Midpoint parallel shift (two cushions) Midpoint Parallel Shift
Connect the midpoint of the cue ball and the target to the corner, then shift that direction in parallel onto the cue ball to find the aim for two cushions. When the balls move, find the midpoint again first.
Written and edited by TTBoys · How we write and check sources · Report an error
Sources and diagrams reviewed: 2026-10-10. Rules of thumb are practice references for a specific diamond scale and stroke. Geometric constructions are kept separate from real trajectories, and nothing was measured on a real table. On mobile, the table stays in landscape so the directions in the text match the diagrams.
What do you read from the layout?
- C(6,1): the position of the cue ball’s center.
- T(2,3): the target ball to head for after two cushions.
- M(4,2): the midpoint of C and T, a helper point for finding the corner direction.
Slope and correction: If the target moves, find the midpoint again first. The diagram is an ideal reflection; practice the correction toward the corner for a real running-English stroke separately.
You are not aiming the cue ball straight at the corner
M is the exact middle of the line joining the white cue ball C and the red target T. Make the direction from M toward the corner O where the two cushions meet, then move it onto C without rotating it. The line from C toward the first cushion is then your aiming line.
M is a helper point, not a place to put or hit a ball. If you rotate the cue it is no longer a parallel shift, so keep the direction. A line where the cue ball hits the corner directly, or a layout that unexpectedly hits the short rail first, has a different cushion order from this example.
Read with: Half: the one-cushion midpoint and mirror construction
Read with: Sid's separate no-English two-cushion table
Calculation and layout: move the target and the aim changes too
Coordinates are in diamonds, with the top-left corner at (0,0) and the bottom-right at (8,4). Horizontal is x and downward is y; they are not centimeters or a system's number scale. The table stays in landscape orientation on mobile too.
- Blue dashes: the line joining the two balls, used to find the midpoint
- Yellow dashes: the direction from midpoint M to corner O
- White solid: that direction moved parallel to the cue ball, an ideal 2-cushion path before spin and ball-radius corrections
- Blue dashes: the line joining the two balls, used to find the midpoint
- Yellow dashes: the direction from midpoint M to corner O
- White solid: that direction moved parallel to the cue ball, an ideal 2-cushion path before spin and ball-radius corrections
- Example A: the average of C(6,1) and T(2,3) is M(4,2). The direction from M to O(0,0) is 4 diamonds left and 2 diamonds up.
- Going in the same direction from C, the ball moves 2 diamonds left for every diamond up, so the first aim is (4,0). With an ideal rebound it goes via the left short rail at (0,2) to T.
- Example B: move only T to (2,2) and M becomes (4,1.5), with a first aim of about (3.33,0). Once the target has moved, you can't keep using Example A's aim of 4.
The lines are found with an ideal rebound of a point ball, and the last segment is cut just before it contacts the target ball. A real ball center meets the cushion one ball radius further in, and spin also plays a part, so don't use the diagram coordinates as real-table answers.
Tell geometric construction apart from a real running-English shot
The source uses forward roll and running English for real two-cushion kicks in pool and describes adjusting slightly toward the corner from the purely parallel-shifted line. The amount depends on angle, power, spin and table. There is no fixed value like “always half a diamond.”
The ideal rebound in the diagram above has no side-spin correction. Don't mix Sid's no-English number table or the source's real running-English technique into this coordinate calculation; check the arrival difference with the same layout and technique.
What to check when connecting it to 3-cushion
- This diagram is partial practice in which the cue ball reaches the red ball after two cushions. The other object ball and the third cushion are not drawn.
- In real play, first decide which object ball to hit and when to fill in the required third cushion. Hitting both object balls right after two cushions is not a 3-cushion score.
- To use this path after hitting an object ball first, recheck the cue ball's position, direction and roll after the collision. You can't use the original cue ball position as C.
Practice with the example layout
Back to the worked example and layout ↑The white path is a two-cushion drill that comes to red after the first long rail and the next short rail. You have to plan the third cushion and the other object ball separately; don’t read this picture itself as a 3-cushion scoring example.
- Point to the cue ball and the cushion target where the calculation ends. Then think separately about the cushions and the order of the two object balls after this partial route.
- Repeat the same layout 5 times and record where the first cushion and the calculated target actually land.
- If the first cushion is already off, check your aim and thickness; if the first cushion is right but later ones drift, check spin and speed. Change only one thing for the next 5.
Sources and verification
- Dr. Dave · BU Part IX: Kicks — The midpoint parallel-shift two-cushion kick in Diagram 4 on page 3, the real-world adjustment toward the corner and the running English condition. Coordinate examples A and B are ideal geometric constructions written separately.
Sources may use different diamond scales and conditions. The text notes which scale it uses and the limits of what was checked; the diagrams are our own concept drawings.