Today I added another page to my training program: “Special Shots.” I plan to use this page to capture shots that may not come up that often, but when they do, you will be very glad to have them in your bag of tricks. Today, I present an oldie goldie, and one of the most utilized special shots in my repertoire – “The Spot Shot.” This shot comes up quite a bit and is often a game winner. It’s a pretty tough shot, especially on a table with tight pockets, unless of course, you know the secret. Learn this technique, and you will almost NEVER miss the shot.
The Spot Shot
Take a look at the diagram. An object ball has been spotted on the foot spot and you have ball in hand behind the head string. How do you pocket the object ball in the corner pocket? Easy! Take a look at the tip of the cushion next to the bottom right corner pocket. Extend an imaginary line from this point to the bottom edge of the object ball. Place the cue ball anywhere on this line (of course, the closer you are to the head string, the better). Now, all you have to do is hit a shot at normal speed and aim directly for the outermost edge of the object ball. This is a half ball hit. You may recall from a previous post that the half ball hit is a very special shot in pool. It is very robust; i.e. it is the shot that is least affected by errors in your aiming method. If you hit the object ball a little too fat or a little too thin, it doesn’t matter, the object ball still goes in! Try it 10 times and let me know how it goes. Good luck!
Angle of Reflection 
it’d be totally cool if there’s a 9-ball tournament that uses the old rules: cueball anywhere in kitchen after a foul, and spot the object ball if it’s in the kitchen. buddy hall is a fan of the old system. 🙂 you’ll definitely see more spot shots!