newer players have so much trouble drawing the cue ball back. draw is related to how hard you hit it and how low you hit it. simple.

but if the cue ball is dirty as they all are that are not cleaned each day, draw is difficult. so clean the cue ball frequently and all the balls regularly.

it will be much easier to get around the table and put spin or whatever you want to do.

a big tip on draw as well is follow through. people seem to be afraid of draw and 'poke' at the cue instead of following through to a full stroke resulting in a miscue a lot of the time.

yes if you arent following thru you probably are decelerating your cue speed as it gets near the cue ball. this just means you hit it slower than you think. so in effect you dont draw it as well.

Yup. Clean balls will make your game jump up a ball. And the follow through is definitely a big key. You're sliding the cue ball across the felt with the speed you're hitting underneath center. The slower -> the less reaction you get once it makes contact with the object ball.

talk about clean balls!!!
well, they are now at least.

Venom is definitely legit, and they are using a lighter cue ball fwiw when doing these shots...still pretty damn sick.

they also silicone it up as well. no way with regular uncleaned and unpolished balls could they even come close to doing those shots. but always fun to watch the trick shots.

Sorry if this is a super noob question, but I've never quite understood this. And I'm starting to get back into pool now!

But when you aim to hit low on the cue ball in order to draw, is the goal to have the cue be as parallel to the table as possible (bring the fulcrum down lower)? Or do you want to ANGLE the cue down?

My guess is it doesn't matter a whole lot, maybe depending on your bridge position? But I'd think the former?

to help with a nice clean stroke and for good follow through, you should try to have the cue as level as possible.

yes level for most all shots unless you are where you cant hit with a level cue.

the lower you hit and the faster your stroke is,, the more draw you get.

learn to hit where you aim. and learn where your lowest point is that you can hit without a miscue.

Great tips, thanks!

That point is actually lower than many people think, by the way.

However, hitting low isn't a requirement for good draw. Plenty of players hit their draw shots just slightly below center. It's more about stroke than impact point.

The lower you hit it, the more it will draw. Simple. And yes, keep the cue level equals more accurate and better draw.

Wow great video

another thing to mention is timing on your shots, when you draw the cue back to your hand, there should be a pause before you accelerate through the shot and push through the white.

majority of amateurs rush their shots even if it doesnt feel like they are which often leads to not drawing back far enough or accelerating enough.

id somewhat disagree that power is an important aspect as well, i think timing/technique are more prominent, its possible to have 2 players, 1 with better technique hitting the ball softer and getting more action on the white

it would seem that way but the one with the better stroke is just hitting the cue ball lower.
all other things being equal, the only two things that will really determine the draw is the speed of the tip when it hits the cueball and how low you hit it. as long as you hit in the center line.

I agree with the advice, but it may be worth noting that sometimes draw with an elevated cue allows a desired effect: namely, low cue ball speed with high back spin. This might be for a safety, where you want the object ball to go a short distance and the cue ball to run of farther backwards.

One situation I've used it (and I'm not great player at all so this might not be the best shot choice), but suppose you are behind the mostly unbroken rack in straight pool without a shot. You can elevate even to full masse' level, have the cue ball just nudge into the balls so as to hardly disturb them, then have the cue ball run back to the foot rail for the requisite rail contact, and maybe even bounce all the way back to the rack, leaving awkward position.

You also need to elevate when the cue ball is so close to the object ball that there is not time to avoid a double hit on a level stroke and get draw.

More importantly, I just like to share this site:

http://billiards.colostate.edu/bd_ar...009/july09.pdf

http://billiards.colostate.edu/threads/draw.html

http://billiards.colostate.edu/bd_ar...009/june09.pdf

http://billiards.colostate.edu/techn...new/TP_B-8.pdf

Lots of links in the paper and around the site. You can find really technical physics derivations. And more general intuitive discussion and advice.

dr. dave and his friends have some great stuff.
but the elevated cue thing hardly will ever come up for you. if it is you are inventing ways to find a trick shot.

the majority of new players elevate their cue on most shots and will never get much better until they stop it.

Start at about 1:15, might find this shot interesting in this context

(Sorry not sure how to jump to a timestamp when embedding!)

That's a masse after contact, distinctly different from draw. Mosta's post was also describing this. It can be a useful shot, but it's not a draw shot.