When you are first learning how to play pool, there are many basics that you first need to learn how to do if you want to play it well. The truth is that most people don’t actually learn these basics in the way that you ideally should, and that means that you might end up learning a mistake instead, or that you are going to find yourself just not quite knowing what you should be doing. One of these essentials you need to first learn is where to actually hit the cue ball when you strike the cue. That is something that many people never quite learn properly, but doing so is a vital part of playing pool well. Let’s look at some tips to consider if you are trying to learn where to hit the ball properly.
The Basic Strike
First of all, let’s look at the basic action that you need to learn if you are to hit the cue ball with confidence and ensure that it goes where you want it to go. The first thing is to line it up, which means that you need to look down the length of the cue at the cue ball with the cue resting in front of the middle of the ball (we’ll look at curves and so on in a moment). Line up the cue ball with the ball you are intending it to hit with your eyes. You should take a moment to do this to ensure that it is lined up well, as without that you are never going to know whether you’re hitting it in the right direction.
Once it is lined up, you need to think about your power level. This is something that only really comes from practice, but you need to try and imagine what amount of speed you need on your cue to generate enough power for your shot. A common beginner’s mistake is using too much power, which means that you lose some control. Go gentle and see what happens. As you bring the cue forward to strike the ball, remember to follow through the action - this is one of the most important parts of all if you want the ball to be hit with confidence.
The Curve
There are many times in pool when you need to curve the cue ball, for instance because you want to get a better angle on the second ball or because you are trying to avoid a snooker. To curve the ball, first line it up with your object ball and the pocket that you want the object ball to go in. You need to then strike the ball from around 30-45 degrees of elevation from the table, and from around 3 o'clock on the ball. Or you can add topspin to the ball by striking the ball on the top with some force. Likewise, for backspin, you will need to strike it at the base.
And there you have it: the basics of where to hit the ball.
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