problems with long straight in shots...
- Thread starter instroke2
- Start date
Straight shots
Believe it or not, long straight in shots are some of the hardest to make. The reason for it is a stoke that is not straight. If you don't hit the ball with a straight pure stroke you will miss them almost every time. Practice your stroke and the straight shots will come, it's inevitable. Good luck!!
Bruce
Believe it or not, long straight in shots are some of the hardest to make. The reason for it is a stoke that is not straight. If you don't hit the ball with a straight pure stroke you will miss them almost every time. Practice your stroke and the straight shots will come, it's inevitable. Good luck!!
Bruce
Jimmy reid's method...................
My old friend Jimmy Reid taught me the best way to make the straight in shots was to 1. Use a closed bridge.2. Grip the shaft of the cue as tight as you can and still alow the shaft to move in the bridge hand. 3. Grip the butt of the cue as tight as you can. 4. Lock on to the target and stroke it in the hole. I can tell you from experience that this has been a 95% shot for me using this method. Gripping the cue tight makes almost all of your stroke flaws disappear on the straight in shots. Only use this method for straight in shots as there isn't a lot of control with it other than making your arm like a robot's arm.
My old friend Jimmy Reid taught me the best way to make the straight in shots was to 1. Use a closed bridge.2. Grip the shaft of the cue as tight as you can and still alow the shaft to move in the bridge hand. 3. Grip the butt of the cue as tight as you can. 4. Lock on to the target and stroke it in the hole. I can tell you from experience that this has been a 95% shot for me using this method. Gripping the cue tight makes almost all of your stroke flaws disappear on the straight in shots. Only use this method for straight in shots as there isn't a lot of control with it other than making your arm like a robot's arm.
"Alcohol abuse"?
But if you do, won't they spill? And won't the waitress get *really* p!ssed when you knock over her tray full of 'em?
j/k
-Sean
But if you do, won't they spill? And won't the waitress get *really* p!ssed when you knock over her tray full of 'em?
j/k
-Sean
Last edited:
Try everything until you find something that works. Try a longer (like your tip will hit the OB ) stroke to see if you finish straight at target. If you practice with someone, get them to point their cue at yours before you stroke. This will show where you are aiming... stroke and hold finish. Get them to tell you how far off line you are on finish. You will see if the stroke is finishing on/off line and make adjustments.
I have been practicing this a lot recently getting ready for upcoming events. Great drill!
I have been practicing this a lot recently getting ready for upcoming events. Great drill!
Last edited:
Far be it from me to disagree with Jimmy Reid, as he was arguably the best shotmaker for the cash that I ever saw. Right up there with Buddy and Keith. I'm a little sceptical however about an extremely tight grip.
Any BCA Advanced or Master Instructor will give you the tools to improve in that area. From personal experience I can recommend Stan Shuffett. Some of the excercises that he advocates helped me with this and I saw Stevie Moore practicing these same drills exclusively before a big match on TAR. Afterwords, after winning I should say, he gave all the credit to Stan. Nuff said...Tom
Any BCA Advanced or Master Instructor will give you the tools to improve in that area. From personal experience I can recommend Stan Shuffett. Some of the excercises that he advocates helped me with this and I saw Stevie Moore practicing these same drills exclusively before a big match on TAR. Afterwords, after winning I should say, he gave all the credit to Stan. Nuff said...Tom
Straight in Shots
On straight in shots the line of aim goes thru:
The center of the cue ball
The center of the object ball
The center of the pocket
When you get down on a straight in shot your tip should:
Be pointing at the center of the cue ball
Be pointing at the center of the object ball
Be pointing at the center of the pocket
When your stroking the shot pretend the cue ball isn't there and your practice stroke is aiming at the center of the object ball. On you final stroke you should be pushing your tip thru the center of the object ball as if you were going to hit the object ball with your tip (although you will be hitting the cue ball first).
This does one thing very important:
Your stroke is being sent straight down the line of aim. Your not just pushing the cue in front of you.
I practice shooting with this technique to insure that I have a perfectly straight stroke (required for all shots). You will be amazed how much easier you can shoot off a rail also with this technique. This is the first thing I do when I start practicing. Just one rack of balls is all that is needed each time you practice to insure your stroke is straight.
If you like this technique let me know since there's one more thing about this that I don't want to discuss until after you have tried this technique and like it.
On straight in shots the line of aim goes thru:
The center of the cue ball
The center of the object ball
The center of the pocket
When you get down on a straight in shot your tip should:
Be pointing at the center of the cue ball
Be pointing at the center of the object ball
Be pointing at the center of the pocket
When your stroking the shot pretend the cue ball isn't there and your practice stroke is aiming at the center of the object ball. On you final stroke you should be pushing your tip thru the center of the object ball as if you were going to hit the object ball with your tip (although you will be hitting the cue ball first).
This does one thing very important:
Your stroke is being sent straight down the line of aim. Your not just pushing the cue in front of you.
I practice shooting with this technique to insure that I have a perfectly straight stroke (required for all shots). You will be amazed how much easier you can shoot off a rail also with this technique. This is the first thing I do when I start practicing. Just one rack of balls is all that is needed each time you practice to insure your stroke is straight.
If you like this technique let me know since there's one more thing about this that I don't want to discuss until after you have tried this technique and like it.
But if you do, won't they spill? And won't the waitress get *really* p!ssed when you knock over her tray full of 'em?
j/k
-Sean
Tip her and all is fine... its the dude waiting for the shots that is the problem, he usually gets up and aids with your alignment problem real quick:thumbup:
Good advice here... when you finish with the tip going to the OB, even make an effort to stand up leaving the tip on the table where it finished the stroke. This is great to do during practice forcing you to finish your stroke and shot. Makes for a smoother controlled stroke.
I know this has been talked about a ton lately, but the PerfectAim System that Gene Albrecht is promoting really does a great job of helping in this situation. It gets your eyes lined up right, and by moving your head back and forth to find the lineup points, it becomes really easy to see the spot where you need to be and pull the trigger.
www.PerfectAimBilliards.com
The DVD is about $70, and if you PM Gene on here, he might be able to help you out with a little lesson over the phone.
www.PerfectAimBilliards.com
The DVD is about $70, and if you PM Gene on here, he might be able to help you out with a little lesson over the phone.
Personally, when the tip is moving, I like to keep 100% of my focus on the cue ball. It reduces the anxiety I have with these types of shots. I due sttop the cue and make sure my aim is true. I also walk into to the shot to be sure of my body alignment to the shot.
The person who said stroke not straight is probably right, along with not sttriking the spot on the cue wheere you are aiming.
The person who said stroke not straight is probably right, along with not sttriking the spot on the cue wheere you are aiming.
If you haven't already done so, try an alignment drill. This requires only the cue ball.
Shoot the cue ball across the width of the table, and when you follow through hold the cue in place rather than pulling it back. Can you get the cue ball to return precisely to the tip of the cue? To ensure that you are shooting straight across the table you can aim at a diamond or at a piece of chalk sitting on the rail.
Next, place the cue ball on the head string and shoot the length of the table. Does the cue ball return to your tip? If not, then by how much does the cue ball miss the tip? Does it always miss to the same side?
If the cue ball always returns to one side of the tip, then you're consistently hitting the ball off center. This will affect straight-in shots.
One possibility is that your arm is sweeping a bit to one side on your final stroke. Another possibility is that your dominant eye is not located directly over the cue, in which case what appears to be a center ball hit will actually be a bit off center.
PMS
Banned
What helps me the most on these shots is really focusing on following through.
Understand how you're perceiving the shots. Typically, your cue will follow what your eyes think they see. When people say they miss long straight-in shots, you're either perceiving the OB incorrectly, you're not hitting the center of the CB, or you're stroking crooked.
Start off simple, try to use a 3rd eye trainer. I'd bet anything you think you're hitting the center of the CB and you're simply not. The slight variance from the vertical axis with a straight cue will 100% send your CB off the line.
Eye positioning is important as well - someone mentioned Gene's Perfect Aim. However, unless you're hitting the CB where you want - that won't fix your problem. If you are, this is a super reference.
Finally, your stroke. The secret to a straight stroke is a loose stroke. The tighter you get the more your muscles fight for a vote on which way to pull-- which is almost never straight. In fact, I like releasing the cue. The same way a dart is forced to fly straight when you let go-- the same holds for your cue. You don't have to physically drop your cue, but experiment with letting it slide in your hand. You'll be pleasantly surprised.
Perception, center of the CB and a straight stroke.
Start off simple, try to use a 3rd eye trainer. I'd bet anything you think you're hitting the center of the CB and you're simply not. The slight variance from the vertical axis with a straight cue will 100% send your CB off the line.
Eye positioning is important as well - someone mentioned Gene's Perfect Aim. However, unless you're hitting the CB where you want - that won't fix your problem. If you are, this is a super reference.
Finally, your stroke. The secret to a straight stroke is a loose stroke. The tighter you get the more your muscles fight for a vote on which way to pull-- which is almost never straight. In fact, I like releasing the cue. The same way a dart is forced to fly straight when you let go-- the same holds for your cue. You don't have to physically drop your cue, but experiment with letting it slide in your hand. You'll be pleasantly surprised.
Perception, center of the CB and a straight stroke.