Cue ball control: stun, follow, draw and side
Potting is geometry; getting the next shot is cue ball control. Here is what the spin ball in our pool game does and how to use it.
Slide first, then roll
When the tip hits the white, the ball first skids across the cloth. Friction then turns that skid into natural forward roll. The simulation follows the same order, so what the white does at the object ball depends on how far it has travelled: close up it still carries the spin you gave it, far away most of that spin has turned into ordinary roll.
Stun
A centre-ball hit that arrives still sliding stops dead on a straight pot. On a cut, a stunned white leaves the object ball at a right angle to the line of the pot — the tangent line. This is the most predictable shot on the table and the base for the others.
Follow and draw
Set the contact point high on the spin ball for follow: after contact the white keeps rolling forwards, on a cut shot bending after the object ball. Set it low for draw: the white spins backwards and returns towards you on a straight pot, or bends back from the tangent line on a cut. Draw needs power and a short distance; over a long distance the backspin wears off before contact.
Side
Side spin barely changes the first contact but changes the angle at which the white leaves a cushion: spin towards the direction of travel widens the angle, spin against it narrows it. Use side to get round a ball that blocks the natural path, not as a habit — it also makes the white drift a little on its way, which costs accuracy on long pots.
Practise it
The pool clearances are made for this: six balls, no opponent, and a count of shots that shows at once whether your positional play is working.