Natural Angles in Pool - Pool Tutorial | Pool School

In this video we look at Natural Angles in Pool. This is the natural path of the cue ball when struck center ball with no spin applied. We look at the importance of understanding natural angles but also how it differs from the tangent line and how the natural angle changes depending on how hard you hit the ball.
The shots are carried out on a 7ft Supreme Winner UK 8 ball table
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Products used in this video
Elkmaster Pro Tips
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Super Aramith Pro Cup pool balls (with carry case)
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Balls without case
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Triangle ProChalk
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8 Ball Cue Rack
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GoPro HERO8 Camera
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#PoolSchool

[@allymacmillan7986]

Brilliantly explained, I've always worked on the theory that the tangent line differs slightly between a rolling cue ball and a sliding cue ball, and this, for me, backs that theory up. I agree, it's hard to justify saying "natural angle" as this cue sport differs from all other cue sports, because of the cue ball being smaller and lighter, but the rest still use the term "natural angles" depending on a rolling or sliding cue ball. Of course, as you say, you can manipulate the tangent line using pace and top or bottom spin alone. Knowing the difference with English 8 ball is key.

[@Smirnoff44]

Light bulb moment for me there, bloody brilliant information as always 👍🎱💡💡💡

[@wintle1569]

Best pool account on KZbin.

[@PoolSchool]

Than you very much

[@pmm422]

Excellent demonstration and description as to why it's important to know the difference.

[@mediapartners9950]

Another very helpful video. I’ve always found your channel informative and enjoyable. Many thanks 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@dameagerbeaver7703]

Thank you for sharing and your efforts! I enjoy the seeing lines edited.

[@georgehumphrey7178]

I love your channel - always teaching me valuable, applyable, things

[@jasminebartz]

Excellent video. Tysm.❤

[@prpunk187]

Man thanks alot for the videos I been doing everything and i mean EVERYTHING wrong haha and always wondered why I miss but with these videos I'm sure my game shall improve thanks again

[@kmanpilkers]

I learned this for the first time a couple of years ago via another pool channel, but I think your description of it may be the easiest to understand. 🎉 Once you know the tangent line rule, and that you will acheive it with no foreward or backward spin on the cue ball, that's the only "fact" you can know about how a shot will play out. Everything else is based on more or less spin and/or more or less pace after that and making an educated guess.. touch and feel basically. It also blew my mind to learn that even if you are applying forward or backward spin, the cueball will always follow the tangent line for an amount of time proportional to how long it takes the spin to grip the cloth. Therefore if you hit the ball hard with topspin, the harder you hit it, the longer the cueball will stay on the tangent longer for. If you hit it hard enough, the spin will essentially never take effect until it hits a cushion as it will simply slide along the 90 degree line until something gets in the way and it starts gripping the cloth. Really hard to get your head around it and I think this video does an excellent job of explaining it. ❤

[@PoolSchool]

That’s a pretty good explanation you’ve given yourself 👍

[@darktherapy]

Nice video. “Natural angles” is a tough one really because it’s all based on how hard you hit the ball, like you’ve shown. It’s just something you have to pick up with experience.

[@PoolSchool]

Exactly

[@tomaszsosnowski9279]

Good video. A nice drill would be to control the cue ball into targets along the long cushion, while avoiding a scratch. Feien has something similar on his channel.

[@1878Craig]

Great video. Are there any drills you'd recommend to learn natural angles/tangent lines?

[@TheSnookerGym]

Natural angle is referred to as cb path with top spin. Tangent line is cb path with a cb of equal weight to ob slides on impact (and will travel at 90 degrees to ob direction) - and ALWAYS requires some element of below centre striking to equate to cb slide on ob impact.

[@HDJoltTV]

@@TheSnookerGymwell if my nerd glasses are working right, I’d actually say that if the cb is close enough to the object ball, then a center ball hit with enough force will travel along the tangent line because it didn’t have enough time to start rolling and thus was still sliding when it hit the ob

[@8ballsmoother]

As always , clear information, well delivered vid. I’m wondering if you have a system , method or video explaining how you gauge how hard you need to strike the cue ball ? I mean let’s say soft is pocket weight being 0 , and hard being maybe a 5 ? Then to understand how the cue ball passes/ misses the middle pocket you need to strike at a 3 so somewhere between the two extremes.

[@kmanpilkers]

I don't think you can apply a system like this. You have to have hit enough balls to be able to feel what's going to happen. Practice, practice, practice.

[@michaelheath7299]

Thanks can see better on ghost ball. Understand tangent now.

[@HillbillyIslandLife]

U should tell stories or commentate. You have a great voice! Good video too

[@PoolSchool]

Thanks. 😂 Not sure about that, I hate the sound of my own voice!

[@HillbillyIslandLife]

@@PoolSchool ditto

[@droidhacking]

Can you do a video on retipping a cue stick please? Which brand tip do you recommend?

[@PoolSchool]

I’m not an expert at it but here’s a link if you wanted to try it yourself How to Change a Cue Tip - Pool Tutorial | Pool School kzbin.info/www/bejne/h5Czq5Ksl6abepY

[@droidhacking]

@@PoolSchool thanks fella

[@nickwinters3657]

Hi fantastic video what's the name of your pool cue you use?

[@PoolSchool]

Cheers. It’s a “Taylor Made” cue.

[@nickwinters3657]

@@PoolSchool thank you looks a nice cue what's your thoughts on paridon cues ?

[@PoolSchool]

Do you mean Peradon? I’ve never tried one I’m afraid so couldn’t say.

[@brett6314]

This isn't the subject but do you change your aim point when hitting harder? When draw? Harder seems to have less cut. Draw I'm missing and not sure why. Dr Dave said with draw you have no cut induced throw but I've not figured out hour to utilize that information.

[@PoolSchool]

Not in these examples as it’s not much of an angle so doesn’t really come into play. Throw is more pronounced with more angle on the ball. I do adjust the aim but actually you need to adjust more for a soft shot than a hard shot. A soft shot at an angle with throw the ball off line quite a lot, the same angle but hard will stay true to the intended path a lot better but still need a little adjustment. I don’t change any aim point for screw back (draw). Hope that helps?

[@iamtheresurrection4141]

Is that a GoPro you've used? I tried mine but it wasn't very clear at all

[@PoolSchool]

No my iPhone. I only really use the GoPro for POV stuff on the head mount.

[@veronicaphillips8310]

Pay attention in high school physics and geometry classes.

[@mohsentabouna6401]

guys this is fundamentaly diffenrent from american billards. please be careful not to get the physics and terminology mixed up. In billards the cue ball will ALWAYS follow the SAME tangent line ( = natural angle, because the cue ball is almost the same weight and size) no matter how hard or soft before spin or drag will make it move away from the tangent line

[@PoolSchool]

You're right that the games ARE fundamentally different because the cue ball in the English game is smaller. HOWEVER even in the American game you are wrong about the tangent line = the natural angle. In both variants if the cue ball has no spin (is sliding) when it contacts the object ball it will always follow the tangent line. However the natural angle is when you hit centre ball. When you hit centre ball it depend a) how far you are from the object ball, and b) how hard you hit the ball. Depending on these two factors, the cue ball will either be sliding and follow the tangent line, or be rolling forward and move forward from the tangent line. If you don't believe me watch this video of someone demonstrating the same thing on an American table. Worth watching all of it, but specifically from about 3:40 kzbin.info/www/bejne/b3KWeIJ_d62CrJYsi=0-FMvK62g7G_VfhQ

[@michaelheath7299]

Is tangent line centre of cueball?

[@PoolSchool]

It’s wherever you need to strike on the cue ball so that it has no spin at the point it contacts the object ball (so a stun shot). This is often somewhere just below centre, but it depends on how far you are from the object ball and how hard you are hitting it.

[@busterbuster1641]

As per Dr.Dave, the tangent line only applies with a stunned ball.

[@busterbuster1641]

Of course the weird smaller cueball recks havoc with cueball behaviour compared to snooker/american pool balls.

[@kenergy5847]

If your cue ball is lighter than the other balls you are playing a different game.

[@kenergy5847]

The 2 balls always separate at 90 degrees. The CB only remains on the tangent line if it slides into the OB.

[@maloriezastrow971]

The problem isn't all a speed issue as you hit firmer. you are hitting center ball which is actually stop english as you hit more firmly. The natural angle only applies with a cueball that is rolling with no skid. You should be using a tip or so above center for that.

[@kmanpilkers]

The point of the video is that exactly where you'd position your tip on the cueball depends directly on how hard you're going to hit the shot to achieve the desired outcome. So you can't say that to achieve a natural angle you'd always hit a tip or so above centre.. that's only true sometimes. You'll have to move your tip based on how hard you're going to strike the cueball and also based on how much spin you're going to apply. It's not an exact science, and it's not something top players think about before they play the shot. If you play enough, you start to "feel" it rather than having to guess it if that makes sense.

[@liyexiang666]

u hit the centre ball with a downward cue. how can the ball be rolling when u hit it harder? natural angel is when balls rolling.

[@SuperAlain123456]

Usually, The cue ball is not lighter than others balls ! or smaller ?

[@PoolSchool]

This is English pool where the cue ball is lighter and smaller than the object balls. Therefore the physics involved are very different to both the US game and snooker.

[@kmanpilkers]

Usually not. On an American table or a snooker table they are the same, but on an English pool table that cueball is smaller and lighter and will therefore "throw wider" than you would usually expect. It doesn't affect the tangent line though or anything else discussed in this video, all of that is still relevant it's just something you have to be aware of as it would affect the expected outcome of a shot when compared with the same shot played at exactly the same pace/spin on an American or snooker table... So you have to slightly alter your guesswork about how much the ball will deviate from the tangent line. The tangent line is still in the same place though of course.

[@yannickbeaufils9673]

Im not agry with this vidéo, thé natural Line IS the base Line. The natural Line IS when the cue ball Roll naturaly. IS the only Line you Can perfectly know and control 100% of the time. Thé natural IS when you thé cue ball Roll naturaly when contact thé objectif ball. thé tangente Line IS a exécution shot and need to cueing well to find it.

[@PoolSchool]

You’ve obviously not listened to what I said in the video. The natural line when the ball rolls naturally is dependant on pace therefore it is not a line you can “know”. Yes you may “know” it from experience, but that is not the same thing. Yes it can be difficult to execute the perfect stun shot, but you do “know” that if you do, the ball will follow the tangent line. The tangent line is “Always” at 90 degrees to the line through the ghost ball and object ball, so is a line you can always accurately “know”.

[@hamzaitum1743]

I agry

[@hamzaitum1743]

This is where me and him disagree with you. What I know is that the natural line is the one shot with natural top, and is more or less 30 degrees depending on the angle. If you take this line as your standard then you have something that is more consistent to compare to when striking differently on the cue ball. It’s a good lesson that you gave and your channel is one of the best.

[@PoolSchool]

Thanks. It really is just a matter of opinion and what you feel comfortable with “knowing” and referring to. My point is exactly as you mentioned there. You said “more or less 30 degrees”. More or less is not exact and I think I quite clearly showed in the video that with too much pace this can easily be 90 degrees. I completely understand that to get the cue ball to be sliding (have no spin) at impact also requires a judgement of pace and where you strike the ball, but you can say for sure that if you achieve that you will follow the tangent line.

[@glenculp5236]

@@PoolSchoolYou are spot on. The tangent line for me is the most consistent baseline to work from. Using stun has helped my position play greatly. Good stuff 👍.