How do diamond systems work?

All of the most common and useful banking and kicking systems (those listed below, and others) are described, illustrated, and demonstrated on Vol. IV of the Video Encyclopedia of Pool Shots. Here’s an introduction to the most important diamond systems:

The simplest diamond systems are the equal-distance mirror system and the through-diamond rolling-ball system.

For shallow angles into the rail, where the OB is fairly close to the rail, the contact-point mirror system for shallow-angle, rolling kick shots works well.

The most famous”diamond system” is the Corner 5 System for aiming three-rail kicks off long rail.

Another famous diamond system is the Plus System for two-rail kicks off short rail.

Spot-on-the-wall kicking systems offer an alternative to formula-based systems.

Liberty Games has a nice online illustrated summary of diamond systems here: Introduction To The Pool Diamond System.

Here’s a simple summary with examples, from Marcel Elfers, showing how to apply the Corner-5 System and Spot-on-the-Wall Systems to 3-rail kick shots. This document numbers the diamonds in 10’s instead of the standard 1’s to eliminate the need for fractions or decimals (e.g., 15 vs. 1 1/2 or 1.5).


from DeadAim on AZB:

complete “kicking academy” document describing and illustrating many diamond systems for kick shots.


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