Two-way shots: short or long, still a point
Every stroke comes out a little short or a little long. A two-way shot is one where both still score: short, the cue ball hits the second ball directly; long, it misses, goes two more cushions around the corner, and hits the ball from behind.
Where the ball has to be
The second ball sits out from a corner, a couple of diamonds along, so the cue ball's route passes it on the way into that corner. That's the whole trick:
- Short, say on the 1.5 track, the cue ball comes off its third cushion and runs straight into the ball.
- Long, on the 2.5 track, it passes the ball, goes into the corner off the two cushions that make it, and comes back out to hit the ball from behind.
Between the two there's usually a narrow miss, but it's a far smaller one than on a route that only has one way in. The ball doesn't need to be near a rail for this; it needs to be the right distance out from the corner, in line with where the route goes.
How to look for them
When you've found a route, follow it past the second ball. Where does the cue ball go if it misses long? If the second ball sits a couple of diamonds out from the corner the route is heading for, a long miss goes into that corner and comes back at the ball: you've found a two-way shot. If a long miss runs off into open table, the shot is one-way and needs the stroke to be exact.
Given two routes of similar difficulty, play the two-way one. It turns your most common error, coming up a little long, from a miss into a point.
Using it on purpose
- Aim for the short side. Play to hit the ball directly. If you're long, the second way catches it; if you aimed long and come up longer still, nothing will.
- Leave speed for the long way. The second way needs the cue ball to still be rolling after two more cushions. A route struck so softly that it dies at the ball has only one way in.
- Running english helps. Into and out of the corner, running english keeps the cue ball moving and its angles steady, so the long way comes back where you expect.