Trick Billiard Shots

There are as many trick shots as there are imaginative pool players. New trick shots are invented every day and many professional artistic pool players come up with amazing shots to demonstrate at artistic pool events. Some trick shots are more widely known than others and are more commonly preformed by artistic pool players.

Machine gun type tricks are some of the most common and although are not the mot difficult of pool tricks are very impressive to watch. One type of machine gun shot requires a player to place a row of balls a few inches away from the cushion and then shoot the cue ball in between the row of balls so that it hits each ball in sequence and makes them go into the same pocket. This shot makes a sound like a machine gun hence the name.

Another common variation of the machine gun shot is when the player places a row of balls closer to the cushion and shoots them in succession with the cue ball. The balls then each hit three cushions and land in the same pocket. Each ball that is hit travels between the balls that are already in motion.

The machine gun shot can also be preformed by hitting a line of balls so that they all fall into the same pocket, one after another, with the cue ball traveling around the table and falling last.

A popular prop for trick shots is money. A shot used to break ties on the televised artistic pool competition “Trick Shot Magic” has become popular thanks to the show. In this shot a hundred dollar bill is placed on the short rail close to the corner pocket and the shooter must bank the cue ball off of eight or nine cushions and must land with its edge over the bill.

Jump shots are also common trick shots. In these shots the cue ball is made to jump over obstacles placed on the table such as cue sticks, other balls, or the ball rack, or jump off the table into a basket, hat, shoe, or other object. One famous jump shot is the boot shot made famous by Mike Massey where he shot the ball so it left the table and landed in a boot.

Perhaps one of the most known trick shots is the butterfly shot. In this shot six balls are arranged in the middle of the table in a butterfly shape and all dropped into different pockets with one shot.