Lesson notes
Half-Ball Hit — 30° Cut Shot Practice Drill
Anchor: 30° cut ↔ 1/2 ball overlap
The OB ignores where your cue points
The beginner's instinct is "aim at it and it goes in". The object ball cares about exactly one thing: the direction of the line between the two centres at the instant of contact. Where your cue was pointing never enters into it. So on a cut you are not aiming at the OB at all — you are aiming at where the cue ball has to be, which is the ghost ball. The 30° cut is worth mastering first because it is the one fullness on the whole table that needs no estimating.The half-ball: the one hard anchor
On a 30° cut the cue-ball centre passes exactly one ball radius to the side of the OB centre. That means it covers precisely half the OB, and — the part you actually use — the cue ball's near edge lines up with the OB's centre. It is the only reference in the table you align rather than estimate. That makes the half-ball your ruler: fuller than this is under 30°, thinner is over. Learn this one angle until you do not think about it, then work outwards from it; that is far steadier than estimating each angle from scratch.- 1/2 ball = 30° cut = cue-ball edge aimed at the OB centre
- The OB only receives about 87% of the cue-ball speed (cos 30°) — add a little power
- Set from the half-ball and adjust, rather than guessing the angle cold
1.3 30° cut — the half-ball hit
30° cut ≈ 1/2 ball overlap. Aim the cue ball edge at the OB center. This is THE reference cut every player must master.