About The Shot

The 2 ball squeezes between the other two balls to go in to the corner, while the 5 ball gets thrown into the side and the 3 ball banks cross-side. If that wasn't enough, the cue ball draws back for the 1 ball.

Discipline: Trick & Fancy

Difficulty: Beginner

Pitchfork

Make This Shot

I start by setting up the 3 ball, two ball widths from the point of the side pocket (Figure 1).

To align the 2 ball, I place my cue tip straight out from the 3rd diamond on the opposite rail and use the left edge of my cue to align the right edges of the 2 and 3 balls (Figure 2).

The centers of the 2 and 5 balls should be aligned to the left half of the opposite side pocket to allow for throw (Figure 3).

I put the cue ball about 1 diamond away from the cluster. I aim to shoot the 2 ball just to the right of the corner pocket. I'll use a little right hand english to help with the draw back to the corner. The angle you go into the 2 ball at will affect the speed of the 3 ball. If the 3 ball is catching up with the 5 ball, aim the 2 ball a little more to the left (move the cue ball closer to the rail).

Video: Pitchfork

Video: Pitchfork

Pitchfork

Figure 1

Pitchfork

Figure 2

Pitchfork

Figure 3

Tim's Tidbit

This shot uses a number of fundamental principles of setup shots. There are more than a few shots that use these same principles, so getting these down will help you with plenty of other shots!