Place the striker for the shot you want
Your striker can sit anywhere along your baseline. Do not just leave it in the middle. Slide it so that the line from the striker to the coin, and on to the pocket, is as straight as possible. A shot that needs a thin cut is much harder than one that is nearly straight on.
Aim at the far side of the coin
To send a coin into a pocket, imagine a line from the pocket through the coin. The striker needs to hit the coin on the point on the opposite side from the pocket. Practise finding that point: it is where the striker would stand if it just touched the coin, on that line.
- On boardflix, the ring at the end of the aim line shows what the striker will touch first.
- A pink ring means it will hit a coin, a white ring means it will reach the rim.
Use less power than you think
Hard shots send coins everywhere and are hard to control. A gentle shot that hits the coin cleanly will carry it to the pocket and leaves the striker close to where you want it. Save big power for a long straight shot, or for the opening break, when you want to scatter the cluster.
Open the cluster carefully
At the start, the coins sit in a tight cluster around the queen. A soft shot that nudges the cluster apart is usually better than a hard break, because a hard break can send your coins into positions that help your opponent. After the break, look for coins that sit near a pocket.
Handle the queen with a plan
In classic play, after you pocket the queen you must pocket one of your own coins on the next shot to cover her. If you miss, she returns to the centre. So do not take the queen unless you can see a cover shot. The best moment is when one of your coins and the queen are both near the same pocket.
Avoid pocketing the striker
If the striker drops into a pocket, it is a foul: your turn ends and coins you pocketed on that shot go back. Be careful with shots that send the striker towards a corner after the hit, especially when you hit a coin near a pocket. A softer shot or a different striker position usually solves it.
