Pool Tips and Techniques

Most pool technique is geometry. Aiming means sending the cue ball to the ghost ball position; position play means knowing where the cue ball goes after contact, along the 90° tangent line with stun or about 30° off the original line with natural roll near a half-ball hit; banks and kicks are mirror reflections in the rail.

The guides below cover each piece with diagrams that are calculated rather than sketched, and the drills let you check your aim shot by shot.

Pool technique guides9 articles

The Geometry of Pool — A Complete Visual GuideEvery pot is a geometry problem with a knowable answer. The ghost ball, cut angles, fractional aiming, the 90° tangent, the 30° rule, throw, and banks — the whole system in one map.How to Aim in Pool: Ghost Ball vs Contact Point vs Fractional AimThe three methods every pool player should know, what each one is actually doing geometrically, and which one to use when. With diagrams.Pool Cut Angle Chart: Overlap and Aim Point for Every Angle from 0° to 85°Overlap = 1 − sin(cut angle). Overlap, aim offset in inches and millimetres, object ball speed and the stun-shot cue ball path for every angle, plus a simulator you can drag.Ghost Ball Aiming: 7 Practice Drills (Beginner → Pro)Learning ghost ball takes 5 minutes; making it automatic takes 7 days of drills. Seven progressively harder setups that build it into a reflex.The 30° Rule: Why Your Cue Ball Doesn't Always Follow the TangentThe 90° tangent rule is what tutorials teach; the 30° rolling-ball rule is what pros actually use. The difference, in detail.What Is English in Pool? Side Spin, Squirt, Swerve and Throw ExplainedEnglish is side spin. It pushes the cue ball off line, curves it back and drags the object ball. Inside vs outside, running vs reverse, back hand english and when to use it.Pool Bank Shots Made Simple: The Diamond Midpoint FormulaOne arithmetic shortcut — (start + target) ÷ 2 — that turns 1-rail bank shots from black magic into geometry. With worked examples.Kick Shots in Pool: How to Aim One-Rail and Two-Rail KicksMirror the object ball across the ball-center line, not the cushion. For two rails, rotate it 180° around the corner point. When diamond systems help, and the WPA rules on kicks.How to Break in Pool — 8-Ball & 9-Ball Technique That Actually WorksThe break is an accuracy shot that happens to be hit hard. Where to hit the rack, how hard to swing, squatting the cue ball, the wing-ball secret, and the 5 mistakes that ruin most breaks.

Practice drills15 drills

Free in your browser: every shot tells you how far off you were.

Pool Aiming Practice — Ghost Ball & Contact Point Drills Straight-In Shot Drill — Free Online Pool Practice Half-Ball Hit — 30° Cut Shot Practice Drill Thin Cut Shots — 60° (1/8-Ball) Practice Drill Fractional Aiming Drill — Read Cut Angle from Overlap Draw Shot & Follow Shot Drills — High and Low Practice Pool English Explained — Squirt, Swerve and Throw When to Use Side Spin in Pool — Practice Drills Jump Shot Technique — Legal Jumps and a Practice Drill Massé Shot in Pool — Curving Around a Blocker 90° Tangent Line & 30° Rule — Pool Position Drills Pattern Play Practice — Plan Three Balls Ahead Two-Rail Position Drills — Cue Ball Off Two Cushions Bank Shot Practice — The Mirror System Explained Diamond System Pool — One-Rail Bank Shot Drills

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Getting Started3 articles Rules6 articles Strategy1 article Practice1 article ← Back to Pool

FAQ

How do you aim in pool?

Picture the ghost ball, the spot where the cue ball must be at contact, one ball width behind the object ball on the line to the pocket, and send the cue ball's center there. Ball-fraction aiming gets to the same spot. See how to aim in pool.

What is the 30° rule?

With natural roll, a cue ball that hits an object ball between about a quarter-ball and a three-quarter-ball hit deflects roughly 30° from its original line. See the 30° rule.