First Videos could use some feedback

Stylez777

Stylez777

New member
Hey Fellow AZers. I've been out practicing as much as I can the past few weeks and I finally was able to get to a friends to use his pool table and camera so I could shoot some video of myself practicing some "ghost" 9 ball games.

(it isn't a real pool table in my eyes! It's off level in certain areas and doesn't even have real felt on the table. It's pretty bad)

Anyway I'd appreciate any feedback anyone could give good or bad I can take it all. I've been trying to work on my stroke by myself and fine tune it to get more consistent. I also get frustrated easily (as you shall see) when I miss position or miss a shot. My cue ball control is not where I'd like it to be either so that is another area I am trying to work on. Any advice or comments anyone could offer would be helpful. Thanks in advance.

http://s248.photobucket.com/albums/gg194/stylez11375/Pool%20Practice/
 
Do you have any instructional books? Consider picking up either Phil Capelle's Play Your Best Pool or Robert Byrne's Standard Book of Pool and Billiards, if you don't already have one of them. The 8-Ball Bible by Givens is another good one: http://8-ballbible.com/ These books are packed with useful info.

For a step-by-step review of the thought process of running a 9-ball rack, check out David "Blackjack" Sapolis's Lessons in 9-Ball.
http://www.deadstrokeuniversity.com/

In video 1 when you have ball in hand (BIH) after the break it looks like you tried to make tight position on the 2. Try setting up those balls again and find the route that allows you to move the cue ball the least and take the fewest chances of hooking yourself or leaving bad shape.

Do you shoot positional drills? In video 2 you take a shot on (what I think is) the 5 ball and then don't have position on the 6 ball. If you miss position on a shot like that, considering shooting that particular shot as a drill ten times in a row rather than simply continuing to shoot through the rack. If you don't shoot drills it's going to be difficult to develop a feel for positional play. Repetition is important.

If you're interested in measuring your progress while shooting structured drills, check out Joe Tucker's Guaranteed Improvement, which comes with a DVD.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IAunOldAe4

After you shoot some drills, try this: throw three balls on the table, give yourself BIH, and run them in order. If you can do this ten times in a row, put four balls on the table, and so on. Re-shoot tough patterns.

Good luck.
 
Rethunk said:
Do you have any instructional books? Consider picking up either Phil Capelle's Play Your Best Pool or Robert Byrne's Standard Book of Pool and Billiards, if you don't already have one of them. The 8-Ball Bible by Givens is another good one: http://8-ballbible.com/ These books are packed with useful info.

For a step-by-step review of the thought process of running a 9-ball rack, check out David "Blackjack" Sapolis's Lessons in 9-Ball.
http://www.deadstrokeuniversity.com/

In video 1 when you have ball in hand (BIH) after the break it looks like you tried to make tight position on the 2. Try setting up those balls again and find the route that allows you to move the cue ball the least and take the fewest chances of hooking yourself or leaving bad shape.

Do you shoot positional drills? In video 2 you take a shot on (what I think is) the 5 ball and then don't have position on the 6 ball. If you miss position on a shot like that, considering shooting that particular shot as a drill ten times in a row rather than simply continuing to shoot through the rack. If you don't shoot drills it's going to be difficult to develop a feel for positional play. Repetition is important.

If you're interested in measuring your progress while shooting structured drills, check out Joe Tucker's Guaranteed Improvement, which comes with a DVD.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IAunOldAe4

After you shoot some drills, try this: throw three balls on the table, give yourself BIH, and run them in order. If you can do this ten times in a row, put four balls on the table, and so on. Re-shoot tough patterns.

Good luck.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply.

I do shoot drills from time to time. I already do the 3 balls on table start with BIH and run them out. I can normally get 10 for 10 on those. I have been working on trying to recognize patterns and trying to work through a rack. I hardly ever take the right pattern and I do get out of position a lot. I know i need to work on cue ball control and being able to use the proper english when the situation calls for it. I get frustrated easily when things don't go the way I want them to (big problem). I am going to keep practicing I'm trying to figure out if I need to work on my stroke, stance, breaks etc ontop of the other things I need to work on. I am going to look into the info you posted and I appreciate you taking the time to view the video and posting your feedback.
 
Stylez777 said:
Anybody else have any opinions?
Click to expand...

You look extremely off balance with your stance. Pool is all about the basic fundamentals. You cannot master the game, until you master the fundamentals of stance, stroke, cue ball control, etc.

Martial artists, football players, fencers, all rely upon their stance to provide a foundational base for their balance.

As a result of your stance flaws:
You tend to be too far away from the table
Your bridge length is exaggerated (too long)
You are off balance

Balance - sighting - fluidity - accuracy... all starts with having solid stance.

I would recommend that to properly solve this issue, you find a qualified instructor in your area. This is not something that can be fixed by reading a book or watching a video. Of course an instructor costs money, but weigh that cost against the cost you will save after years of frustration - and its well worth it.

After you take care of your stance issues, get back with me (either here or at my website) and I will send you some material on cue ball control.

If you need help finding an instructor in your area, let me know.
 
Last edited:
Just looking at mechanics, a couple of observations.
I think your grip hand might be a little bit forward of where it should be. Think 90 degrees. This results in a very short follow through distance, and may be causing you to be decelerating your cue when you actually make contact.
You do seem to have your hand cocked in toward your body. (chicken wing) It's a little hard to tell if that might be causing your cue to veer off to the side a bit, but that is something I see frequently.
Your warm up strokes range anywhere from 5 to 7, and I have no idea when you are actually going to pull the trigger.....do you?????
There isn't a lot of consistency in your stroke. Sometimes it is a very short smooth stroke, sometimes it's a short punch, and sometimes you drop your elbow and completely change the entire stroke.
I would like to see what your eyes are doing during the shooting process. Consistent eye patterns are critical, and I can't tell what is going on in the video.
Your shot making seems pretty good, but I'm not sure you are getting the cue ball to the best position possible to set up your next shot. Admittedly, the equipment you were playing on may have had much to do with that.

Steve
 
Hey Stylez, first it takes guts to put yourself out there and ask for criticizm. You are trying hard to learn and that means a lot. I agree with BlackJack that you look off balance. When you get down on a shot you should be completely comfortable and your stroke fluid. Try to find some good info on proper fundamentals. Repetition will fine tune those basics. At a point, you will feel just as comfortable down on the ball as you do sitting in your favorite chair. Muscle memory will get you there. One thing that I noticed, you stay down on the ball real well unless it is a hard shot. If it's a hard one you tend to jump up out of your stance. Concentrate on staying down on the tough ones. That's where it is the most important. Keep practicing and you WILL get more comfortable.
 
Blackjack said:
You look extremely off balance with your stance. Pool is all about the basic fundamentals. You cannot master the game, until you master the fundamentals of stance, stroke, cue ball control, etc.

Martial artists, football players, fencers, all rely upon their stance to provide a foundational base for their balance.

As a result of your stance flaws:
You tend to be too far away from the table
Your bridge length is exaggerated (too long)
You are off balance

Balance - sighting - fluidity - accuracy... all starts with having solid stance.

I would recommend that to properly solve this issue, you find a qualified instructor in your area. This is not something that can be fixed by reading a book or watching a video. Of course an instructor costs money, but weigh that cost against the cost you will save after years of frustration - and its well worth it.

After you take care of your stance issues, get back with me (either here or at my website) and I will send you some material on cue ball control.

If you need help finding an instructor in your area, let me know.
Click to expand...

Thank you for taking the time to give me your feedback Blackjack. I agree with you that there are certain things I won't be able to fix myself without seeking out the help of another. I am going to take some lessons starting next month (from a certified BCA coach) and hopefully work out some of the glitches in my fundamentals.
 
pooltchr said:
Just looking at mechanics, a couple of observations.
I think your grip hand might be a little bit forward of where it should be. Think 90 degrees. This results in a very short follow through distance, and may be causing you to be decelerating your cue when you actually make contact.
You do seem to have your hand cocked in toward your body. (chicken wing) It's a little hard to tell if that might be causing your cue to veer off to the side a bit, but that is something I see frequently.
Your warm up strokes range anywhere from 5 to 7, and I have no idea when you are actually going to pull the trigger.....do you?????
There isn't a lot of consistency in your stroke. Sometimes it is a very short smooth stroke, sometimes it's a short punch, and sometimes you drop your elbow and completely change the entire stroke.
I would like to see what your eyes are doing during the shooting process. Consistent eye patterns are critical, and I can't tell what is going on in the video.
Your shot making seems pretty good, but I'm not sure you are getting the cue ball to the best position possible to set up your next shot. Admittedly, the equipment you were playing on may have had much to do with that.

Steve
Click to expand...

Steve,

I appreciate you taking the time to view and to give me your feedback on my video. You have been around here a long time and are one of the more respected guys on AZ and I have always found your posts very informative.

I noticed what you were saying about my grip being too forward. I was trying to solve this, to get my arm more at a 90 degree natural bend at the start but to do that I'd have to hold the cue at the very end of the butt. This could be because my bridge arm is too far extended or the cue being too short for me? Hopefully the lessons I am going to take next month will get these little quirks ironed out.

My eyes I always keep fixed on my target once I get down on a shot (or so i like to believe they could move without my knowledge.) I never have a set amount of practice strokes in mind. I always went off a feel. If it feels right then I pull the trigger so to speak. Sometimes it could be 3 strokes sometimes takes 8 or 9 to get the feel. This could be 100% wrong and again working with a coach should correct this.

It's easy to blame the horrible table for the cue ball being out of position. (the table is pretty bad!) I never like to blame the equipment. It's something I am doing wrong and I need to improve my cue ball position.

I appreciate all the comments you and everyone else is posting. It helps me a ton to know what I am doing wrong and how I can start to correct these things so I can be come a more consistent and better player.
 
I keep watching my own video's over and over to hopefully catch things I don't see when I am actually shooting. I know it's been mentioned my stance looks off balance but does it sound weird to say it feels comfortable when I am doing it even though it may be wrong or not technical?

I am a tall guy I am 6'4" and my playing cue is 58" when together shaft is 29" seems about normal. I've been trying to get my arm to 90 degrees at the elbow when holding the cue and lining up a shot but it doesn't always work or I cannot get in a comfortable stance when doing this. I almost have to hold the cue at the very edge of the butt off the wrap to get it too work and then everything just feels off. I guess this is where getting an instructor comes in with fixing my stance and bridge distance so everything works in combination...
 
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