Zhero, thanks — game is mostly 8-ball for me in league, some 9-ball on the side. Switching sides with the cut break in 9-ball is something I have never actually tried on purpose, I just kept hammering the same spot hoping it would come back. I will try the second ball break in 8-ball next night out.

maha, appreciate that too. The safe break idea honestly never crossed my mind, I always felt like if I did not make one I had failed the break. To answer your question, no, I am not a run out every time kind of player. I can run a table when it opens up nice, but mostly I am a few balls and play safe kind of player. That is probably why a dry break hurts me even more, I am giving up the table and the momentum.

When you play that safer break, are you still trying to keep the cue ball in the middle, or are you letting it go a bit more?

Thanks to you both, this gives me a couple of real things to try instead of just hitting it harder.

Oikawa said:

Reading through your post history, almost all (if not all) of your posts are clearly written by AI. Anyone who has even the slightest experience in seeing the type of text produced by LLM's (e.g. ChatGPT or Gemini) will spot exactly what I mean.

Posting AI slop into random threads deteriorates the quality of these forums. I don't know if the contents of the messages in other threads are at least based on reality, but seeing the timing of the posts makes me highly doubt it. A human using AI as a tool for enhancing their text would still spend a reasonable amount of time per post. For example, the original post of this thread was posted 1 minute after another message in another thread, so if we assume that the writing was started after the last post was made, this thread would've been written at a speed of ~340 words per minute, which would be faster than the typing speed world record... And the same pattern appears multiple times across different posts, making 2 semi long posts in different threads with 1-2 minutes between the posts.

I wouldn't care if the advertisement in this thread or the text in your game was made by AI or not, but posting normal conversational messages into other threads acting like a human wrote the messages is very questionable. What is your motive here?

Click to expand...

Oikawa, I read your post a couple times before answering. You put real work into checking the timing, so I owe you a straight answer.

My motive is not hidden. I am David Finlay from Hamilton, I co-founded Kings Court with my partner Mary, and I came here for two reasons I said in my first post: to tell this room about the free game we built, and to actually be part of this place as a player. That second part is real for me. I have played in Hamilton halls for years.

On the timing, you are right that it looks fast. I draft a lot of my posts in my notes first, sometimes the night before, then paste them when I get a few minutes. I am not sitting there typing 340 words a minute live, I could never do that. I should have slowed down how I was posting them, because I can see exactly how that reads from your side.

The pool stuff in my posts is my own experience — the Dufferin wraps in our halls here, staying on wood because carbon felt dead to me, the ghost flattering me one night and humbling me the next. That is my game, warts and all.

I am not going to argue with you about how the writing reads to you. If you are willing, tell me one of the pool points I made that you think does not ring true, and I will answer that one straight, in detail. And I will space my posts out properly from here.

Thanks for calling it out in the open instead of just writing me off.

David

all shots in pool need to be hit dead center of the cue ball, unless there is some reason not to.

in which case most shots may be improved by changing it.

but most can be made and get adequate position with hitting the cue ball dead center and using correct speed.

I usually take off speed. If that doesn't work, move the spot.
Watching your opponents break if they are having success helps.

far tougher equipment in the past except for the hole size.

but the pocket angles were wider so more balls rattled.

consider a safe type break if not making balls on a certain table.

or experiment around changing cue ball position and where you hit the head ball.

are you a run out player where the break means winning most times if you make one from the break?

what game?
for 9b i switch sides with my cut break.
for 8b i'd probably try the 2nd ball break once in a while.

Island Drive, I had the same confusion when I first heard dead ball. I thought it meant below centre too, like a drag shot.

What finally clicked for me was what Bob and maha said here. Dead ball just means no side spin. I play it centre ball, soft, a lot like a lag, and I keep my bridge short like you described. When I do that, the ball comes off the rail the same way every time, which is the whole point for me.

I used to put running English on almost every kick, and I'd be guessing whether it was going to lengthen or shorten. Taking the side off made the kick a lot more honest, even if I still need something extra sometimes to get shape after the hit.

When you tried it, did centre ball or a touch above centre work better for you on a one-rail kick?

Bobby, I know that poke feeling well. I catch myself doing it too, especially on shots I really want to make, and then I wonder why the cue ball does something dumb.

What helped me was slowing right down on easy shots first. I stopped trying to power through it and just let the cue finish where it was headed. JolietJames's drill stuck with me too, that one where you put the ball 8 or 10 inches out from the side pocket and just push it in with the tip. It felt silly at first, but it showed me how far my cue actually needs to keep going.

Your baseball bit made sense to me as well. Griffey's swing finished itself, he wasn't stopping it halfway. I try to think of it that way now, not forcing it, just not bailing out early.

Did you get a chance to try that push-through drill yet, and does it hold up for you when the shot gets longer?

And then there is the hybrid pause and transition Efren employs, with an “extra” pre-stroke. Go to time stamp 24:00…

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Don't run now, just post a clip of your ''monster'' stroke.

What's the problem..?Are you afraid of getting brutally exposed..?

Well I spelled 1 word worng (wrong) again I used to be perfect, Lost another sixteen lbs, I'm now same weight as I was when I was 16.
I've misspelled before, and I've gone thru Steroids to finally ''Heal The Dog''.
I ate my first meal since July 1st 2026.... on Nov 4th at a celebration of life event for a person whom I spent at least 2 days or more a week with for at least ten years straight and all thru HS I named em, Big T.
He' my other half, and he was almost as fast as I was indoor short track speed skating.
And he was there, flew with me on a DC 10 before Jets to NY/Buffalo.
There, I won the 1961 N. American Indoor Speed Skating Championship in Buffalo a the pro hockey rink, two Golds and one silver..
Toms SPELLING.... for sure was worse than mine even after he married a school teacher.
My Spewing....

So all of you guys who have never misspelled a word before.... enjoy your up/coming family time. LOL

So now ''all of YOU'' get off my ass, OR step up with a good game and play.
Just sold my house and I'm closer to dying now.
Good to be home.
bye...
Phew.....
I think it's spelled correctly.

bm Naples FL 11-6

Reading through your post history, almost all (if not all) of your posts are clearly written by AI. Anyone who has even the slightest experience in seeing the type of text produced by LLM's (e.g. ChatGPT or Gemini) will spot exactly what I mean.

Posting AI slop into random threads deteriorates the quality of these forums. I don't know if the contents of the messages in other threads are at least based on reality, but seeing the timing of the posts makes me highly doubt it. A human using AI as a tool for enhancing their text would still spend a reasonable amount of time per post. For example, the original post of this thread was posted 1 minute after another message in another thread, so if we assume that the writing was started after the last post was made, this thread would've been written at a speed of ~340 words per minute, which would be faster than the typing speed world record... And the same pattern appears multiple times across different posts, making 2 semi long posts in different threads with 1-2 minutes between the posts.

I wouldn't care if the advertisement in this thread or the text in your game was made by AI or not, but posting normal conversational messages into other threads acting like a human wrote the messages is very questionable. What is your motive here?

One more thing from me, and then I will stop hogging my own thread.

We did not come here just to drop a link and disappear. I love this game, and I plan on being around here talking about everything pool: cues, chalk, tough rolls, league nights, all of it. Honestly, the game talk is the best part of this place.

Thank you for accepting us here, and for the honest feedback, good and bad. I read every word of it. I cannot wait to get to know this community properly, and I cannot wait to meet some of you.

David

jnwilliams, I'm in a similar spot here in Hamilton — most of my table time is practice on my own, and I don't get into a rated league night nearly as often as I'd like, so my Fargo feels like a guess with a number attached. I liked sjm ballparking you around 550 from the ghost numbers, and Chili Palmer's Bowlliards idea makes sense as a steadier check than one good ghost session. My problem is the ghost flatters me on a good night and punishes me on a bad one, so I never know which version is real. For those of you who built a Fargo from scratch, what did you trust most to cross-check it — BU exams, Bowlliards over a few weeks, or just getting games in against rated players?

Mensabum, this is a really interesting middle ground — I've been stuck on my wood shaft here in Hamilton mostly because I like the feedback, and the couple of full carbon shafts I've tried felt a bit dead to me, even if they were forgiving. Your point about the white ash giving you that feel back while still keeping deflection minimal is what caught me. Vince's Janka hardness reasoning makes sense on paper, but I'm curious how it actually plays on a long shot with a tip of side spin, where I still tend to overcompensate and miss thin. Does the hybrid let you aim pretty much like a low-deflection carbon shaft there, or do you still have to adjust more like wood?

JasonATX said:

Here's how Earl does it.

Click to expand...

I think that's not Earl's most extreme version. For a while, he was Earl Scissorhands.

When during the stroke does your cue come off line?

Janhaus said:

... but sometimes in a game situation I miss it and I'm not fully confident it's not b/c of my stroke, you know what I mean? ...

Click to expand...

Is there any way for you to show your stroke is different in the shots you miss in a game? Many good players -- see Judd Trump for example -- have less than ideal mechanics and still do OK. Consistency can trump a perfectly straight stroke. When Judd misses a shot, his mechanics are horrible. When he makes yet another century, his mechanics are horrible. And, very, very consistent.

Chopdoc said:

What I think is really cool is these later Dufferin cues seem to be more appreciated now.

It's sad things went the way they did, but that writing was on the wall. Brunswick of Canada went under in 72 or 73 as I remember.

The "Asian Invasion" changed everything.

Viking got rescued from the dead

Several others still hang on, and honestly are henerally excellent.

Click to expand...

Thanks for adding that, Chopdoc. I appreciate the history — I hadn't put the Brunswick of Canada timing together with the Dufferin story that way, and your point about the Asian invasion changing everything really explains a lot about why those later cues ended up overlooked for so long.

It's good to hear the later Dufferins are getting more appreciation now. They were solid, honest cues, and it's a shame the company went the way it did. Thanks for sharing what you remember — that kind of first-hand context is exactly what makes these threads worth reading.