How to Shoot Pool Shots That Are Tough to Reach

During a pool match it’s not uncommon for the cue ball to get into a place that’s difficult to reach. Especially if you’re playing on a 9 foot table. During any match you might not be able to reach the cue ball on multiple occasions. Even if you can reach it by stretching, that might not be the best option because you aren’t comfortable and you’re not using your best stroke. When you can’t reach a shot you typically have 4 options:

• Use your left hand
• Shoot behind the back
• Use the bridge
• Use a cue extension

Depending on the situation and, more importantly, your skillset, you may choose one method over the other. Here are the pros and cons of each so you can decide which method works best for you.

Left Hand

Probably, the most useful and versatile method for shooting shots you can’t reach is using your opposite hand. This allows you to shoot shots that would normally be stretch shots or bridge shots normally, just opposite handed. The benefit is you can cue comfortably which is an advantage if you’re good with your off hand. Even if you’re not great with your off hand, it doesn’t take much more than 15 minutes of work during every practice session to get comfortable. Generally, you won’t have to shoot off hand shots that are far way from the object ball because otherwise you’d be able to reach them with the correct hand. This means your main concern for shooting off hand shots is your stroke and positioning the cue ball. This will take practice to develop, but it is rewarding when you can stroke the ball well off hand.

Behind the Back

By far the coolest way to shoot, when playing pool, the behind the back shot is more than a gimmick used by amateurs looking to show off. The behind the back shot is a totally legitimate way to hit the cue ball, even though it is not particularly common at higher levels since it does have some drawbacks.

To start with the benefits, you get to shoot with your dominant hand which means that your power, stroke, and feel for the shot is the same. The main problem with behind the back shots is accuracy. You can’t line up your eye to the ball so it’s difficult to hit the cue ball accurately. On top of that, you can’t reach in as many places as the other options that are available to you which doesn’t make it a versatile way to hit the cue ball either. But for shots where you need a good stroke to spin the cue ball, this method might be your best bet in a jam.

Use the Bridge

The most feared tool of most pool players is the rest. You can’t use your normal stroke, it’s difficult to maneuver, and its hard to use accurately. It’s a totally different animal from anything else you use in pool so there’s good reason players are afraid to use it. Truth be told, though, if you learn how to use the rest then there is no shot on the table that you can’t reach. It’s by far the best option to be able to use for any situation on the table. So even though it’s one of the more awkward tools to use, it’s the most rewarding and the most useful when you need to reach a shot.

Use a Cue Extension

A new invention in the pool world is the cue extension. A cue extension is an attachment that can be added to your cue stick to make it longer. This makes it easier to reach shots by using a longer bridge. Some of them screw onto the back of the cue others can be attached using other methods, but they all do the same thing: make your cue stick longer. The cue extension is the easiest solution for shots where you can’t reach the shot. You need a straight stoke in order to keep your cue straight with a long bridge, but if you can do that then you’re in the clear. There are situations where the cue extension won’t solve all your problems, but those aren’t very numerous. And especially considering how the cue extension is the tool of choice for most professional players, you can’t go wrong by using one yourself.

Categorised in: Pool Fundamentals