lakeman77 said:

Buy a very expensive new break cue ???

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If that fixed it I'd have bought three by now and called it a season. My wallet is glad it doesn't work that way. Have you ever actually bought a cue hoping it would fix something, and did it?

Bob Jewett said:

When during the stroke does your cue come off line?

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At the very end of the shot, see in the video the 2 shots - the cue tip veers to the left (from my angle)

Frosty said:

Sorry, you lost me at “league”.

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Ha, fair enough. League night is where I get most of my table time, so it's the frame I think in. Do you play mostly open tables with friends, or somewhere else entirely?

freds said:

Are you an AI?

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No, I'm a real person — David, from Hamilton. I play league and I write these myself. Fair question though, there are bots everywhere these days. Was there something I wrote that read funny to you? I'd rather know than leave you wondering.

jokrswylde said:

Well to be specific, Cro-Magnons are us, H. sapiens. We outcompeted the neanderthals due to our increased cranium (bigger brain), although more and more evidence supports that interbreeding between the species was common. But yes, there is still plenty of neanderthal DNA in those of european ancestry.

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The interbreeding still happens between H. sapiens and neanderthal, its usually at closing time when you are wearing beer goggles.

CajunPopeye said:

I like hitting with draw AND follow. Both work pretty good for me. Last weekend I was told I have a good break.

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Good on you for hearing that last weekend, that's the kind of thing that stays with you. I like that you keep both in the bag instead of marrying one of them. When it's going dry, which do you reach for first, the draw or the follow? I'm curious which one you trust more when the rack isn't cooperating.

While I haven't read a word of the responses (yet). The question triggers a favorite memory of just that nature.
I was spectator at a weekend 9 ball tournament at the Hunt and Fish in Portland.er uh sub burb maybe. (Think it was Beaverton)
The 7 foot tables were stymie ing the power breakers. The best in the Northwest had power breaks. None could solve the situation, then along came Don Wirtiman. The older Elmer Fud looking guy. He broke about 3/4 speed (top speed for the old guy wasn't that fast either ) and the balls just found the pockets. The big table big breakers got a bar box lesson that day.
The velocity and rotation of the balls striking the rails changes the rebound angle significantly.

bbb said:

In three-cushion billiards, when the cue ball "goes short," it means that the cue ball does not travel far enough after hitting the cushions, failing to reach the intended object balls or the required cushion contacts. This can result in a missed shot or failure to score a point, as the cue ball must make contact with both object balls after hitting at least three cushions
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the cue ball in this case went too far (long)
if it would have hit before the object balll it would have not travelled far enough (short)

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That's regular english. "Short" is an earlier expression for short rail. A three railer going short is a three railer going long in pool.

KINGSCOURT905 said:

Dave, in the tests you ran, did the medium-speed one-railer leave Filler a worse leave when it missed than the three-railer did, or was the miss pretty much a sell-out either way?

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You can watch all the shots in the video to judge for yourself. The 3-railer gave a bad result much more than I thought it would (especially at the slow-ish speed Filler used).

The best advice I was ever given regarding playing the ghost was offered by the late and great Jimmy Fusco. He spoke of the break and ball in hand version on 4 1/2" pockets, which were the norm when he and I had the discussion.

Jimmy offered that a typical amateur should start by playing races to three against the six ball ghost. Once they win five straight sets, they can move on to the seven ball ghost, but if they lose five sets in a row, they should drop down to playing the five ball ghost, and so on. One quickly learns where their proper level lies and can easily measure their progress. The process offers motivation for the player to advance as well as avoid falling back, which comes with pressure.

Stronger players, Jimmy said, should race to five against the ghost. Fargo 650-700 players tend to level out at the nine ball ghost, players in the Fargo 700s tend to level out against the ten ball ghost. Only an 800 player is likely to be the favorite against the eleven ball ghost, and anyone who beats the twelve ball ghost more than half the time is a serious threat to win a major championship. I recall that shortly before he won his US Open 9ball title in 2006, John Schmidt mentioned to me that he was winning most of the time against the twelve ball ghost.

I recall watching the legendary Dennis Orcullo at Derby City, in about 2019, gambling with a side-better that he could beat the ten ball ghost in a race to seven using "ten ball last" rules on a 4 1/4" pocket table. Dennis won the first few sets before the side-better pulled up.

dr_dave said:

Agreed. Just because you miss a shot doesn't mean you mad the wrong choice.

Based on the amount of time Filler took to decide, there obviously wasn't a lot of "comfort" on this one.

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There is not a lot of comfort on any shot where you can't see the ball, but one must assume it is the shot he thought was best for HIM or he would have shot it differently.

If he had hit it or made it, would it have been the wrong choice?

maha said:

a pause can work for some. for many it gives the little bit of time for your muscles to tighten up and choke.

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Pausing according to Tor Lowry’s description of Efren Reyes is not the pause according to Shortstop on Pool. Efren pauses with his cue tip right in back of cue ball. He then does two strokes (frontstroke and backstroke, and frontstroke and backstroke) before hitting the ball. Shortstop on Pool pauses at the end of the backstroke and before the frontstroke and hitting the ball.

Tor Lowry claims this is especially important in stressful situations where Efren Reyes' method reduces tension and prevents missing the shot due to a poor stroke. This agrees with maha's post that the pause at the end of the backstroke makes things worse for some in tense situations.

Shortstop on Pool disagrees finding that the pause at the end of the backstroke reduces tension because of this moment of silence. Not only that but the pause helps from a physical effect. Pausing prevents the muscles and tendons of the backstroke conflicting with the muscles and tendons of the front stroke and a resultant bad effect on the stroke.

Reconciling both approaches, Efren Reyes approach works despite the ill effect associated with battling muscles and tendons. Shortstop on Pool's method works despite the greater tension in stress situations because of the pause. Efren Reyes method is best for players more susceptible to stress while Shortstop on Pool's is best for the player that is more calm, collected, and cool.

Unreconcilable is both methods contention they are best in stressful situations.