# "Squeeze" shot (offset plant) in billiards

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squeeze-shot-offset-plant-in-billiards/804086>\
**Category:** The Game Room\
**Created:** [December 10, 2017, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squeeze-shot-offset-plant-in-billiards/804086 "2017-12-10T06:54:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\
**Post date:** [December 10, 2017, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squeeze-shot-offset-plant-in-billiards/804086/1 "2017-12-10T06:54:49Z")

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I’m curious how many casual billiards players (snooker, pool, etc.) are aware of the squeeze effect, or “offset plant.” When two balls are touching or almost touching, a transmitted directional change will be opposite to what one might expect.

In [a championship match between Akani Sonsermsawad and Ronnie O’Sullivan](https://youtu.be/wkKkxxbr8Ew?t=10m06s), Akani may have lost the match because he didn’t know about the “squeeze” effect. The link will open at the relevant point in time; listen to the commentary by masters Dennis Taylor and Stephen Hendry. Dennis seems amazed that Akani misjudges the shot — I wonder if Akani was just unaware of the squeeze effect!

I’ve never been a real billiards player, and I’m only aware of the “squeeze effect” because a stranger pointed it out many decades ago in a pool hall. (And that was in the context of a single-ball shot instead of the two-ball plant in the video. A single-ball “squeeze” is simply an illegal push shot, since it will be the cue-stick rather than the cue-ball that is doing the squeezing.)

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**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\
**Post date:** [December 10, 2017, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squeeze-shot-offset-plant-in-billiards/804086/2 "2017-12-10T17:57:37Z")

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The same thing in Curling.

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**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\
**Post date:** [December 10, 2017, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squeeze-shot-offset-plant-in-billiards/804086/3 "2017-12-10T20:09:10Z")

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> [@K364](#):
>
> The same thing in Curling.

Yeah, it’s something I have to remind myself of from time to time when setting up shots designed to move some granite in the house… :smack:

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**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\
**Post date:** [December 10, 2017, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squeeze-shot-offset-plant-in-billiards/804086/4 "2017-12-10T23:00:03Z")

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I’m only aware of it having watched an awful lot of professional snooker with expert commentary, as per your example. I suspect even then I might have a brain fart if I actually encountered the situation at the table. But that’s not too surprising - what is surprising is that a professional didn’t seem to know about it.

Since we’re discussing snooker, in the final this evening O’Sullivan was on another level. He barely missed a pot, unlike some earlier matches when I think he was lucky to win.

Since we’re discussing snooker, I thought the final of the China Open a couple of weeks ago between Mark Williams and Yan Bingtao was extremely entertaining. It had more mistakes than tonight’s final, but was still a very high standard and a great battling performance by Williams. Amazing the longevity of Williams, Higgins, O’Sullivan, and others - Williams won his first ranking title four years before Bingtao was born!