How to Judge SPLIT HITS … Everything You Need to Know

Ajouté : 2026-05-05

[00:00:03]A split hit is when the Q ball is very close to hitting two balls at the same time. Do you know how to judge these shots to determine which ball is hit first? It is important to know how to do this so you can know if a split hit is a foul or not. This video shows you how to do this with complete confidence and accuracy.

[00:00:25]I'm about to show four split hit examples from recent pro tournament matches. Many more examples can be found at the link below. I will show each shot three times along with the call made.

[00:00:36]Play the role of referee and decide if you agree with the calls or not. Yap is playing eightball shooting at the eight.

[00:00:43]The shot was called good.

[00:00:49]Kunlin is playing eightball shooting at the seven. The shot was called a foul.

[00:00:59]Capito is playing nineball, shooting at the four. The shot was called good.

[00:01:07]And Gwen is playing nineball, shooting at the two. The shot was called good.

[00:01:14]Did you agree with the calls on some or all four of these shots? I hope not because each call was most definitely wrong. Even top pro referees make mistakes at times. Hopefully by the end of the video you will be convinced beyond a shred of doubt why the calls were incorrect. Later I will show how to accurately judge each of these shots. So be sure to watch to the end.

[00:01:41]Let's start with the simplest case to understand where two object balls are frozen together. To judge all types of split hit shots, all you really need to understand is the concept of a tangent line. When one ball hits another, the two balls initially separate at 90 degrees. The direction the first ball heads off the second ball is called the stun line or tangent line. If the Q ball hits the one ball first, it will head toward the eight along the tangent line off the one. And when the Q ball hits the eight, it will head in the tangent line direction off the eight in this direction. And if the Q ball instead hits the eight ball first, it will head toward the one along the tangent line off the eight and then it will head off the tangent line of the one in this direction. Here's an example. One first hit.

[00:02:28]And here's an example eight first hit.

[00:02:32]We can't see directly which ball is being hit first, but the Q ball motion provides conclusive proof. If the Q ball goes to the right, the one was hit first.

[00:02:43]And if the Q ball goes to the left, the eight was hit first.

[00:02:48]Again, you just need to understand how tangent lines work with top spin. Instead, everything is the same, but the CQ ball follows forward after the hits. Here's a one first hit, and here's an eight first hit with backspin. Instead, everything is still the same, but the CQ ball draws back after the hits. Here's a one first hit.

[00:03:13]And here's an eight first hit.

[00:03:21]It may seem possible for the Q ball to hit two object balls at exactly the same time, but practically speaking, it is not. To try to show this, I did my best to aim for a simultaneous hit. I decided to use backspin. So, if I hit both balls at exactly the same time, the Q ball would draw back perfectly straight.

[00:03:39]Remember, if I hit the one first, the Q ball will go to the right.

[00:03:44]And if I hit the eight first, the CQ ball will go to the left.

[00:03:49]Here are all the shots I took. Try the shot a bunch of times to see if you can get the CQ ball to come straight back.

[00:03:55]You might be surprised by how difficult it is. You might also learn some things about your fundamentals. If the Q ball heads in one direction a lot more than the other, you probably have a problem with vision center alignment or aim or your stroke is not straight. I am trying as hard as I can to aim right between the balls and I want the Q ball to come straight back, but it is not doing what I want. It is really difficult, almost impossible to hit both balls at exactly the same time. Again, give it a try to see how you do. I stopped after 68 attempts when I was able to bring the Q ball back very straight. It was almost 67, which I'm sure the young viewers out there would have liked.

[00:04:36]Did you notice that the Q ball moved a lot to the right or left with most of the shots, but it did come back straighter for some of them? These are the ones that were really close. With these, the CQ ball is hitting the second ball while it is still in contact with the first. These aren't true simultaneous hits, but they do involve overlapping contact. This is very difficult to do on purpose, but if you hit enough shots, aiming and stroking as carefully as possible, eventually it will happen. But even in these cases, you still know for sure which ball was hit first.

[00:05:09]Here's an example. One first hit.

[00:05:13]Even with an expensive, super fast, high-speed video camera, it might be difficult to see the one first hit. I used a regular video camera with limited frame rate, so it will be clear how it is easy to miss things. In this video frame, neither ball has moved yet. And in the very next video frame, both balls are moving.

[00:05:32]You might think this means the balls were hit exactly at the same time, but this is incorrect. In between the frames, the Qball most definitely hit the one first. The camera just isn't taking pictures fast enough to capture this. But the fact that the Qball moves to the right provides conclusive proof the one was hit first. Here's an example. Eight first hit. Again, neither ball has moved yet in this frame. And in the very next frame, both balls are moving. But since the Q ball moved to the left slightly, this conclusively proves the eight was hit first.

[00:06:08]Here's the final shot where I came very close to simultaneous contact.

[00:06:13]Honestly, I was very shocked by this because simultaneous contact is nearly impossible. I could have hit a thousand shots and not had one come back as straight as this. I think I was very lucky to get straight back draw only after 68 attempts. Again, try it to see how many shots you need to get straight back draw. You could get lucky and do it on the first try, but I would be betting against you even if you were Ephine. In a situation like this where the CQ ball motion does not clearly indicate which ball was hit first, no foul can be called since the benefit of the doubt goes to the shooter.

[00:06:52]Now, let's look at when the Q ball comes into the balls at an angle. With a big angle like this, the call is obvious. If you hit the one first, the Q ball comes off the tangent lines of the one and eight and moves like we saw earlier.

[00:07:05]And if you hit the eight first, the one won't move at all.

[00:07:10]But what about a smaller angle like this? The one first hit is still like before with the CQ ball moving to the right.

[00:07:18]The eight first hit is also similar to before with the CQ ball moving to the left, although not as fast.

[00:07:24]With top spin instead, the CQ ball follows forward after hitting the one.

[00:07:30]And with backspin instead, the CQ ball draws back off the one.

[00:07:35]But in any case, if the CQ ball moves to the left even slightly, that proves the CQ ball hit the eight first.

[00:07:45]Now let's look at examples where the gap between the balls is larger like this.

[00:07:50]The approach is the same. If you understand how tangent lines work, motion of the Q ball clearly indicates which ball was hit first. If the one is hit first, the Q ball comes off the tangent line of the eight and heads to the left. Here's an example.

[00:08:05]In slow motion, you can clearly see the one first hit.

[00:08:13]And if the eight is hit first, the Q ball comes off the tangent line of the one and heads to the right. Here's an example.

[00:08:20]In slow motion, you can clearly see the eight first hit.

[00:08:27]But remember, video replay, if available, is not required to know which ball was hit first. CQ ball motion tells you everything you need to know.

[00:08:38]Top or bottom spin doesn't affect CQ ball motion very much with shots like this, but I'll show examples anyway.

[00:08:44]Here's a one first hit with top spin.

[00:08:51]And here's a one first hit with bottom spin.

[00:08:55]Backspin slows the Q ball after the hits, but the Q ball still goes to the left, indicating the one was hit first.

[00:09:03]As we saw earlier, if you manage to hit the second ball while the Q ball is still in contact with the first ball, the Q ball can head between the expected tangent line directions. Here's the direction we expect with a one first hit. And here's the direction we expect with an eight first hit. Here's an example of overlapping contact where it is not clear which ball is hit first. As before, slowing down the regular video doesn't give us any useful information.

[00:09:30]Both balls are stationary in this frame and both balls are moving in the very next frame.

[00:09:37]We don't know what's happening in between these frames. Obviously, in these rare situations where the CQ ball direction does not clearly indicate which ball is hit first, the benefit of the doubt goes to the shooter. So, a legal hit should be assumed.

[00:09:55]An interesting situation is where the hit on the first ball is very thin.

[00:09:59]Here's an example. If you want to recreate this, I have the one and eight in line a ball's width apart. If you expect a thin hit on the first ball might be likely, it is usually better to focus on the motion of the first ball to determine which ball is hit first. With the thinnest hit possible, the one would head perpendicular to the Q ball direction. If the one goes forward of this line, it must have been hit first.

[00:10:31]But if the Q ball misses the one and hits the eight first, the Q ball would car off the eight and back cut the one.

[00:10:45]Q ball motion does not always indicate which ball was hit first with thin hits like this.

[00:10:51]For example, with this thin hit, the Q ball goes off the right side of the eight.

[00:11:02]And with this even thinner hit, the Q ball goes off the left side of the eight.

[00:11:08]Again, with expected possible thin hit shots, it is best to focus on the motion of the first ball. If it goes forward, it was hit first.

[00:11:18]And if it goes backward, it was hit second.

[00:11:23]Now, it is possible to judge the shot incorrectly if the hit is really thin.

[00:11:29]For example, here the one is hit so thin that after the Q ball hits the one and then the eight, it hits the one again.

[00:11:39]Watching the shot live, it seems like the eight was hit first since the one was back cut.

[00:11:45]If you had access to slow motion video replay with enough frames to show the action of the shot, you could call the one first hit here.

[00:11:55]Otherwise, you would need to call an eight first hit based on the one ball being back cut.

[00:12:06]Now let's look at the rare situation where all three balls form a right angle or L shape at contact. In a situation like this, it is very difficult to know which ball is hit first just by watching the motion of the Q ball. With stun, a one first hit results in the Q ball stopping in place since the tangent line off the one heads straight through the center of the eight, creating a stop shot.

[00:12:29]In slow motion, you can see the one first hit. You can also see the one move faster than the eight, but these things can be difficult to judge live, especially if the Q ball is coming in at an angle. Again, the stopping action of the CQ ball does not indicate the one was hit first.

[00:12:47]Here's an eight first hit.

[00:12:50]Again, the CQ ball stops in place with no indication of which ball was hit first.

[00:12:57]If you had access to slowed down video replay, you might know the eight was hit first, but it is not so clear if judging the shot live.

[00:13:08]With top spin, regardless of which ball is hit first, the Q ball would just follow straight forward after hitting both balls.

[00:13:16]Although, because this hit is very straight, and with slow motion replay, it is clear the eight was hit first.

[00:13:25]Here's an example with backspin instead.

[00:13:30]Again, the Q ball stops in place momentarily and then draws back. Even with slowed down video replay, it is unclear which ball is hit first.

[00:13:44]Again, if attempting to call a file live in this rare situation, watching Qball motion is not sufficient to determine which ball is hit first.

[00:13:57]Now, let's return to the examples of bad calls in pro tournament matches we saw earlier. Hopefully now you will be able to clearly see why the calls were incorrect. Here's the first shot where a legal eight first hit was wrongly called.

[00:14:13]Here's an excerpt from my previous video clearly explaining why. I did my best to set up the balls on my table as closely as possible to what Yap faced. Hitting the eight first would send the CQ ball off the tangent line of the four slightly, which would send the CQ ball more toward the four. Hitting the four first instead would send the CQ ball off the tangent line of the eight slightly, making the CQ ball go more toward the eight. Here's what each shot looks like.

[00:14:39]Starting with a legal eight first hit with slower CQ ball motion toward the four.

[00:14:47]Here's an illegal four first hit with Qball motion toward the eight.

[00:14:55]Yap's shot obviously sent the CQ ball toward the eight, so his shot was most definitely a foul. There is no way the CQ ball could have headed toward the eightball side of the shot line unless the four was hit first.

[00:15:11]Here's the second shot where an illegal 13 first hit was wrongly called. If the Q ball had hit the 13 first, the Q ball would have come off the tangent line of the seven in this direction. But it didn't. It instead hit the seven first and went in the tangent line direction off the 13.

[00:15:30]This shot was not a foul.

[00:15:38]Here's the third shot where a legal four first hit was wrongly called.

[00:15:44]Here's an excerpt from a recent video explaining why. If the CQ ball hit the nine first, which is a foul, the Q ball would initially come off the tangent line of the four, which is perpendicular to the direction the four heads. For a slow rolling Q ball, top spin curves the Q ball forward of the tangent line very quickly. But if the Q ball starts along the fourball tangent line direction, that indicates the nine was hit first.

[00:16:08]The first few video frames available do seem to show the Q ball moving initially along the tangent line of the four, indicating a nine first hit. If the Qball instead hits the four first for a legal hit, the Qball would initially head down the tangent line off the nine in a much different direction. And top spin would cause the Qball to go even more forward. The Q ball in the shot in question did not head anywhere near this direction. In fact, the Q ball didn't go forward to the tangent line at all as it should for a rolling ball for first hit.

[00:16:40]That's because this shot was a foul with the Q ball hitting the nine first.

[00:16:44]Here's the fourth and final shot where a legal two first hit was wrongly called.

[00:16:50]If the CQ ball had hit the two first, it would have gone in the tangeline direction off the three, but it didn't.

[00:16:58]It instead hit the three first and went in the tangeline direction off the two.

[00:17:03]This shot was a foul.

[00:17:09]When judging split hit shots, you cannot usually see directly which ball is hit first because the contacts happen too quickly. But if you know basic principles of pool, you can confidently determine which ball was hit first based on how the Q ball or the first object ball moves. As always, see the links below for more information and examples.

[00:17:29]And good luck with your game from Dr. Dave.

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