Shot #1 For Improving Your Billiards Skills

Bank Shots On The Side Rails

Shot #1:  Bank shots (on the side rails)

This is specific for the side rail bank shots (the cuestick will reach from side to side for aligning the shot, but not from end to end).  

Most pool players that you see have already decided how they are going to make a bank shot before the opportunity ever comes up. Depending on the skill of the player, and the repetitions he/she has done in order to make a shot work, there is a fair to good chance of the shot turning into a pocketed ball (artistic method).  How many times have you seen a player actually use his/her cue stick to measure a geometrical path from the object ball to the desired pocket (scientific method), on a one-rail bank shot?  I play in the leagues sponsored by the big name billiard parlors in San Antonio, and it is common to see a player laying his/her cue stick on the table in various positions : what's being done is setting up a contact point on the object ball, in order for it to end up being a pocketed ball.

The artistic method of using the bank shot has it's rewards, but the scientific method (geometrical angles) is much more apt to work, if the player uses the correct procedure for determining the proper contact point (it appears to take a little longer to come up with a "plan" for making the shot, but the number of racks you win will have been worth it).

In the following diagrams:

a.  Find a point on the rail that is at a right angle to the object ball (Fig. 1).

b.  Using your cuestick, place the side of the cue tip in the center of the target pocket opening (Line #2), and the side of the butt end of the cuestick at the  point you found to be at a right angle to the object ball (Line #1).  BCA (Billiard Congress of America) rules state that only the cuestick may be used as an aid to aligning a shot, as long as the cue is held in the hand.  Otherwise, it's a foul and loss of turn!  When you use the cue to align the shot, remember to use only the side of the cue instead of using the center and trying to see thru the cuestick for your alignment.  The side of the cue is a much better ruler.  NOTE:  the cuestick can be placed with the cue tip at the intersection of lines 1 & 2, instead of the butt end, but it's harder to read the point where lines 2 & 3 intersect, considering that you have to keep the cuestick in your hand!  Try it both ways, and see which one is easiest for you (Fig. 2).

c.  Use the cuestick to find a line from the center of the object ball (Line #3), to the center of the side pocket opening nearest the object ball (Fig. 3). 

d.  Find a point on the rail (Line #4) that is at a right angle to the intersection of lines 2 & 3 (Fig. 4).

e.  Strike the cue ball so that it will send the object ball to the intersection of the rail and line #5 (Fig. 5).  Shoot the shot softly, without english, and don't try to kill it ... the path of the object ball will change if you do.  This shot will work from either side, or end, of the table. NOTE:   If you have trouble with this shot, use a little english on the cueball side (Fig. 5   would use left hand english - use right hand english if the shot is reversed, and you are banking to the corner pocket (Fig. 5).

FINAL NOTE:  While learning and practicing this shot, use some billiard chalk to mark the location of the point, for each line.  This will make the shot much easier and productive.   After you have the shot working, stop using the chalk, because it is illegal to mark the table in a match, or sanctioned game.