How to Shoot Pool: 7 Simple Steps for Beginners

Quick answer: To shoot pool, chalk your cue and pick the pocket. Stand behind the shot and step into a steady stance. Hold the cue loose with your back hand, and make a solid bridge with your front hand. Aim the cue ball at the ghost ball, take a few smooth practice strokes, then stroke straight through and stay down until the ball goes in.

Anyone can hit a ball on a pool table. Shooting pool well is about doing the same simple things on every shot. I have played pool for over 50 years, and these are the basics we go over with new players. Learn them one at a time, and you will make more balls fast.

How Do You Shoot Pool?

Every good shot has the same parts: your stance, your grip, your bridge, your aim, and your stroke. If one part is off, the ball can miss even when your aim is right. The 7 steps below put the parts in order. Do them the same way on every shot until you do not have to think about them.

How to Shoot Pool for Beginners: 7 Simple Steps

Step 1: Chalk Up and Pick Your Shot

Chalk your cue before you shoot. Chalk helps the tip grab the cue ball. A dry tip is how you get a miscue. Then pick the ball and the pocket. Look at the pocket first and ask, "Where do I want this ball to go?"

Step 2: Get Into Your Stance

Stand behind the shot, on the line you want the cue ball to travel. Do not slide in from the side. Walk into the shot, already seeing how to make it. Your feet should be about shoulder width apart, with your front foot forward. Bend at the waist and bring your chin down over the cue. You want to feel steady, so your body does not move when you shoot.

Step 3: Hold the Cue Loose (Grip Hand Position)

Your back hand is the grip hand. Hold the cue a few inches behind the balance point. Hold it loose, like a small bird. You want to keep it in your hand, but you do not want to squeeze it. When the tip is near the cue ball, your forearm should hang straight down. Keep your wrist relaxed. Learn more on our how to hold a pool cue page.

Step 4: Make a Solid Bridge

Your front hand is the bridge hand. It holds and guides the cue. There are two main bridges:

• Open bridge: Lay your hand flat, lift your thumb next to your first finger, and rest the cue in the V. It is the easiest one to learn.
• Closed bridge: Wrap your first finger and thumb into a loop and slide the cue through it. It gives you more control on draw and follow shots.

See all three bridges, including the rail bridge, on our pool bridge hand page.

Step 5: Aim at the Ghost Ball

Picture a line from the middle of the pocket through the center of the object ball. Where that line comes out the back of the ball is the contact point. Now picture a "ghost ball" sitting right there, touching the object ball at the contact point. Aim the center of your cue ball at the center of the ghost ball. Look at the picture above to see how it works.

On a straight in shot, the ghost ball sits right behind the object ball. On a cut shot, it sits off to the side. For the full method, read how to aim in pool.

Step 6: Take Practice Strokes, Then Stroke Straight Through

Take a few smooth practice strokes and get comfortable with the shot. Keep the cue as level as you can. Only your forearm should move, back and forth like a pendulum. On the last stroke, pause on the back swing with your eyes on the object ball. Then stroke straight through the cue ball and follow through. Do not stop the cue when it hits the ball.

Step 7: Stay Down Until the Ball Drops

Keep your head down and leave your cue out after the shot. Do not jump up to see if the ball goes in. When your head moves, your body moves, and the cue moves with it. Stay down until the ball is in the pocket.

How to Shoot a Pool Ball Straight

If your stroke is not straight, nothing else works. These three drills come from part 2 of our free pool course.

• The seam drill: Put your cue right over the seam where the rail meets the cloth. Take practice strokes and keep the cue on the line all the way through.
• The pop bottle drill: Place an empty, clean pop bottle where the cue ball would be, and swing your cue straight into the small opening without touching the sides. This keeps your bridge hand still and your stroke level.
• Down and back: Hit the cue ball dead center, straight up the table, and leave your cue out. If you hit it center and stroke straight, the cue ball should bounce off the far rail and roll back into your tip.

When those feel good, line balls up along a rail and shoot them straight into the pocket at the other end of the table. Look straight down your cue to the ball and into the pocket. Stay down until the ball is in. Practice until you can make 100 in a row. If you miss, start over.

This video from our Pool Skool channel shows the straight in drill.

Want more stroke drills? See our pool drills for beginners page.

How to Shoot Pool Angles (Cut Shots)

Most shots in a game are not straight. They are cut shots, where you hit the object ball off center. The key is to aim at the ghost ball, not at the contact point. The cue ball is round, so its edge touches the object ball first, not its center.

A simple way to check your aim is how much of the object ball you cover with the cue ball:

• Full hit: a straight in shot.
• Three quarter ball: a small cut.
• Half ball: aim the center of the cue ball at the edge of the object ball. This is a medium cut.
• Quarter ball: a thin cut.

Set up one cut shot and shoot it over and over. Watch where you miss. Then move the cue ball a little so the cut gets thinner.

How to Shoot Pool Better: 6 Common Mistakes

• Jumping up. Stay down until the ball drops.
• Squeezing the cue. A tight grip makes the cue twist and jerk. Hold it loose.
• Hitting too hard. Use a soft speed when you can. A soft hit gives you better control, and the pocket plays bigger.
• No follow through. Let the cue keep moving forward after you hit the ball.
• Changing your aim while you stroke. Do your aiming before you get down. If you are not sure, stand up and start over.
• Not thinking ahead. Think about where the cue ball is going before you shoot, not after. Our cue ball control page shows you how.

How to Shoot Pool Like a Pro: Use a Pre Shot Routine

Good players do the same things in the same order on every shot. That is a pre shot routine. Here are the steps from our 8 ball pre shot routine:

1. Figure out your pattern for the run, or the run up to the safety.
2. Chalk your cue and review your plan.
3. Line up on the shot and figure out how to stroke it, so you get shape on your next shot.
4. Get set on the shot. Take a few practice strokes and get comfortable.
5. Pause on your back swing of the final stroke with your eyes glued to the object ball.
6. Finish with a straight and deliberate stroke.

Chalk your cue, stand the same, hold the cue the same, and line up the same way on every shot. Use the same routine in practice too. Learn more on our pre shot routine page and How to Play Pool: 8 Ball Pre Shot Routine.

Learn to Shoot Pool Free

The stroke drills on this page come from our free 7 part pool fundamentals course. We send it by email, one lesson at a time, so you have time to practice each one. To get it, fill out the form on our billiard drills page.

Once you can shoot straight, the next step is winning games. Our book 8 Ball Winning Strategies shows you how to plan a rack and play smart 8 ball. Learn more on our 8 Ball Winning Strategies page.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you shoot pool for the first time?

Chalk your cue, stand behind the shot, and step in on the line. Hold the cue loose, make a bridge with your front hand, and hit the middle of the cue ball with a smooth, straight stroke. Stay down until the ball stops.

Where should I hit the cue ball?

Start in the center. A center hit is the easiest to control. Hit above center to make the cue ball roll forward (follow) and below center to make it come back (draw).

How hard should you hit a pool ball?

Most of the time, softer than you think. Use the softest speed that makes the ball and gets the cue ball where you want it. A soft hit gives you more control.

How do you shoot pool left handed?

Do everything the same, just switched. Your left hand holds the back of the cue, and your right hand is the bridge hand in front.

Why do I keep missing straight shots?

Most of the time the stroke is not straight, or you lift your head before the ball goes in. Do the straight in drill on this page and stay down until the ball drops.