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Cueing Academy

Pool glossary · Aiming & Physics

Ghost ball

Also called: Ghost ball aiming

What is the ghost ball method in pool?

The ghost ball is the imaginary position the cue ball must occupy at contact to pot the object ball — touching it on the line from the pocket through the object ball's center. You aim the center of the cue ball at the center of that imaginary ball.

Step by step

  1. 1Find the line from the center of the pocket through the center of the object ball.
  2. 2Picture a ball frozen against the object ball on that line, on the far side from the pocket.
  3. 3Aim the center of the cue ball at the center of that ghost ball.
  4. 4Stroke straight through the ghost ball position.

In more detail

Ghost ball is the most common aiming method because it is geometrically exact. Its weakness is that judging an imaginary ball is hard on thin cuts, so many players combine it with contact-point or fractional aiming.

People also ask

Is ghost ball aiming accurate?

The geometry is exact, but its accuracy depends on how well you picture the ghost ball. Throw and squirt also need small adjustments.

What is the difference between ghost ball and contact point aiming?

Ghost ball aims the cue ball's center at a point one ball-width from the object ball; contact point aiming focuses on where the two balls touch.

Train it at the table

More guides on ghost ball