Learn how to follow with bottom (and why you should) | Cue tip

What's the difference and purpose of playing follow shot two different ways?

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[bennett]

I did not think the difference would be this massive. That's pretty impressive.

[physicsguybrian]

You are not adding follow by shooting low on the cue ball. That is literally impossible. Instead, you are stalling the cue ball (backspin is decelerating the cue ball) so that on impact with the one ball, you have very little forward motion (still a lot of right spin) so very little cushion rebound which allows your extreme right spin to take on the cushion resulting in a more open angle. It is the spin that bites the cushion throwing the cue ball short of the three. The actual follow stroke (which you hit much harder btw) strikes the cue ball with much more pace and causes way more cushion rebound so the cue ball kicks out on a more closed angle and hence lands past the three. It is very important to not mislead people. The physics says (and yes, I am a physicist who also plays pool) there is no way to create follow by hitting low. Now, one can hit low with too little impact and before the cue ball reaches the object ball it has lost all its back spin and begins to develop forward roll (all due to friction between cue ball and cloth). But that does not mean you are creating follow with bottom english.

[DJ.NELLY.B]

This is a drag shot, where the bottom spin finished before it hits the object ball

[iancovidhamilton]

In all the 1000’s of racks I’ve played, never once did this enter my head 👌

[dustinmatthews]

That's crazy! Darren, I met you 6-7 yrs ago at the black diamond in spokane valley Washington! We shot 9 ball doubles against Nick Varner and another lucky raffle drawing winner...even though we lost by a hair, it's one of my favorite pool related memories! I was shocked when you told me you didn't start out playing snooker, when you first started playing billiards! Thanks for this tip, I'll definitely try it out if & when it comes up in a future game!

[SenseiNatePlaysPool]

How is this different from playing a drag shot with spin? It seems like that flick is really just adding rotation, and the cueball slows down before hitting the 1, and at that point theres no backspin (just like a drag shot). And then because of the cueball is actually moving slower at that point, the spin takes more off the rail, which gives you the result we see.

[stuartmitchell]

Science behind that shot: due to the lack of pace cue ball backspins, slides then reverts to topspin all before it hits the object ball, at that point its mostly the same as the first shot (top right) but with a different trajectory.

[MarkSiosal]

I don't want this to sound like i'm doubting you at all (you're obviously someone who more than knows what he's doing), but it's not really follow through really is it? It's more side that's making it go forward. The bottom is just making the ball dig into the cushion more allowing the side to take. What I mean is, is that that if the balls were in the open, the ball wouldn't follow through, would it?

[anthonyobermier]

Very misleading. Low isn't the same as low right or low left. Side English. 👍

[johnlarkin]

There is something powerful in taking advice from someone with all those trophies behind you.

[imgoingstayonyourmind]

Hey Darren, did you show "how to follow with bottom" in this video?

Or did you show why you should follow?

Hitting low, especially if you've been playing the game for a while, seems counterintuitive.

I was advised to shoot a shot a certain way (, low-ball follow) by a semipro friend, but I couldn't get my intuition to grasp it.

Then I saw another friend (while we were sparring one night) try to shoot a stop shot using mid to low ball, but the cueball followed.

And I said to my friend, "I get it now".

And he articulated it before I did (he been playing substantially longer than me) "that was an UPWARD stroke huh?"

And I replied "YES".

The physics, (especially important for an amateur's understanding) is not just a contact point.

The science calls for a contact stroke. Surprising I think more so for guys who have sensational strokes.

Thanks for listening.
And thanks for the instructional.

[PoolManis]

If you hit low on cueball while shooting sidespin you will get more sidespin. Trick is hit it with good accerelation with soft speed so bottom english wear out by friction of cloth. It turns to follow before hitting object ball but a ton of sidespin is still left there. Cloth does not take much away from sidespin. There short version how physics work on this shot.

[LeonFleisherFan]

Apart from the additional side spin, you effectively changed the angle of approach as the cue deflects and then curves a tiny bit into the object ball much like a bowling ball. On top of that, thanks to the additional throw, the cue ball contacts the object ball fractionally less full, hence preserving more of its forward motion. Nice series of videos!

[lindastevens]

The concept comes easier if you have a solid understanding of 3 cushion billiards and have played it for some time. You wouldn't need Darren to explain it. This shot would come natural to you. Look at his trophies.

[TheJohnCooperShow]

I’ve always wanted to know his this shot was done

[shortymack]

Great tip will definitely use it and I'm going to try the sniper tip

[janetairlines]

Next up, darren will show us how to draw with follow😁

[LorenzoRossiPool]

The cue ball doesn't care if you have a relaxed grip or if you don't follow through because the tip leaves the cueball in like a millisecond

[richardbarrios]

Is this the same stroke as a slip stroke?

[timothybolshaw]

I think Darren might have added a word of warning with this technique. In many situations, table conditions have a huge impact on how the cue ball will react. That is especially true here. A ball rolling slowly into the cushion with a lot of side spin (which is what Darren demonstrates here) may well pick up very little momentum off the cushion if the cushion is sliding (often the case when a table is newly recovered). With such table conditions, this will be a tough situation with the specific ball configuration Darren sets up here. However, bottom left spin hit with authority would work more reliably without the seven-ball blocking the route across table.