In the section on cue-ball control it was stated that extreme side-spin could be of great use, but should be used carefully because of the extra difficulty found in aiming.

In these examples extreme side-spin can be used fairly safely, two where the object-ball is close to a pocket, and a safety stroke where the exact direction given to the object-ball matters little.

These shots require a good cue-action, and should be practised and experimented with before you bring them into your competitive play.

In the diagram to the right there is no easy safety stroke and playing the pot without side could easily leave the cue-ball among the reds, as shown by the black dotted line.

But play the shot with strong right-hand side and the cue-ball will return to the side cushion after striking the top cushion, miss the reds, and leave you with a choice of colours for the next shot.

Variations of this stroke constantly occur so practise this stroke and experiment with it. Move the positions of both the red and the cue-ball. Combine the strong right-hand side with a little top, and then with bottom. Play it with left-hand side and see the differences that occur.

And remember to keep your head down and watch the cue-ball as it travels to the red. You will see that it doesn't travel in a straight line, and its only by seeing this that you learn how to allow for it when you aim.

If you played safe off this red, with top right-hand side to take the cue-ball into baulk between blue and green, the strength of the shot could easily send the red into the others and possibly push a red towards the corner pocket for your opponent.


So play the stroke with strong right-hand side but play it with little follow-through of the cue, as if you were playing a stun shot. The lack of follow-through means that less power will be transferred into forward motion of the cue-ball, so less will be given to the red.


Played correctly the cue-ball should drift to the right, striking the red about half-ball. The red should only move about six inches and when the cue-ball strikes the cushion the spin gives it the momentum to reach the baulk area.

In this last diagram we see a position which occurs fairly frequently.


Although the red is easily potted there is no easy positional shot to get on a colour. But by playing the pot in exactly the same way as the safety shot above you can quite easily get on the black.

This particular shot really is worth practising if you don't already play it well. You won't need it very often but when you do it can be so important, either to keep a break going, or to start one when you might otherwise have played a safety stroke.

Experiment with this by placing the balls in all sorts of different positions, one day it may make the difference between winning or losing a crucial match.