Some sort of bank shot helper would be nice for the times when it is difficult to visualize the correct angles in a bank shot. I was reading a pool forum recently when I came across a good idea for a little help with this situation.

Place a mirror behind your object ball and move it sideways until you can see your target pocket in the mirror. Aiming your object ball right at this pocket in the mirror will cause it to bounce off the rail at just about the right angle to go in the pocket.

Of course the ball won't bounce off the mirror, but if you move the mirror before the shot and hit the rail at the same spot, you will come very close to the target pocket, if the ball doesn't go right in.

This isn't something you will be able to do during a game, but it can be a real aid to learning the angles for different bank shots. Practicing with this device will definitely help to improve your banking performance.

A series of pictures below will show the simple construction and use of this device. I chose to use a triangular section of wood that would fit under the rail. Any shape would work as long as it holds the mirror in position.

The first picture shows the three components needed. I found a 5x7 mirror in the camping section of Walmart. A smaller mirror would work just as well.

I cut a triangular piece of wood on the table saw to the length of the mirror. The height of the rail nose(the point of the rail) is about 1 1/2 inch up from the slate, so I made the sides of the wood about 1 1/4 inches. The cut was made at a 45 degree angle.

Double-sided foam tape completes the list. This tape is used to stick the piece of wood to the back of the mirror.

The next three pictures show how things are put together. The fifth picture shows the device in position against the rail.

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