Pool aiming trainer for cut shots
See the cut
before you
shoot it.
Shot calculators tell you where to aim. ReadTheCut trains your eye to see it, from where you actually stand.
Free, no account. Starts on the US 9ft table; change it any time.
How it works
- 01
See the shot
A shot from standing height, with the pocket you're playing marked.
- 02
Pick the view
Four views down the cue, as if you were already down on the shot. Only one pockets the ball.
- 03
See why
A top-down diagram shows the ghost ball, your line, and whether you overcut or undercut, and by how much.
Which tables?
Table size, ball size and pocket mouths change the shot. Train on the one you play; stats are tracked separately for each.
- US 9ftTournament table
- US 7ftBar box
- UK blackball2" balls, tight pockets
- Chinese 8-ballHeyball
What is the ghost ball?
It is where the cue ball must be at the moment it touches the object ball for the object ball to go to the pocket. Aim the centre of the cue ball at it and the shot goes.
After every pick, ReadTheCut draws it for you, so you learn to see it without the diagram.
Want to learn it directly? The Ghost Ball Trainer has you place it yourself, with help that fades as you improve, and Reference Pictures drills the five overlaps every cut sits between.
Learn to see the ghost ball
Overcut vs undercut
Overcut
You hit the ball too thin, so it turns more than the cut needs and misses past the pocket.
Undercut
You hit the ball too full, so it doesn't turn enough to reach the pocket.
Knowing which way you tend to miss is half the fix, so the trainer tells you on every shot.