Answers to Frequently asked Quetions (FAQs)
About Various Billiards and Pool Topics

mostly from the Billiards Digest online CCB discussion forum
and the AZBilliards online discussion forum

maintained for the book: The Illustrated Principles of Pool and Billiards
and the monthly Billiards Digest "Illustrated Principles" instructional articles

  • 30-degree and 90-degree rules
    • aiming carom shots
    • ball condition effects
    • Dr. Dave's peace-sign technique
    • half-ball hit "gems"
    • largest deflected angle
    • poetry
    • resources
    • when the 30-degree rule applies
    • where the CB goes for different cases
  • advice
    • alcohol effects
    • doing what feels "natural"
    • improving your game
    • selecting an instructor
  • aiming
    • aiming systems
    • aim compensation for squirt, swerve, and throw
    • ball compression effects
    • bisect and pivot aiming system
    • Center-to-Edge (CTE) aiming system
    • Dave's Aiming Method (DAM) aiming system
    • depth perception
    • dominant eye
    • fractional-ball aiming
    • frozen-ball shots
    • ghost-ball aiming
    • Supplemental Aiming Method (SAM)
    • using lights and ball reflections
  • bank and kick shots
    • advantages of fast speed
    • diamond systems for kick shots
    • double kiss detection and avoidance with bank shots
    • effects and factors to consider
    • mirror system for shallow-angle, rolling kick shots
    • spin transfer bank shots
    • spot-on-the-wall kicking system
    • two-rail parallel-line kick shot
  • books
    • physics of pool
    • reviews of Dr. Dave's book
  • break
    • ball hop
    • follow-through
    • making the 8-ball
    • measuring your own break speed
    • technique advice
  • bridge
    • open vs. closed
    • length
  • cue
    • cleaning
    • "feel," "hit," and "playability"
    • ferrule
    • jump cue
    • low-squirt cues
    • natural pivot length
    • "squirt," "deflection," "stiffness"
    • types and tapers
    • weight
  • cue tip
    • deformation and mushrooming
    • contact time
    • hardness and English
    • recommended brands
    • size
  • draw
    • articles, advice, and drills
    • effects of cloth and cue ball
  • drills
    • drill resources
    • 8-ball bowling and 10-ball bowlliards
    • 9-ball rating drill
    • MOFUDAT (center-ball stroke drill)
    • target drill
  • English
    • back-hand English
    • inside English
    • maximum English
    • outside English
    • rail cut shots
    • spin axis "flip" demonstration
    • "spin," "slide," and "roll"
    • spin transfer
    • "tips" of English
    • when to learn
  • follow
    • accuracy
    • effects of tip offset, speed, distance, cut angle
    • normal roll, maximum offset, and overspin
    • rail dribble
  • fouls
    • double hits
    • first contact legal hit
    • miscue
    • "scoop" jump shot
  • grip
    • effects of light vs. tight grip
  • jump shot
    • highly elevated cue jump shots
    • object ball jump shot
    • overcutting
    • rail jump shot
    • technique advice
  • lag shot
  • masse shot
    • after-collision masse shots
    • aiming
    • elevation and speed effects
  • mental aspects
    • "dead stroke," and being in the zone
    • learning vs. intuition
    • physics "understanding" sometimes provides insight
    • technical knowledge is not enough
  • physics of pool and billiards
    • Coriolis
    • physical properties
    • resources
  • player ratings
    • 9-ball rating drill
    • Accu-Stats TPA
    • A-D rating system
    • Pool Quotient (PQ) progressive-drill ability test
  • pocket
    • corner pocket rattle and how to avoid it
    • pocket "size" and "center"
    • point compression
  • position control
    • 30-degree and 90-degree rules
    • nearly straight-in shots
    • useful reference lines
    • where the CB goes for different cases
  • ratings (see player ratings)
  • safeties
    • general advice
  • speed control
    • ball speeds and travel distances
  • spin transfer
  • squirt
    • aim compensation
    • cue natural pivot length
    • endmass and stiffness
    • low-squirt cues
    • published data
    • squirt and swerve
    • squirt, swerve, and throw confusion
    • straight-in shot with unintentional English
  • stance
    • general advice
  • strategy
    • 8-ball
  • stroke
    • acceleration plots
    • best practices
    • elbow drop and pendulum stroke
    • follow-through
    • set-pause-finish (SPF)
    • slip stroke
  • swerve
    • contributing factors
    • OB "swerve" and "turn"
    • reducing swerve
  • table
    • drawing lines on the cloth
    • how to clean and maintain
    • pocket sizes
    • standard table and room sizes
  • throw
    • answers to questions about CIT, SIT, and OE
    • cling
    • draw and follow effects
    • examples
    • "hold" or "kill" shot to limit cue ball drift
    • maximum throw
    • spin transfer
    • stop shot with English
  • training aids
    • aiming aids
    • instructional diagrams
    • permission to use Dr. Dave's resources
    • spotted ball vs. striped ball
  • videos
    • Austrian high-speed footage
    • Canadian pool-playing robot
    • Dr. Dave's video production methods
    • movies with billiards themes
    • reviews of Dr. Dave's DVD
    • videos online