Sweet Bank

[Cowboy Dennis]

Just got back from practicing and for some weird reason I played pretty good considering I really can't see the cueball that well.

The table is a GC with newer but cheap cloth on it, like what they usually put in public rooms. It had thick nap and I had to hit balls harder to move them, it was like they were rolling through high grass. I've always liked tables like that.

It's also been raining for two days so it's slightly humid in the room too.

Anyway, just banging balls around and this shot came up and I figured with the way balls were grabbing the rails on this table I'd give this shot a whirl. The 1 ball was clearly to the left of the cueball and I think I hit the cueball as shown, but I'm never certain as I don't see it too well. The cueball went to the right and the 1 ball banked straight-back. It was like I crossed it but I didn't. Anyway I thought I'd share this strange bank.

[CUETABLE]http://pool.bz/P/?@1AVCK4PVkJ1UVCK1UUfj4UcYr4kVkJ1kVRu1kbYv1kYFy4uCMP@[/CUETABLE]

 

[vapros]

I note the low left english. Obviously you got some good rotation transferred to the 1 ball to make the shot. I have had this happen a few times, but by accident. When I shoot this shot I am lagging at pocket speed, and not with any thought of making it. Just trying to leave it close to my pocket.

 

[fred bentivegna]

Made...

Made...

...the same shot on Ike Runnels last night at Red Shoes, only cross corner instead of straight back, and banked out. Ike left to pick up his wife after that game.

Beard

Truthfully, it was the first time in eons that I have been able to execute that shot in a game.

 

[Cowboy Dennis]

...the same shot on Ike Runnels last night at Red Shoes, only cross corner instead of straight back, and banked out. Ike left to pick up his wife after that game.

Beard

Truthfully, it was the first time in eons that I have been able to execute that shot in a game.

Freddy,

So what was it? The humidity or did I/we just happen to have a day where I/we guessed right? . This table does take some good "twisty" banks but I've never made this one on it until today. I'm guessing that the cross-corner version is a little tougher with so much less distance to travel.

Dennis

 

[fred bentivegna]

It just so happens ....

It just so happens ....

Freddy,

So what was it? The humidity or did I/we just happen to have a day where I/we guessed right? . This table does take some good "twisty" banks but I've never made this one on it until today. I'm guessing that the cross-corner version is a little tougher with so much less distance to travel.

Dennis

... that our stroke timing was perfect. That is the only way to make that shot. It requires a perfect blend of english, speed and a perfect hit on the object ball. You need to hit it full enough for the english to grab and not so full that you dont get off the object ball and you get a kiss coming back.

It aint easy.

Beard

(new cloth would help)

 

[lll]

... that our stroke timing was perfect.

It aint easy.

Beard

(new cloth would help)

you guys are peerfect

 

[lll]

peerfect not corrected

 

[BUD GREEN]

One of the hardest shots out there, especially with a cue that deflects a bit.

Isn't the shot that Bugs put on Buddy Hall that made BH realize he was outmatched, Freddie?

 

[Frank Almanza]

I made that exact shot to beat King Kong in Bellflower a couple months ago. I needed two and got perfect on another ball that was next to the rail. I got to say that the combination of everything that went into that shot was perfect.
I was hoping to get it close and hide it with that ball that was near the rail, but I was surprised when it went in.

 

[fred bentivegna]

No, not the same shot

No, not the same shot

One of the hardest shots out there, especially with a cue that deflects a bit.

Isn't the shot that Bugs put on Buddy Hall that made BH realize he was outmatched, Freddie?

The shot Bugs made on Buddy was different. The cue ball was outside of the angle and it looked like it was impossible to beat the kiss going inside. Bugs had to use reverse english to duck inside the object ball to lay on the rail and let the object ball pass. Dennis's shot lay slightly inside the angle and required opposite english to make.

The shot that Dennis, and I, and Frank, were referring to, is the shot Truman Hogue made on Gabe Owens in the DCC bank tourn.

Beard

 

[BUD GREEN]

Thx for the explanation.

 

[petie]

Just got back from practicing and for some weird reason I played pretty good considering I really can't see the cueball that well.

The table is a GC with newer but cheap cloth on it, like what they usually put in public rooms. It had thick nap and I had to hit balls harder to move them, it was like they were rolling through high grass. I've always liked tables like that.

It's also been raining for two days so it's slightly humid in the room too.

Anyway, just banging balls around and this shot came up and I figured with the way balls were grabbing the rails on this table I'd give this shot a whirl. The 1 ball was clearly to the left of the cueball and I think I hit the cueball as shown, but I'm never certain as I don't see it too well. The cueball went to the right and the 1 ball banked straight-back. It was like I crossed it but I didn't. Anyway I thought I'd share this strange bank.

[CUETABLE]http://pool.bz/P/?@1AVCK4PVkJ1UVCK1UUfj4UcYr4kVkJ1kVRu1kbYv1kYFy4uCMP@[/CUETABLE]

Sounds like Cushion Cue & Brew in Lavonia. Deep pile.

Dennis, as a fan of yours on this forum, I want to encourage you to bite the bullit and go get a pair of glasses with rims big enough to fit over your eyebrows. If you need bifocals, as I suspect you do, get blended lenses where there is no line between the different magnifications. Learn to play with them. This will take a while as your muscle memory learns to compensate for seeing an image of the balls on your glasses rather than the balls themselves. If you think you can't play with glasses, check out Jack Cooney, Jimmy Caras, Freddy, Grady Mathews, John Henderson, need I go on? You will someday thank me for this.

Pete

 

[petie]

How about that. You make an impossible bank and I say you need glasses. I'm always out of step.

 

[Cowboy Dennis]

Sounds like Cushion Cue & Brew in Lavonia. Deep pile.

Dennis, as a fan of yours on this forum, I want to encourage you to bite the bullit and go get a pair of glasses with rims big enough to fit over your eyebrows. If you need bifocals, as I suspect you do, get blended lenses where there is no line between the different magnifications. Learn to play with them. This will take a while as your muscle memory learns to compensate for seeing an image of the balls on your glasses rather than the balls themselves. If you think you can't play with glasses, check out Jack Cooney, Jimmy Caras, Freddy, Grady Mathews, John Henderson, need I go on? You will someday thank me for this.

Pete

Petie,

Cushion & Cue & Brew? I haven't heard it called that in years . That's where I was alright. They call the chain Snookers now and since they closed the one in Southgate I occasionally drive the 25 miles to Livonia. You can't beat playing from 11a.m. to 6p.m. for $5. They still have two billiard tables, a 5x10 snooker table and a slew of 8 & 9 footers. Good food and drink don't hurt either. Petie, do you know Dave Norman? A great guy who manages for Mike Abrams. I've known Dave for years and see him at Livonia sometimes.

Regarding glasses: My realizing in 2004 or so that my vision was failing and was the cause of me missing easy shots was one of the best things that ever happened to me. I stopped hanging out in smokey poolrooms with guys who played 7 days a week and had no money (do you think they'll ever make the connection?). If I could see perfect tomorrow I would resume that behavior, I'm certain. After 25 years of trying to match up with guys with no money and who are in constant dead-stroke due to playing everyday, I'm very happy to not deal with them anymore. It's very difficult to work 40 hrs. per week and still play these guys and I do miss the action but not enough to worry about doing anything to improve my vision.

In 2 years I may have to get glasses to renew my drivers license, then I may resume my illustrious poolplaying career .

P.S. Thanks for being in my fan club, the other two guys died .

Dennis

 

[Frank Almanza]

I made that exact shot to beat King Kong in Bellflower a couple months ago. I needed two and got perfect on another ball that was next to the rail. I got to say that the combination of everything that went into that shot was perfect.
I was hoping to get it close and hide it with that ball that was near the rail, but I was surprised when it went in.

I thought that I should add a footnote to my shot.
Anytime that we execute a shot out of the ordinary we tend to remember everything that transpired.
This shot is still very vivid to me in my mind because I never even thought that It would go into my pocket. I was just trying to get it to my quadrant of the table and hopefully protect it with the ball that was on the rail.

The object ball was about a foot from the end rail and the cue ball was just past the side pocket on the object ball side. The shot was on the opposite side of the table from Dennis's example making it easy to bridge for me because I'm right handed. I'm certain that I would have not attempted the shot with the distance that Dennis showed on the WEI table because from that distance there is no lag involved.

I remember being down on the shot and thinking that speed was very important in case none of the English took, so I wanted the ball to end up very close to the other end rail so that there would not be a cut to his pocket for him. I knew that I needed to slightly cut the object ball to my right to get the cue ball out of the way.

It was hot that day with a lot of players in the room and I think that put a lot of humidity in the air. Maybe that's the reason the ball grabbed the rail so good, I don't know. When I pulled the trigger I felt like I dogged the stroke because the cue ball was heading toward the scratch and that's where my eyes went. When I realized it was not going to scratch then my attention went to the object and to my surprise it was heading to my hole.

I feel that the shot worked for me that day because of the soft hit that allowed the cue ball to transfer English well and the object ball to hold onto the rail for maximum grab. And maybe the humidity had a good deal also.

Some tables don't twist the ball back very well. That table I knew did, but I never expected for it to go in. I hoped for enough spin to get to the short rail maybe eight to ten inches from the pocket.

 

[NH Steve]

You all have heard the term "skid" or "cling" when some great player was cutting a ball in the middle of some big run (seems like at straight pool especially), and they suddenly, inexplicably missed what seemed like a routine shot, and they cry that they got robbed because the ball 'skidded'...right? Well just imagine that extra grab between the cue ball and object ball and what you could do with it when banking if you could only control introducing it? I wonder if that is why sometimes some of these seemingly impossible banks goes.

Maybe Eddie Robin can chime in because I am pretty sure he has [put some thought into this topic...

 

[androd]

Many people have given me 20 shots to cross this bank.
I could usually make it in less than 10 shots.
Still can.
Rod.
PS. I'm sure many here can also. John b., Freddy, etc.

[CUETABLE]http://pool.bz/P/?@2AObR2PDxT4uCMP@[/CUETABLE]

 

[Cowboy Dennis]

You all have heard the term "skid" or "cling" when some great player was cutting a ball in the middle of some big run (seems like at straight pool especially), and they suddenly, inexplicably missed what seemed like a routine shot, and they cry that they got robbed because the ball 'skidded'...right? Well just imagine that extra grab between the cue ball and object ball and what you could do with it when banking if you could only control introducing it? I wonder if that is why sometimes some of these seemingly impossible banks goes.

Steve,

That does usually happen on a thin cut not on a ball hit almost full-in-the-face.

Dennis

 

[Cowboy Dennis]

Many people have given me 20 shots to cross this bank.
I could usually make it in less than 10 shots.
Still can.
Rod.
PS. I'm sure many here can also. John b., Freddy, etc.

[CUETABLE]http://pool.bz/P/?@2AObR2PDxT4uCMP@[/CUETABLE]

That's a pretty tough shot from there unless you are jumping the cueball up in the air off the end-rail to evade the kiss.

I set this shot up yesterday (not as tough as yours) and probably shot it at least 30 times but never made it. If the pockets were tighter and I had more siderail to hit it would've been a hanger .

There were two guys playing full-banks on the table next to me, they are there everytime I'm in there and always on the same table. They watched me trying to pocket this bank and probably figured I was nuts.

[CUETABLE]http://pool.bz/P/?@4AHAY4PSSX4uCMP@[/CUETABLE]

 

[androd]

That's a pretty tough shot from there unless you are jumping the cueball up in the air off the end-rail to evade the kiss.

This shot, the CB has to be forced forward to allow the OB room to pass.
Rod.
P.S. Both balls are one ball width from the cushion.
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