How it works
A kick shot is a shot where the cue ball hits a cushion before it hits the object ball. You kick when another ball blocks the path, often after your opponent's safety. Some books call it a cushion-first or rail-first shot; in UK pool and snooker it is often an escape.
The rules don't change. The cue ball must still hit a legal object ball first, before any other ball. Then a ball must reach a cushion after that contact (WPA rules 3.2 and 3.3). The cushion before the object ball doesn't count for that.
You can aim a kick with the same mirror method as a bank. Picture the cushion as a mirror. Imagine a copy of the object ball behind the cushion, as far behind it as the real object ball is in front. Send the cue ball straight at that mirror ball. It hits the cushion and comes back towards the real object ball.
The cue ball's spin changes the angle off the cushion:
Sliding: a cue ball with no spin at the cushion comes off close to the mirror line.
Rolling: a rolling cue ball comes off a little longer, more along the cushion.
Backspin: backspin makes the cue ball come off a little shorter.
Side spin: running side spin makes the cue ball come off longer, and reverse side spin shorter (Level 2, Lesson 3).
At Level 2, keep it simple: centre hit, medium speed, no side spin. Aim to hit the object ball as full as you can. A full hit gives you the most room for error.
Try it: banks and kicks
Shot
Kick: the cue ball goes into the yellow cushion first, then hits the object ball. Drag the red blocker to hide the object ball.
Your shot
Centre
Cue ball, seen from behind. Tap or drag. Red ring: the miscue limit.
What happened
—
Press “Play shot”.
Drag the balls, tap a cushion to bank or kick off it, and tap a pocket for a bank. Simplified physics with typical cloth and cushion values; real tables bank a little differently.
Step by step
- 1
Find the legal object ball and the cushions you could kick off. Pick the one with the shortest, clearest path.
- 2
Picture the mirror object ball behind that cushion.
- 3
Aim the cue ball at the mirror object ball. Note the point where that line meets the cushion.
- 4
Check that the path doesn't pass a pocket or another ball on the way.
- 5
Hit the cue ball in the centre at medium speed. If the cue ball will be rolling at the cushion, aim a little shorter.
- 6
Think about what happens after the hit: where the object ball goes, and where the cue ball ends up.
Common mistakes
Aiming at the real object ball
On a kick, aim at the mirror ball behind the cushion.
Too much side spin
Side spin changes the angle a lot. Leave it out until the basic kick works.
Hitting too hard
A hard kick makes the cue ball and the object ball fly around the table and often leaves an easy shot.
Forgetting the cushion after contact
A kick that just touches the object ball can still be a foul if no ball reaches a cushion afterwards.
Practice this
Exercise · Level 2
Kick off the foot cushion
Place the cue ball on the head spot and an object ball one diamond from a long cushion, level with the foot spot. Kick off the foot cushion and hit the object ball. The mirror line meets the foot cushion a little more than one diamond from the corner, on the object ball's side. The cue ball will be rolling by then, so it comes off a little long. Play 10 kicks.
Exercise · Level 2
Hidden ball
Set up the same shot, then put a blocker ball halfway between the cue ball and the object ball, on the straight line. Check that the cue ball's path to the foot cushion clears the blocker. Kick off the foot cushion and count how many times you hit the object ball first, and how many of those are full hits. After a full hit, the object ball may roll towards the corner pocket at the head end; that is not a foul.
Check yourself: 10 kicks off the foot cushion. In 7 of them, the cue ball hits the object ball first and a ball reaches a cushion after contact. Then you’ve finished Level 2.
Note: on a kick, a legal hit comes first. Making the object ball is a bonus; leaving your opponent a hard shot is the real goal.