Six inches, two feet, seven feet, doesn't matter!

Last night, I put the cue ball on the spot, and placed an object ball half way to the closest corner pocket. Went 3-for-30. Cue ball almost never rolled sideways or forward.

Any advice? I could do this when I was a kid.

At close range...center ball hit with enough speed so that the cue ball will not be rolling when it hits the object ball.

When there's more distance between the balls you will have to hit a little below center to compensate for the inevitable forward roll the cue ball will acquire. It's hard to hit pure long range stop shots, but usually it's no big deal if the cue ball nudges up to an inch or two...

A recurring situation is a novice player that has to shoot a long shot with the 8-ball hanging in the pocket. They think it's an easy shot, but you know they are going to follow the cue ball in the pocket bc they don't know how to hit it...that's a good stop shot to practice. Put the 8 deep in the jaws , put the cue ball on the spot...

That one I can make, as I don't care if it draws back.

But if there is one shot that allows for precise position, it's this one.

However....I learned this week that tables play faster in winter, as turning on the heat dries out the humidity, and the felt! Less friction on the way to the object ball would explain my problem. Will try again, and report back.

Certainly not the easiest shot. Not even close. Generally, it helps to hit it a little harder for stop shots. U need very little English but a firm hit. You need to hit below center, but not much. The greater the distance, the more bottom you need. A stop shot is when the cue ball is not spinning backward or rolling forward at impact. It is sliding with no spin at all.

Phew. Thanks. They used to come so easy to me, and all the books have it as one of the first position shots to learn. I thought it was pretty basic.

I understand the skidding and no spin part--I just can't seem to execute it.

I'll just keep practicing, I'm sure it will come.

It is a stun shot that happens to be straight in. Knowing how to shoot a stun shot is very important in pool. It has the cue ball coming off the object ball at 90* from the target line and gives you the perfect tangent line as a starting point.

use one of the stripe balls to practice it. then you can actually see the movement of the ball when i goes from spinning backward to sliding to rolling forward. you can learn to adjust your stroke with that more easily.

Thanks guys.

This was the problem! Temps are no longer subzero, dew point is higher, tables are normal....and the ball is mostly stopping.