These Special Arts trick shots will introduce you to skills you won’t use in your typical games of pool. These help separate a trick shot artist from a regular old pool player. For me, this makes the sport more fun and interesting. Hope you’ll like these too.
The first Special Arts shot is a push shot, requiring you to squeeze the cue ball between the rail and your cue and get it to slide down the rail to pocket the yellow ball. Officially, the red ball has to move to, which is why you can’t just shoot the cue ball straight down the rail. The cue stick should give you the approximate angle you need. Pay attention to where your butt crosses the rail. Apply right hand english, press the cue tip against the cue ball, and forcefully push through. This will feel unnatural at first since you don’t take a backswing. PUSH SHOT VIDEO WALKTHROUGH
This is the Hand Is Quicker Than The Eye trick shot. The objective is to pocket the yellow ball which initially seems like it’s blocked by the red ball. It is, but shooting straight at the yellow will cause the red and cue balls to bounce out of the way. The trick to this shot is to continue your follow through so you hit the yellow ball with your cue tip sending it into the pocket. It will help to shorten your bridge length and move your grip further back on the cue. I like to stare at the center of the yellow ball to aim my follow through. HAND IS QUICKER THAN THE EYE VIDEO TUTORIAL
The objective of this speed shot is pretty straight forward: lag the purple ball towards the pocket and then fire in the yellow, blue, and red balls before the purple ball gets there. It’s made slightly harder since the balls are frozen to the rail. Obviously, you can’t go through your normal warmup, so you have to be ready to fire away. There are some good secrets I discuss in the video that may help you if you’re having trouble with this shot. WATCH THE SPEED SHOT VIDEO TUTORIAL
While this shot may appear simple, you have to shoot it one-handed. In the Artistic Cup, you’re allowed to rest your cue on the rail (but not use a groove created by a pocket or plate). In other tournaments, you have to shoot it jacked up, meaning the cue can’t be resting on anything. It’s easiest to find a spot for the cue ball where you have a solid aim point, like aiming at the edge of the object ball. After that, finding the most comfortable and reliable position to shoot one-handed is up to you. I describe a few techniques in the video that can be helpful. WATCH THE ONE HANDED SPOT SHOT VIDEO WALKTHROUGH
The Over, Around, and Under trick shot is a remnant in this discipline when it used to be called “Prop, Novelty, and Special Arts” because it uses a bridge as a prop. It’s probably better categorized as a jump shot, but barely. Because the cue ball needs to jump, you do need to elevate your cue, but not as much as you might think. Pay attention to the relative position of the cue ball and yellow ball as this will determine how high the cue ball gets over the bridge. It’s not a high jump competition; the lower you can keep the cue ball, the better. WATCH THE OVER AROUND AND UNDER TUTORIAL
Wing shots are where you roll an object ball down the table and then cut it into the pocket while it’s still moving. The chalk ensures that you have a decent cut angle and aren’t rolling it straight into the pocket. Getting the roll down is important for this shot. Pick an aim point on the short rail and make sure your speed is good so the ball is slowing significantly when it reaches the area where you need to hit it. Then, place the cue ball, again, consistently and find an aim point on the object ball. Judge when you need to pull the trigger and fire away. WATCH WING SHOTS VIDEO TIPS
On reverse wing shots, you roll the cue ball down the table and try to carom an object ball in off the cue ball. Notice the chalk moves closer to the center of the table for these shots. This is the sole reason I would pick this over the regular wing shots. I can roll the cue ball closer to the pocket which makes it easier to aim the carom. Again, getting the roll down is key. WATCH REVERSE WING SHOTS VIDEO TUTORIAL
More video tutorials
1. Trick / Fancy
2. Special Arts
3. Draw
4. Follow
5. Bank / Kick
6. Stroke
7. Jump
8. Masse