Helping side

[jonny66]

What is helping side? That's about it really

EDIT. It's running side, or outside english. You hit the cueball ever so slightly on the same side of the object ball you want to hit. e.g If you want to hit the left side of the object ball you cue slightly to the left of the cue ball. And it doesn't always help. :snooker:

[tedisbill]

Oh dear. Here we go again...

[jonny66]

Ah, have I opened a can of worms? Sorry, I couldn't find a thread specifically about helping side with the search, I did find a tonne just about side and aiming etc.

[Vitikka]

There you go:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jUL_8aZ2LU

[DandyA]

There you go:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jUL_8aZ2LU

I love Dr Dave Alciatore's stuff ... the Clint Eastwood of cue sports except with maths and physics as his weapons

[Terry Davidson]

Not gonna go there

[cyberheater]

There you go:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jUL_8aZ2LU

Is he saying that side is being transferred from the cue ball to the object ball which effects it's path?

[golferson123]

Helping side

yep its called cheat, its the friction between the balls

[vmax4steve]

Helping side works because the cue ball is deflected from it's straight path by the tip of the cue striking it off centre, arcs back from it's deflected path and therefore strikes the object ball at the correct contact point to pot it, but coming from a slightly different direction, maximum of about no more than an inch. It's this inch that you can use for positional puposes if the angle you have left yourself is a little too straight.

Aim the shot as you would when using side off a cushion ie slightly thicker than a centre ball strike and see where the cue ball ends up as opposed to a centre ball strike.
On modern super fast cloths, where the ball doesn't have to be hit so hard, I suppose there is little use for it, but on thick napped club tables it can be quite useful.

Very little side, if any, is transmitted from the cue ball to the object ball as both balls have highly polished surfaces and friction is at a minimum. The poster of the pool video either doesn't understand what is happening and is putting his own take on the effect he witnesses or is selling a low deflection cue to the gullible. My guess is the latter.

[DeanH]

Helping side works because the cue ball is deflected from it's straight path by the tip of the cue striking it off centre, arcs back from it's deflected path and therefore strikes the object ball at the correct contact point to pot it, but coming from a slightly different direction, maximum of about no more than an inch. It's this inch that you can use for positional puposes if the angle you have left yourself is a little too straight.

Aim the shot as you would when using side off a cushion ie slightly thicker than a centre ball strike and see where the cue ball ends up as opposed to a centre ball strike.
On modern super fast cloths, where the ball doesn't have to be hit so hard, I suppose there is little use for it, but on thick napped club tables it can be quite useful.

Very little side, if any, is transmitted from the cue ball to the object ball as both balls have highly polished surfaces and friction is at a minimum. The poster of the pool video either doesn't understand what is happening and is putting his own take on the effect he witnesses or is selling a low deflection cue to the gullible. My guess is the latter.

Is this just a "Swerve" shot? for example using side to swerve the cue ball around another ball not on?

[golferson123]

Is this just a "Swerve" shot? for example using side to swerve the cue ball around another ball not on?

yes dean its not a cheat shot at all, cheat only works at close range it can be used to alter the angle the ob comes of the cb trying to hold a spot for instance, there is a slight amount of friction between balls ie two touching balls if hit from one side the furthest ball will not come of on the true plant path

[itsnoteasy]

For me throw is explained as Golferson said, I don't think its the cue ball arcing because throw happens at close range but side arc(for want of a better expression) wouldn't take effect, or probably better put by saying it wouldn't have the time to take effect. Just my opinion on it.

[DeanH]

to me Throw and Side is not necessarily the same, Throw is what you get when you don't apply Side correctly

but also, throw is not what is being discussed here, or am I confused but all the misuse of terms ?

[itsnoteasy]

to me Throw and Side is not necessarily the same, Throw is what you get when you don't apply Side correctly

but also, throw is not what is being discussed here, or am I confused but all the misuse of terms ?

It started off as helping side, but on the video the man is talking about throw, not side, so it's all got a bit mixed up lol.

[Siz]

Side on the cb will tend to throw the ob off course. But in some cases it can be thought of as 'helping side'.

The effect is caused by the friction between the balls when they collide. But the frictional force - and hence the amount of throw - will be reduced if the surfaces of the cb and ob are moving too fast in relation to each other. So don't think that the more side you put on, the more throw you get. And if the cb is also rolling or spinning backwards, then this movement between the two balls' surfaces will also reduce the throw effect.

In snooker and UK pool, this can be quite useful.

1) if you can't quite get to the potting angle, because another ball is in the way, you can sometimes make the pot by using side to throw the ball in. Works best at slow to medium speed, and with stun on the white (top or screw tends to reduce the frictional effect by encouraging the surfaces to slide of each other rather than stick)

2) when potting a ball along the cushion, side can help. Without side, the friction in the cb ob collision will tend to push the ob into the cushion which is not what you want. If you are fairly straight, use a little check & stun which tends to counter this effect. But if you potting at more of an angle, then top & running side can work better (but the explanation is more complex).

There is also the effect that Vmax describes in post #9.

3) eg when you are trying to hold the white but have left yourself too much angle (typically I find on shots to the middle). The effect here is as Vmax describes, the off-centre hit on the white pushes it wide so it comes in to the ob from a different direction, hitting it thicker than it would do otherwise, and allowing you to hold the white. Sometimes. Play with soft screw.

In case 3) the frictional effect of the spin tends to work in the 'wrong' way, ie wanting to make you lose the white. But with enough backspin on the white, the balls will not grip and the frictional effect should not be a problem - at least on a snooker table. With US pool equipment it this shot does not work, and US-pool players do the opposite - playing with 'outside english'. But that's their problem.