bbb said:

what does a stacked leather wrap feel like?
is it smooth or like an over wrap on a tennis racket where you can feel the overlap some

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It's definitely smooth, almost like a wrapless feel. If you just reach out and grab it, it does feel wrapless, but if you grab the forearm of the cue first and then slide your down to the wrap, you can then tell a slight difference. Just a hair more texture, but no overlap.

muskyed said:

Who is Ryan for those of us not in the know?

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I don't really know what to tell you beyond what the title suggests - "Ryan Theewen of RAT Cue Repair". RAT being his initials, I assume.

Oh, he is also a custom cuemaker - Theewen Custom Cues. I don't know how active he is with that as his wrap jobs and repair work seem to keep him pretty busy.

Patrick Johnson said:

What if we could just aim our cue like a rifle with the tip at the contact point and instead of stroking it simply pull a trigger to shoot it at any preset CB speed? Would taking the stroke out of the equation mean more accuracy/consistency or less refinement/creativity?

If your only motive is winning, fun or not, is the stroke an advantage or a drawback?

pj
chgo

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Not sure that I am directly answering the question, but.... I sometimes practice playing without using any rehearsal strokes. So I place the cue, pull it back and fire. The reason I do this is that it encourages me to prepare (aim, align, visualize etc) properly, both when I am standing behind the line and as I get down.

But to the extent that I perform well when using this approach, does the benefit come from this early preparation, or from cutting out something unhelpful in the rehearsal strokes? I suspect the former but I can't prove it.

I also find that when I get down right, when I look up after placing my bridge hand, I 'see' the shot very quickly. When that happens, I just don't feel the need for practice strokes. Just a couple of very short rehearsals (about an inch), and I am good to go.

ShootingArts said:

You have a point but take a look at Stephen? Hendry, snooker playing legend. A long pause before the last forward stroke and it is tight and compact. Snooker players in general seem to have a medium stroke best of my recollection. Not real short or long.

I think one of the biggest flaws pool players of lower skill levels have is too long of a bridge and stroke. Most, including me, would be far better off with a shorter stroke. The man that sorta mentored me for a few years recommended a four to six inch closed bridge and a short stroke. He was a very solid shortstop. I think I would compromise at an eight or ten inch bridge for most shots. Old and lazy, I sometimes use a very long bridge just to avoid walking.

Hu

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I seem to remember reading that Mark Selby moved up from being a jobbing professional to one of the real monsters on the pro snooker circuit when he shortened his stroke (although it is still one of the longer ones). [Edit - I should say that I cannot now find any evidence to back this up]. And Steve Davis said recently that the biggest improvements that most amateurs can make is to shorten their bridge.

It could be that some players have an overly long final backswing because they need the time during this phase to mentally prepare to deliver the cue. If so, then they might want to follow Allison Fisher's lead: she said that the biggest improvement to her game came when she slowed her backswing down. (Logically, this would provide the necessary final preparation time in a shorter stroke.)

Bob Jewett said:

I think that adding side spin except when it performs an actual function in the shot (throw, swerve, or spin off a cushion), is a broken way to approach shots.

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That was also my reaction when I first read some of CJ Wiley's posts on this subject a few years back; and I am not advocating this approach.

But when I hear a top player explain something they do (or think they do) that does not seem to make sense, I often treat it as a puzzle rather than as something that is just wrong: what are they actually doing, and why does it help them? I think that the solution to the TOI puzzles lies in sports psychology rather than in aiming systems or billiards technique.

As you say, unnecessary side on the ball is unhelpful. But I suspect that when CJW is using this approach he is not actually applying any appreciable side spin. Rather he is using a process cue that helps him to focus in the right way on the right things at the right time (which is what billiards is all about imo). It is a bit like trying to keep the tip in contact with the cue ball for as long as you can, or to strike the ball as slowly as possible. Both nonsensical when considered in the cold light of physical reality; but both things that can be useful.

What I believe TOI does is to encourage the player to focus on contacting a well-defined and precise part of the cue ball. It is the focus and precision elements that are important, not the actual location.

While I am not advocating the technique, if someone wants to try this approach I would have thought that just from considerations of error tolerance, 'a Touch of High' be a better bet.

And of course this technique cannot be used when you are playing a shot that requires actual spin to be used. But in such cases the player is more likely to be naturally attending to exactly where the cb needs to be struck.

Bob Jewett said:

Or, you can simply feel the shot.

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Absolutely. If and when a player finds 'feeling the shot' simple, go for it. But this is not always simple, especially when the player experiences state anxiety (typically competitive pressure). This is where process cues can be helpful.

[Edit: deleted repeated word]

On reflection, Mr M, I think this set perhaps featured balls seven to ace only, making a thirty-two ball set instead of fifty-two. Still rather crowded, of course, but not quite so preposterous.

We used to employ a similar tactic during my draw poker-playing days… we called it a stripped deck.

I got to vegas today (Thursday) at 6pm vegas time. The tournament starts Saturday. I wanted to originally come Wed to practice on the tables more, but I booked the ticket last week right before the Philly snow storm, and I didn't know if the snow would be shoveled by then.

I was going to go to Griffs to warm up, but they had a chip tournament tonight that would take all the 7' tables.

I went to the brand new room Walter's Billiards instead. I got there around 10pm, and it was packed with a waiting list. I had a short wait, about 20 min. This place has the formula. Pretty girls in sexy clothing as the staff. A manager. And customers both boys and lots of girls banging the balls into the rails, drinking, and having a blast. They also have proper Litman lighting on each table, and the room does not look like a hospital operation room! The staff walk each customer to the table, and pull the triangle rack out for them. I can't tell you how many times I've shown bangers where the rack is on a Diamond. Good for them for doing that extra step. Oh, ALL the Diamonds had the wire ball tray for one pocket/banks, even the 7'! That thing should be standard on every Diamond.

I practiced about 1.5 hrs. Straight short shots. Nothing hard. Get my confidence up. Get my stroke straight. I felt great from the get go. Which is really good, because all this week I was in action in Philly and played like dog. Then I shot 1 rail and 2 rail position shots, a rack each position. I also invented (to me) a drill accidentally on the spot. Shoot random cut shots along the long rail, sending the CB to the 2nd diamond on the long rail (on the other side of the side pocket), to play position for a ball on the end rail. The object is to always touch that 2nd diamond no matter the cut angle, and bounce out a hair. Takes away the corner scratch, and keeps a good angle for the ball on the end rail, no matter where it is. Then I threw balls on the table for a bunch, and ran out most of them.

A group of 3 bangers called me over and asked if I could teach them how to play. So I went over and showed them a few shots and how to make a bridge.

I was the only player there. 20 tables, half 7', half 9'. But on my way out, there were 4 players on the 2 tight 9' that were pretty good. One I'd estimate was a 650. The rest 500's. They were playing 10 ball. I watched them for a bit while waiting for my uber.

Speaking of Uber, there are driverless taxis here. Brand new. A few are at my hotel. I might try one. Its free, because they are in testing.

The hotel I'm at is the Luxor. It's an Egyptian pyramid. The elevator goes at an angle, parallel to the pyramid sides.

There is a last minute warm-up tournament tomorrow at noon. Its 16 man, 100 entry, single elimination race to 7. I was on the standby list, and got in.

I went for 350 in the calcutta in the main event. I'll buy half myself. The total was 19k. The high bid was for 1210 on Paul McCaffrey, NV FR 557. Makes no sense he is 10 under the cap and went for way more than anyone else. Next highest was Todd Dilley, AZ FR 558 who went for 800. Maybe these guys are really 650's and stalled for a year? IDK. They both also bought themselves, so might have just been dumb with the bidding. I didn't make a single bid, and just knew I'd buy half myself.

Oh, Melinda Huang is in the event. I know she was a member here years ago, on an infamous AZB match (before Barton vs Lou). I can't remember if she's the one who stiffed, or did the stiffing.

Patrick Johnson said:

I must be hella gentle… my dad bought me an accordion and sent me to lessons when I was 10 - haven’t touched it since.

Don’t get me started on the ballet lessons.

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And I the clarinet...hated it then, hate it now.

InsertCleverNameHere said:

The payouts are trash because $0 and I mean absolutely $0 of the buy backs goes to the tournament prize pool. That money goes to master of the table payouts(the rest Diamond keeps) which only maybe 12 guys can possibly get a piece of and truly only 3-5 guys can win the top prize generally speaking. There's maybe what 550-650 or so unique players each year, I imagine at least half the field in each event does the buy back if not more? I'd rather just hand Fedor/Filler/Shane $25/30 each it's easier on everyone that way!

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they're out of contention, except for fedor. sky, jhall, fedor are top on potential MOT winners, followed by i think pinegar and patsura.

i would have taken them vs the field, and fedor can still get there, but my money rn would be on sky actually

Well they finally had a one hole match with a suitably elevated view.

Might this be considered a display set then? I can‘t imaging any rules for more then 40 balls, playing with a table crowded like this

july9x said:

Solution is simple, just bring DCC to the South, like anywhere in FL. Never run into bad weather, plenty of good venues and food options
I guess reason why they keep it up there is because Diamond headquarter is close to IN so they save big $ on table shipping

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And the staff that works the event all live driving distance away. The venue at that time of year almost certainly gives them an incredible deal considering it would be a ghost town without the pool players.

The payouts are trash because $0 and I mean absolutely $0 of the buy backs goes to the tournament prize pool. That money goes to master of the table payouts(the rest Diamond keeps) which only maybe 12 guys can possibly get a piece of and truly only 3-5 guys can win the top prize generally speaking. There's maybe what 550-650 or so unique players each year, I imagine at least half the field in each event does the buy back if not more? I'd rather just hand Fedor/Filler/Shane $25/30 each it's easier on everyone that way!

And no, I do not think Diamond making money is a bad thing. Not at all. But I think the lack of transparency is a stain to say the least. But then again, it is pool we are talking about.

i mean i get it, but xpool also could have made their product better, to make the difference between it and the dark side table streams bigger. more camera angles, shot clock, TPA/stats, better commentary, post match interviews, etc.