Ok, an attempted definition of a poke stroke:
A stroke which has a fairly- to very short backswing and a non-existent- to short follow through (some are longer). The motion of the stoke is fairly "jab" like. The acceleration of the stoke is such that the cueball has the appearance of being "punched" rather than pushed. Frequently the backswing has a similar speed to the forward swing. There is a rather large difference in appearance between power shot and soft shots, usually (but not always). Perfect example: Chao.
Definition of a full stroke:
A stroke which has a medium to full length backswing, which usually is a lot slower than the forward swing, with a smooth acceleration at the forward swing which peaks at the cueball, giving the appearance that it is being pushed rather than punched. The stroke has a full length follow through. The transition between soft shots and hard shots is fluid, often making it hard to tell wether a shot will be hit hard or softly. Perfect example: Hall. Immonen is a "hybrid" between the full stroke and the Phillipino school stroke.
Definition of Phillipino school loop stroke:
A stroke which has a fluid motion in the elbow and shoulder area, which gives the cue a wavy up-and-down motion. Long backswing.The practice strokes are usually fairly fast. The stroke gives the appearance that the cue is "thrown" into the ball, with no exaggerated follow-through. Some softer shots have decelleration. Perfect example: Efren
Just a weird observation about this thread:
* The OP's screenname (Straightpool_99) lends itself to an advocacy of straight pool (14.1) -- which is fine. (Hey, I'm a "bird of a feather" in that department!) But then he laments what he terms as "the loss of the full stroke."
That's paradoxical, when you consider that through history, most straight poolers had what he terms is a jab or poke stroke. Take a look at any "old school" straight pooler and you'll notice what they had was a jab or poke stroke. Even the slip-strokers like Mosconi, Cicero Murphy, and "Cowboy" Jimmy Moore. Although some of the slip-strokers may've had a long backstroke, the grip hand still slid back on the [linen] grip; i.e. the grip hand moved backwards, not the cue! So what you ended up with was a poke stroke, because the actual cue tip didn't come as far back from the cue ball as it would have if the grip hand maintained its grip without slipping backwards.
All good pros adapt to the equipment, irrespective of their stroke style. And that is what it is, btw -- a style. There may be a science behind it, but perhaps the reason why some folks have a "full stroke" while others have a "punch" or "jab" or "poke" stroke may be due to muscle makeup -- i.e. ratio of fast-twitch to slow-twitch muscle fibers. And body styles to match -- i.e. ectomorph, mesomorph, or endomorph. Those with a higher concentration of fast-twitch muscle fibers (i.e. ectomorph or mesomorph) may opt for a short/jab/poke/punch stroke (whatever you want to call it). Similarly, those with a higher concentration of slow-twitch muscle fibers (endomorph) may opt for a "full" stroke.
The same range of strokes can be found in snooker, by the way.
There's no good or bad here. The key is, do you deliver the cue through the cue ball correctly? That's what separates a good stroke from a bad stroke. Pool is not a "stylistic" sport -- i.e. you don't get points for having a "prettier" stroke. Pool is an execution sport -- i.e. "did the object ball go in the hole?" Although, those with proper fundamentals *do* look better than those with wonky fundamentals. Something about that cue looking like a laser, and the sound of a properly-cued hit.
-Sean
