Fundamental Pool Cue Techniques

Billiards, also known as pool, is a popular sport that is played throughout many homes, bars, and other establishments all around the country and even the world. It is a game that is played with 2 players who each hold a pool cue (stick), and the object is to hit the cue ball (white ball) into the other balls, which are colored and numbered. There are a variety of different billiards games to play, so the rules beyond this change greatly. What stays the same no matter what kind of pool game you are playing and no matter what kind of rules you are using, however, is how the pool cue interacts with the cue ball.

First, remember that you don't always have to hit the cue ball hard - this is the most common mistake made by beginners. Instead, you should incorporate a bit of technique, take your time and make sure that your stick makes a solid contact with the ball. Good contact is much easier to control than a wild, powerful shot.

It is important to always follow through when shooting the cue ball. Try to pretend as though you are trying to stick the pool stick straight through the ball - after you make contact with the ball and it begins rolling down the table, imagine that the ball is still there and the stick is piercing directly through it.

Sometimes you may want the cue ball to hit another ball, and then stop immediately. This is usually the case if you are shooting at a ball that is close to a pocket, but you are afraid that the cue ball might follow the target into the pocket, resulting in a loss of turn for you. However, instead of using the stick to hit the cue ball directly in the center, try lowering the stick a little bit, and hit the ball underneath its center. When done correctly, this will cause the cue ball to stop in its place after it hits its target, and with a little technique, this can be used to draw the cue ball back in the direction that it came from.

Conversely to this, if you want the cue ball to maintain its forward momentum after striking the target ball, you will want to raise your stick and hit the cue ball above its center. This will put forward spin on the ball and cause it to follow its target all the way down the table (and into the hole if you are not careful).

Bank shots can be executed in a similar fashion. If you want to hit the cue ball into the rail so that it bounces off and goes toward the right side of the table, you should hit the cue ball on the right side of its center. If you want it to veer towards the left after rebounding off from the rail, hit the cue ball on the left side of its center.

But if there is another ball in the way of this, it is reversed. For example, you are aiming at the cue ball and in front of it there is the 8 ball, which you want to bank off from the rail and over to the left hand side of the table. You will now need to hit the cue ball on the right of its center, because as it hits the 8 ball it will transfer the spin, and the 8 will now be spinning in the opposite direction. It will hit the rail, and bounce off to the left hand side of the table.

These are just a few of the most basic techniques when it comes to mastering the pool cue. But once you have these fundamental skills down, you can practice and improve on them with relative ease.