Is there any ONE SHOT in Pool that is More IMPORTANT to MASTER than Another?

donny mills said:
I don't know if many would agree, but I remember this one shot I learned the first year or so I started playing.
I watched the miz shoot a routine shot which was cutting the 9 in the corner with a little low outside and the cueball came 2 rails out of the corner... for him it was routine but for me it was awesome... after i saw that shot something clicked and i shot it all the time and got much better after that.

Its basically when you have an angle on a ball and you shoot it with low outside... or center outside, or a hair above center with outside, or a hair below center etc. Basically I think once you've mastered that shot you become alot better.
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You shared this with me via PM some time ago, and I was very impressed with what practicing that ONE shot (with infinite variations) did for me....Thank you.

Buddy Hall purported this same tip; he called this "helping English", and used it for a great majority of his shots. And if Buddy, widely recognized as having the greatest cue ball control of all time, says to do something a certain way, you probably should do what he says.

Also, Donny Mills, who almost won the US Open this year, has quite a bit of "street cred" as well. :smile:
 
CocoboloCowboy said:
Is there any ONE SHOT in Pool that is More IMPORTANT to MASTER than Another?

If you think there is what is it, and what is the reason behind you thinking.
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I would think that it's more important to master basic language skills first...such as:

-Correct usage of punctuation

-Learning the difference between "you" and "your"

-Learning when to capitalize, and when to leave well enough alone



You make Fatboy look like an English professor.
 
the420trooper said:
I would think that it's more important to master basic language skills first...such as:

-Correct usage of punctuation

-Learning the difference between "you" and "your"

-Learning when to capitalize, and when to leave well enough alone



You make Fatboy look like an English professor.
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What the hell was the point of that post? :mad:
 
i think to say a stop shot is the most important shot is like saying putt's under one foot are the most important shots in golf. i think the ability to go one ball forward is much more important a shot than a stop shot. a stop shot it just a total hanger, i mean everyone with skills that amount to more than two dead flies can stop their ball.
 
Don't forget the natural roll

CocoboloCowboy said:
Is there any ONE SHOT in Pool that is More IMPORTANT to MASTER than Another?
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I certainly agree with those posters who have nominated the stop shot and its variations. But I am surprised that nobody thinks the natural roll is worthy of mention. No better base for very reliable and predictable cue ball paths IMHO.

For example, if you need to break a cluster accurately (ie controlling all the balls) then it is worth looking to see if there is a natural roll shot that will do it.
 
Siz said:
I am surprised that nobody thinks the natural roll is worthy of mention.

For example, if you need to break a cluster accurately (ie controlling all the balls) then it is worth looking to see if there is a natural roll shot that will do it.
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Excellent point, and it's also worth trying your hardest to get the angle that allows you to use that shot when a breakout is necessary.
 
3andstop said:
I agree. It isn't easy to get those two corner balls to go out to the cushion and straight back into the pack while you send the cue ball 3 rails and have it rest frozen on the fourth rail behind the headstring! :yes:
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I like the way you think
 
CocoboloCowboy said:
Is there any ONE SHOT in Pool that is More IMPORTANT to MASTER than Another?

If you think there is what is it, and what is the reason behind you thinking.
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I think learning to thin the object ball from varying distances will win a lot of 9-ball games for you... For example, I practice thinning a close-to-frozen 9-ball near the middle of the short rail, sending the cue ball 2 or 3 rails to the middle of the opposite short rail.
 
PhilosopherKing said:
I think learning to thin the object ball from varying distances will win a lot of 9-ball games for you... For example, I practice thinning a close-to-frozen 9-ball near the middle of the short rail, sending the cue ball 2 or 3 rails to the middle of the opposite short rail.
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This may be somewhat of departure, but learning to kick off of the cushion points will expand your options and open doors in a lot of precarious situations.
 
CocoboloCowboy said:
Is there any ONE SHOT in Pool that is More IMPORTANT to MASTER than Another?

If you think there is what is it, and what is the reason behind you thinking.
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This might not count as a correct response, but I am going to throw my hat in for "speed controlled shot". You can MAKE all the shots you want, but without proper speed control, you aren't going to get any position. Doesn't matter how much spin, follow, draw on it. Without the right speed, you will be screwed.

If I could pick one thing to master, it would be that.
 
First I think the ability to pocket a shot is important ( doesn't matter what shot), More critical is ball speed and control, what good is making even 1 shot if you can't get the cue ball around the table to line up your next one.

I guess you could almost argue this question closely relates to "what came first, the chicken or the egg"?

Can't successfully have one with out the other....
 
Yes...the stop shot. It the the KEY control shot in pool, and mastering that shot allows you learn almost every other aspect of how to accurately predict the directional path of the CB, after contact with the OB...based on physics and geometry.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

CocoboloCowboy said:
Is there any ONE SHOT in Pool that is More IMPORTANT to MASTER than Another?

If you think there is what is it, and what is the reason behind you thinking.
Click to expand...
 
Scott Lee said:
Yes...the stop shot. It the the KEY control shot in pool, and mastering that shot allows you learn almost every other aspect of how to accurately predict the directional path of the CB, after contact with the OB...based on physics and geometry.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
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Hmmm, others will argue the same thing for follow shot in which the player truly has to move the cue ball around the table . . .
 
stop shot no doubt, then all variations on the same axis from follow to extreme draw, snooker players work on that for years

the break too

up down the table on the same axis is critical too

english is way down the list
 
I don't get it, what's with the break shot and the stop shot being so important??? The most important shot to learn...is the shot that should NOT be missed, as in there's no excuse for missing it. Haven't you guys ever made a hard as hell shot at the table...been proud as all get out that you MADE it...then MISS the next EASY shot????????...Hard shots are expected to be missed, that's why you play safe....but EASY shots are what cost you the game....and MONEY! Everyone of you have seen a PRO miss an easy shot...and say to yourself..."Hell, I could have MADE that shot"

Glen, the "Realkingcobra"
 
realkingcobra said:
I don't get it, what's with the break shot and the stop shot being so important??? The most important shot to learn...is the shot that should NOT be missed, as in there's no excuse for missing it. Haven't you guys ever made a hard as hell shot at the table...been proud as all get out that you MADE it...then MISS the next EASY shot????????...Hard shots are expected to be missed, that's why you play safe....but EASY shots are what cost you the game....and MONEY! Everyone of you have seen a PRO miss an easy shot...and say to yourself..."Hell, I could have MADE that shot"

Glen, the "Realkingcobra"
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More often than not, the reason you miss those easy shots is that you fail to follow your normal routine. You walk around and carefully study the difficult shots, and then follow your normal pre-shot routines, taking time to make sure you get it right. Then the easy one comes up, and you just drop down and fire away.
It's not that you don't know the shot...it's just a mental breakdown.

Steve
 
realkingcobra said:
I don't get it, what's with the break shot and the stop shot being so important??? The most important shot to learn...is the shot that should NOT be missed, as in there's no excuse for missing it. Haven't you guys ever made a hard as hell shot at the table...been proud as all get out that you MADE it...then MISS the next EASY shot????????...Hard shots are expected to be missed, that's why you play safe....but EASY shots are what cost you the game....and MONEY! Everyone of you have seen a PRO miss an easy shot...and say to yourself..."Hell, I could have MADE that shot"

Glen, the "Realkingcobra"
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I agree the most important shot is the one you are preparing to shoot,...
If you just made an incredibile shot and you don't get your head back into the shot you are NOW setting up on.... you may very well be sitting down talking to yourself ( and not so nicely ) about how any 1st grader could have made that shot I just missed... : )
I do however agree that mastery of the stop shot, is the next part of advancing your game, after stroke , stance, alignment and Bridging.
Mark
 
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