Draw and Follow Shots: How Vertical English Separates Run-Out Players From Shot Takers

Most pool players figure out side English long before they figure out vertical English. They learn to twist the cue ball around the table with right and left spin, but the up and down axis stays a mystery. Draw and follow shots, the two pillars of vertical cue ball control, are what separate a player who can shoot a ball from a player who can run a rack. If you have been stalling at the same skill level for a year, the answer is almost always that your draw is unreliable and your follow is timid.

Why Vertical English Is the Hidden Skill

When you watch a touring pro break and run, you almost never see them yank the cue ball across the table with side spin. What you see instead is a soft draw, a controlled follow, or a stop shot that leaves perfect angle on the next ball. Vertical English is the language of position play. Side English is more of a bailout for tough leaves. The pros who win consistently are the ones who can land the cue ball in a one foot circle ten times in a row using nothing but stroke and tip placement on the vertical axis.

The reason vertical English is harder than it looks is that it forces you to commit to a clean stroke. There is no rotational forgiveness. If you tip the cue, miss the contact point, or rush the follow through, the cue ball does something other than what you planned. Side English will mask a wobbly stroke for a while, but draw and follow will expose it immediately. That is why these shots are also the best diagnostic tools for fixing your fundamentals.

Mastering the Draw Shot

Tip Position Comes First

For a true draw shot, the tip needs to contact the cue ball below center. Most players think they are hitting low when they are actually striking the equator. A simple drill is to set the cue ball on a center spot and aim for the second diamond on the foot rail, then strike with what you think is a low hit. If the ball draws back even an inch, you actually contacted below center. If it stops or rolls forward, you were higher than you thought. Mark the contact height with chalk on the cue ball if you need to see it visually.

Stroke Speed Is Not the Answer

New players try to fix bad draw by hitting harder. That makes the problem worse. A clean draw shot needs acceleration through the cue ball, not raw force. The follow through should travel at least six inches past the contact point with the cue staying as level as possible. If you jab at the ball or pull up early, the cue ball will skid forward instead of rotating backward, and the draw will die.

Cue Ball Location Matters

Draw works best when the cue ball is near the contact ball, because the bottom spin has less time to dissipate over a short cushion of cloth. As the distance grows, you need more bottom spin and a faster stroke to make the same draw happen. That is why a lot of practice draw shots are short, and why the long power draws you see on television are reserved for specific situations rather than routine position play.

Mastering the Follow Shot

The Most Underused Shot in Pool

Follow is everywhere in a real game, but most players treat it like a center ball strike with optimism. A real follow shot uses contact above center to make the cue ball roll forward after impact, often through the contact zone and toward a position spot one or two rails away. The same fundamentals apply as draw: clean tip placement, level cue, and a stroke that follows through.

The advantage of follow is that it lets you move the cue ball in the same direction as the contact ball, which simplifies your geometry. When you stun a ball, the cue ball goes ninety degrees off the contact line. When you follow, the cue ball runs after the contact ball at a much shallower angle. That predictability is why pros use follow as the default position tool whenever the layout allows it.

Reading the Roll

Cloth condition changes how follow plays. On a fast Simonis cloth that has been recently brushed, follow will run further than you expect. On older worsted cloth, the cue ball will lose some of its forward roll before reaching the contact ball. Always take a few practice shots before a tournament match to gauge how the table is rolling, especially if you are visiting a venue you do not normally play at.

Equipment That Helps Vertical English

Stroke is most of the answer, but equipment does affect how easy draw and follow feel. Cues with low-deflection shafts make it easier to predict where the cue ball goes when you contact below or above center, because the squirt is minimized and you can trust the line you aimed on. The trade off is feel. A traditional maple shaft gives more feedback through the grip but requires more compensation for squirt.

Lucasi Hybrid for the All Around Player

Lucasi has spent the last decade building a reputation among serious league players who want pro-level performance without buying a four-figure cue. The Lucasi LH40 Hybrid Cue is built around a low-deflection shaft and a piloted joint that delivers a clean hit on draw shots without feeling soft. If you are upgrading from a starter cue and want one cue you will keep for years, this lineup is hard to beat.

Pechauer S Series for Classic Stroke Players

If you came up on traditional maple shafts and still prefer that feel, the Pechauer JP04S Pool Cue is a Wisconsin-built cue that rewards a smooth stroke. The Irish linen wrap helps you keep a consistent grip pressure, which matters more on draw shots than on any other stroke in pool. Pechauer’s reputation among American touring players is built on cues exactly like this one.

Meucci for Players Who Want Touch

Meucci has long been a favorite of players who care about feel and finesse. The Meucci MEHOF04 Hall Of Fame Cue is part of a series that delivers the soft Meucci hit that many pros built their position game on. If you are someone who plays a lot of safety, defense, and one-pocket positionally, a Meucci can change how confident you feel on touch shots.

Jacoby for Players Building a Long Term Cue

Jacoby has earned a strong following among serious players who want a Wisconsin-built cue with custom-grade attention. The Jacoby JCB02 Pool Cue uses a radial joint and balanced weight distribution that suits players who hit a lot of mid-table position shots with controlled follow. Jacoby cues hold their resale value better than most production lines, which matters if you ever want to upgrade later.

Drills That Build Vertical English Fast

The Two Ball Position Drill

Set up two balls in a straight line with the cue ball, contact ball, and second ball aligned. Strike the contact ball with various amounts of draw and follow, and watch where the cue ball ends up relative to the second ball. After twenty minutes of this drill, you will start feeling the difference between a tip below the equator and a tip an inch below the equator. That feel is what separates good cue ball position from guesswork.

The Stop Shot Test

The stop shot is the bridge between draw and follow. It uses center ball with the right amount of low spin to cancel the natural roll the cue ball picks up over distance. If you cannot stop the cue ball reliably from three feet, you do not have the cue ball under control. Practice stop shots from short, medium, and long distances. When you can hit ten in a row that stop dead, you have earned the right to start tackling power draws.

The Long Follow Drill

Set the cue ball on the head spot and shoot a ball into a corner pocket from the foot end of the table. Force the cue ball to follow three rails back toward the head end. The drill teaches you to commit to the stroke and trust the cue. You will hit a lot of bad ones at first, then suddenly start landing the cue ball in a small zone every time. That moment is when follow stops being a mystery.

Pulling It Together

Players who never master vertical English will spend their careers fighting the table for position. Players who do learn it stop fighting and start choreographing. Every long run by a touring pro is essentially a sequence of well chosen draw, follow, and stop shots. Side English shows up here and there to handle the ugly leaves, but the backbone is vertical.

If you want to upgrade the equipment side of the equation while you also work on the stroke side, browse our full Lucasi pool cues selection or jump to the broader pool cues catalog. The cue does not make the player, but the right cue lets you trust your stroke instead of fighting it. That trust, combined with the drills above, is how you finally start moving the cue ball where you want it.