Pool Instruction: CueTips #15 - Aiming with English

 
By NYC Grind Instructional Columnist, Mark Finkelstein

In this column, I’d like to look at how to aim when using English.  Before we do that, let’s get some vocabulary straight.  Deflection is the bending of the shaft of the cue.  Squirt is the pushing of the cue ball off the line of aim.  The shafts we use today are technically high deflection, low-squirt shafts!  By making the ferrules and the ends of the cues lighter, the shaft bends more on contact with the cue ball, squirting the cue ball less off the line of aim.  

These wonderful sticks lessen the effects of squirt, but, there is still some squirt of the cue ball.  I have found the following technique useful in teaching others how to aim.

To view the following diagrams from CueTable.com, the free plugin Adobe Shockwave is required. Click Here to download it for free and utilize the CueTable tool if you don’t already have it installed.
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