“Stun Strokes” Once your fundamentals are correct and you are
shooting with a straight and level cue, you need to master the
stun stroke. This shot is the most important shot because it
gives you a reference for cue ball positioning.

Straight-In Stun Stroke When you hit a stun stroke on a straight
in shot, it will produce a “stop shot.” In other words, the ball
stops as soon as it makes contact with the object ball. Factors
that influence this are a blend of the following; cue tip
location, force, follow through, and quickness (the amount of
time it takes the cue tip to accelerate through the ball). There
are an infinite number of blends of these variables that produce
a stop shot. For example, you can use 4″of follow through with a
small force OR only 1″of follow through with a large force to
produce a stop shot. Play with these variables until you can
manipulate each one and still get the same cue ball position.
Measure your follow through by placing a ruler beside your cue
tip. Then, vary the distance between the balls. Once you’ve
mastered a stop shot with 1 diamond or 12″ of distance, keep
increasing it by another 12″. The more distance you have, the
more forward rotation or “high english” the ball picks up before
it strikes the object ball. So the greater the distance, the
lower you must hit the cue ball to produce a stun/stop shot.

Stun Stroke at an Angle Once again, place the object ball 12″
away from the cue ball. But this time, put the cue ball at a 30
degree angle, so that you are aiming at half the ball to pocket
it. Use the same stun stroke, and the cue ball will travel
straight down the “tangent line.” This is the line that is
perpendicular to the object ball at 90 degrees. The harder or
quicker you hit the ball, the further it will travel down the
line.

This is the first step in predicting cue ball position. DO NOT
move on to the next article until you are comfortable shooting
Straight-In Stun Shots and Stun Strokes at an Angle at different
distances. Be able to alter the variables (cue tip location,
force and quickness) and get the same cue ball position.

(Jackie “The Angel” Broadhurst, National 8-Ball and Trick Shot
Champion, invites everyone, of any gender or background, to play
and learn about this great game together. Visit her website at
www.TheAngelofBilliards.com.)