Is this a legal aiming technique?
Aunty Dan
behind the object ball I need to kick at, line my cue up over the top in the
line the cue ball needs to take off the rail and lay the tip of my cue on
the cloth at a 1/2 ball distance from the rail nose. Then, holding the tip
of the cue on the cloth I walk to stand behind the cue ball, letting the cue
stick pivot on the cloth, then pull the cue stick back in line and get down
to shoot the shot.
I do not dig the tip of the cue into the cloth, or load it up with tons of
chalk to make any kind of visible mark on it, but some players have looked
askance at me doing this and murmured darkly about "marking being illegal".
So far it has not come up in a serious tournament, but I'd like to know
before it does if I am heading into trouble with this.
Does anyone know is it illegal to hold the tip of the cue on the cloth and
move the rest of the cue like this? The BCA rules only appear to refer to
illegal visible marking of the table. I was watching the BCA Open 2004 Men's
finals yesterday and noticed Tony Robles doing something very similar for a
kick shot in one of the last games, but the camera angle did not let me see
if the tip of the cue was actually on the cloth, or if he was just holding
it very steady above the target point.
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Aunty Dan (Remove "X" from "XHotmail.com" to reply directly)
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"For 'tis the sport to have the engineer
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David Malone
wrote:
>Lately I have been using an aiming technique for kicks whereby I stand
>behind the object ball I need to kick at, line my cue up over the top in the
>line the cue ball needs to take off the rail and lay the tip of my cue on
>the cloth at a 1/2 ball distance from the rail nose. Then, holding the tip
>of the cue on the cloth I walk to stand behind the cue ball, letting the cue
>stick pivot on the cloth, then pull the cue stick back in line and get down
>to shoot the shot.
BCA General Rules of Pocket Billiards
3.43
ILLEGAL MARKING
If a player intentionally marks the table in any way (including the
placement of chalk) to assist in executing the shot, it is a foul.
I think what you do qualifies if there is any chalk left on the cloth
and I would guess there is...
David "The Hamster" Malone
RI Pool Player
>behind the object ball I need to kick at, line my cue up over the top in the
>line the cue ball needs to take off the rail and lay the tip of my cue on
>the cloth at a 1/2 ball distance from the rail nose. Then, holding the tip
>of the cue on the cloth I walk to stand behind the cue ball, letting the cue
>stick pivot on the cloth, then pull the cue stick back in line and get down
>to shoot the shot.
>
>I do not dig the tip of the cue into the cloth, or load it up with tons of
>chalk to make any kind of visible mark on it, but some players have looked
>askance at me doing this and murmured darkly about "marking being illegal".
>So far it has not come up in a serious tournament, but I'd like to know
>before it does if I am heading into trouble with this.
This is legal as long as you leave no visible marking on the cloth. It depends
a lot on your opponent and how particular they are(we all know some very whiney
pool players). It`s likely that using this method you will at times leave a
mark on the cloth unintentionally. I would be very careful when doing this,
possibly even wiping your tip clean before you do. You`re still going to have
people complain.
George
Greg Miller
wrote:
>Lately I have been using an aiming technique for kicks whereby I stand
>behind the object ball I need to kick at, line my cue up over the top in the
>line the cue ball needs to take off the rail and lay the tip of my cue on
>the cloth at a 1/2 ball distance from the rail nose. Then, holding the tip
>of the cue on the cloth I walk to stand behind the cue ball, letting the cue
>stick pivot on the cloth, then pull the cue stick back in line and get down
>to shoot the shot.
Putting the cue tip on the cloth, whether chalk is left or not
could be considered "marking" as it physically occupies a point you
will be using for aiming. This is somewhat analogous to placing
chalk, cues, etc all over the place to get the angles you need, then
removing them just before making your shot. Additionally it would be
pretty tough for you to put the cue on the table without actually
leaving a visible mark. Whether or not you notice the mark at all is
irrelevant as your opponent can still make the claim.
I think you could probably get away with it most of the time,
but IMHO you should probably consider a different technique.
Patrick Johnson
> Putting the cue tip on the cloth, whether chalk is left or not
> could be considered "marking" as it physically occupies a point you
> will be using for aiming. This is somewhat analogous to placing
> chalk, cues, etc all over the place to get the angles you need, then
> removing them just before making your shot.
BCA/WPA General Rule 3.42
"Only the cue stick may be used as an aid to judge gaps or as an aid to
aligning a shot, so long as the cue is held by the hand."
So using the stick is allowed (if you don't let go of it and don't leave
a mark to aim at), but using anything else, even if you move it before
shooting, seems to be illegal.
> ... Whether or not you notice the mark at all is
> irrelevant as your opponent can still make the claim.
A claim is just a claim. He could claim it's illegal for you to win.
If the mark's there it will be visible to others.
Pat Johnson
Chicago
Bethowmuch
JoeyA
not measuring (estinating) angles with the cue stick?
Personally, I can't see anything wrong with what you are doing unless you
are marking the table.
JoeyA
"RI Pool Player" <ripool...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20040705163548...@mb-m29.aol.com...
Aunty Dan
can do it and shoot in under 30 seconds, for me it is a quicker aiming
method that trying to use diamonds and angular calculations, but YMMV.
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Aunty Dan (Remove "X" from "XHotmail.com" to reply directly)
------------------------------------------
"For 'tis the sport to have the engineer
Hoisted with his own petard."
- W. Shakespeare
---------------------------------------
"Bethowmuch" <betho...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20040705213306...@mb-m15.aol.com...
Bethowmuch
>can do it and shoot in under 30 seconds
I hope you know I was only kidding you. I've never played a game where a shot
clock was used, I've only seen it on tv.
Aunty Dan
have made some kind of offensive sexual remark about being able to do it in
under 30 seconds ;-)
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Aunty Dan (Remove "X" from "XHotmail.com" to reply directly)
------------------------------------------
"For 'tis the sport to have the engineer
Hoisted with his own petard."
- W. Shakespeare
---------------------------------------
"Bethowmuch" <betho...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20040706143106...@mb-m15.aol.com...