How to Bank a Shot in Pool

Series Summary

The game of pool, or pocket billiards, was developed, like other cue sports, from outdoor stick-and-ball lawn games similar to golf or croquet. Pool was originally played on tables without pockets. Holes were added later, used first as a hazard and later as a means of scoring. The term "pool" was derived from "poolrooms," which were off-track betting facilities, where gamblers would pool their money to determine odds on horse races. These facilities were often equipped with a few billiards tables, and the words pool and billiards soon became interchangeable. In this series of free video lessons, learn the basics of the game of pool, including the proper shooting form, how to hit the cue ball and how to use English to alter a shot. A veteran pool enthusiast offers tips and techniques to help you develop a litany of shots that will make the next visit to a pool hall a fun and triumphant experience.

Video Transcript

"Hi, my name's Joe, and I'm here at Breaktime Billiards in Wilmington, North Carolina. Today I'm going to show you a method for figuring out where to hit the ball in order to bank it. There are different methods and today I'm just going to show you one of those methods. What you do is you draw a line that's perpendicular to the ball and from that spot, you come to the ball to the pocket that you want to make the ball in. Then you take and you draw a line from the object ball to the pocket that is directly opposite of the one that you want to make the ball into. Where those two lines cross which would be right here, you draw that line to the rail and that's where you want to hit the ball to have it bank into this pocket. And that's how you use that method to bank a pool ball."