Roger Long has been a BCA Instructor since 1993. He is the former owner of CuePort Billiards in Lakeland Florida and a regular contributer to Table Talk Newspaper here in Phoenix. His column appears here courtesy of Billiards Table Talk. Previous months columns are available here.
	Aim To Please By Roger Long, BCA Certified Instructor One of the most pleasant sounds a pool player can hear is the sound a ball makes as it drops into a pocket off a difficult cut shot. What makes this pleasing sound possible is the players knowledge of where to aim the cue ball in order to contact the object ball in the right spot. You might be surprised to find out how many people who have been playing pool for a while still don't know how to line up a cut shot. Most players, whether taught by another person or by a book, are told to line up a shot by extending an imaginary line from the center of the intended pocket through the center of the object ball, and where that lines exits from the ball will be the contact point for the cue ball. The only problem with this well-intended bit of of advice is that students sometimes think they are supposed to aim the CENTER of the cue ball at the point of contact on the object ball. Doing this will usually result in the ball being undercutand the shot summarily missed. The BCA Official Rules and Records Book, in the section titled, "Instructional Playing Tips", is careful to state that the contact point on the object ball is where the EDGE of the cue ball must meet the EDGE of the object ball. The shooter cannot aim the center of the cue ball, or the tip of his cue, at the contact point on the object ball and expect to pocket the ball. This may seem like an extremely basic and unnecessary thing to point out to some of you, but as I said before, you might be surprised to find out how many people have never been made aware of it.   All copyrights are owned by Roger Long. No duplication is allowed without his permission.