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Tips / Systems

South system South · short–long–short thin cut

A rule of thumb for long thin cuts when the object balls are near both short rails. The three numbers give you a tip-position step, not a first aim point.

Formula / route reference
Tip-position step = object ball number + arrival number − cue ball number
When to use it
A long thin cut that hits the first object ball first and travels short → long → short. Uses the positive cue-ball correction table from INPROD’s 2024 material.

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?

  1. First object ball 1: a mark on the first short rail, spaced every half diamond.
  2. Arrival 2: a mark on the opposite short rail, spaced every diamond.
  3. Cue ball 2: read on the line extended toward the start, then subtract.

Slope and correction: The incoming direction goes into the cue ball correction number. Don’t add a separate ball-system angle on top. The answer to 1 + 2 − 2 = 1 is a tip position step.

See the worked example and layoutSee related practice

If you’re new, go in this order

The white ball is your cue ball, the red ball is the first object ball you hit, and the yellow ball is the second object ball you hit later. Here a result of 1 is not one diamond on the cushion but tip-position step 1. First read the three numbers, look at the tip-position drawing, then follow the whole path.

1. Read three different scales

Object 1Object 2012340123443210
An example that reads object ball number 1 on the yellow scale, arrival number 2 on the white scale and cue ball number 2 in red. Ball colors and number colors play different roles. The dashed line shows the direction for reading the starting-side scale.
  • Object ball number: from 0 on the first short rail, 1 for every half diamond
  • Arrival number: from corner 0 on the opposite short rail, 1 for every diamond
  • Cue ball number: 4·3·2·1·0 on the starting long rail; this value is subtracted.
  1. Read the first object ball’s position on the first short rail. On this scale 0 is not the corner but one diamond away from it, and the number changes by 1 for every half diamond.
  2. Read the third-cushion arrival number on the opposite short rail. Here the corner is 0 and each diamond adds 1. Don’t mix this spacing with the object ball side.
  3. Extend the reference line from the cue ball toward the first object ball back to the starting long rail and read the cue-ball correction number. In the example it is 2. At first, practice layouts like the source’s, with the object ball close to the short rail.

2. 1 + 2 − 2 = 1, find the tip-position drawing

1 + 2 − 2 = 1 → tip-position step 1

Object 1Object 2①②③122
Cue ball → red object ball 1 → short rail ① → long rail ② → opposite short rail ③ → toward the yellow object ball 2. Tip-position step 1 and cushion order ① mean different things.
  • Object ball number 1
  • Arrival number 2
  • Cue ball number 2: this value is subtracted.
1234Tip position seen down the cue · example uses 1
The source's “tip count” is a clockwise step of the tip position, from top 1 around to the side at 4. It is not a scale moving 1, 2, 3, 4 tips out from the center. Read the opposite direction as a mirror image. This sketch shows positions only; it is not a measured table of angles or distances.

These steps belong to this material only: the tip position moves from 1 at the top to 4 on the side. The example’s 1 is a top tip position, not ‘1 tip of side English’. The 2023 source writes the cue ball number as a negative value and adds everything. Here you subtract a positive 2 once, so don’t make it negative and then subtract it again.

Check yourself: Object ball 2, arrival 3, cue ball 3: which step is it?

2+3−3=2, so tip-position step 2. It does not mean the second-cushion point or 2 tips of side English. If a result falls outside this beginner tip table of 1–4, don’t force it with maximum spin.

3. Hit the object ball first, then short → long → short

  1. The source explains that you first set the thickness that sends the first object ball parallel to the short rail. If you calculate only the tip position with an arbitrary thickness, you won’t get the same path.
  2. Don’t hit too hard or push the cue through too long; keep your chosen tip position and stroke consistent. The table does not set the power or cue speed for you.
  3. When the balls move away from the cushion, or the thickness or tip height changes, the conditions change. Check the error in order: entry to the first short rail, then the long rail, then the final arrival.

The drawings are concept diagrams that show which numbers to read and the order of balls and cushions. They are not measured paths that reproduce ball size or the spin and speed after contact. Practice with the same tip position and power, and adjust on a real table.

Practice with the example layout

Back to the worked example and layout ↑

In the three-ball diagram in the main text, follow first object ball contact → short ① → long ② → short ③ → second object ball. After setting top step 1, also match the thickness that sends the ball off to the first short rail.

  1. Point to the cue ball, the ball you hit first and the last ball, and say the cushion order.
  2. Repeat the same layout 5 times and record where the first cushion and the calculated target actually land.
  3. 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

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.