How to Draw the Ball

Pool players often have trouble with drawing the ball. I get lots of players in my billiards shop coming in and asking me what they can do to improve their draw.

Before I show them the proper way to draw the ball, I first like to go over the mistakes that they are likely making when attempting their shot.

The first mistake players make when trying to draw the ball is to lift the butt of their cue up so as not to jump it off the table. This is a very inefficient technique because of all the wasted energy that your cue is putting into the table.

Shooting at a high angle like this also yields poor rotation on the cue ball. A much more efficient and powerful way of drawing the ball is to level out against the table.

Shooting at this angle (or rather, lack of angle) will help transfer all of your energy through the ball. Some people may know the correct techniques but they fail to implement them consistently.

I don’t believe that any technique is worth doing unless it can be done every time. The best way to fix this inconsistency is to always start on the felt.

Line up your shot using the leveling technique mentioned above. Next, stroke the cue tip on the felt a few times.

Once you feel comfortable and you’re ready to shoot, bring it up one tip length. That ensures that you’re not guessing anymore and you can accurately hit the ball where you intend to.

Some players will do all the above techniques properly but when it’s time to actually hit the ball, they hit it just like it’s a normal stroke. That player may sink their shot but the cue ball will not draw very far after impact.

To draw the ball properly, you need to snap it while also following through. This will make the cue ball spin backwards after impact.


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