Your "first five" pointers...

[Oikawa]

My 5 pointers to a novice would be:

1. Have a session with an instructor/coach etc. and have them teach you some proper method/ideology for aiming and aligning yourself to the shot. These topics are where new players are most likely to develop unorthodox habits that sometimes work well, but often end up backfiring in some way further down the road.
2. Have a smooth follow through, don't jab the cue or decelerate.
3. Do drills. Not just for 10 minutes, but as long as you can. As a novice, the most basic/simple drills are the best. Long straight ins, line-up, etc. They are boring for most people, but especially as a novice who doesn't have a deeply ingrained intuition of the game yet, the power of repetition is extremely powerful for your improvement, compared to only randomly shooting whatever shots you feel like.
4. Watch the pros. Not just their shot choices, but their stances/strokes/tempo etc. Take it all in, test the things out yourself, video your own game and compare. You'll figure lots of new things out.
5. Find out what the most affordable option for table time is for you. Don't settle for some overpriced bar for long practice hours, depending on where you are from, there are often 24/7 open private clubs or something similar within a reasonable distance, that are cheaper especially if you practice a lot.

 

[BC21]

If you could just give a complete novice five quick tips to set them on their way to making shots competently what would they be?

I think this is the best forum to ask this question... I really only play casually, but I also spend a ton of time practicing on my home table and try to hook my friends by getting them to a solid place very quickly so that they can enjoy the actual competition that goes along with being able to make simple shots, and thus earning me more fun people to play against.

To that end, for a long time, I've felt like the best thing I can do is have a few simple ideas to get across to a novice player, and I'm curious how others might do it:

1. Put your weight onto your bridge, the bridge must be steady as a rock.
2. Let your forearm hang from the elbow like a hinge, so that your swing stays on a consistent path.
3. Put your chin over the stick every time, so that you're seeing your shot the same every time.
4. The distance your bridge is from the cue ball will control your speed, hit with the same stroke speed every time.
5. Control the side, top, or bottom spin more with the length of your follow through than how far from center you hit the ball.

Note - I usually am giving these tips to friends I hope to teach and then play with regularly, and I tend to omit the last two when I talk to total novices at the bar.

Thoughts? Your own ideas?

1. Develop a consistent PSR and use it everytime.

2. Use your legs. (Walk around the table to gain more visual information about the shot and whatever position you intend to play.)

3. Determine the aim/shot line for the shot from a standing position, rather than getting down on the ball and fishing around for the aim.

4. Step into the predetermined aim/shot line, making your back foot the anchor for aligning the body/stance and stroke arm.

5. Shoot the shot with confidence, following through with the stroke all the way through the cb, keeping your head and body as still as possible.

Note: "Confidence" doesn't mean shoot hard or firm. It simply means stroke the shot with a complete stroke, no holding back or letting up on the delivery of the cue. Using medium stroke speed is plenty enough for most shots, so don't think confidence means slamming a ball in with excessive or unnecessary speed.

 

[snookered_again]

some great tips.
I'm going to admit, I didn't get what the acronym was.
this guy explained it well.
I did not agree with his habit of touching his cue to the cloth, some drag their cues all around on the cloth and it can be a bad habit.. one day you might tear the cloth with a bad cue, or at least get your chalk all over, also he didn't take a moment to chalk his cue,
Maybe some feel differently on whether or not it's alright to do that habitually.
I do think he had some good pointers.

 

[Buzzard II]

Most of the "rules" written here are dependent on vision center and body type. No one size fits all. Here's two that cover those differences. Keep the cue level (as possible) and if using the bridge, brace the butt on the table. (If possible)

 

[snookered_again]

I get the point about keeping the e cue level .
Usually I will place the bridge on the table, or a rail maybe with my hand still on it for a quick withdraw depending on the shot..

now shooting down upon the ball with the cue unlevel. I understand we are more likely to make the ball withe cue level and that if a ball is shot with the butt up in the air, you are effectively driving the ball down into the cloth which reduces accuracy..

in what situations is it necessary to lift the cue? shooting over a ball maybe, maybe if you are stuck against a wall behind you.. what about near the rail? how about when trying to draw a ball with a light shot?

at home I have a different situation , I play with 2 1/6 " snooker balls but my table is actually designed for 2/1/4 this makes my rails higher and it is more difficult as there is less of the cue ball to hit, if it's on the rail

the reason I dont use 2 1/4" balls is because we use 2 1/16 on the snoooker table and didn't think changing my ball sizes and my cue really were helping me practice If people play snooker with 2 1/4 would they then use a pool cue with a 1/2 inch tip?

I can whack 2 1/4" balls with my snooker cue , but I'm not sure that's really right either. I don't even think Ive seen a snooker cue with a 1/2" tip.. I do see sets of 2 1/4 used snooker balls for sale quite often.. I think because most pool tables come with both sets,, They tend to use the numbered balls more on a pool table since its not really made for snooker.

either play ok on my table. the pockets are effectively looser with the smaller balls. mainly I want to practice my aim and stroke, spins etc... on weekends I can go actually play a bit more seriously on the 12' tables with better players..

 

[sparkle84]

To avoid the problem of a wobbly bridge, I was recommending really going over the top with weight on the bridge hand. Others in this thread have convinced me that the way I state it/intend it to be taken can cause other problems with the shot, so I'm definitely rethinking how to present the advice to avoid the wobbly bridge better in a single statement.

A wobbly bridge, as well as other problems with instability will largely disappear with a proper well balanced stance. So I guess one of my five, probably number 1, would be extensive work on the stance til it's perfected.

 

[ChrisWoj]

A wobbly bridge, as well as other problems with instability will largely disappear with a proper well balanced stance. So I guess one of my five, probably number 1, would be extensive work on the stance til it's perfected.

Reps on reps. My favorite piece of advice that transcends ALL of my favorite competitive games!

 

[sparkle84]

Reps on reps. My favorite piece of advice that transcends ALL of my favorite competitive games!

I'll freely admit that I live under a rock so I don't have a clue what you mean by "reps on reps".

 

[ChrisWoj]

I'll freely admit that I live under a rock so I don't have a clue what you mean by "reps on reps".

Ah, kinda a workout culture, maybe more generally sports culture, phrase that refers to the repetitions you put in to drill something down to perfect: repetitions on top of repetitions. Usually used in response to more rote-repetition activities, though generally applied to most things you do over and over in some way.

Reps on reps on reps on reps.

 

[FranCrimi]

A wobbly bridge, as well as other problems with instability will largely disappear with a proper well balanced stance. So I guess one of my five, probably number 1, would be extensive work on the stance til it's perfected.

I agree with this in the importance of good stance and balance in the process of bridging. It also has to be coupled with an awareness of bridge-hand pressure --- particularly during training. Good balance and stance gets you nearly there, with a bit more work to do.

 

[FranCrimi]

Most of the "rules" written here are dependent on vision center and body type. No one size fits all. Here's two that cover those differences. Keep the cue level (as possible) and if using the bridge, brace the butt on the table. (If possible)

What's your technique in keeping the cue level? Do you manipulate your grip hand through the stroke or do you drop your elbow? It has to be one of the two. Also, why do you think it's important to do that?

 

[FranCrimi]

some great tips.
I'm going to admit, I didn't get what the acronym was.
this guy explained it well.
I did not agree with his habit of touching his cue to the cloth, some drag their cues all around on the cloth and it can be a bad habit.. one day you might tear the cloth with a bad cue, or at least get your chalk all over, also he didn't take a moment to chalk his cue,
Maybe some feel differently on whether or not it's alright to do that habitually.
I do think he had some good pointers.

Some drag their cues all around on the cloth? LOL What the heck?

Hitting the cloth is a necessary element of shooting pool, particularly if you use a pendulum-type stroke or even of you are executing a draw shot.

I've been training players for 30 years to intentionally scrape the cloth in their follow through on many types of shots, and especially on draw shots. When they seem to be afraid of ripping the cloth, I tell them to go ahead and rip it. I'll take responsibility. Never happened.

You must be someone who knows very little about shooting pool and who has never seen a pro pool tournament live. The tables are loaded with scrape marks from scraping the table during their strokes. The cloths are meant to endure it. After the match, the table is brushed down and all the scrape marks mysteriously disappear.

If you're just guessing, then don't give advice. You can hurt players who don't know any better.

And further more....if you see a house cue where the edges of the tip are sharp, bring it to the front desk. It needs repair, and no player should ever use it.

 

[FranCrimi]

drawing your tip on the cue is a lazy sloppy habit that some pick up. It isn't necessary to wreck up the cloth in order to do a draw shot.

What does that even mean --- "drawing your tip on the cue"?? Have you created your own language?