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Virtual Pool

Shooting Pool For Fun or Competition

Shooting a game of Pool can really bring out the true competitive nature in people. While some may want to shoot Pool like Paul Newman did in "The Hustler, others would be happy just shooting well enough to play a respectable game. Either way, you can use Virtual Pool to quickly develop the two key skills you need to be competitive- cue ball control and strategy. And you can take your skills and apply them to a real pool table, unlike other sports simulations that can't be applied to real life.
Start with the basics of cue ball control.

Cue Ball Control From the Master:

There's nothing like watching a master, whether you're just beginning or looking to sharpen your skills. That's why Virtual Pool includes live video of World Champion Lou Butera. Lou covers the basics of aiming, caroms, combinations, masse shots and much more. Study his tutorials and also his brilliant execution of trick shots. When you're ready to take Lou's advice to the table, enter Virtual Pool's Practice Mode and work on your skills. Practice Mode is the place to take advantage of the incredible learning power available when simulating Pool on a computer.

If You're Unfamiliar with Virtual Pool's Controls:

Begin by getting familiar with the commands available when you're in practice mode. First comes Tracking. This is one of the most important tools for learning. Hit the "T" key while aiming and Virtual Pool accurately projects the paths of the balls you're hitting. To learn the effects of cue tip placement on the cue ball (English), hold down the "E" key and use your mouse to change the point of contact on the cue ball. Also important is the force of your stroke. You can see the effects of varying that force by holding down the "F" Key and moving the mouse forward or backward.

Virtual Pool Interface Tip:
Try lowering your mouse sensitivity if you're having trouble with Speed Control

Virtual Pool lets you view the table and replay your previously executed shot from any angle. Hit "O" while tracking is on and you can view the table from overhead. This is an excellent way to analyze the consequences of making a particular shot. By hitting "R" the shot can replayed. Replay speed can be adjusted wht the "+" and "-" keys. By hitting "V" you can freeze your setup and view it from any angle by moving the mouse.
Would you like to make an adjustment and reshoot? Hit "U" and your shot will be undone so you can try it again.
When you get enough confidence to try a Masse shot, hit "AB" and use the mouse to adjust the angle of the cue stick.

Virtual Pool Interface Tip:
The butt angle readout in the status area makes it easier to reproduce masse shots. Find out which angles work for certain types of shots and you'll find it much easier to pull them off in game situations.

Virtual Pool also comes with some practice setups saved for you. Find them by hitting "Alt-L" when in practice mode. You'll quickly learn how to control your cue ball if you use Virtual Pool's features when practicing.

When You're Up To Speed on Virtual Pool's Controls:
When putting English on a ball, don't use more than the measure of one cue tip off of a center ball hit, unless shooting shots which require
excessive cue ball spin. With Virtual Pool you can put tremendous amounts of spin on the cue ball. Using cue tip distances within one tip of center reduces spin errors caused by incorrect stroke speed. In other words, controlling the cue ball with extreme cue tip positions requires great stroke speed control.

Control stroke speed by varying backstroke length.
Stroke speed is very important for cue ball control. Using backstroke length to control stroke speed makes you more consistent. By accelerating the mouse smoothly, the same way for each shot, backstroke length varies cue ball velocity. The further back your cue tip starts the higher the velocity when you hit the cue ball. For easy shots pull the cue back a little. The harder you want to stroke the cue ball the more you pull back on the cue. This works well in real life too.

Use and study tracking to learn the effects of cue tip position and stroke force. Remember the "F" key varies stroke force when tracking is on.

Level the cue for thin cuts over long distances.
When thinning balls, especially with lots of green between the cue and object balls, set the butt angle to 0 degrees. The default butt angle in Virtual Pool is 1 degree to approximate how a human holds the cue. The slight curve caused by cue ball transition from sliding to rolling makes these shots difficult. Level the cue and remove the curve.

Learn to shoot stun shots:
A stun shot is when the cue ball hits the object ball with no spin. An object ball hit dead on (straight shot) with a stun shot stops the cue ball. The cue ball path after a stun shot is perpendicular to the line draw through the object ball to the target pocket. You can move the cue ball forward or backward from this perpendicular line by using top (forward), or draw (backwards). This allows you to control the cue ball path. It will also teach you much better control for draw shots. Practice stun shots by hitting stop shots. Start by practicing with the cue ball close to the object ball. You'll find that there is a relationship between stroke speed and cue tip height. Increase the distance between the cue ball and object ball as you improve.

Strategy:
Once you've reached an acceptable skill level for cue ball control you can turn your attention to the art of strategy. Remember that Virtual Pool allows you to play four popular games of Pool: Straight, 8-Ball, 9-Ball, and Rotation. Familiarity with the rules will influence your capabilities, so review your choice in the "Games of Pool" section. There you'll find easy instructions and basic strategies.

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Page Updated Mon Feb 28, 2000 8:25pm EST