Control the Cue Ball With Stun Shots

Use one cut rather than a rail-count recipe

Use ball-center coordinates on an illustrative 100×50-inch bed: x=0..8 along the length, y=0..4 across it, origin at the lower-left cushion-nose corner. Equal 2.25-inch balls have radius 0.09 and diameter 0.18 units. Intact-cushion center limits are 0.09..7.91 and 0.09..3.91. Six real pockets interrupt the boundary at the four corners and (4,0),(4,4). Measure the actual bed, balls and mouths before scaling; remove measuring aids before shooting and never mark a competition table.

Set O(6, 2), upper-right pocket P(8, 4), first-contact cue center G(5.872721, 1.872721) and cue start C(5.562138, 0.71361). The object direction n=(1,1)/√2 and tangent direction t=(−1,1)/√2 are perpendicular. The incoming unit direction is (cos75°,sin75°), thirty degrees from n, so the intended cut produces a nonzero component along +t.

In the equal-ball, no-throw idealization a cue ball arriving without topspin/backspin initially departs tangent to the object direction. This does not mean no spin of any kind, no friction or perfect energy transfer. Rolling/draw conditions can alter the departure and subsequent path. Start with no intentional sidespin and a comfortable controlled stroke.

Understand the reference departure directions before using a finite finish target.

Classify arrival state across several distances for the separate distance-recognition task.

Call one of two finite finish disks before each strike

The disks are chosen practice tolerances, not predictions that every stun shot will stop there. Both lie before any cushion on the ideal tangent line. A short departure observation line lies 0.25 units along +t from G; use a ±0.09-unit transverse window to log the initial direction separately. A near-tangent crossing alone does not certify zero topspin/backspin.

Take six A attempts and six B attempts in alternating A,B order, resetting exact centers each time. Keep the cue, cut, bridge and surface fixed; change only the modest delivery needed for the called travel distance and write its intended tip-height/pace request. Adjust these together only as an explicitly named new condition, not an invisible correction.

Score the task, not an unmeasured spin state

Record arrival-state evidence and the departure-window observation in additional fields. Unknown arrival stays unknown even on a two-point finish. If pot/finish cannot be observed, list an unscored unknown and reduce the numerical maximum by two; do not make it a successful stun attempt.

Illustrative card: A has six legal pots and four joint finishes, giving 6+4=10/12; B has five legal pots and two joint finishes, giving 5+2=7/12. The total is 17/24: eleven pots and six joint finishes across twelve attempts. This is hypothetical arithmetic, not a recorded player result.

Separate direction trouble from distance trouble

Repeated departure outside the window: inspect actual contact and arrival state before changing finish speed. Departure reasonably repeatable but rest short/long: retain the same setup and test one documented modest pace change for four attempts at the weaker disk. Sixteen strikes occur only if all twelve baseline and four retest attempts finish.

The farther disk does not justify extreme low contact or a forceful stroke. If the required delivery is unreliable, shorten the finish demand and keep that as a different setup version. Straight stopping, arrival-state classification and this fixed-cut travel-distance card remain independently useful resources.

Calibrate a straight stop first when even the no-cut arrival is uncertain.