Today’s lesson comes to you from Freddy “The
Beard” Bentivegna’s website;
Banking With The Beard
His site is filled with great info and some great pool
stories. Freddy has been a professional pool player
for over 50 years and has been inducted into the
Bank Pool Legends Hall Of Fame. The Beard has
been a frequent stop for road players going
through Chicago who dare to test their skill against
this bank pool and one pocket wizard. You can still
find him on most days at a pool hall in Chicago
called Red Shoes, firing in shots and taking on all
comers.
The following article and many others can be found at
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The “Mysterious” 2 to 1 Bank angles.
Most every one knows that the basic bank angle to work from is the ubiquitous, 2 to 1 proportionate ratio. Everybody knows that. The problem arises when the shot angle falls into those gray areas when you run out of rail and cant do simple arithmetic, ie., divide the angle, etc. I have solved this by extending the table on graph paper and calculating precisely the 2 to 1 angles of those “mystery” areas.
The actual reference angles and the shooting options that will score the bank are described for posterity in these three diagrams.
Extended rail formulas:
Diagram #1 cross-side solutions:
From cushion point of diamond 1.6 to opposite diamond 2.5
Cue Ball Hit = center axis, ½ tip above or below center
Speed of stroke:
Easy or soft: 1 tip opposite, favoring english
Medium or firm: 1 tip opposite, favoring english (same as easy because of no “curl”)
Hard: no adjustment, hit full in face
From cushion point of diamond 2.6 to opposite diamond 3.0
Cue Ball Hit = center axis, ½ tip above or below center
Speed of stroke:
Easy or soft: 2 tips opposite, favoring english
Medium or firm: 2 tips opposite, favoring english
Hard: no adjustment, hit full in face
From cushion point of diamond 3.3 to opposite diamond 3.5
Cue Ball hit = center axis, ½ tip above or below center
Speed of stroke:
Easy or soft: 3 tips opposite, favoring english
Medium or firm: 3 tips opposite, favoring english
Hard: no adjustment, hit full in face
Diagram #2 Extended rail, long cross-corner solutions:
From cushion point of diamond 1.6 to opposite diamond 5
Cue ball hit = center axis, ½ tip above or below center
Speed of stroke:
Easy or soft: 1 tip opposite, favoring english
Medium or firm: no adjustment, hit full in face
Hard: no adjustment, hit full in face
From cushion point of diamond 2.6 to opposite diamond 6
Cue ball hit = center axis, ½ tip above or below center
Speed of stroke:
Easy or soft: 2 tips opposite, favoring english
Medium or firm: 1 tip opposite, favoring english
Hard: no adjustment, hit full in face
From cushion point of diamond 3.3 to opposite diamond 7
Cue ball hit = center axis, ½ tip above or below center
Speed of stroke:
Easy or soft: 3 tips opposite, favoring english
Medium or firm: 2 tips opposite, favoring english
Hard: no adjustment, hit full in face
Diagram # 3 Extended rail straight-back solutions:
(leave object balls at least ½ in.off rail to prevent kiss)
From cushion point of diamond 3.3 to opposite diamond 2.5
Cue ball hit = center axis, ½ tip above or below center
Speed of stroke:
Easy or soft: no adjustment, hit full in face
Medium or firm: 1 tip opposite, favoring english
Hard: no adjustment, hit full in face
From cushion point of diamond 5.4 to opposite diamond 3
Cue ball hit = center axis, ½ tip above or below center
Speed of stroke:
Easy or soft: no adjustment, hit full in face
Medium or firm: 1 tip opposite, favoring english
Hard: no adjustment, hit full in face
From cushion point of diamond 6.8 to opposite diamond 3.5
Cue ball hit = center axis, ½ tip above or below center
Speed of stroke:
Easy or soft: no adjustment, hit full in face
Medium or firm: 1 tip opposite, favoring english
Hard: no adjustment, hit full in face
If you like this article be sure to check out his book
“Banking With The Beard”
It has a great mix of some of the best stories and
amazing lesson’s than can be found in print today.
This book is considered by most to be a must have
in your library of instructional material.
Crazy About Pool 