Stroke..Or lack of

[Poolshootindon]

Anyone have any ideas on how to find a stroke..Been to garage sales,fleas, you name it..Unable to find one.. I seem to do ok when i am shooting long st8 shots when i really focus..But i notice that as soon as i start to feel comfortable i tend to miss the shot..I am sure it is in the delivery to cue ball and not and allignment issue..Any gadgets that might help me...Thanks...Don

 

[ironman]

Anyone have any ideas on how to find a stroke..Been to garage sales,fleas, you name it..Unable to find one.. I seem to do ok when i am shooting long st8 shots when i really focus..But i notice that as soon as i start to feel comfortable i tend to miss the shot..I am sure it is in the delivery to cue ball and not and allignment issue..Any gadgets that might help me...Thanks...Don

I had a real good one years ago, but, sold it to the devil. You might check with him.

 

[Williebetmore]

Anyone have any ideas on how to find a stroke

shooter,
You don't find it....you BUY it. Mark Wilson, randyg, JerryB, Scott Lee will sell you one (but there is a bit of work involved on your part). I can almost guarantee it is easier than trying to find one.

 

[Patrick Johnson]

Anyone have any ideas on how to find a stroke..Been to garage sales,fleas, you name it..Unable to find one.. I seem to do ok when i am shooting long st8 shots when i really focus..But i notice that as soon as i start to feel comfortable i tend to miss the shot..I am sure it is in the delivery to cue ball and not and allignment issue..Any gadgets that might help me...Thanks...Don

When your stroke is hard to find, it's often your stance that's the problem. Ideally, your stance is natural and comfortable and your stroke just flows naturally from it. But you can miss that ideal stance if you habitually get into your "normal" stance instead, based on what you've been told it should be.

Try getting into a comfortable stance without any preconceptions and skipping any pre-shot routine you've used in the past, without even a cue ball to address. Just get into whatever position allows you to most comfortably stroke your stick loosely in a perfectly straight line, perfectly aligned with your line of sight. Then identify some "references" to help you find that position again (foot position, distance of elbow from body, etc.). Then re-construct your pre-shot routine to get you there.

pj
chgo

 

[3andstop]

I think recognizing that it is in how you address the cue ball and not your alignment may have hit you on something.

I like to play straight pool and when I went from running 14s and 15s to 30s and 40s I found it to be just what you said. This has been working for me consistently for some time now, so for me its no fluke.

Here is what has worked for me. Line up your shot, take a few quickie practice strokes at it to kind of settle in, then, hone in,slower, stopping at the cue ball. Now,look at the shot now from the stopped position at the cue ball and evaluate if its in the hole or not. No? adjust slightly, Yes? Then one or two slower, shorter approaches to the cue ball stopping at it again and re-evaluating while focusing very definitely on what the result would have been if you followed through, and then one more, stroking smoothly through the stop point.

I have shortened my backstroke while doing this and the difference was huge for me.

It that helps you, when you have to power the cue ball, do the same thing but make all the practice strokes stronger to emulate your actual hit.

 

[Blackjack]

Anyone have any ideas on how to find a stroke..Been to garage sales,fleas, you name it..Unable to find one.. I seem to do ok when i am shooting long st8 shots when i really focus..But i notice that as soon as i start to feel comfortable i tend to miss the shot..I am sure it is in the delivery to cue ball and not and allignment issue..Any gadgets that might help me...Thanks...Don

Loosen your wrist and loosen your grip. Sometimes I will put an ankle weight on a student's wrist and have them shoot shots for about 10-20 minutes - all the while relaxing their wrist and their grip. I have them remove the weight and shoot again... big improvement! Unorthadox - yes, but very effective!

 

[alstl]

I'll admit I'm not a very good player, but IMO you just have to play a LOT of pool and your stroke will come along. You see top pros with a wide variety of strokes, kind of like ballplayers and their batting stances.

 

[sicbinature]

I'll admit I'm not a very good player, but IMO you just have to play a LOT of pool and your stroke will come along. You see top pros with a wide variety of strokes, kind of like ballplayers and their batting stances.

Exactly. Lots of pool, or do Bert Kinister drills 5-8 hours a day for a few months.

 

[Actionhound]

Exactly. Lots of pool, or do Bert Kinister drills 5-8 hours a day for a few months.

what exactly are his drills??? just curious.

 

[Blackjack]

Kinister On Youtube

At that link, you will find Bert - the other links will be on the right side of the page. Bert's a great teacher - and he definitely will keep your attention! Well worth watching and listening to!

 

[I rack balls]

When your stroke is hard to find, it's often your stance that's the problem. Ideally, your stance is natural and comfortable and your stroke just flows naturally from it. But you can miss that ideal stance if you habitually get into your "normal" stance instead, based on what you've been told it should be.

Try getting into a comfortable stance without any preconceptions and skipping any pre-shot routine you've used in the past, without even a cue ball to address. Just get into whatever position allows you to most comfortably stroke your stick loosely in a perfectly straight line, perfectly aligned with your line of sight. Then identify some "references" to help you find that position again (foot position, distance of elbow from body, etc.). Then re-construct your pre-shot routine to get you there.

pj
chgo

Yup what he said. People underestimate this............

Eric.

 

[The Woim]

Ask yourself what you are doing!

shooter,
You don't find it....you BUY it. Mark Wilson, randyg, JerryB, Scott Lee will sell you one (but there is a bit of work involved on your part). I can almost guarantee it is easier than trying to find one.

It's definitely worth your while to seek out some instruction if you have never watched a pro event on TV. You never watched Karen and said, "hmmm, why isn't Karen stroking her cue in an up and down manner and then stroking fastest on the last stroke?"

With pro's on TV, and lots of really good amateurs at your local room, you shouldn't go to a pro to "improve" your stroke. You've got a stroke already and it needs work. WORK.

WORK!

WORK!

Developing a great stroke is WORK!

Go to a table and set up three easy shots and just focus on your stroke delivery.

Do you have a set pre-shot routine? If you don't know what this is, ask the best player you know.

Addressing the cue ball? Well, set up one easy shot (a no brain cripple) and practice that for a couple of hours.

WORK is no fun!

Go to a teacher if you legitimately spent hours a day for 3-4 weeks and didn't notice any improvement.

A TIP! When you watch the pro's on TV, stop watching the result of the shot and watch (with great scrutiny) how the pro approaches the table and see if you can notice a pattern with the pro.

My personal example, Oliver Ortmann has a three warmup stroke shot routine. He will stroke once, stroke a second time, then he'll do two "wiggle" strokes where the cue only moves 1-3 inches in a slight dipping motion then he'll shoot in a very steady manner. (P.S. - Often his shots are very successful! )

Another example is Francisco Bustamonte - isn't is weird the way his stroke sways back and forth in a waves at sea motion? However, my main man, if you have DVR, or if you just watch carefully, he forms a perfect v shape on his stroke and it's actually very steady when he addresses the cue ball. A tip: Don't challenge him to a race to 21 in 9 ball.

Ask yourself an honest question. Are you happy with your current game? If not, practice more. Practice skill drills and analyze your game in three months.

If not happy with it after trying that, then seek out an instructor.

To quote old Randy G, "Take your game to the next level."

Yours Truly,
The Woim

 

[Fatboy]

Practice, Practice, Practice there are no short cuts. Even with the best instruction etc. nothing in a bottle is gonna do it.

 

[Poolshootindon]

Thanks to all

Thanks for taking time to give me a few ideas...I will work on them and give some feedback in a few months...Don

 

[Scott Lee]

Practice, Practice, Practice there are no short cuts. Even with the best instruction etc. nothing in a bottle is gonna do it.

True...but having your stroke "checked out" by a qualified instructor, and finding out what, why, when and how to practice correctly takes months or years off the learning curve. Why wait...?

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

 

[The Woim]

I didn't say "years"...

Scott,

I said if you don't see any improvement over a few months, then seek out your friendly neighborhood BCA instructor.

There's no reason why a person can't "have some balls" and "be a man" and try to work it out himself for a few months.

I've got much more to say on this subject but am deciding whether or not to start my own thread...

Yours Truly,
The Woim

 

[nineballman]

True, but a qualified instructor can identify problems in your stroke that you may not have been aware of while practicing on your stroke for all this time. Even if you see improvement, that still does not mean a qualified instructor cannot vastly improve what you are doing.

I spent years playing pool and was told I had a mechanical stroke, but after visiting with a qualified instructor, I now have a list of changes to make!!

It is possible to practice something the wrong way over and over and still find some improvement in there.

Scott,

I said if you don't see any improvement over a few months, then seek out your friendly neighborhood BCA instructor.

There's no reason why a person can't "have some balls" and "be a man" and try to work it out himself for a few months.

I've got much more to say on this subject but am deciding whether or not to start my own thread...

Yours Truly,
The Woim

 

[The Woim]

Says who?

True, but a qualified instructor can identify problems in your stroke that you may not have been aware of while practicing on your stroke for all this time. Even if you see improvement, that still does not mean a qualified instructor cannot vastly improve what you are doing.

I spent years playing pool and was told I had a mechanical stroke, but after visiting with a qualified instructor, I now have a list of changes to make!!

It is possible to practice something the wrong way over and over and still find some improvement in there.

I don't particularly agree with that statement. We could also argue that after the instructor teaches you to properly "stroke" a cue, after a few weeks you may disintegrate back into your old bad habits.

Relying on an instructor is just like relying on a "new" cue... Winning pool is those special six inches between your ears!

Hope you understand what I'm saying, but farewell for now!

The Woim

 

[LAMas]

Stroke into the mouth of a Coke bottle when you are stroking good - dont't touch the lip of the mouth. Then when you are stroking bad - you will touch the lip of the mouth of the bottle.

 

[nineballman]

Stroke into the mouth of a Coke bottle when you are stroking good - dont't touch the lip of the mouth. Then when you are stroking bad - you will touch the lip of the mouth of the bottle.

THis is a good practice and I used to do this, but it doesn't identify other areas of the stroke that may need work.