APA Skill level 3 Lesson: Shot Speed and Momentum for Cue Ball Control

Many APA (American Poolplayer Association) members with low handicaps, like Robin Hamlet, who is at level 3 of the Equalizer Handicap System, struggle with cue ball speed and understanding how the transfer of momentum from the cue ball to the object ball affects the distance the object ball will travel when playing 9-ball or 8-ball pool. It is important to make balls, and we go back over aiming towards the end of the video, but a critical element is understanding how hard to hit the cue ball to get position on the next ball.

When a cue ball strikes an object ball, it loses energy proportional to the fullness of the hit. For example, with a full ball hit (center to center) 100% of the momentum is transferred from the cue ball to the object ball (ignoring heat loss and friction), and the cue ball comes to a complete stop. And it stops even if the ball is spinning or rolling. If it is spinning backwards, it stops completely, and then the friction of the spinning ball on the cloth causes it to back up after stopping. Similarly, if it is rolling, it stops completely but continues to spin forward, causing it to roll forward, but only after the friction with the cloth grabs the spinning ball. After a half ball hit, about half the energy is transferred to the object ball, and the other half is retained by the cue ball but in a changed direction.

How far the cue ball is going to travel depends on how much of its energy is transferred. For example, after a 7/8th hit, most of the energy from the cue ball is lost, so you have to hit it about 8 times as hard to get it to travel the same distance it would have traveled without contacting a ball. This is a huge mountain of terrain for a low skill player to cross, but it must be understood in order to advance to higher skill levels.

Here PBIA/ACS certified instructor Jim Brauker helps Robin navigate that terrain and to obtain an understanding of how hard the cue ball must be struck to get position.

Please like and follow our Facebook Page too keep up on activities at Jim's Place Billiards and Bar: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?...