmonth, it was possible to shoot with justside and let the follow develop on its own.For this shot, you will need to have draw onthe ball and this will be a harder (faster)stroke. The draw will slow the cue balldown on its way to the object ball, andextra energy is required both to overcomethis slowing and to make sure there is stillsome draw on the cue ball to pull it back tothe rail.

The goal of the shot is to make progressalong the indicated line. The cue ball andobject ball are always placed as shown, andwhat changes is the position to which youtry to take the cue ball. Place a coin to markyour progress, and start with spot 1.

Even if you have good familiarity withthis sort of shot, experiment a little with thebest way to get to "1 . " Try just draw, most-ly draw with a little left English, equal partsof draw and side spin, and even just sidespin. In this case, by "best" I mean the shotthat requires the least effort. How softly canyou hit the cue ball and still get it to spot 1 ?

Once you feel you have mastered the firstposition, proceed with the normal progres-sive practice. If you get the cue ball to with-in a short distance of the coin — you coulduse your index and little fingers as a gauge,or your thumb and ring finger as a biggergauge — move the coin, perhaps half a dia-

mond at at time. If you mess up on the shotby either missing the ball or the requiredposition, move the coin back for your nextshot.

Give yourself a fixed number of balls toshoot, and see how far you can progressalong the line in that number of shots. Theposition of the coin at the end of the rack isyour score for the drill. If you are seriousabout measuring your progress as a player,enter your score into a log, and do the drillat least once per week. A log sheet andother progressive practice drills are avail-able in the Basics Clinic handout on theSan Francisco Billiard Academy Web siteat www.sfbilliards.com.

If you get to the point where this drillseems too easy — if you can put the cueball within a hand-span of spot 5 most ofthe time — there are a couple of ways toincrease the difficulty of the drill. The firstis to make the shot longer by moving theobject ball farther from the pocket, or thecue ball farther from the object ball. Forexample, put the object ball at the middlediamond of the end cushion and the cueball close enough to the cushion that you

have to use a rail bridge.If you do set up the longer shot from the

cushion, it's important to remember theeffects of using English. There will besome squirt, which takes the cue ball some-what to the right of the line of the stick.Especially if you have elevated the stick to

shoot with drawfrom the cushion,there will be con-siderable swerve tothe left as the cueball travels to theobject ball. Duringthe collision, theside spin on thecue ball will tendto throw the objectball to the right. Isay "tend to"because if the cueball has only a lit-tle left English, itmight just rollacross the surfaceof the object ballwithout any throwat all.

I point out these effects not to give youmore equations to solve during actual play,but rather to give you some clues as to whyyou might miss a shot during practice.

Another way to alter the shot in order toget more out of it is to make the shot near-ly straight- in. This is a fairly commonproblem that comes up in play. (To movethe cue ball off the cushion, it is nearlyalways best to keep a "nice" or "working"angle into the rail, as shown in Diagram 1.About a half-ball cut (30 degrees) or a littleless usually works well. To leave yourselfstraight — in is often a disaster.) On this sot,you will need to find a cue ball line tatallows you to draw the cue ball nearlystraight back; the ball will then spin off thecushion up the table.

On all these shots, it's important to notethe exact cut angle to include in your cal-culations of position play. With less angle,it is easier — more natural — to bring thecue ball back straighter, while with morecut angle you may find it impossible toreach the side cushion on the correct side ofthe side pocket.

Another detail that is important is how far

24 | BD -DECEMBER 2003

Bob Jewett

the object ball is off the cushion. If it isfrozen, you will probably find the shotquite a bit different. As the object ball gets-farther from the cushion, you can get thedraw to curve the cue ball more before itgets to the rail, and you can get a straighter-back path. I'veseen manybeginners tryingpractice shotswho are totallycareless withsuch details. It'simportant tolearn the varia-tions of the shot,but work withone position at atime.

A second out-side English pro-gressive practicedrill is shown inDiagram 2. Thistime, you shouldnot need draw toachieve the indi-cated line for the cue ball, since the objectball and cue ball are both farther out fromthe end cushion. Try the drill first with justleft-side spin, but as before, experimentwith the mix of side and top/bottom spin.

Again, find the most efficient — leasteffortful — way to get the cue ball to posi-tion 1. Also try to find the way that allowsyou to have the cue tip strike as close aspossible to the middle of the cue b?ll — theway with minimum spin. Are these two

ways the same? Were they the same forDiagram 1?

You should already be thinking abouthow to make this drill harder after you mas-ter it. Moving the cue ball back is obvious.

Moving the object ball closer to the cushionis a not-so-obvious variation. I think you'llfind that the shot gets much harder as theobject ball starts nearer the rail. Finally,alter the position line to the extreme youcan achieve on your table with your stroke.

Can you movethe line to go tothe cushion at A?Tougher than A?Hint: Start withequal amounts ofdraw and side.

In this pair ofcolumns, I dis-cussed shotswith the objectball near thecushion andusing inside fol-low or outsidedraw to carry thecue ball for posi-tion. I hope youhave learned bynow why outsidefollow and inside

draw are generally not useful in such situa-tions. Instead, you want the draw/followworking with the side spin to take the cueball effortlessly to the needed spot.

Enough theory! Get to the practice table.

26 BD-DECEMBER 2003