Cue ball and ball 3: speed controlArriving at ball 3 with just enough speed to reach it
Spinside −3 · high
Ball fraction3/4
Speed3/5
The cue ball is in the middle of the table, the red just above it, the yellow near the left long cushion. Hit the right half of the red with a 3/4 ball fraction, three tips of left (running) spin and medium speed; the cue ball comes down to the yellow via the right long cushion, the top short cushion and the left long cushion. The running spin opens the cue ball up off the third cushion; it contacts the yellow thinly. The yellow moves only a few centimeters, and the cue ball stops right next to it. The red goes to the top short cushion, comes back and stays in the middle of the table.
The second half of position is how the cue ball arrives at ball 3. If the cue ball comes with just enough speed to reach ball 3 and touches it thinly, ball 3 moves little and the cue ball stops right next to it. Too much speed or a full contact spreads ball 3 and the cue ball across the table. In the same layout, the spin decides from which side and how fully ball 3 is contacted.
When? When ball 3 is in a good place (on the cushion, in a corner, or in an area the cue ball will easily reach on the next shot) and you want to keep it waiting there.
- 1Send the cue ball with just enough speed to reach ball 3: it should be almost stopped when it touches ball 3. That way ball 3 moves only a few centimetres and the cue ball stays right beside it.
- 2Aim to touch ball 3 thinly (1/4 or thinner). With a thin contact ball 3 stays in place and the cue ball stops beside it; with a full contact the cue ball pushes it and the balls spread.
- 3If ball 3 sits well against a cushion or in a corner, do not hit it full. A full contact pushes ball 3; in the example the yellow, lying near the left long cushion, is pushed toward the middle of the table.
- 4Set from which side and with what ball fraction you touch ball 3 with spin. Adding running spin (the spin that opens the cue ball off the cushion) opens the cue ball on the third cushion: in the example three tips give a thin contact, two and a half tips 3/8, and half a tip an almost full contact.
- 5On long-path shots, set the speed not by the number of cushions but by the total length of the cue ball's path. The same three cushions can be made with a short path or with a path that travels the whole length of the table; the speed needed is very different.
- 6Try to stop the cue ball beside ball 3 but a little off the cushion. If it is not frozen to the cushion, on the next shot you can lower the cue comfortably and hit ball 2 with the ball fraction you want.
- 7In practice, play the same point slow, medium and hard; each time mark where the cue ball and ball 3 stop. You will see that a hard stroke does not make the point easier, it only scatters the balls.
Voice coach
PROThe voice coach is part of the Pro and Club plans.
Watch outWhen you reduce the speed the cue ball's path also gets shorter; on a soft stroke the angles narrow a little, so adjust the spin accordingly.
Watch outArriving too slowly puts the point at risk; a shot that does not reach ball 3 is the worst position.
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