Why is it that you can get so much more cue ball reaction when putting spin on from close range with soft shots but so little cue ball reaction when putting spin on for hard shots at long range?i cannot understand this.

Edited at 00:30 Tue 15/05/07 (BST)

quite simple aint it...

Because 'spin' is the cue ball spinning in a different direction to diflect from the object ball at a different angle.

The spin slows down over time.

In fact back-spin, over the lenght of the table, shouldn't back spin at all, it should cause an effect called 'drag'

actually magic m8, it is called drag when the ball is played at a slow pace with backspin applied, if sufficient cue power is applied throughout the entire stroke there can be severe backspin applied to the cueball, as for on here i understand the point, when playing a safety if you put full backspin on and hit the cueball very softly, the cueball whips away from object ball, leaving considerable distance between cueball and object ball

Edited at 11:40 Tue 15/05/07 (BST)

dansta, listen to drunk

In fact back-spin, over the lenght of the table, shouldn't back spin at all, it should cause an effect called 'drag'

Don't these both say the same things? I hope so anyway, as I'm quoting steve Davis..

'drag' if you would like a detailed explanation, is the same affect as backspin but it occurs before the object ball is struck, instead the backward spin on the ball causes it to slow down momentarily, then speed up again.

as for on here i understand the point, when playing a safety if you put full backspin on and hit the cueball very softly, the cueball whips away from object ball, leaving considerable distance between cueball and object ball

Yes, but he's referring to playing back-spin over a long shot. The amplified spin on short shots is a feature Nick intended, though only for the arcade game.`

To answer the original question again, but with a little more simplicity:

the 'spin' on the ball, wears of as the ball rolls.

nice physics lesson magic

... thanks, I was answering a question, it's what we DO on forums..

EDIT, so what was the purpose of your post, while we're on the subject?

Edited at 19:00 Tue 15/05/07 (BST)

i was complementing you on your vast knowledge of 'drag'

what i was saying is like for instance "jimmy white" he can hit the ball so hard with so much backspin over the length of the table that he could get the ball to return to where he struck it from, so my point is that over a long distance as you said! depending on the power that you strike the cueball, this could be either "backspin" when struck hard, or "drag" when hit with controlled pace

Edited at 18:07 Wed 16/05/07 (BST)

What are you implying magic man?

Edited at 18:07 Wed 16/05/07 (BST)

yea karl n sam ur right mate. players play drags shot when they dont want to slam the ball in the pocket but at the same time they dont want to roll them in cos sometimes the tables nap can turn the balls off target. so they hit the bottom of the ball at a medium pace, this backspin then takes a lot of speed of the cueball before reaching the object ball without the cueball rolling off target or backspining when it hits the ball.

cheers boz m8