Perfect Practice - Cheat the Pocket

If practice makes perfect, than perfect practice will get you there faster. Indeed, if you are practicing perfectly you are already perfect. ;)

Here is the third in our line of “drills” helping your game improve quickly in a fun manner. Again, these are marked for beginners but easily adjusted for better players.

It should be obvious that the white cue ball may be struck directly and full into the 3-ball to pocket it straight into the middle of the side.

But, and this is critical for you, without moving the cue ball or three whatsoever in the diagram, can you think of a way to aim from behind the cue ball, straight across the edge of the three so that the object ball follows the line as diagrammed to sink in the left edge of the pocket?

Note the cue ball slides off to the right (from the shooter’s perspective behind the cue ball) rather than go straight only. Congratulations, you have just learned to “cheat the pocket” for better positioning the cue ball (or on occasion, sneaking the object ball around an interfering object).

Warning: Cheating the pocket is best accomplished when the ball in question is a foot or so away from the pocket. But, you can see the next page and consider a tougher cheat...