Why do I "rattle" it so many times?

Question

Shooting a ball into the left corner pocket...object ball is lets say near the head string........I have to draw the ball all the way back to my end.......the object ball goes in and out (I call it a "rattle".....is "draw the wrong english....am I just not aiming at the center of the pocket?......if the object ball is not closer to the corner pocket.....I don't have the stroke to follow it and go two rails to get back to where I am at.......SUGGESTIONS?

Answer 1

Two things, ease back on the hit and I am serious, when did you last have your eyes checked?  I noticed you mentioned left corner pocket, or do you know at least which is your "dominant" eye.

Peace, Bu

Answer 2

Straight Shooter is right on the money when he says the harder you shoot the smaller the pockets become. Rattling balls in the pockets is a common problem with people that shoot too hard. You say you have to draw the cue ball all the way back down the table ? You can do this without shooting hard. It's all in the follow through . Use a level stroke , Hitting the cue ball at about 6 oclock with a nice smooth follow through , stroking through the cue ball and beyond should give you all the draw you need. Try to avoid jacking up the back of your cue stick or applying any side spin because this could cause you to miss the shot. Try practicing all of your shots with a level cue and a smooth follow through and you should rarely have to shoot hard. That should get rid of most of the rattles. Hopefully your not using one of those big heavy cue balls. Thats a whole different animal.

Answer 3

If yer "rattling", then your just a bit off on yer shot.  Keep practicing, it'll go away.  The same c**p has been happening to me this year as leagues begin.  I'm just rusty.

Answer 4

rattling a pocket always occurs when you hit the corner of a pocket when the object balls enters the mouth of the pocket.

the answer is yes you must shoot straighter.  find a pool table in your area or at your local pool hall even that has tighter pockets.  yes even at the same hall pockets can be shimmed or the rails not cut the same length.  simple way to know the width is to take two balls and hold them in the width of the pocket.  some tables are shimmed for the width of 2 balls and a 1/4. tighter tables the two balls just barely fit.

when you play on a tighter table then go back to a "reg" table you will make a lot more balls.

always check a new table that you are playing on to see how wide the pockets are.  there might be one pocket that is tighter.  that is good knowledge to know when aiming at the pocket.  something your opponent might not be aware of until he leaves a few balls hanging.

about the other part of your question.  yes, you have to allow for deflection in your aim if you are going to be applying english to the cue ball.  some people call it "throw" either way account for it in your aiming.

lastly sounds like you need to practice follow.  we all have shoots that we dont like.  be a better player and practice shape going forward as well as back.  your stroke will come to you will practice.

dont get sloppy in shooting.  shoot straight.  dont cheat pockets unless you have to.

good luck

Answer 5

A few things to keep in mind, Mickey.  First, on almost every shot, try to avoid sidespin on the cueball.  It can be a handy tool, but far too many people overuse English.  Cueball deflection is real (not for the reason that most people think) and can be difficult to compensate for when aiming at the object ball.  If you have any angle on your shot whatsoever, you can move the cueball anywhere on the table using the vertical axis of the cueball and controlling your speed.  So draw is just fine to use.  Avoid using compound English like "low-left".  You'll just get into trouble that way.  Speed is more than a third of your game.  So many people don't practice speed control.  That being said, bear in mind that the harder you shoot, the smaller the pocket becomes.  Often a ball can be hit towards a corner pocket and hit the cushion up to 2 diamonds away and still fall in the pocket when played with "pocket speed".  Finally, aiming is actually one of the easier parts of pool in my opinion.  There are 1,001 systems that people will suggest for aiming shots and they all have one thing in common.  They are all an attempt to put the cue ball in a position contacting the object ball exactly opposite the center of the pocket.  Regardless of where your cue ball lies, it MUST hit the object ball in the same spot.  You have to picture an imaginary cue ball contacting the object ball in the correct place and simply, put the real cue ball there.  No need to complicate things further.  People will argue up and down with me on this, but the object ball does NOT get thrown on cut shots.  Don't try to compensate for this myth.  Spin does NOT transfer from the cue ball to the object ball.  Draw on the cueball does NOT put follow on the object ball, Left English does NOT transfer Right English to the object ball.  It may occur to a measurable degree in a vacuum, in a weightless, frictionless environment in a laboratory at NASA, but it won't happen in the real world on a pool table.  Now, if the balls are frozen, that's a different matter.  Best of luck, Mickey.  I wish I could be with you to explain this better.  M.D.-BCA Instructor/Referee.