[RockyD]

I know to jump the cue ball you jack the cue up maybe a 45 degree angle or more(I tried different angles) and when u shoot down on the balls it reflects off the slate and jumps. I seen slow motion film and a lot of good sticks bend some. Why can't I get the ball to lift? Is there some important key I'm not doing? Or maybe is it because the best stick I used to try and attempt the jump was my 100 dollar players cue? Any tips?

[MitchAlsup]

The best tip I can give you is to buy a cue stick designed for jumping. These sticks are light, have a very stiff shaft, and most importantly have a tip that is very (very) hard (really hard). These things making jumping easy, the lightness, short length, stiff shaft, and hard tip doing most of the work.

The physics: You want to be aiming at the center of the cue-ball in 3-dimensions--not on the spot where the cue ball sits on the felt. Then, you need to impart enough downward energy on the cue ball that a) the shaft/cue deflects out of the way of the rising cue-ball, and the slate tosses the cue ball up in the air. You cannot move a human muscle fast enough to get the cue-tip out of the way. You must let the slate toss the ball in the air, you have to make/let the shaft so this all by itslef. The time between the cue-tip striking the cue-ball and the ball leaving the table is measured in hundreds of microseconds. The aiming point on the surface of the cue ball is about the size of a pencil eraser. If you hit to the side the ball will massé left or right after landing. If you hit below, the ball will land with significant back-spin and die, if you hit hihg, the ball will accelerate down the table after landing. Choose wisely.

A light cue (jump cue) with a stiff shaft will reflect back off the cue ball if you have a light grip on the stick. Alternately, you can hit just below the center line on the cue-ball and the cue ball will jump with draw as the shaft deflects downwards after contact, or you can hit just above the centerline and the cue-ball will jump with follow as the shaft deflects upwards afte contact. Any softness in the cue-tip will hold onto the cue-ball and make jumping very difficult. {Chalk every attempt}

If you must practice without a jump cue, start by jumping popcycle sticks, a coin, or other thin object. Raise the but up 20-25 degrees, target the 3D-center of the cue-ball, and give it a good (really good) whack. The popcycle stick will tell you if you got the cue-ball off the felt. Once you can jump a popcycle stick, add a couple more and slowly raise the but farther off the table. These kinds of jumps are for when the interfering ball is farther than 5 balls away from the cue ball. You really should consider a piece of felt under the cue ball to reduce wear during practice.

As the interfering ball gets closer and closer to the cue-ball, the cue-but is raised higher and higher. After 40 degrees or so, switch to the dart stroke (from the normal stroke). Hold the cue such that the tip is closer to the little finger and hold the cue near the certer of mass of the cue. Attack the cue-ball with a stroke that feels more like the way one might throw a dart, but with significant power. You must commit to imparting a lot of energy to the cue-ball to get it to rise off the table. Don't worry about the tip continuing into the felt--it WILL.

The angle of the cue-stick is the angle of the cue ball reflects off the table, and then immediately begins its parabolic journey back to the table. The sine of the angle of impact times the energy of the impact is directly related to the forward speed of the cue ball. The cosine of the andle is directly related to the vertical speed of the cue-ball. The height of the cue ball is related to the square root of the vertical speed. Once you get the hang eof it, there is a touchy-feely relation between how much downward energy imparted and how high the cue ball jumps (and even how far it flies). Do not let the amount of energy required prevent you from hitting the cue-ball with precision and control.

You must look down/over the cue-stick and aim towards the intended object ball just as the stroke is committed. You must avoid left and right spin as indicated above. Concentrate on the contact point on the cue-ball. Finding a bridge that works for you and still allows a long enogh stroke to give the cue-ball a good whack takes some getting used to. I ofen put my knee on the table/edge-of-table and use it as a reference point from the jump bridge.

I use Jump with follow for long shots and when the interfering ball is more than 4 balls away. I use jump with draw when the interfering ball is closer than this, and while I get the ball up in the air, it often runs out of speed after landing before getting very far. I can jump a ball less than a balls width away and get the cue ball to roll about 30 inches (total including jump). I always use the dart stroke while jumping, even long jumps where it is not actually necessary--its just how I became accustomed to jumping.

[Fast_Freddie]

Very well written. Can't agree more on the cue comment. I used to try and jump with some regular cues... it was a hit or miss. Then I got the Cuetec Eliminator, which is a 3 piece jump/break cue; made the jumps much easier.