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This same scenario can be used for banks that go the long way on the table instead of across the short way, or cross-side as it's called.

An important point here is to determine the distance from the beginning of the ball path to the desired pocket, and cut that distance in half.

This halfway point is where you want to bounce the object ball off the rail.How do you determine the distance from the beginning of the ball path to the object pocket?

One way is illustrated in diagrams Bank 2 and 3.

In Bank 2, The purple ball is to be banked in pocket "x", therefore we need to determine the distance from the start of the ball path of the purple ball to pocket x, and cut this distance in half to find the bank point. An easy way to do this is to use your cue stick.

Refer to Bank 3. Lay your cue stick over the purple object ball, using the object ball as the pivot point. Rotate the stick until the angle of the ball going into the rail looks like it is the same as the angle bouncing off the rail towards the pocket. The blue lines in the diagram illustrate this, with the "angle in" line representing the cue stick, and the "angle out" line being the path of the ball after it bounces off the rail.

The spot where the stick touches the rail nearest you is the start of the ball path. The spot where the stick touches the opposite rail is the "bank point" - another concept. Make the purple ball bounce off the bank point and you will make the ball in pocket x.

To summarize the previous paragraphs - once you know what ball you want to bank in which pocket, use your cue stick to sight in the path that the object ball needs to travel, so that the entry angle of the ball to the far rail is equal to the bounce off angle from that rail. This will give you your "start of ball path" point and the more important "bank point", that the object ball has to bounce off of, to find its way into the pocket.

After you have determined the bank point, your job is to hit the object ball so that it banks exactly off this point and heads for the pocket. At first, do this by hitting the cue ball at dead center with no spin, and hit the ball at medium speed. As your skill increases you can start to introduce some english and spin to make the balls behave differently and to your further advantage.

How To Aim cont. - How To Bank 4