Tips in Billiards

Frozen Cue Ball and Object Ball on the Rail

"Any piece of knowledge I acquire today has a value at this moment exactly proportioned to my skill to deal with it. Tomorrow, when I know more, I recall that piece of knowledge and use it better.”
-Mark Van Doren , 1894-1972

Like in any sports, there are situations in the game  in which you don't want to be. In billiards, one of these is when you found yourself having the cue ball and object ball both frozen on the rail. This is a very tough situation if you don't how to get around with it. So what are you gonna do? Think about hitting the cue ball straight on directly to the object ball. If you do this, the cue ball would simply just bounce off the rail and get out of your intended path. Now, your whole objective when you are faced with this kind of shot is to make sure that when you hit the cue ball it doesn't hit anything on its path  especially the rail until it reaches the object ball. To get around with this type of billiard situation, is aim the cue ball slightly off or away from the rail and hit it just below the center. Check out the diagram below.

So the orange arrow is your cue stick, note the angle. You would have to aim little bit away from the object ball and apply that English shot in the diagram. When you do this, the cue ball will travel a little bit away from the rail and curve back down to the contact point and the object ball will continue to roll into the pocket. How lovely!

Well, I am not saying that this is an easy shot. I just give you an idea how to deal with this kind of billiard shot. Of course, depending on the distance of the cue ball to the object ball, you would have to apply a varying strength of stroke. This is a very good stuff to learn and you'll find it very useful because it happens quite often when you play billiard.   In that effect, make sure you practice this one.

We will include more tips in billiard in the future so don't forget to check back.