It's interesting to me as a student of the game to learn about different systems and techniques.  There have always been rumblings about various aiming systems, but until somewhat recently knowledge like this would be handed down from player to player, or occasionally someone would write a book or publish an article in a magazine exposing some but usually not all of the "secrets".

There are many different ways to aim.  I learned like most people about the ghost ball concept from numerous books, probably because it is the simplest way to illustrate where the cue ball must hit the object ball to send it to the pocket, not taking into account collision induced throw etc.  But since I, like a lot of other people, am not the most visual person, I always had a hard time picturing some imaginary ball to aim at, or some imaginary point 1 1/8 inches away from the contact point to roll the cue ball over.  Up until a few years ago I aimed by picturing the amount of overlap between the cue ball and the object ball necessary to send it in the direction of the pocket, and that correct overlapping picture was honed through trial and error and a lot of practice and calibration.  Even though I played pretty well, there were shots where I felt less confident than others, and many shots where even in critical situations I felt like I was just guessing and hoping the ball went in.


So around 2010 when I started playing again, thanks to the internet and specifically the AZ Billiards forum, I started getting curious again about these systems.  I first tried 90/90, and had a nice phone call with Ron Vitello himself, the creator of the system.  It actually worked pretty well, and I used it in competition, but ultimately I could only get it to work consistently for a certain range of shots.  It was clear I didn't have enough knowledge of it to use it from all positions and just never spent the time to pursue it further.  I also heard about and saw some videos on CTE, found it interesting but again didn't pursue it enough to try and incorporate it into my regular game.  I also saw some other approaches such as double the distance or various fractional systems, but none of those felt right for me.

Then I met Stan Shuffett, creator of Pro One, at a local pro event.  I actually met him, his son Landon, and Stevie Moore, all practicing side by side in one of the rooms I play in regularly.  I knew Stan created and taught an aiming system and that both Landon and Stevie used the same system.  So I said hi and Stan was gracious enough to talk to me for 15 - 30 minutes and explain some things and show me some of his materials.  I was pretty interested but couldn't make the journey for lessons at that time.

Fast forward a few years, right when I started playing again after another year off, and I'm catching up on the forums and everything I missed and see that Stan came out with a DVD on his system!  I got it, and after my first viewing I was - confused.  Several things didn't make sense, but I couldn't stop there, I just felt it had to work.  I reached out to a few guys on the forums who were well versed in aiming systems (John Barton, Dave Segal, and Joey A) and they addressed my questions via email or phone calls.  I watched the DVD again, and still had some questions, so reached out to Stan and had a long conversation with him over the phone and quite a few follow ups as well.  I took the advice to the table and immediately had success.  I spent the next 4 - 6 weeks working with the system and perfecting the aiming lines and pivots, and for the next year and a half using the system in my everyday play, constantly tweaking and learning along the way.

I then became aware of another system called SEE invented by Ekkes in Germany.  This system seemed mysterious because it used the shadows under the balls as aiming points.  However, once reading the manual and going to the table it immediately just worked for me.  It was the perfect addition and complement to Pro One, a matter of fact when in my initial sighting position I can visualize both the Pro One and SEE alignments simultaneously.  I even played around for a while with interchanging and combining the sighting and pivot/sweep methods of both, and while there are synergies I ultimately found at the time that SEE was just more natural for me and I stuck with that as my primary system.  So much so that I became certified to teach SEE and SAMBA (his follow-up system) here in the US, and Ekkes and I have become friends and talk and exchange ideas frequently.

I used SEE and SAMBA for some time, then became aware of Stan writing a comprehensive book on CTE Pro One.  I was excited to perhaps dig back into that again and pick up where I left off.  I was fortunate to be one of the initial proof readers of the material and once the book was finished began my study.  The book is amazing and very detailed, even better is the accompanying Truth Series videos he published on YouTube.  There are so many nuggets of information contained within the videos they are well with the viewing whether you are interested in CTE Pro One or as a companion to the book. 

I have fully embraced CTE Pro One.   I cannot explain how it works mathematically, but I can 100% confirm that every shot on the pool table can be made using one of the 4 main categories (5 if you include razor thin cuts), and often with alternatives for banks into other pockets using a different category or pivot direction.  I'm one of the certified instructors for CTE Pro One and welcome the ability to share this amazing system with others. 

I do want to add - while CTE Pro One is my preference and go to system, I have spent a lot of time over the years studying many other aiming approaches, and I think that's made me a stronger player overall.  I don't push any one system on my students, but rather am willing to help them improve with whatever approach they are currently comfortable with, whether that be ghost ball, fractional, SEE, CTE Pro One, etc.  And of course if they are wanting to learn a different approach or system than I am positioned well to be able to help them.

Ultimately, I just want to be 100% comfortable with the shot at hand and feel like I'm lined up perfectly and confidently to make the shot, and I think there are many different ways to get there.  Aiming is just one thing you must do right to make a shot, alignment and stroke are the others, and of course making adjustments for spin etc, it's a complex game!  Check out the SEE and Pro One page for more details on these specific systems, and feel free to contact me using the link at the top of the page with any questions or for more information.