Back when there was usually a cone of hand chalk at the table and the blue cubes of tip chalk I was playing with a cowboy. No handchalk on the wall so he chalked his hand with tip chalk. I finally pointed out that hand chalk was to help things slide, tip chalk to keep them from sliding!

I played with a few people that used hand chalk or powder by the pound. Covered the stick end to end and both hands. By the time they were through spreading hand chalk they had covered the table and floor too! Some folks using a slip stroke chalked everything in sight. I heard Titanic Thompson did but never saw him play.

Something I have noticed about people that do something odd, they tend to play outside the norm too, either very good or very bad! Of course half the cowboys were twirling sticks after the color of money. I tried it but it aggravated me more than other people so I had to give it up. The cowboys were dangerous as hell all by themselves not being able to twirl a stick and hitting everything and everybody!

Hu

One thought might to be to eliminate the super, super tight pockets and make it more player friendly. Then maybe the 9 ball that someone hangs now wiggles in and falls on a different sized pocket.

It is, after all, an exhibition. I know the European team would still be better on paper, but in a short race, pockets that are more player friendly like those on a Diamond in an everyday pool room would potentially close the gap simply by eliminating those shots being dogged.

They don't play exhibition, made for tv golf at Augusta or with US Open rough surrounding the fairways. Same here. This isn't the US Open Nine Ball Championships. Its a made for tv exhibition with a loud, intense atmosphere. Nerves are bad enough given the environment and what's at stake as far as the stars and stripes and the prize money difference.

I believe, that though the players are still the players for each team, the gap would be narrowed based on eliminating those type of mistakes because it's probably only a mistake on four inch pockets.

I mean, the entire event used to be held on Gold Crowns. I don't know if they were shimmed or not but I am guessing they were not.

Of course, I say all of this IF the goal is to close the gap between our team in America vs Europe. That's my goal because I would love to see it be more competitive.

Just a random thought. I know I don't have the magic answer. This is just my two cents.

Suppose you have done all the alignment, feathering, and associated CB-OB vision transitions. Then you move the butt of the cue to apply BHE.

The line of the cue no longer connects CB center to the aim point. I know the pros do this all the time and maintain focus on the OB.

But would recreational players be better off focusing on hitting the CB at the desired offset with a straight stroke, and not risk steering the shot because the cue axis no longer is on the shot line?

Jaden said:

That's because shafts have gotten so much lower in the CB deflection department. The reason that the old school teachings had the bridge 8-10 inches was because that's where the standard wood shafts had their natural pivot point. Bridging at the pivot point gives a higher margin for stroke error/deficiency.

Deflection has gotten so low that the pivot points are much farther back. I've seen them as far as 19". So players naturally now end up bridging farther back and if you play with a low deflection shaft, it would behoove you to find your cue's pivot point and bridge there. This is also independent of using bhe.

People may think that parallel english works on sld(super low deflection) shafts but it doesn't. The only way that works is on tables with big pockets. On my table I'd miss every shot without adjusting aim or stroke somehow (3.9" corners). BHE and fhe are the best methods, but holding the bridge near or at the pivot point is beyond adjusting for side spin. It allows for stroke errors like swiping. Your cue ball won't go anywhere near where you were expecting but you'll still make the shot.

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I play mainly on tables with 4.5 inch pockets and only use parallel English.

I find it easier and more reliable to just alter my aim (when necessary) than messing with FHE/BHE.

fastone371 said:

I guess I am going to have to start thinking about a username change soon, it must be customary on AZB I guess.

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Some have to change user names constantly for one reason or another, several times a year! Others go a score of years without changing their name.

I have been shootingarts on the internet since the eighties. It was my domain name for years too. I found it to be far more versatile than expected. Rifles, pistols, outdoor photography, pool, it has fit them all fairly well!

Hu