Answers to Frequently asked Quetions (FAQs)
About Various Billiards and Pool Topics

mostly from the Billiards Digest online CCB discussion forum
and the AZBilliards online discussion forum

maintained for the book: The Illustrated Principles of Pool and Billiards
and the monthly Billiards Digest "Illustrated Principles" instructional articles

Home


  • 30-degree and 90-degree rules
    • aiming carom shots
    • ball condition effects
    • Dr. Dave's peace-sign technique
    • half-ball hit "gems"
    • largest deflected angle
    • poetry
    • resources
    • when the 30-degree rule applies
    • where the CB goes for different cases
  • advice
    • alcohol effects
    • doing what feels "natural"
    • improving your game
    • selecting an instructor
  • aiming
    • aiming systems
      • benefits of various aiming systems
    • aim compensation for squirt, swerve, and throw
      • squirt, swerve, and throw effects
    • ball compression effects
    • bisect and pivot aiming system
    • Center-to-Edge (CTE) aiming system
    • Dave's Aiming Method (DAM) aiming system
    • depth perception
    • dominant eye
    • finding the center of the cue ball
    • fractional-ball aiming
    • frozen-ball shots
    • ghost-ball aiming
    • 90/90 pivot-based aiming system
    • quiet eyes
    • Supplemental Aiming Method (SAM)
    • using lights and ball reflections
  • balls
    • colors
    • contact time
    • effects of Slicone spray
    • types for different games
    • weights
  • bank and kick shots
    • advantages of fast speed
    • diamond systems for kick shots
    • double kiss detection and avoidance with bank shots
    • effects and factors to consider
    • mirror system for shallow-angle, rolling kick shots
    • spin transfer bank shots
    • spot-on-the-wall kicking system
    • two-rail parallel-line kick shot
    • two-times and three-times across cross-side bank shots
  • books
    • physics of pool
    • recommended books
    • reviews of Dr. Dave's book
  • break
    • ball hop and squat
    • English
    • follow-through
    • making the 8-ball
    • measuring your own break speed
    • technique advice
    • ten-ball break
  • bridge
    • closed bridge variations
    • open vs. closed
    • length
  • cue
    • cleaning
    • "feel," "hit," and "playability"
    • ferrule
    • jump cue
    • low-squirt cues
      • getting more spin
    • natural pivot length
    • "squirt," "deflection," "stiffness"
    • types and tapers
    • weight
  • cue tip
    • deformation and mushrooming
    • contact time
    • hardness and English
    • recommended brands
    • size
  • cut shot
    • ball-hit fraction vs. cut angle
    • travel distance for CB and OB
  • draw
    • articles, advice, and drills
    • bridge length effects
    • effects of cloth and cue ball
    • physics-based advice
    • power draw
  • drills
    • Colin's potting drill
    • drill resources
    • 8-ball bowling and 10-ball bowlliards
    • 9-ball rating drill
    • MOFUDAT (center-ball stroke drill)
    • target drill
    • 3-ball drill
  • English
    • back-hand English
    • inside English
    • maximum English
    • outside English
    • rail cut shots
    • spin axis "flip" demonstration
    • "spin," "slide," and "roll"
    • spin transfer
    • "tips" of English
    • when to learn
  • follow
    • accuracy
    • ball hop
    • effects of tip offset, speed, distance, cut angle
    • normal roll, maximum offset, and overspin
    • rail dribble
  • fouls
    • double hits
    • first contact legal hit
    • frozen cue ball shot
    • miscue
    • "scoop" jump shot
  • frozen balls
    • aiming systems
    • fouls
    • position control
  • grip
    • effects of light vs. tight grip
  • jump shot
    • highly elevated cue jump shots
    • object ball jump shot
    • over cutting
    • rail jump shot
    • technique advice
  • kick shots (see bank and kick shots)
  • lag shot
  • masse shot
    • after-collision masse shots
    • aiming
    • elevation and speed effects
  • mental aspects
    • "dead stroke," and being in the zone
    • learning vs. intuition
    • physics "understanding" sometimes provides insight
    • technical knowledge is not enough
  • physics of pool and billiards
    • Coriolis
    • physical properties
    • resources
  • player ratings
    • 9-ball rating drill
    • Accu-Stats TPA
    • A-D rating system
    • Pool Quotient (PQ) progressive-drill ability test
  • pocket
    • corner pocket rattle and how to avoid it
    • pocket "size" and "center"
    • point compression
    • "tight" pockets
  • position control
    • 30-degree and 90-degree rules
    • nearly straight-in shots
    • useful reference lines
    • where the CB goes for different cases
  • rail cut shots
  • ratings (see player ratings)
  • safeties
    • general advice
  • speed control
    • ball speeds and travel distances
    • drills and advice
    • typical speeds for a range of shots
  • spin transfer
  • squirt
    • aim compensation
    • cue natural pivot length
    • endmass and stiffness
    • low-squirt cues
    • miscue limit
    • published data
    • speed effects
    • squirt, swerve, and throw confusion
    • straight-in shot with unintentional English
    • tip hardness effects
  • stance
    • general advice
  • strategy
    • 8-ball
  • stroke
    • acceleration
    • best practices
    • chin height
    • elbow drop and pendulum stroke
    • follow-through
    • forearm perpendicular to cue
    • set-pause-finish (SPF)
    • slip stroke
    • staying down on the shot
  • swerve
    • contributing factors
    • OB "swerve" and "turn"
    • reducing swerve
  • table
    • drawing lines on the cloth
    • how to clean and maintain
    • pocket sizes
    • "speed" of the cloth
    • standard table and room sizes
  • throw
    • answers to questions about CIT, SIT, and OE
    • cling
    • draw and follow effects
    • examples
    • "hold" or "kill" shot to limit cue ball drift
    • maximum throw
    • spin transfer
    • stop shot with English
  • training aids
    • aiming aids
    • instructional diagrams
    • permission to use Dr. Dave's resources
    • spotted ball vs. striped ball
  • videos
    • Austrian high-speed footage
    • Canadian pool-playing robot
    • Dr. Dave's video production methods
    • movies with billiards themes
    • reviews of Dr. Dave's DVD
    • videos online