Try This Bank Shot Helper
I love to play pool and have enjoyed the game for over 40 years. It is easy enough so that just about anyone can play it, but it is a very difficult game to completely master. Kind of like golfing.
One of the trickiest parts of the game to me has always been bank shots. It's just hard to "see" where to bounce the object ball off the bank to get the correct angle for the ball to make it to the target pocket.
I have recently come upon a simple but ingenuous idea to help determine the correct angles when attempting bank shots. It is so simple I wonder why I have never seen it before.
Using a small mirror, you can literally see where you should hit the bank with the object ball to get it on the right angle to go in the pocket. You may have heard of the "mirror angle" method of making bank shots. This is a literal interpretation of that principle.
Take a small mirror, I found a 5x7 inch one in the camping section of Walmart, and attach it to a block of wood, so that the mirror sits vertically upright. I cut a triangular piece of wood, the length of the mirror, that would just fit under the cushion overhang of the pool table rail.
Stick the mirror to the wood with two-sided tape or some other adhesive. Take this assembly with you to the pool table the next time you want to practice your bank shots.
I like to use this bank shot helper with just a single ball instead of using the cue ball and an object ball. We are trying to "see" the angles here, not necessarily make shots like in a game.
Decide on a bank shot you would like to make, say a cross-side shot. Place the mirror against the rail at the approximate location of where you would have to hit the rail to bank the object ball into the target pocket.
Bring your eyes down to shooting level and look into the mirror. When you can see the target pocket in the mirror, if you aim for exactly that spot, the ball will be at the correct angle to go into the pocket. Move the mirror aside and hit that exact spot on the bank where the pocket showed in the mirror, and even if the ball doesn't go into the pocket, you should be very close. Make sure you hit the ball straight and with no spin on it.
Once I have established this correct angle of bank to make the shot, I place a piece of chalk both on the rail where the pocket showed in the mirror, and in a line directly behind the ball I am shooting. This way I can hit any number of practice shots to perfect my aim for this shot and, by placing the balls in line between the two pieces of chalk, I maintain the same angle on the shot.
Once this angle is established, I like to stand up and get an overall view of the table. This gives me a visualization of the correct angle to make this particular shot, and where I should be hitting the rail to make the bank.
I then like to hit several racks of balls worth of this same bank shot until I have it ingrained in my mind, so that the next time I see a similar shot in a game, I will have a better understanding of the proper angle I need to make the bank shot. Doing this same shot over and over is a way of programming this shot into your mind and body.
As you practice this bank shot method, you will find that all your shots may not follow the same angle every time. This was due, in my case, to putting some unintentional spin on the ball as I hit it. You have to really concentrate to hit the ball perfectly straight, with no spin on it, every shot.
I try to hit the ball just above horizontal center and exactly at vertical center, and at a medium speed. This will give the ball a little follow to it, and will make it roll as straight as possible. Any spin on the ball will cause it to bounce off the rail at a different angle.
So, not only will this method of practice help your bank shot visualization skills, but it will also improve your stroke. When you can sink bank shot after bank shot, you will know that your stroke is perfectly straight and you are consistently hitting the ball correctly.
Consistency is one of the most difficult things to master in the game of pool. If you make one of these devices and use it faithfully, I guarantee that your pool shooting and bank shot making will greatly improve.
One of the trickiest parts of the game to me has always been bank shots. It's just hard to "see" where to bounce the object ball off the bank to get the correct angle for the ball to make it to the target pocket.
I have recently come upon a simple but ingenuous idea to help determine the correct angles when attempting bank shots. It is so simple I wonder why I have never seen it before.
Using a small mirror, you can literally see where you should hit the bank with the object ball to get it on the right angle to go in the pocket. You may have heard of the "mirror angle" method of making bank shots. This is a literal interpretation of that principle.
Take a small mirror, I found a 5x7 inch one in the camping section of Walmart, and attach it to a block of wood, so that the mirror sits vertically upright. I cut a triangular piece of wood, the length of the mirror, that would just fit under the cushion overhang of the pool table rail.
Stick the mirror to the wood with two-sided tape or some other adhesive. Take this assembly with you to the pool table the next time you want to practice your bank shots.
I like to use this bank shot helper with just a single ball instead of using the cue ball and an object ball. We are trying to "see" the angles here, not necessarily make shots like in a game.
Decide on a bank shot you would like to make, say a cross-side shot. Place the mirror against the rail at the approximate location of where you would have to hit the rail to bank the object ball into the target pocket.
Bring your eyes down to shooting level and look into the mirror. When you can see the target pocket in the mirror, if you aim for exactly that spot, the ball will be at the correct angle to go into the pocket. Move the mirror aside and hit that exact spot on the bank where the pocket showed in the mirror, and even if the ball doesn't go into the pocket, you should be very close. Make sure you hit the ball straight and with no spin on it.
Once I have established this correct angle of bank to make the shot, I place a piece of chalk both on the rail where the pocket showed in the mirror, and in a line directly behind the ball I am shooting. This way I can hit any number of practice shots to perfect my aim for this shot and, by placing the balls in line between the two pieces of chalk, I maintain the same angle on the shot.
Once this angle is established, I like to stand up and get an overall view of the table. This gives me a visualization of the correct angle to make this particular shot, and where I should be hitting the rail to make the bank.
I then like to hit several racks of balls worth of this same bank shot until I have it ingrained in my mind, so that the next time I see a similar shot in a game, I will have a better understanding of the proper angle I need to make the bank shot. Doing this same shot over and over is a way of programming this shot into your mind and body.
As you practice this bank shot method, you will find that all your shots may not follow the same angle every time. This was due, in my case, to putting some unintentional spin on the ball as I hit it. You have to really concentrate to hit the ball perfectly straight, with no spin on it, every shot.
I try to hit the ball just above horizontal center and exactly at vertical center, and at a medium speed. This will give the ball a little follow to it, and will make it roll as straight as possible. Any spin on the ball will cause it to bounce off the rail at a different angle.
So, not only will this method of practice help your bank shot visualization skills, but it will also improve your stroke. When you can sink bank shot after bank shot, you will know that your stroke is perfectly straight and you are consistently hitting the ball correctly.
Consistency is one of the most difficult things to master in the game of pool. If you make one of these devices and use it faithfully, I guarantee that your pool shooting and bank shot making will greatly improve.
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