Billiards - Feature: Se Habla English?

One can really only see the real effects of english when the cue ball rebounds off a table rail. The spin on the ball grips the cushion, and sends the cue ball in a direction or angle determined by the type of english used.

The speed at which the cue ball hits the rail - i.e. the power at which the shot is played - also affects the angle at which the cue ball (or the object ball, for that matter) rebounds from the rail. Since this feature is not about shot speed or power, we won't go into detail, but you should at least know this:

Slow speed makes the ball rebound at the "natural" angle
High speed makes the ball rebound at a narrower angle than normal

With that said, let's get to the goodies:

Vertical English


A
B
C
Kicking off a rail with high, low or no english will give you three different effects, sometimes differing only slightly from one another, but enough to either hit or miss the ball you are kicking at. In the above diagram, playing the cue ball with no english (A) gives you the "natural" or unaltered angle, in this case the right angle to pocket the object ball after hitting a rail first with the cue ball. Shot B will have the cue ball rebound at a narrower angle. Shot C will come off the rail at a wider angle. Please note that the above results are achieved by hitting the cue ball with medium power, because if you played it softly, the cue ball will lose most of the spin before it reaches the rail, in which case the result would be similar to shot A, regarldess of whether you played it with high or low english.

Lateral English


A
B
C
Kicking off a rail with lateral english (left or right) has similar, but not identical effects to playing with vertical english. The difference is that here, the effects are exaggerated, and therefore more clearly visible. In the above diagram, playing the cue ball with no english (A) gives you the "natural" or unaltered angle, in this case the right angle to pocket the object ball after hitting a rail first with the cue ball. Shot B will have the cue ball rebound at a much narrower angle. Shot C will come off the rail at a much wider angle. Please note that the above results are achieved by hitting the cue ball with medium power. Unlike playing with only vertical english, if you played it softly, the cue ball will not lose that much spin, because the spin is not directly affected by the friction caused by the table cloth. However, if you played the shot with power the ball will rebound from the rail at a narrower angle than each case in the above diagram. The rail will first grip the ball, and then the resilience of the rail will shoot the ball away from the rail, not giving the english time to have the normal effect as when played at medium speed.

Se Habla English? (Part 2)