Very often you’ll be left with shots in which the object ball is frozen on (touching) the cushion. These shots are easy to make, but they fall into the category of critical shots because so many players fail to develop their skills in this area. There are three options on how to pocket a ball frozen on the cushion. You can contact the object ball and cushion at the same time, you can hit the cushion first, or you can hit the object ball first. The force of the shot and to which point your cue ball needs to travel should dictate which option you choose. If you need to hit the shot hard to achieve position on the next shot, hit the object ball first. If you hit the object ball first, you are also able to keep more english on the cue ball, whereas if you hit the rail first, the hit will take the english or any spin off the cue ball.
See figure 5.5 for an example of an object ball frozen on the long rail; three rail positions are indicated for the cue ball after execution of the shot. Using inside english (in this case, right english), if you hit the object ball first, or the ball and cushion simultaneously, your cue ball will grab, meaning it will pick up the neces-sary english, enabling you to go around the table three rails. If you hit the rail first in this shot, you’ll almost always come off sideways, no matter what spin you’ve put on the cue ball. In other words, your cue ball will never get to the short rail to go three rails (figure 5.5). Instead the cue ball will shoot straight across the table to the other long rail, no matter what sidespin you have on the ball, even with draw.
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Ball first Rail and ball Rail first
E4276/Kanov/fig.5.05/296115/alw/r3
Figure 5.5 Executing a frozen ball shot, with resulting cue ball positions.
When executing the frozen ball shot, don’t get caught up in so-called optical illu-sions, of seeing too much of the rail and losing focus on the ball. Aim as you would for any other shot, and shoot the ball. Again, this shot is easier than some people think—actually easier than a ball just off the rail, which can be over- or undercut.
Fear of the shot translates into a poor follow-through, which often reinforces the miss. Here is a little secret, then: When practicing frozen-to-the-cushion shots, attempt to execute them with an exaggerated follow-through. This forces you to stay down on the shot and allows you the best opportunity for full, firm contact with the object ball. With a little practice, you’ll have plenty of confidence in making any ball that’s frozen to the cushion.
BankS
The bank shot might be the most misunderstood shot in the cue sports. There’s been so much written about the bank shot, and there are so many variables to take into account to pull off a bank shot, that players get just plain confused. Here, then, are the basics of the bank shot, and a couple of different systems for banking.
Speed
The main variable to concern yourself with in bank shots is speed—how fast (or how hard) you hit the object ball. Figure 5.6 shows a graphic illustration of this.
Each shot has been hit with center ball, but the red shot has been hit too hard, the yellow shot too soft, and the black shot just right. As you see, the harder you hit the ball, the shorter the angle coming off the cushion. The angle into the cushion won’t equal the angle coming out.
Simple so far, right? What many players don’t understand is why this is so. There are two reasons. First, with the hard hit, the object ball is not rolling but skidding off the rubber cushion. Second, because the cushion is rubber, a ball hit into it with force will compress the rubber, causing the object ball to bounce back off the rail at a shorter or shallower angle. A ball hit too softly into the rail, then, will roll long in comparison to the angle of attack, or angle into the cushion. This is why speed is the most crucial part of banks.
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E4276/Kanov/fig.5.06/296116/alw/r3
HardToo
Just right SoftToo
Figure 5.6 Using speed to increase or decrease the bank shot angle.
Figure 5.7 shows you how this knowledge can translate into a game-winning opportunity. You are presented with a bank shot on the 8-ball that, if hit with medium speed, will send the cue ball to poor resulting position for the 9-ball. But, with a harder hit, you can open up the angle coming off the 8-ball because you have to cut the 8-ball more to pocket the ball. This allows you to send the cue ball down table for the 9-ball, using a middle-ball hit (no english required). This is just one example of how speed affects the angle at which you aim to make a bank and get position at the same time.
So far, so good. Let’s add another variable. In figure 5.8 we show you the same shot, hit with medium speed, but we’ve changed how we hit the cue ball. The red shot has been hit with follow. The yellow shot has been hit with draw. And, again, the black shot, hit with middle ball, is just right. High ball on shot A will transfer low ball to the object ball. As the object ball picks up the draw off the cue ball, it will spring off the cushion with low-ball effect, thus cutting down the angle at which it bounces off the rail. If, on the other hand, you put draw on the cue ball, you will be putting follow on the object ball, and the high-ball effect will result in the object ball coming off a little longer, depending on your angle of attack into the cushion.
The best way, then, to initially practice your bank shots and to get a feel for each individual bank is to begin with a medium hit using center ball on the cue ball.
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swing
E4276/Kanov/fig.5.07/296117/alw/r2 Figure 5.7 Your knowledge of bank speed will benefit your position play.
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Draw High
Center
E4276/Kanov/fig.5.08/296118/alw/r2 Figure 5.8 Using follow and draw to change the bank shot angle.
English
The next variable that affects your bank shot execution is the use of english. As occurs with follow and draw, the resulting spin on the object ball will be the oppo-site of that imparted to the cue ball. That is, left english on the cue ball transfers to right english on the object ball, and right english on the cue ball puts left english on the object ball. Again, results will differ depending on the angle of attack. And if you wish to impart english, you can transfer more spin to the object ball with the use of low ball—that is, low right or low left as opposed to high right or high left.
The speed of the swing also determines how much spin is transferred to the object ball. The slower the swing speed, the more spin transferred. Figure 5.9 illustrates the altered paths using right english and left english versus center ball.
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Center Right
E4276/Kanov/fig.5.09/296119/alw/r2 Figure 5.9 Using left and right english to change the bank shot angle.