Ticky is one of the most reliable shots in pro repertoire — cue ball + first object ball frozen on cushion, hit with running english to complete a short-long-short carom.
Ticky Position — Setup
Cue ball at head spot. Red ball ~1 ball-width away from long rail, 2 diamonds from corner. Yellow frozen on long rail, 3 diamonds further up.
Stroke and english
Half-tip below center, ½ tip running english, medium-firm pace. Half-ball contact on red.
When to use it
When cue ball + first object ball are frozen or near-frozen on the same cushion. Defensive bonus: even on miss, you leave the table tough for opponent.
Common mistakes
Soft pace → cue ball stalls. Too much english → over-rotates past yellow. Full-ball contact on red → kills cue ball energy.
Success rate & practice
~70% pro success rate; 35-40% for amateurs. Practising 30 reps/day in 3ball doubles your hit-rate inside 2 weeks.
Pro players who use it
Frédéric Caudron, Torbjörn Blomdahl and Sang Lee all use ticky variants in their opening repertoire.
Practise this position
Open it directly in 3ball — adjust ball positions, stroke, and english to match your real-table setup.
Open in 3ball →Related positions: