In my post from April 8, I told the story of a mysterious stranger who made an incredible number of bank shots. In fact, he never missed. How did he make all the bank shots? Was he cheating? No, he wasn’t cheating. He was using a diamond based aiming system. Remember his final words when I asked him for his secret? “Point three point eight one point three one point seven two point oh two point seven three point two five four point oh four point five five point oh six point oh.” Let me rewrite his final words in a different format: “.3, .8, 1.3, 1.7, 2.0, 2.7, 3.25, 4.0, 4.5, 5.0, 6.0”. These numbers establish the foundation for an aiming system that tells you how to bank balls into the corner pocket. Here’s how it works. Start at any corner pocket and move down the long rail. Each time you pass a diamond, assign the next number in the sequence to the diamond. When you reach the second corner pocket, assign the next number to it, turn, and keep moving up the short rail. Once you assign all the numbers to diamonds, you will have a complete map for the entire table: a map that tells you exactly where to aim a shot in order to bank an object ball into the starting corner pocket. Below, I’ve included a diagram to help you understand the system.
In this example, suppose you are trying to bank the object ball into the corner pocket. Notice where the object ball is sitting on the table. It is sitting on an imaginary line that connects the diamond labeled 2.0 on the bottom rail to a point on the opposite rail with the value of 2.0 diamonds. How convenient! All you have to do is hit the object ball so that it is rolling with a natural roll and traveling directly towards diamond 2.0 on the opposite rail. The object ball will bank off the opposite rail and roll into the corner pocket. With this system, you completely ignore the cushions – you are only concentrating on the diamonds. This same technique can be applied from ANY point on the table. If the object ball is not sitting directly on one of the imaginary lines, that’s no problem. Just interpolate between the lines and adjust your aiming point on the opposite rail accordingly. Is it really that simple? Yes! Well, almost. Of course, you must minimize other sources of variation: speed of the shot, aiming variance, and cue ball spin, but knowing the exact aiming point will get you 85% there. Now you know the secret to banking to the corner. Good luck, and Happy Banking!
Angle of Reflection 