How To Put Backspin On A Cue Ball? 4 Simple Steps For Beginners

Are you a newbie when it comes to how to play pool? When you witness billiard players making a ball spin backward or forward depending on what they want, you might be intrigued about how to put backspin on a cue ball. This is the spot to go if you want to get answers to all of your doubts. A pool ball spin is not difficult to achieve. In this article, we will show you how to put a backspin on a cue ball in four simple steps. You will find it easier than ever.

What is a pool backspin?

Before going into detail on how to make the cue ball spin backward, you will need to understand clearly the nature of the pool backspin. Backspin is a cue ball manipulation technique that involves moving the cue ball after it has struck the intended object ball. It causes the cue ball to spin backward from the shot’s original direction, and when it collides with the object ball and loses momentum, the backward spin friction causes it to start rolling back toward the shooter. This is typically accomplished in a draw shot by hitting the cue ball just below the center.

As you might be interested: How to play cutthroat pool

What are the reasons to put backspin?

Putting a backspin on the ball has the advantage of assisting you in maintaining control of the ball. The ball will slow down as it goes through the air when you hit it with a backspin, giving you extra time to react and make your next shot. In addition, your opponent may find it tough to return your shots if you use backspin. Backspin produces the ball to bounce unpredictably, making it difficult for your opponent to time their return accurately. Finally, backspin can assist you in gaining extra points. This is because backspin allows you to keep the ball in play for longer periods, giving you more chances to score.

How to put backspin on a cue ball?

After understanding what pool backspin is and the reasons to apply it, now you can easily learn how to put backspin on a cue ball in 4 basic steps as follows:

Step 1: Defined cue ball and object ball position

The first step is to make sure that your cue ball and object ball are exactly aligned and that there isn’t much space between them. It is suggested to place the cue ball 6 to 8 inches away from the object ball to begin.

Step 2: Making the bridge

Now make a draw bridge between the cue tip and your finger. As you may be aware, there are various sorts of bridges, each of which is used in a particular setting to assist you in achieving the intended goal. They could be an open bridge, a closed bridge, an elevated bridge,… When a closed bridge is used to make a draw shot to get backspin on the cue ball, it is called a drawbridge. You create a fist and place your hand flat on the table, looping your index finger around the cue stick. Raise your bridge a little higher to leave a little angle to the cue stick.

Step 3: Aiming

The backspin shot necessitates contact with the cue ball directly beneath the contact point for the stun shot. Stun means pure sliding, where there is no topspin or bottom spin. With a stun shot, the cue ball has no spin when it hits the object ball. If you strike below the point marked with the letter S in the below image, the stick will impart backspin to the cue ball.

The amount of backspin the ball receives is determined by how well you make contact with the black strip. The more backspin is placed on the ball, the lower the contact is. Therefore, aim your cue tip at the back strip of the cue ball as illustrated below.

Remember that the distance to the target ball determines how far below the ball center you should go.

• If the target ball is near the cue ball, this is simple: Slightly behind center, strike the cue ball.
• If the target ball is farther away, you’ll need to strike the cue ball a little deeper below center. 

Step 4: Making the shot

Now it is time to take a shot. Play the shot with a little more power than normal. The most crucial thing to remember when playing the shot is to let the cue stick move through the ball. You can imagine that it is like you are striking the pool table after hitting the cue ball. You’ll be able to give the cue ball more backspin if you do this. Because there is a long period of contact between the cue tip and the ball, this lengthens the time it takes to impart a backspin to the cue ball.

3 Tips for more backspin

• Steady stroke: Make sure your stroke is smooth and steady first. If you hit the ball squarely, the backspin will be effective.
• Sufficient momentum: Make sure your stroke has a lot of follow-throughs. This will aid in the production of more power and spin.
• Precise ball center alignment: As you make contact with the ball, keep your cue tip aligned with the ball’s center. You should be able to deliver some major backspin to the cue ball if you execute this right.

FAQs

See Also: Pool bank shots

Conclusion

In general, learning how to put backspin on a cue ball is simple. You can easily grasp all the basics to do it by yourself. However, in order to make a successful backspin shot, you have to try and practice many times with different angles and positions to get your own path. Furthermore, if you’ve done everything correctly but still have no backspin on the cue ball, consider the issue with the cue stick. Miscueing can be caused by a low deflection cue. So, to begin practicing, attempt to locate a nice cue stick.