Illustrative setup. Real-table repeatability has not been tested. Treat this as a practice candidate.
Learn the movement.
Start with the final object ball’s line to its pocket. Work backward to the contact needed from the preceding object ball, then to the cue-ball approach. Two contacts need two aiming decisions.
Use a short, nearly aligned, spaced layout at modest pace. Collision throw can matter, and an attractive diagram cannot establish reliable spacing. Test the actual arrangement and record the result before promoting it as dependable.
Try it
One useful set.
Setup & action
Choose a short two-object-ball layout and test its spacing on the actual table.
What to watch
Do not publish the exact layout as reliable until repeated attempts support it.
Practice format
10 attempts is a starting suggestion. Record the pattern, not just the best one.
Aiming only the first collision and trusting the rest of the chain.
Change one thing
Trace the final ball’s pocketing line backward first.
What changes the result?
Your setup, the equipment, and the intended outcome affect the comparison. Use a repeatable starting point and a modest target; bring persistent technique questions to a coach.
Keep something useful
A note to yourself.
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Change the cue line, tip contact, elevation, and stroke strength. The motion is recalculated.
Candidate · nominal model
Cue ball, 1, and 2 are nearly aligned with the far corner. Aim through the 1 to the 2; change aim slightly to see a miss.
Still setup. The 3D study adds the cue, alignment lines, spin, contacts, and playback.
3D is unavailable here. The setup, lesson, and text explanations remain available.
Dashed white: cue aim. Muted dashed: prepared line. Solid white: cue-ball track; gold/red: object balls. Wire sphere: cue-ball position at modeled ball contact. Contact angles are measured from the line of centers or cushion normal.
Ready. Playback starts only when requested.
Launch speed —Tip impulse —Cue-ball speed —Spin at this frame —
Cue speed changes impulse, spin, and travel. Playback speed only changes how fast you watch. The rendered fore-end shows the cue’s alignment and contact height.
Model & cue-specific calibration
Positive is counterclockwise in the overhead table view. Start at 0° unless you have a measured value for this cue and contact. Squirt is cue-specific; no universal degrees-per-tip value is assumed.
Nominal 2.54 × 1.27 m cloth, 57.15 mm balls; cue/ball masses 0.54/0.17 kg. Sliding/rolling friction 0.20/0.01, ball restitution 0.95, cushion restitution 0.78. Cushion friction 0.18 is a provisional model setting. Cloth, ball cleanliness, cushion rubber, and pockets vary.
Solid-sphere impulse, cloth slip/roll, ball friction, and a raised cushion nose are modeled. Balls stay on the cloth; jump, full massé, pocket jaws, cushion compression, and cue-shaft flexibility are not simulated. Strength is not a measured force in newtons.
Follow both ball contacts in order. Contact, spacing, cloth friction, and pace determine which balls reach the pocket.
Prepared for the nominal model. This trick layout has not been physically validated; changing the inputs can produce a miss or scratch.