Railz

[snazzydevil]

Has anyone got any tips on long-med distance rail shots? (besides practice) I fluke them occasionally using a little english, but it's all guess work. Usually by the time the object ball reaches the corner, it's left the rail and gone inland . More often than not I leave the object ball sitting there ready to be potted by the oponent.
On those big pocket american pool tables, it's no problem and i can cheat the pockets, but my pockets are smaller than that.

[simon hopkins]

hi. my name is simon. i have just reed your quote about long pots on cushions? i have 1 suggestion that my coach told me, on all cuts (like this 1) u should walk to the angle of ur shot that u r playing, then walk back to ur cue ball spot, keeping ur eye on the spot where u walked towards. the idea is to hit the cue ball on the perfect spot that u r amaing 4. try it and tell me whether it works with u. c ya

[Bob]

When I first started playing on my mates table I got into the cheeky habit of overchalking my cue before a rail shot and then marking the rail where I wanted to hit it whilst pretending to be lining up my shot. Once I got a bit more serious and started respecting tables a bit more I grew out of that habit though. You can probably see all the little blue marks on his rails... hehe... good times.

[snazzydevil]

G'day simon, welcome to the group.
You have a coach? Thats awesome. None of that for me. I'm sure they're here somewhere, but they'd be so far and few between that the effort and cost don't make it worth while.
I will try that and let you know how it goes, thanks. But I have a further question..... when the object ball is sitting flush on the rail, don't you need to compensate for throw? (I think i've used the correct terminology )

hi. my name is simon. i have just reed your quote about long pots on cushions? i have 1 suggestion that my coach told me, on all cuts (like this 1) u should walk to the angle of ur shot that u r playing, then walk back to ur cue ball spot, keeping ur eye on the spot where u walked towards. the idea is to hit the cue ball on the perfect spot that u r amaing 4. try it and tell me whether it works with u. c ya

[Colin]

The trick to railshots.

Has anyone got any tips on long-med distance rail shots? (besides practice) I fluke them occasionally using a little english, but it's all guess work. Usually by the time the object ball reaches the corner, it's left the rail and gone inland . More often than not I leave the object ball sitting there ready to be potted by the oponent.
On those big pocket american pool tables, it's no problem and i can cheat the pockets, but my pockets are smaller than that.

The trick is to hit the rail first, just slightly, with some running side.

This increases the margin for error and accounts for the friction of the balls.

If you can't get position with running side then the shot will be very tough.

I suggest you practice a lot of rail shots from different angles using this method until you get used to the best aiming point, where you hit the rail just a fraction before the ball.

[Deejay]

Welcome to the Forum Colin, Sound advice mate

[snazzydevil]

Thanks for the advice. Now I just need to get motivated to get in the garage and do it!

What I do is when i'm practicing rail shots it put two balls on every rail, put the cueball on the head spot and just go from there. That way I need to think about positoin on my next shot aswel. I got that excercise from a 'idiots guide' book by Ewa Lawrence.

The trick is to hit the rail first, just slightly, with some running side.

This increases the margin for error and accounts for the friction of the balls.

If you can't get position with running side then the shot will be very tough.

I suggest you practice a lot of rail shots from different angles using this method until you get used to the best aiming point, where you hit the rail just a fraction before the ball.

[Colin]

Thanks for the advice. Now I just need to get motivated to get in the garage and do it!

What I do is when i'm practicing rail shots it put two balls on every rail, put the cueball on the head spot and just go from there. That way I need to think about positoin on my next shot aswel. I got that excercise from a 'idiots guide' book by Ewa Lawrence.

That drill will help you to learn a lot....but....there is a big difference with US Pool because of big pockets and pocket rail shape.

In US pool often these shots are played with Outside English (OE) which ends up as check side, the opposite of running side. They call it reverse english.

So just be aware that many US pool drills are extremely difficult on English style snooker and pool tables...and not perfectly suited to game improvement. But have fun....you'll learn stuff:-)

[snazzydevil]

Fortunately, I don't have a US style table.

My table is a custom 8 x 4 feet snooker style table. It has the smaller rounded pockets, and drives me crazy with these rail shots.

I can get the rail shots, it's just a matter of consistantly getting them.

That drill will help you to learn a lot....but....there is a big difference with US Pool because of big pockets and pocket rail shape.

In US pool often these shots are played with Outside English (OE) which ends up as check side, the opposite of running side. They call it reverse english.

So just be aware that many US pool drills are extremely difficult on English style snooker and pool tables...and not perfectly suited to game improvement. But have fun....you'll learn stuff:-)

[Colin]

Fortunately, I don't have a US style table.

My table is a custom 8 x 4 feet snooker style table. It has the smaller rounded pockets, and drives me crazy with these rail shots.

I can get the rail shots, it's just a matter of consistantly getting them.

I played mostly the same game in Australia and had my own 8 foot table. I prefered it to a 7 * 3'6 because it requires more accuracy and has more open table positions for more enjoyable practice.

In Aussie (same as English) pool, with the rounded tight pockets, you'll rarely hit balls firm down a rail, unless perhaps you are straight in line and it is a generous pocket. In games, players will almost always roll the ball in at a speed just enough to make the pocket, so that it covers the pocket if the shot is missed. Much of the time the players actually miss deliberately, so as to cover the pocket for strategical reasons. This is a very valuable skill. (pocket blocking) It will win you a lot of games.

However, if you are very good at making rail shots this will help enormously in being able to make run outs when your opponent has calculated you cannot. eg. The opponent may give you 2 shots because you have 2 of your balls on rails. He is gambling you cannot make them in one shot. If you play rail shots well, it puts severe pressure on your opponent's usual strategy.

I would recommend that you practice making these shots at low roll speed from various angles and distances. Also practice covering pockets. That is if you want to be good at Aussie Pool.

Personally I prefer the US versions of the game which are more aggressive and require less strategy...more good shots!

[snazzydevil]

Yes, I must say the 7.5 feet table is kind of cramped to play on. Idealy I would have liked to get a 9' table but it's amazing how much difference it makes when it comes to the amount of room you need.

In pool I do tend to cover the pocket intentionally if it is to my advantage. I've won plenty of games thanks to that tactic. But thats not really a tactic that can quite so easily be used in snooker.

I'm just going to have to practice the rail shots. Though getting motivated is so hard to just shot the same shots over and over. But I know the pros do it, so I really should pull my finger out.