Most novice players have no idea which way the cue ball will travel after it deflects off the object ball. They're straight in, and they imagine the cue ball will make a 90-degree turn off that line if struck with sidespin, etc.

I've really gotten good at learning about the tangent line, and bending it slightly with top or bottom.

But once that cue ball hits the rail, now I'm that novice: I'm sometimes shocked at how differently the ball rebounds off a rail than I had imagined it would. And when the object ball is close to the rail, this magnifies the problem. I'm always shocked that when the object ball is an inch off the end rail, one diamond from the pocket, and I'm a foot away with a simple 30-degree cut shot and the need to go straight down the table, I'M LOST! Note that I can go TWO RAILS here and get to a lot of places (I've played a lot of 3-cushion billiards, know about running English and going around the table with it), but to just use the one rail and get back towards, say the spot at the far end? Sometimes I guess right, sometimes I'm way off.

Any advice? Resources? Books? Videos? Suggestions for drills? I *love* doing drills! Please, someone, give me a drill!

(I should note that with thin hits, I'm pretty good at controlling the cue; it's fuller hits that require more speed to force the ball over to the rail.)

You can do this drill and put the object ball anywhere and also move your half circle farther away if needed. I like this one a lot.

Having trouble with imbedding it so here's the link... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiIY...ature=youtu.be

Dude, that's awesome, thank you so much.

Here's the vid, save yourself a click:



Suit, quote this post, you can see how to imbed YouTube, it's easy.

Wow. Can't wait to try this. I never would have tried those last 2-3 shots without any left English.

the less english you use the better you can guage where the cue ball will go. but with more english it is easier to get it more off line. so you have to find that happy medium through practice and just thinking about where the ball will go depending on how you hit it.
most just quickly hit the shot and try to get area position with speed. you can do much better with a little knowledge of where the ball actually goes.

the secret to positon for decent but not pro players is to hit to the area that gives you the best angle for your shot after the next shot, rather than just playing for the best area to make your next shot. both can be entirely different.