Tips for Helping You Understand Squirt.

Squirt is a term coined, I believe by Robert Byrne, to describe a cue ball hit, whereby the cue ball accidentally diverges from an intended path. The divergence is caused by too much left or right spin, a cue stick shaft that bends too much upon impact, or both. When it happens, it may appear like a curve, but squirt and curve shots are quite different.

A curve shot occurs when top or bottom english is combined with right or left english, causing the cue ball to spin on an oblique axis: that is, an axis other than completely vertical, or completely horizontal. The ball's path actually curves off the straight line. A curve shot is often used by advanced players to curve around interfering balls.

A squirt shot is the result of a poor hit. (See diagram above.) The cue ball diverges from the original straight path, but it does not (necessarily) curve. The cue ball is simply driven off to another straight path, usually unintentionally. Like the curve shot, squirt can be used by extremely advanced players. Most of the time, players who compensate for squirt do not know they are doing so, or if they are aware, may not know why.  - By Jim Meador