[Pin]

I don't use english much, but as a consequence have also neglected it in practice. As such, I'd never really felt comfortable with the idea of using CB english to take the OB off its natural path. (I also figured it would be hard to execute and would make minimal difference.)

(I'm pretty good with adjusting for throw in the context of two frozen OBs, because it's pretty simple, but not achieving similar effects with CB english and one OB.)

In a league match recently I had a shot where I couldn't quite see enough of a ball to pot it, and could only lay it up over a pocket. A very knowledgeable friend of mine suggested I could have used english to make it go.

I didn't think there was any way. I'd have to use so much english that there'd be no way I could be accurate enough with the CB.


But in my secret laboratory I've been experimenting. Using a short, easy shot, played very softly, the amount of deflection you can get it ridiculous. I can be really close to the pocket, lined up to shoot onto the near jaws, and throw the OB past the pocket and onto the far jaws.

To make sure I was hitting the OB where I thought I was, I lined up a third ball to make sure I could only hit the OB full ball. The results were the same. (See shots A and B. I used the 3 as a guide in lining the shot up with the blocker in the right place, then removed it to shoot).
http://CueTable.com/B/?@3ANfu3CKUx3DMml3EK...lafl1mGtn1mbMW@

As with the game in general, it looks like I can do what I want with far less english than I used to think. I now have another fantastic tool in my arsenal (and another way to achieve the impossible on a pool table ), and my understanding of english is improving.