Cut Angles
How the angle between cue ball and object ball changes the shot's difficulty and margin for error.
What a cut angle is
The cut angle is the angle between the cue ball's incoming path and the object ball's path toward the pocket. A straight-in shot has a cut angle of zero; as the cue ball approaches from further to the side, the cut angle increases, up to a theoretical maximum around ninety degrees, though shots that thin are rarely makeable in practice.
Thin cuts shrink your margin for error
As the cut angle increases, the effective target — the object ball as seen from the cue ball's angle — shrinks, so a small aiming error translates into a much larger miss on a thin cut than on a straight-in shot. This is why thin cuts feel disproportionately harder: the geometry, not just the difficulty of the stroke, is working against you.
Reading the angle before you aim
Before settling into your stance, stand behind the cue ball and behind the object ball in turn to judge the cut angle from both perspectives — this cross-check catches optical illusions that a single viewing angle can hide. Recognizing roughly how much cut angle a shot requires also tells you, in advance, how precise your contact point and stroke will need to be.