Everyone loves jump shots and it’s one of the first things people think about when they hear “trick shots.” Elevating the cue stick and driving the cue ball into the slate will get it airborne. Here are seven easy jump shots with video instructions for each of them.
This is an optical illusion kind of trick shot where the cue ball goes between the two blocker balls which are only one ball width apart. By using a jump stroke, the cue ball actually goes over them rather than in between. Not much elevation is needed on this shot and a regular cue can be used although it will require a little more power. Don’t underestimate the accuracy you need even though there is a decent margin for error, and don’t put any english on the cue ball otherwise all sorts of things could go wrong. WATCH MIND THE GAP TRICK SHOT VIDEO TUTORIAL
One of the things you can do is use an object ball as a ramp. By hitting the object ball, the cue ball will jump even higher. This shot illustrates this principle as the cue ball jumps into the yellow ball and bounces higher to clear the edge of the rack of balls before falling into the opening in the center. The yellow ball, for its contribution, goes in the corner pocket, which isn’t a trivial part of this shot either. It’s not easy finding the exact combination of alignment, aim, elevation, and power to make everything. WATCH JUMP IN THE RACK VIDEO INSTRUCTIONS
By using an object ball as a ramp, it decreases the amount of elevation you’ll need to clear your obstacle. Here, the object ball is frozen to the rail and there’s a blocker ball that needs to be cleared. Just a little elevation will be enough to double kiss the object ball, send the cue ball over the blocker and pocket the hanging ball in the corner pocket. I like to go straight into the object ball and use a little left english to take the cue ball over to the short rail, but you can try to do it by aiming off-center as well. WATCH KISS BACK JUMP VIDEO DIRECTIONS
Here’s another classic trick shot using an object ball as a ramp. You can see it’s an effective technique as this will cause the cue ball to jump over a blocker ball which is frozen to the ramp ball. The cue ball will then travel two rails and back down to make the ball in the corner pocket. A little running english is helpful to get the cue ball around and keep it going short. Adjust the amount of top spin or power to make it go longer or shorter. This shot can be real finicky though and small adjustments can cause big deviations in the end.WATCH UP OVER AND AROUND TRICK SHOT VIDEO TUTORIAL
Not only can you make an object ball jump, you can use the rail as a ramp to accentuate the height. In this shot, by jumping in to the yellow ball, the yellow ball gets airborne just enough to land on top of the rail. This gets it in the air even more so it clears the blocker balls and goes in to the side pocket. Maintain a certain distance between the cue ball and object ball, find the aim from the natural bank angle, and adjust using elevation or power. Don’t try to get the object ball too high in the air either. WATCH BANK JUMP VIDEO INSTRUCTIONS
No ramps or other assists in this shot. Just straight jump the object balls over the blocker balls and into the corner pocket. Easy, right? Since it’s a long ways down the table, any spin applied to the object balls could cause them to curve and miss the pocket. It can be awkward to try to hit the object ball with other object balls frozen to it, so try it from both sides of the table to see if that makes a difference in your comfort level. Otherwise, this shot should be pretty straight forward. WATCH STRAIGHT JUMPS VIDEO DIRECTIONS
This waterfall trick shot involves six straight jump and six straight in shots. The gap isn’t huge, but you should still be able to use a jacked up pendulum stroke if you don’t want to use the dart method. The side pocket can get in the way of your bridge though, so you’ll have to work around that. Also, don’t take the straight in shots for granted; I’ve seen players miss them before. Especially if your jump cue has a phenolic tip that doesn’t hold chalk well, you might want to re-chalk in between shots, even the straight in ones. WATCH WATERFALL TRICK SHOT VIDEO TUTORIAL
More video tutorials
1. Trick / Fancy
2. Special Arts
3. Draw
4. Follow
5. Bank / Kick
6. Stroke
7. Jump
8. Masse