In addition to factors such as table conditions, variable speed ranges, and drills to practice which were covered in the previous lesson on speed control, there are several other factors to keep in mind to accurately control your speed. Here are a few more factors to keep in mind to develop refined speed control at the table.
Cheating the Pocket
As well as changing the angle of the cue ball by hitting it thick or thin, cheating the pocket drastically changes cue ball speed. Cheating the pocket is when the object ball hits a specific part of the pocket to one side instead the center of the pocket. This causes the cue ball to hit the object ball thickly or thinly which changes its speed. In many cases, an error in speed control has more to do with the fact that the ball was missed thick or thin to a side of the pocket throwing off the cue ball speed as opposed to hitting the ball at the wrong speed. To achieve the speed control you expect you need to have detailed aim and hit exactly where you want in order to get the right cue ball position. Hitting the cue ball just a hair off can easily result in being off a full foot in terms of speed.
Running & Reverse English
There are two types of English when hitting a rail at an angle that affect speed. Running English and Reverse English. Running English is spin that makes the cue ball speed up when it hits a rail. Reverse English is spin that slows it down. These two types of English have other properties such as changing the angle of the cue ball coming off the rail. This means that in order to get position, the cue ball may need to go farther or shorter because the angle of the cue ball off the rail has changed. So, when using English keep in mind a couple factors:
- 1. English speeds up and slows down balls off the rail
- 2. English changes the path of the cue ball off the rail so you need to compensate for that path in your speed
Follow
Follow is topspin on the cue ball which causes it to roll forwards after contact with an object ball. Follow makes the cue ball go farther than it would hit hat the same speed without topspin. This means for touchy shots where you want to barely roll the object ball into the pocket to hold the cue ball, top spin will make it roll farther. In those situations you might want to use backspin to hold up the cue ball or hit the object ball thickly to slow the cue ball down.
Bridges
The bridge you choose has a lot to do with preference, but for speed control bridge length is important. The longer your bridge the faster you should be hitting the cue ball. If you’re using a long bridge for a tap in shot, then you’ll have to try to slow down the cue midway through the shot which can result in an inaccurate hit. That’s why it’s always best to use a bridge length that’s right for every shot. So slow shots you should using a short bridge and for longer shots a longer bridge is appropriate. This will make it easier to use the same stroke on every shot while still varying your speed.