You can't help most people get better at pool.
- Thread starter Straightpool_99
- Start date
haha. How true. Think pool is tough?!
I think for most of us it's highly qualified teachers. The teaching golf pro is busy from morning until night giving lessons but pool players can't even tell you where to find a teacher. Maybe it's the money involved. I love taking lessons from my teacher in Portland, Or, because he knows most everything there is to know about pool. It is an amazing game and fun to watch someone that knows most of it. I appreciate his talent and he deserves what he charges. I have a book full of his drills that I'm supposed to perform daily instead of playing someone... a great way to improve.
I don't play pool to win.
I play pool to be excellent at playing pool.
Winning is a side effect at best.
If you drink a few beers before playing, you will always play better. Right?
One error that I often see is many males choke up way too far on the cue, their back hand is almost starting out where it should finish. The odd thing is most females seem to do the exact opposite, they grab the rear most part of the cue to the point that their back arm almost completely straightens out on practice strokes.
I wish I had people that I played pool with that offered advice. I have already spent 8 hours with Scott Lee, he ironed out a few details on my stroke which was pretty solid to begin with. What I am looking for as far as help is concerned is someone who watches me compete then helps me understand and improve on be so good at running 7 balls instead of 8. Things like maybe I shoulda played a good safe in the beginning or maybe my 2nd shot was wrong, whatever it is that keeps me from finishing my run out. Its not that I dont run out its just that it is really starting to wear on me when I run down to the 8 or my last ball and I cant finish. I struggle with this much more on bar tables than my 9' table, unfortunately everything is contested on bar tables in our area.
I wish I had people that I played pool with that offered advice. I have already spent 8 hours with Scott Lee, he ironed out a few details on my stroke which was pretty solid to begin with. What I am looking for as far as help is concerned is someone who watches me compete then helps me understand and improve on be so good at running 7 balls instead of 8. Things like maybe I shoulda played a good safe in the beginning or maybe my 2nd shot was wrong, whatever it is that keeps me from finishing my run out. Its not that I dont run out its just that it is really starting to wear on me when I run down to the 8 or my last ball and I cant finish. I struggle with this much more on bar tables than my 9' table, unfortunately everything is contested on bar tables in our area.
Being told that can be a good thing, but timing is everything.
I always wait until the league night, or match, is over before offering any comment on their play. Doing it during the match doesn't work so well and often makes the rest of their night worse as they're focusing on their mistakes vs. playing up to their level.
Ever see a pool-ignorant boyfriend try to teach his girlfriend pool? I'm guessing that's why so few women play.
Timing of info is paramount to learning, imho.
Jeff Livingston
We all have something that for us, not worth devoting effort to.
Pool is silly. Who am I to tell one he needs to care?
Lmfao! I did, (2 years) and it's the reason i came back to pool. No bull!!
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This is true in just about all walks of life!
Lost 50 yards off the tee, now I shoot pool. As for the O.P., it depends on the subgroup you are dealing with. Of the people that truly want to improve, you can help 100% of them. It is so easy to see the mistakes about to occur, when you are not at the table.
You are right on the money with your assessment, in my opinion. Running a poolroom now for 22 years, it is sad to see players that claim to love the game, of all various ages and ability levels, that just haven't improved despite playing regularly, and are stuck at the same level. Of course as others have said here, natural talent is the biggest factor in how good a player can become with the motivation to work on it, but as for all the others, it's just not being willing to make the time and the effort. These days, with youtube instructional videos so available, and the abiity to video and go-pro yourself shooting so easily and then studying your fundamentals / alignment / stroke to determe what you need to change or work on, there is no excuse for a player not being able to make the necessary changes to improve their overall game, if they really desire to.
Mr. Figueroa - i have a question for you regarding your post. I'm not a troll and don't want to get off topic or cause anyone heartburn, but I genuinely do not have the experience in the game to know the answer to this. Plus, I have seen several of your posts and you seem to know what you're talking about.
I have the time to devote to practice and am more than willing to expend the effort required to hone my fundamentals and do what is necessary to improve. I enjoy doing drills and just practicing alone. I don't have the urge to compete and have never really enjoyed it when I do. I don't have anything against anyone who likes to compete, I just feel that for me, I don't have to defeat someone else to give me confidence in my abilities. I can get that through my success rate at various drills.
I realize that doesn't necessarily introduce the pressure concept that come from competition or gambling, but is that really necessary to improve one's game?
Thank you.
IMHO, (coming from a low B player)
1. Nothing will beat time spent on the table. Watching how balls react to one another. Watching how the cue ball reacts to different contact angles, different english, different strokes. Getting a feel for one, two and three rail paths.
2. Spending time with top level players and of course a good coach. A shout out to Scott Lee who sent me in the right direction. Though I have to admit that I am a slow undisciplined student. So if you get the right instructions you need to follow it.
3. Having the physical ability to see the targets and lines and delivering a straight cue with the right speed and acceleration to get desired results. Getting old does not help
4. Everyone learns differently and at different speeds, and that is only when one actually wants to learn something.
5. Competing. Sorry but I have to disagree with a previous post. It's one thing to be able to execute practicing alone. It's another thing to execute when you are in a tournament or in a cash game.
1. Nothing will beat time spent on the table. Watching how balls react to one another. Watching how the cue ball reacts to different contact angles, different english, different strokes. Getting a feel for one, two and three rail paths.
2. Spending time with top level players and of course a good coach. A shout out to Scott Lee who sent me in the right direction. Though I have to admit that I am a slow undisciplined student. So if you get the right instructions you need to follow it.
3. Having the physical ability to see the targets and lines and delivering a straight cue with the right speed and acceleration to get desired results. Getting old does not help
4. Everyone learns differently and at different speeds, and that is only when one actually wants to learn something.
5. Competing. Sorry but I have to disagree with a previous post. It's one thing to be able to execute practicing alone. It's another thing to execute when you are in a tournament or in a cash game.
Some have danced around it, but have not really said it:
All people are NOT created equal. (Bit of an edit of the Bill of Rights)
They're born with different capabilities and potentials. The great pool players are absolutely born with it, though it does help to play it constantly.
Others, they can play it constantly, and not get very good. Just pure facts, and I'm sorry for those who favor nurture over nature.
You are born with the potential you have, and no more. Well, marginally more, but not major.
Just the truth, though hard to accept.
All the best,
WW
All people are NOT created equal. (Bit of an edit of the Bill of Rights)
They're born with different capabilities and potentials. The great pool players are absolutely born with it, though it does help to play it constantly.
Others, they can play it constantly, and not get very good. Just pure facts, and I'm sorry for those who favor nurture over nature.
You are born with the potential you have, and no more. Well, marginally more, but not major.
Just the truth, though hard to accept.
All the best,
WW
100% agree, it's a hard pill to swallow for most players. Good players have something different in 'em, they 'get' pool. I don't know why a lot of pool players think that time limit and lack of proper instructions are the only thing holding them back. In simple terms either you have it or you don't, all you can hope is to figure that out early in your journey...
You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink.
That pretty much sums up my experience.
I have a friend I've tried to teach draw to. After I give him the basics he'll maybe try a half a dozen shots and then he's done. It's like he doesn't want to learn.
You have to drop the ego and have an awakening so to speak. Like a drunk admitting he's a drunk and would like to take the steps to sobriety.
You have to seek the knowledge.
You have to put in the time.
And the most important...
You have to have a passion for the game, a burning desire that doesn't waver.
There are no short cuts to greatness. Not for anyone. You aren't born w it, it's not gifted.
If you're not playing at a level you like, ask yourself where you are lacking in one or more of those four things. No one at the top falls short in any of those categories.
That pretty much sums up my experience.
I have a friend I've tried to teach draw to. After I give him the basics he'll maybe try a half a dozen shots and then he's done. It's like he doesn't want to learn.
You have to drop the ego and have an awakening so to speak. Like a drunk admitting he's a drunk and would like to take the steps to sobriety.
You have to seek the knowledge.
You have to put in the time.
And the most important...
You have to have a passion for the game, a burning desire that doesn't waver.
There are no short cuts to greatness. Not for anyone. You aren't born w it, it's not gifted.
If you're not playing at a level you like, ask yourself where you are lacking in one or more of those four things. No one at the top falls short in any of those categories.
Yes, some truely have "it" and pool comes easy to them. These people have the potential to become pro players with hard work. But I'm not really talking about them...I'm talking about normal people, with average talent. Such a person can become really quite good at pool, with some work and perseverence. You don't have to settle for being a C player, when you can be a B player, maybe even an A player. Maybe you can learn to run out a couple of times a day, instead of once a month, just to name a simple goal. That's not impossible or out of reach for most people, but even such a modest ambition could could greatly increase a persons enjoyment of the game. You don't have to be a pro for improvement to be worthwhile or to feel an increased mastery of the game.
Some people are awful clutzes that shouldn't do anything with their hands without supervision. For those people it may be impossible to improve beyond a very low point. But for the large majority, saying that they are "not talented enough" is just a cop out, and an excuse not to work on their game.