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Draw on the Cue Ball

3/3/2009 4:45:35 PM

Draw on the Cue Ball

I am having trouble using draw on the cue ball. I am able to bring it back 1 or 2 inches at the most. I have just gotten a brand new table and I have relatively good cues. Could it be a problem with the felt? Cue? Any advice? Here is a video of myself.

Draw on the Cue Ball

Replies & Comments
  1. pocket6billiardsforum on 3/3/2009 6:25:13 PM

    Raise the butt of your cue ever so slightly, and lower contact point on the cue ball, again, ever so slightly. Also, ensure that you are following through, instead of jabbing quickly at the cue ball.

    Hope that helps a little.

  2. pocket6pocket6 on 3/3/2009 6:42:18 PM

    Yes that did help a bit and I thank you. I was able to get about 3 to 4 inches of draw at most. Is there a possiblity that I could change conditions around the felt to make stick a bit better?

  3. pocket6Justanotherevolutionary on 3/4/2009 12:12:08 PM

    Your stroke looks to be definately firm enough. I noticed on a few of the shots, or at least the first one, the cue ball drifted to the right. This is because you did not hit the center of the ball. On a straight back draw shot you have to keep the cue very stright all the way through or you will see this drift and stun effect. I would actually say your cue is too elevated in the back. I can't see your bridge so I don't know if that is why, but you need a level cue. Your tip should come to rest on the felt but not slide across it, don't worry about hurting the felt (or just practice at a bar) so long as your tip is not mushroomed and properly shaped. Try getting a dime radius shape on your tip, lots of chalk. Also put your wrist into it, you need to "pop" your wrist. Otherwise your arm is just pushing through the shot which will cause a stop shot. Go lower on the cue ball too. With your cue elevated the way it is if you go lower on the cb you will miscue. But if you get down low enough with your cue and just stay straight you can really hit low on the ball without miscuing. Pretend the cue and ball is like a yo-yo. Throw the cue into it hold your form and slowly back your cue off like it's on a string, the ball won't come back and hit the cue because there is delay while the cue ball digs in to spin back. You can also hit it about half as hard as you are and still should be able to get around 2 - 3 feet of draw which is usually ample. If I were to hit it as hard as you are I would probably get around 16 feet of draw which you never need. I used to think that having a little "dip" at the end of my draw stroke was a flaw. Actually it helps immensely. You could always purchase a new cue ball too if that one is really old. I recently bought an aramith pro cup and the action I get with it is just sickening. But this above all else....practice practice practice...you will get it. Then you can try low left and low right which is really fun. Good luck sir. You may also want to read the topic on this website: Trouble with Cue Ball Draw Hopefully that works, otherwise just look under 8ball strategy, tips and techniques

  4. pocket6pocket6 on 3/4/2009 1:43:08 PM

    Here is a new video with a larger view. Tell me what you think.

  5. pocket6Mitch Alsup on 3/4/2009 10:06:29 PM

    I think what you need to do is to get a longer smoother stroke with more follow through.

    1. Pull your bridge back another 2-3 inches (and use a closed bridge)
    2. Slow the stroke down (from the beginning of the stroke to impact needs to be 0.3 seconds or more.)
    3. Finish at least 4 inches past the original position of the cue ball, before retracting cue stick
    4. Chalk every shot (e.g. waste the film)
    5. Smoothly accelerate through the cue ball
    6. Impact the cue ball 1 tip below a center of mass hit
    7. Impact at a precise point on the cue ball
    8. Check that the tip on the cue is properly shaped--use a nail file if needed.
    9. Get a practice cue ball with stripes or dots so you can see the application of backspin
  6. pocket6Justanotherevolutionary on 3/5/2009 10:09:09 AM

    Yea, your cue is way too elevated. And slow down your practice pokes! Also I see your whole body is moving up and down while you practice stroke...Get down on the shot, keep your body and head quiet....hit and hold. And LOWER your cue!

  7. pocket6Mitch Alsup on 3/5/2009 3:15:50 PM

    Your stroke is at least 5X to fast--that is you are getting 5 practice strokes completed in the time you should be getting only one single parctice stroke completed. The duration of a stroke is about the same as the duration of a sigh.

    The speed at which to change directions of the cue stick (at the end of each stroke) removes any chance of accuratly placing the tip of the cue precisely on the cue-ball.

    It would also help if your bridge fingers held your hand off the table.

    You are aiming at about the right spot on the cue-ball, but when you change from your practice swing to yout actual stroke swing, you drop your elbow and hit the cue-ball closer to the center than where you aimed.

    All of this can be addressed by slowing down.

  8. pocket6pocket6 on 3/5/2009 5:26:06 PM

    Thanks everyone for your help. But I still cant get very much draw. Is there any possiblity that it is the felt? I am able to get follow just not very well.

  9. pocket6pocket6 on 3/5/2009 5:27:50 PM

    Is it better to have loose or tight felt? Worn or new? Better brand?

  10. pocket6billiardsforum on 3/5/2009 6:56:49 PM

    well tight pool table cloth is the way to go, in general, but when you get that shot down, you should be able to do it in either condition...are you chalked up nice?

  11. pocket6quickshot on 3/5/2009 9:53:50 PM

    It is not the table, nor the felt, nor the cuestick. It is you not knowing how. If you are getting 3-4 inches you are 1/4 of the way there. Your proble is "lack of a good follow through". Keep the tip well chalked. It is not about speed. It is about leting the cue folow through the cue ball as if you are trying to hit the object ball with the tip. That is it in a nut shell. Keep practicing...it will come to you. Good luck.

  12. pocket6Justanotherevolutionary on 3/6/2009 10:36:56 AM

    Felt does matter some what. On my table I have simonis 860 and it is very tight no wrinkling at all. However I play at about 6 different venues and they are all different and all perform differently. One place I play also has 860 but it is loose, it actually wrinkles up when I place my bridge, but I get about the same action as I do at home. Another place has some ****py fluffy poorly maintained felt and I can bludgeon the ball with draw and only end up with about a max of 6 feet of draw even with my own aramith cue ball. A tightly woven felt will give more action and higher ball speeds, it's also more durable. If your felt is really soft and lints up all the time, it's probably pretty cheap stuff. A grainy tightly woven felt like simonis is what you want to play on, and will last longer, take more punishment with less maintenance, and provide more action. What kind of cue ball do you use and how old is it? Although I still beleive it's more you and not the ball or felt, good equipment can only help. I would recommend finding a parlor with all the top of the line stuff, Tour edition, 860 simonis cloth and aramith balls, and test it out, see if there is a difference before even thinking about re-felting your table. Call and ask your local hall, they can tell you what they have.

  13. pocket6Justanotherevolutionary on 3/6/2009 10:45:25 AM

    I should've also mentioned brand new felt and balls will actually give less spin/grab until they are worn in. My local hall refelted about 3 months ago, I went in the day after it was done and I had very poor cue ball control. Only about 2 weeks later I came back and it was totally different. Slower and more grippy. I was using the same cue ball both times.

  14. pocket6pocket6 on 3/6/2009 1:27:25 PM

    That could be it. I only got this table on the 28th of feb. I play it often but not as much as a pool hall's.

  15. pocket6jonstewarts on 3/24/2009 2:23:38 AM

    Hi all

    Billiard cues can be a challenging subject when it comes to deciding which one to buy. When shopping for billiard cues, you will find that there are literally hundreds of brands and styles to choose from.

    I would recommend getting out where you can hit some balls with different billiard cues and find one that plays best for you.

    We can shop it for low prices as well here more..

    Thanks..

  16. pocket6guest on 4/5/2009 12:32:47 AM

    I started playing pool about 3 years ago and I understand your struggle. I have worked on my game for the last two years doing practice drills about 15-20 hours a week. I have learned that there is a lot of good advice and bad advice out there and some of this you will find out on your own. I started out my first session dropping to an APA skill level 3 in 8-ball and 4 in 9-ball. I am currently a 7 in 8-ball and 8 in 9-ball. I play many high level amatuer events (US Amatuer Open, Dominiak Cues Tour) and regional Pro events. I do very well in top level amatuer events and can usually beat about 1/2 the field at region Pro events (Joss Northeast Tour). I only state this so you understand where I am coming from. I have watched your video have will point out the following fixes, hope they help.

    1. I agree with the posters that say slow down the practice stokes, poking the shot quickly with a short stroke will not help you draw; unless you are very close to the object ball.
    2. I feel that the butt of your cue is elevated too high. Try bringing the butt of the cue as close to level with the table as you can while you stroke.
    3. Try striking the cue ball about 1-tip from the bottom of the table. In order to visualize this, just take your tip and lay it on the table at the base of the cue ball. The point on the cue ball that is just visible above the tip as it lays on the table is a good place to aim.
    4. You could also have trouble getting the cue level and low because your bridge hand is very close to the object ball. Try moving the bridge hand back a few inches and use a closed bridge, since you are bringing more power to this stroke.
    5. Most important - follow through the cue ball. For the shot, as you show it follow through at least 4-6 inches. The further the cue ball is away from the object ball the more follow through will be required.
    6. Yes felt will effect the amount of draw you can achieve, but at the distances you're working with you should be able to draw a cue ball at least 4-6 feet with proper technique in no time regardless of the felt.

    My current practice drill for draw is to put the object ball near the side rail one diamond from the corner pocket and the cue ball 6 diamonds away near the same side rail. I then do 25 shots drawing the cue ball off the object ball back to the end-rail, off the end-rail and out past the center of the table.

    I hope this helps, I'll check back to see how you do :)

  17. pocket6rush72 on 4/7/2009 5:34:53 AM

    it might be easier to show you,if you live near meriden CT maybe i can give you a few tips that will help your game

  18. pocket6quickshot on 6/22/2009 11:21:22 AM

    Go to " Easypooltutor.com" without the quote marks.

  19. pocket6Nursey1313 on 6/23/2009 6:08:17 AM

    Hey there pocket6,

    I am not sure what you're doing wrong in your draw. It's kinda hard to see in the video. Here is what my team captain told me to do when drawing, pretend like you are shooting through the cue ball. It works for me, (most of the time anyway.) LOL. You have to have a smooth stroke too. it looks like maybe you are jabbing at the cue. Do you shoot on a league?

  20. pocket6measureman on 6/25/2009 2:51:23 PM

    Lots of good advice here. But you need to get yourself in front of a good player so he/she can show you in person. If you live in the Denver area i will help you.

  21. pocket6Nursey1313 on 6/27/2009 11:11:24 AM

    Hey there Pocket6, all of these responses make total sense. I actually thought that I thought of one that noone else thought of. LOL But I didn't. :( It was the closed bridge. You have more control of your shot with it, and like I said on the subject before, shoot it like you are shooting thru the cue ball, like someone else said, like you are hitting the object ball with the cue. Good Luck. Don't feel too bad though, my draw comes and goes. Take care.

  22. pocket6William Erby on 7/7/2009 3:53:00 PM

    Make sure you follow thru the cue ball a good 6" to 8". A lot of people jab at the ball instead of following thru. Aim about 1.5 cue tips below center. Please check out my new web site freedombilliards dot com and let me know what you think?

  23. pocket6Bev Stayart on 8/12/2009 1:04:08 PM

    I think you are hitting the cue ball at an angle. You need to hit the cue ball parallel to the table, about 1/3 from the bottom of the ball, with a sharp stroke. This will produce a strong draw backwards after the cue ball hits an object ball. Try it and see!

  24. pocket6billiardbuzzdotcom on 9/8/2009 3:50:40 AM

    When I first began shooting pool, drawing the cue ball was one of the things I was fascinated with. Over time I began to understand that the "tip to cue angle" is very important as well as following through on your shot. I have also learned a few things NEW here today that I will take with me to my next Billiard Tournament. Thanks a SHOT.

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Draw on the Cue Ball

  • Title: Draw on the Cue Ball
  • Author:
  • Published: 3/3/2009 4:45:35 PM