We specialize at About.com in teaching trick shots, billiards and caroms, clever moves that speed the balls into the pockets.
This week, we explore why wing shots are good for you to shoot.
A wing shot is a trick play "taken on the fly" that would otherwise be an illegal billiards stroke. You contact the object ball while it is still rolling!
Grasp a solid or pretty striped ball from atop the ball, palm facing approximately straight down, using your non-shooting hand. Roll the ball at slow to medium speed toward a spot about one diamond off a far corner pocket along the short rail.
You are going to cue this ball while it still rolls on. Very quickly bridge your stick and shoot the rolling ball into the pocket (if you can). There is precious little time to aim.
Wing trick shots are eye-catching and exotic. More important, you are schooling yourself to aim rapidly and commit your stroke. You are learning a lesson that will change your pool forever--if your typical stroke is clenched and rigid, you miss the wing shot as surely as your regular game will suffer overall.
You must develop a flowing stroke--a stroke whose tendency is to fly forward with inertia of movement heading straight forward along the aim or shot line. In other words, attempting wing shots teaches you to:
1. Trust your eyes to see the true aim immediately, and your hand and stick to obediently follow your brain's direction. Over time, your "muscle memory" for billiards trains your hand to make subtle adjustments to sink shots (if needed).
2. Flow your classic pool stroke smoothly so the cue stick will tend to go straight forward with inertia as it should (for most strokes).
3. Build confidence in your pool offense in sinking balls. If you can hit a moving target at speed to sink it, surely you can move stationary balls to the holes at will?
If you've read even a few of the many pool and billiards articles here at About.com, even our educational trick shots for billiards, you know I care about your learning to play better and better pool with every piece of instruction. Wing shots represent a great opportunity to show off a bit and improve your game.
