Star Wars hit billiards with new laser markers that make many of your household chores easier. The laser beam is housed in a device that looks like a tape measure or a flat can-shaped container. Both project a perfectly straight line on any surface without leaving a trace.

They’re useful for hanging pictures and laying tiles, but wait until you see what you can do with one on a pool table!

Correct a faulty center ball hit

Knowing that you are hitting the exact center of the cue ball is imperative to a good hit and accurately hitting your object ball. Even if you have to rely on English for a specific shot, you need to know that you hit your exact target with the cue ball.

Most of us know that when we miss a shot and it bounces off the pocket horn, it is because we deviate slightly at the point we are aiming for on the cue ball or the object ball.

This is the last point you have control over to take the shot you are planning.

So how do you know that you are targeting a precise point and not a dime-sized point on the cue ball?

Let the laser show you.

Install the laser this time on the end rail so that it is pointing down from the diamond to diamond table. You should probably use a stool to bring your laser up to the rail without the possibility of dropping it to the floor because you were sitting on the rail. It will shoot from the other end of the table towards the laser.

In either case, you will have a thin red line running across the table.

That’s your target line for a cue ball shot. Also notice that the laser runs the line to the top of your cue ball. When lining up the shot, make sure your cue is lined up with the red line.

A double check of your objective is to quickly look up from the spot of the cue ball. If your firing eye is directly over your cue, which is aligned along the target line, you will get a red flash while looking directly into the laser.

When you pull the trigger, you should see the white ball roll down the red line, bounce off the end rail, and back down the red line to hit the end of your cue.

Just because you have it marked in red doesn’t mean you have to hit the ball hard, just with precision.

Straighten your cut shots with a laser

Following the little red line works well with cutting shots too, and placing that laser behind a corner pocket can give you plenty of practice opportunities.

To get started, set the laser to point directly from the center of the pocket at a 45-degree angle and straight into the side pocket. Now, take a mirror that you can put in the side pocket and point it so that the reflected laser line lines up with the original of the laser.

Center an object ball on that line.

The line will fade past the object ball, but you can imagine the position of the line on the objective side of the ball. But with the mirror, the reflected line will go directly to the object ball and reflect the line on the contact side of the ball. Use that line to establish the contact point for your cutting shot in the corner pocket.

This is where you need to be careful. See the line in your mind. Its location is something you will want to memorize. It is your point of contact.

Now try a shot.

Once you lower this so that you can consistently launch the object ball into the center of the pocket, switch the laser and mirror to change the angle to 30 degrees.

The possibilities are endless; Try as many angles as you can, move the ball along the line to change the distance. Try a full length cut of the table. Try the same shooting angles with a side pocket.

Just follow the red line, you will be amazed at how good you can get.

Over time, you will find yourself looking for the exact point of your goal and not just a general location. If you set up this drill correctly, you will find that center ball strikes will become much easier and you will resist undercutting or undercutting on your cutting strikes.