Ticky, lag ticky and umbrella

Most cushion-first shots are harder than they look. A few are the exception: patterns played so often, with such short and familiar rebounds, that experienced players judge them by feel. Know these three by heart.

The ticky

The cue ball goes into a cushion, comes off and hits the first object ball, then returns to the same cushion again. Typically the first ball sits close to a rail and the cue ball comes in at an angle, "ticks" the cushion just before or beside the ball, catches the ball, and runs back to that rail to start its route.

Because the first cushion is right next to the ball, the rebound error has almost no distance to grow. That's why tickies are the most common bank at the top level, and the most successful.

A ticky: the yellow goes into the bottom cushion beside the red, catches the red, comes back to the same cushion and on round to the white. The first cushion is right next to the ball, so there's almost no room for the rebound error to grow. Open this position in the trainer

The lag ticky

A longer cousin: the cue ball goes to two cushions before the first ball, then back to the second of those cushions. Played softly, the cue ball comes back along the table into the ball near a rail. It's useful when the direct ticky angle isn't there, but the extra cushion and distance make it harder; treat it as a textbook shot, not a free one.

A lag ticky: the white goes to the left cushion and the top cushion, takes the red, returns to the top cushion and runs on to the yellow. Open this position in the trainer
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The umbrella

The cue ball goes into two adjacent cushions first, through the corner, so it comes out toward the first ball already heading the right way. After the first ball it crosses to one more cushion and on to the second ball. The shape, in and out of the corner and back over, is what gives it its name.

Umbrellas shine when the balls are placed so that every ball-first route kisses or runs the wrong way. They're a fine shot to know, but two cushions before the ball means more rebound error than a ticky.

An umbrella: the white goes into the top cushion and the left cushion, through the corner, takes the red, crosses to the bottom cushion and comes back to the yellow. Open this position in the trainer

Other banks

Any other cushion-first route, long banks off the far end, crossing doubles, three cushions before the ball, is a real gamble. The errors are large and hard to judge. The Carombo engine penalises them heavily: it still offers them, so you can learn to recognise and train them, but it almost never chooses one when a ball-first shot or a textbook pattern is available.

In the trainer: when the engine does choose a cushion-first route, it's usually a ticky. Count the cushions with the numbered markers: a ticky shows the same cushion twice.

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