The cue ball is sitting in the corner pocket and the ball I am shooting at, the object ball, is sitting in the opposite corner pocket on the same short rail. There are several other pool balls in between, so a three rail shot is necessary to make the object ball in the corner pocket.
Say the end of the table where I am standing (where the cue ball and object ball are) is the head, the other end is the foot. I will be counting the diamonds and pockets from the foot to the head. I will show you how to find the spot on the other side of the table (where to hit the first rail) by subtracting the number of the connecting diamond to the object ball, from the cue ball position number.
First, to figure out the position number of the cue ball, count from the corner pocket at the foot to the cue ball in the corner pocket at the head. When counting for the cue ball, count 1½, 2, 2½, 3, and so forth. The first diamond would be 1½, ending with 5 for the corner pocket. So the position number for the cue ball is 5.
Second, find the number of the connecting diamond to the corner pocket where the object ball is sitting. When counting for the object ball, or finding connecting diamonds, count in full numbers. The connecting diamond for diamond #1, is diamond #7 on the opposite rail. The object ball is sitting in the corner pocket, which is #8, so the connecting diamond, therefore, is #2 on the opposite rail. Subtract 2 from 5 and you get 3. So counting from the foot of the table on the rail you are shooting at, you come to diamond #3.
Because it is a long rail, shoot through the diamond. This means drawing an imaginary line going through diamond #3 and shooting at the spot on the edge of the rail that lies along the imaginary line to the diamond. Remember, on long rails shoot through the diamond, on short rails shoot on the diamond.
Last of all, shoot hard because it has to hit three rails and have enough momentum left to contact the object ball (be careful not to miscue). Use a little high left English because the shot is going to the left and because contacting more than one rail tends to put English, or a little spin, on the cue ball.
When trying this shot you will see that you are shooting across the table hitting the spot near diamond #3, the cue ball then hits the short rail at the foot of the table, then hits the other long rail at diamond #2, and finally travels across toward the corner, pocketing the object ball. Voila! This method is practically foolproof and easy to remember.
Happy shooting everybody! Patti Aragon, aka 8 Ball Outlaw http://www.a1poolbilliards.com
October 14th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Hey Patti,
Nice article. the 3 rail bank shot can be a handy thing when playing 8 ball, 9 ball or most any of the billiards games.
If you are a pool player, I’m sure you can appreciate the 3 rail bank.