The Stop Shot

“The Stop Shot is the most powerful shot in pool.” ~ Tony Robles

If we colored our shots, the stop shot would have to be RED. It’s important, so it needs a bold color like a stop sign. The stop shot holds the secret to cue ball control. It comes into play for the break shot, safety play, and all aspects of position play.

The essence of the stop shot is simple; the cue ball hits an object ball full, and stops dead in its tracks. There is a trick, but you don’t need to be a magician to pull this one out of your hat.

When you strike the cue ball with a center ball hit, it will slide for a short distance. The harder you hit it, the longer it will slide. If you apply some draw, you can make the slide phase happen farther away. The cue ball starts with back spin, the friction of the cloth wears that away, and the cue ball slides for a couple of seconds before it begins to roll. Hit the object ball square while the cue ball is sliding, and you’ll get a stop shot.

If you practice using a striped ball as your cue ball, you can see the stripe change direction, and this can help to judge speed and distance.

If you want real cue ball control, master the stop shot. Master it from all distances; it’s the key to position play.

Learn the stop shot. It’s the foundation for every other shot.

A couple of helpful pointers from Ewa Mataya Laurance

1. To pull off the stop shot the balls have to be in a straight line.
2. When the balls are close, hit the ball just a hair below the center of the cue ball.
3. If the balls have a lot of distance between them, make sure you hit the cue ball a little bit lower on the close shot so that sliding motion is there when the object ball hits the contact ball.

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