First time watching I didn't understand this at all. Second time, it just clicked. This is the easiest aiming system for bank shots I've seen! Thanks for the video.
What's with the negative comments? Brandon shows a dead-simple way to visualize a bank shot setup. If you play pool and you don't use this or something similar, every bank you attempt is you guessing. Pool is all simple geometry (the easy part) and ball control (the hard part). I think he's a fine teacher.
brandon I enjoy watching your videos I've grown up playing pool with my dad, he has always had a table in our basement and ever since I can remember. I remember he used to pick me up and hold me up so I can hit the balls, and over the years i have became a pretty good player. while watching your videos the techniques that I've grown up with that have been taught to me by my grandfather and dad need a lot of improving lol. I would like to see in your future videos a demonstration on how to execute the jump shot when you're in a tight spot looking forward to more of your videos hope to hear from you keep up the good work thank you
This is the only video that actually tells you how to shoot the bank when the ball isn’t perfectly lined up on the diamonds along with the cue ball being perfectly lined up for a straight shot.
I am a B+ player . I was using same angle banking and was not precise enuff to pot rhe shot. I ran across these Gramse pool videos a few yrs ago. Starting doing this type of diamond visual banking and i tell ya that i very seldom miss a bank now. And also became a rop 5 player in our Bank 8 league. I also purchased the Stroke Straightener from Brandon and Billiards and Darts Direct and i can run a few racks just using that pool stick. Thanks for all you do Brandon , and keep the videos flowing. GREAT STUFF !!
Hey, that billiard about making bank shots by Brandon Gramse makes a lot of sense. I tried it out and it actually works fantastic ! It took me a while to catch on at first while playing online video pool but I stopped to watch it and then tried it, and it works !
You know, I've been playing pool for going on 30 years. Everyone learns their own style and technique. I've only recently started playing again and wanted to pick up some pointers and tips from the "pros". Trying to learn pool from scratch will actually set you back as a player. I tried watching 100's of videos on YT here and practiced what was taught and because I'm an old dog I actually started missing shots I used to take as givens. I started aiming for the ghost ball and positioned my feet the way people suggest, tried adjusting my stroke and cue ball management and English. It did me more harm than good. I always just played the game like I always had and shots came easy. Trying to apply these techniques from all these tutorials for me was counterproductive. Not saying a new shooter wouldn't benefit from them but for me it was like trying to teach a bird to swim or a fish to fly. Shots and ball placement for me doesn't come from difficult mathematical angles and positioning my feet just right underneath me, it just comes from playing as long as I have. For some it's best NOT to reinvent the wheel.
It's a learning curve. It takes discipline, commitment and patience to get better at this game. A lot of the times, you have to take a couple steps back in order to take a few steps forward. Learning new technique takes time and practice but is well worth it. If you're okay with your pool game at where it's at, good for you, but I doubt that is the case if you ended up viewing this video. Don't be afraid of the learning curve my friend, expect that you will most likely "slump" as you're learning new things, but it will be well worth it in the end. Old dog or young.
Your comment suggests that like me, you initially learned how to play pool by playing a lot and playing people who were better, often much better, than you. I always tell people that I initially played for about 3 years and probably didn't win a game. I did enjoy it though and learned some really important things, e.g., don't get pissed because you lose!, and to pay attention to the other player, how he/she shoots, etc. Anyway, I got better and then got pretty good, rarely losing (small town, though, so not a monumental thing). Unfortunately, I was rarely sober too, and one can guess how well that ended; skills go when the tequila flows. Anyway, 30 years sober, I watch vids like this or see others shoot, and just consider it all good info. My brain will either use it or not, and likely incorporate that info in a way that suits my style, not reinventing the wheel, as you say.
Great video and technique, just trying to summarize this 1. Find the diamond line from bottom rail to top rail closest to the ball that's between the ball and the target pocket 2. parallel shift that line over the ball 3. Split the distance between both these lines to arrive at a mid point on top rail 4. Straighten the cue to this point, this is where the ball needs to hit the top rail
Simple geometry but such a demo video is very helpful even for geometry experts who are beginners at pool. Could you make a video demonstrating the effect of an English/Spin on a bank shot and its usefulness in the situation where the bank shot looks impossible according to the simple geometry?
Brandon is absolutely correct in his methodology. Bank shots vary as well due to speed, english and other factors like natural deflection. A rolling cueball vs. sliding cueball also makes a difference. When done properly, you don't even have to look at the pocket... it just sits at the end of the proper line. Perhaps an easier method to get to the same point is find the closest diamond, take half the distance, move it parallel to the object ball, then with the butt of your cue move an additional 1/3 rd of a diamond away from the pocket your banking to (up rail - this takes care of the half the distance on the front end that he uses). From that point on the rail, throught the object ball is the exact spot you need to hit usin a sliding cueball (for a rolling cueball it's necessary to move about 1/8 of a ball inside your spot). The same method can be used for kick shots to a ball.
i made a awesome 2 rail bank shot while practicing,the object ball was tight on the rail close to corner pocket, between first diamond and pocket,qball was at other end of table,i hit it hard ...bammm,i banked it 2 rails back at me,i was impressed.i did it as a 2 rail bank to side pocket also,i practice alot.
Question. The final aiming point seems the same as the 2nd line up, ( after parallel & split the difference), then straighten out the stick... or a miniscule change to the left/right. Tried it, works great!
Thank You 4 such a simple explanation. This was the simplest explanation yet! I have watched other videos on bank shots & they go n2 WAY too much detail. This video should be called Bank Shots made simple.
Brandon, when you say split the difference, are you splitting the difference at the tip of the cue? Is that the easiest way to know you are splitting the difference accurately? Love your videos!
This is actually a very good method. If it is confusing watch the video below which is the longer explanation. After watching the longer version, this method simply cuts to the chase
The original video on this helped me a lot with banking, so much so that i have had people come up to me and ask how i rarely miss a bank. Now if only i could master having the cue ball go where i want it all the time and not need to bank so often i'd be happy...lol
I like your "how to" videos a lot so thanks for making them. I don't get the geometry in this one. I understand all the bank shot systems in Jack Koehler's "The Science of Pocket Billiards" but I don't see how your way fits any of those. I'm sure I'm missing something really simple so if you elaborate on your system that'd be great.
Many of the comments saying that they don't understand probably means they a beginners that don't understand some of the basics or the diamond layout. This video shows an accurate banking system. I do however agree he didn't do a very good job in explaining some things but the mechanics are still sound. Just watch the video several times and you should get it. Also keep in mind that a PARALLEL shift means a 1:1 shift (like a 3" shift on the tip and a 3" shift on the butt of the cue stick for example). Shifting one increment on the far rail results in a two increment shift on the near rail (basic triangle geometry), therein lies the reason you need to then split the difference halfway. If you didn't then your newly created track line would be off. Good luck.
I think it was explained well. The only thing that he should have added in my opinion that would have confused me had i not watched this before was that at the end when he says "parallel it, split the difference and then come straight out on the rail" right after that, he should have said, THIS is the point where you want to aim. ...or actually, im saying it wrong too. lol.. He should have said, this is the point where you want to shoot the object ball into in order to make the shot. not "Thats the real half the distance" I mean, might have added a few more details as Mark Singerman below commented but hes a great teacher and hes assuming that the people watching already play "Some" amount of pool where they would know that from the pocket to the middle diamond is half the distance to the corner pocket. I usually dont chime in but i hope this might help some people that had a problem understanding.
I'm glad he mentioned about speed affecting the angle but English does too. If you put left hand English on the cue ball the object will have some right hand on it. Especially at slow speeds it can make a lot of difference.
Nice Job! If someone start to try bank shots, he need a rule. I told it a group of Players and it works so well! Thank you! Feeling is fine but measure is repeatable. greetings from Germany
Hey Brandon, wouldn't it be easier to simply start with the cue over the center of the object ball on the line that looks like it should work and then checking the butt of the cue to see if it is double the tip value, and if not, while keeping the cue centered over the object ball, simply pivot the cue until the doubled value (the distance between the diamonds should be divided into ten increments and the cue butt value should be double the tip value) is correct? Quicker and less complicated and eliminates unnecessary cue movement that way as well as no guessing the split (or half) difference. It also just looks more like what a "pro" might do.
this is super helpful!! the only question i have- why are we splitting the difference after the parallel? and is the parallel supposed to be lined up with our target ball?
It was quite unclear to me at first when he says "split the difference" and " halfway point" but once i tried it out for real, it made complete sense of what and where exactly im supposed to hit. You make the parallel lines to show that the object ball is traveling within those imaginary diamond lines and splitting the difference is just compensating for where the obj ball is should actually be hit, in comparison to the reference line.
Just to be clear, when you say "split the difference" you mean, "envision a parallel line that's equally between the 'too near' and 'too far' parallel lines"? Does the point at which this split parallel line meets the pool table represent where you are aiming the cue ball or aiming for the object ball to hit?
BrandonBilliardGuy how come you dont put out new videos? do a video on kielwood shafts,im a proud oud owner of a jacoby KW shaft,it shoots great,nice solid hits
Dang it’s really Simple. I had no clue. Of course you still need to be able to execute but I had no idea there was a simple system to know where to hit.
I read all the confused peeps posts below. This system is very clear to me and it is the easiest bank system to understand and implement that I have seen so far. The only problem I have seen is that there are a few different sized tables and it doesn't work on all of them.
It seems to me that you would not be able to split the difference as your object ball gets closer to the rail. For instance if it was frozen or nearly frozen to the rail at 2 and a half diamonds, you would not aim it at 2 and a quarter to go into the corner. Also, as it gets closer to the rail, it is more likely to be sliding than rolling. How do you adjust for differences in distance of the object ball from the rail.
Brandon I have a problem well many problems but, this is a billiard problem I’ll set up the same shot that you were demonstrating and my bank shot comes up short why is that and what should I do
Hi Brandon..really good skills and informative uploads you do my man..thanks a lot.. Just a small not on bank shots.. performing an English or spin on the cue ball as well as draw or follow does affect the angle the object ball acquires on a bank shot.. Am I right?
you should always try to shoot bankshots with the cueball rollin' neutral to the rail. no english at all. a follow or draw shot will behave differently. You start to use english on bankshots if you got awkward angles or balls blocking the natural way of the bank. Hope this helps, cheers
Maybe you should teach about automatic shooting. If you get good enough with that you automatically know where to hit the ball off the rail for the bank
I understood everything until he put the pool cue parallel to the end rail and started talking about the "real spot" but I understood everything else and it made perfect sense. Not a bad system since it's so easy.
Your system parallel split the difference how does that compare to parallel shifting seems to me one way you get one mark on the rail any other way you get another mark on the rail two different name in points now what do we do
Les McQueen there’s always an ugly guy who thinks he’s the smartest person around. Trying to make people sound dumb doesn’t increase your intelligence, buddy.
Also, you fail to take into account that when banking a shallow angle from the rail, you are going to skid, and bank wider than you intend for the same speed. This requires some alteration of the speed and/or English you may want to apply to counter this. You may even want to change your aiming point. I have a bank pool video from John Brumback (World Champion bank pool player), I recommend looking into it if you really want to learn to shoot bank shots...
Watch the video three times and then go get 2 cues and get on a table. Go step by step with him and do it as he says and within 3 or 4 tries it will click and with a little practice .. well enjoy
Your URL link is incorrect. Might be a domain registration thing since leaving off the works. Other than that I really appreciate your excellent videos.
