Stroking Straight

SpiderWebComm

SpiderWebComm

HelpImBeingOppressed
Silver Member
Does anyone here think they stroke straight? Do any pros stroke PERFECTLY straight? Or, do pros just play their slightly crooked stroke perfectly?

Is it possible to stroke perfectly straight repeatably?

I'm curious to hear everyone's feedback.

I'm of the opinion that no one strokes straight and trying to do so is futile... but I might be wrong. Looking forward to sweating this thread-

Dave
 
Dave:

Short answer: yes, I believe I do have a straight stroke.

Long answer: when away from an actual pool table, I practice with my LaserStroke (yes, I have one of those -- but I'm happy to have one!). I don't do the "marking a dot on the wall" thing as recommended in the user guide; rather, I just aim at a paper Calendar across the room, and line-up / stroke the vertical laser line on top of one of the vertical lines (vertical date delimiters) in the paper calendar's crosshatch pattern, all the way through follow-through. I've been doing this for a couple years, and I think I have a straight stroke, even at the table (which I verified by actually using the LaserStroke at the table).

Also, I tried shooting shots with a stand-up dressing mirror positioned at the other side of the table, and as far as I can tell, my stroke is straight when shooting through shots. I had a couple folks look down my cue as I'm shooting (even when I wasn't aware they were watching), and they tell me the same -- no hooks/crooks in my stroke, a straight follow-through all the way until the forward motion of the cue stops.

Many folks don't realize it, but the grip plays a crucial role in whether your stroke is straight or not. Since your fingers wrap and underneath the cue, the top part of your palm (the part closest to where your fingers join your hand) and heel of your hand can steer the cue during follow-through. I know I had a problem for a very long time with the heel of my hand "bumping" into the cue (I'm a righthander), and since the heel of my grip hand is on the outward-facing side of my cue, it sent the butt of my cue ever so slightly to my left (towards my body), which diverts the tip to my right. I use a technique of curling my pinky inwards, like a little "ball" that rests on the outside of the cue, which pulls the heel of my hand out of the way. It's like a "space governor" that keeps the heel of my hand out of the way of a free-flowing stroke. It works for me, and keeps my stroke straight.

When I see you at SBE in a couple weeks, you can tell me if this is true, or if I'm out on Pluto or something.

Hope this is helpful!
-Sean
 
I have also found that the Laser Stroke really helps. Nothing else will show the flaws. I found that I was rotating my wrist.
 
Per the 4 questions...
#1 - No, I don't - not to the extent that seems to be in context here.
#2 - Probably not, but the best - damned close consistently.
#3 - Most pro's - probably this is the reality.
#4 - Repeatedly is relative - comes down to consistency.
True "pro's" operate at a level of unforgivingly accurate consistency that is hard to approximate no matter how good you think you may be.
Burt Kinster offered up, & demonstrated, a practice routine where he placed OB1 approx 2 to 3 inches in front of a corner pocket, and another OB2 half way (or a little further) to the long cross corner - dead straight shot. Then he bridges over the ball in the corner to shoot OB2 into the long corner & draw back to make OB1. He not only makes OB1 - he follows it into the pocket with the CB!
THAT is a straight stroke.
Is it necessary to shoot that straight "repeatedly"? I don't think so. But if you exercise the discipline to train yourself to stroke that straight "relatively" - you have to become a much better shooter (not necessarily player).
I did (tried) this on a regular basis for a while, and saw a dramatic effect. Didn't execute it perfectly very often, but if you're making both balls at all, you'll notice improvement.
Wish I still had that same youthful drive & determination to match my enjoyment, but fact is - I'm 30 yrs into my day job. :(:rolleyes:;)
 
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I have a stroke trainer and when i am locked into that, I am dead perfect. I see how, and know what, a straight stroke looks and feels like, and I am getting closer to reproducing it on a shot by shot basis.

I don't believe everybody has a dead straight stroke, some may, but I would say it is very few. I am betting most pros have a hitch in their stroke, but play through it and now it is part of their game.

Take golf for a second. Luke Donald has what is considered by many as the best swing in golf at this time. Doesn't make him the best player, but i am sure it helped. Tiger Woods was the best player in golf, hands down, and then scrapped his swing in '04 or '05 and rebuilt it because he thought it would make him better. Ben Hogan was great and had a beautiful swing. Arnold Palmer was great and had an ugly swing.
 
I start my practice sessions with this drill. Either shoot 5 in a row or all 15 balls, whichever comes first. I am confident in the straightness of my stroke when I start practicing.

Nine times out of ten, I am consistently missing toward one side or the other. I get immediate feedback based on my misses.

CueTable Help

 
the straightest stroke in pool

SpiderWebComm said:
Does anyone here think they stroke straight? Do any pros stroke PERFECTLY straight? Or, do pros just play their slightly crooked stroke perfectly?

Is it possible to stroke perfectly straight repeatably?

I'm curious to hear everyone's feedback.

I'm of the opinion that no one strokes straight and trying to do so is futile... but I might be wrong. Looking forward to sweating this thread-

Dave
Click to expand...


Dave,

The straightest stroke in pool may come from Allen Hopkins. Keith also has a very straight stroke, when he wants it to be. The longer the stroke the less likely it is for the whole stroke to be straight.

My stroke is a crooked as a dog's hind leg. I can't play a lick when I fight trying to stroke pretty. When I simply play pool I shoot a little better. Most folks figure AZB has helped their pool game, I think it has actually hurt mine because I tried to make things work that simply weren't for me and conflicted with the way I have hit over two million balls.

Hu
 
To focus on my straight stroke, I put an plastic soda bottle on the table, and stroke into the small opening of the bottle.
 
I once read that some scientific examination of top pros showed that Alan Hopkins had the straightest stroke of any player examined.

I don't know any other details other than that. This was many years ago and I forgot which book I read that in.
 
I think if you go to the champions snooker tour in England,
that everyone has a pretty straight stroke. I'm not too
sure that an eleven to twelve foot shot could be made w/o
one.

As to me................... that's another story....:rolleyes:

td
 
ShootingArts said:
Dave,

The straightest stroke in pool may come from Allen Hopkins. Keith also has a very straight stroke, when he wants it to be. The longer the stroke the less likely it is for the whole stroke to be straight.

My stroke is a crooked as a dog's hind leg. I can't play a lick when I fight trying to stroke pretty. When I simply play pool I shoot a little better. Most folks figure AZB has helped their pool game, I think it has actually hurt mine because I tried to make things work that simply weren't for me and conflicted with the way I have hit over two million balls.

Hu
Click to expand...

Good post - there's no one size fits all. Keith was some kind of force of nature all the way around. Allen has such a compact stroke, it's no wonder it lends itself to accuracy.
 
It's pretty easy to check how straight your stroke is.
I use a lazer level I got at Home Depot for about 5 bucks. I use little stickers or paper renforcements and place them along a lazer line on the table so I know they are straight. Set up a vide camera facing your shot and video tape your stroke. The stickers give you a visual reference as to where the cue starts and finishes, and the video camera will show how the cue moves throughout the entire stroke. Slow motion is great!

Steve
 
SpiderWebComm said:
Does anyone here think they stroke straight? Do any pros stroke PERFECTLY straight? Or, do pros just play their slightly crooked stroke perfectly?

Is it possible to stroke perfectly straight repeatably?

I'm curious to hear everyone's feedback.

I'm of the opinion that no one strokes straight and trying to do so is futile... but I might be wrong. Looking forward to sweating this thread-

Dave
Click to expand...

As long as it is straight at contact, which I believe is true of most if not all pro's.
 
sfleinen said:
Dave:

Short answer: yes, I believe I do have a straight stroke.

Long answer: when away from an actual pool table, I practice with my LaserStroke (yes, I have one of those -- but I'm happy to have one!). I don't do the "marking a dot on the wall" thing as recommended in the user guide; rather, I just aim at a paper Calendar across the room, and line-up / stroke the vertical laser line on top of one of the vertical lines (vertical date delimiters) in the paper calendar's crosshatch pattern, all the way through follow-through. I've been doing this for a couple years, and I think I have a straight stroke, even at the table (which I verified by actually using the LaserStroke at the table).

Also, I tried shooting shots with a stand-up dressing mirror positioned at the other side of the table, and as far as I can tell, my stroke is straight when shooting through shots. I had a couple folks look down my cue as I'm shooting (even when I wasn't aware they were watching), and they tell me the same -- no hooks/crooks in my stroke, a straight follow-through all the way until the forward motion of the cue stops.

Many folks don't realize it, but the grip plays a crucial role in whether your stroke is straight or not. Since your fingers wrap and underneath the cue, the top part of your palm (the part closest to where your fingers join your hand) and heel of your hand can steer the cue during follow-through. I know I had a problem for a very long time with the heel of my hand "bumping" into the cue (I'm a righthander), and since the heel of my grip hand is on the outward-facing side of my cue, it sent the butt of my cue ever so slightly to my left (towards my body), which diverts the tip to my right. I use a technique of curling my pinky inwards, like a little "ball" that rests on the outside of the cue, which pulls the heel of my hand out of the way. It's like a "space governor" that keeps the heel of my hand out of the way of a free-flowing stroke. It works for me, and keeps my stroke straight.

When I see you at SBE in a couple weeks, you can tell me if this is true, or if I'm out on Pluto or something.

Hope this is helpful!
-Sean
Click to expand...

I've never heard anyone discuss the curled pinky with that much detail. Thanks. I'm going to give it a try based upon your details. I even like the laser device idea but I'll try anything to help my game. :p

The straighter the stroke, the better the consistency of play, imo. None of the pros stroke perfectly straight on every shot but most try to, except for maybe Ismael Paez.

JoeyA
 
TX Poolnut said:
I start my practice sessions with this drill. Either shoot 5 in a row or all 15 balls, whichever comes first. I am confident in the straightness of my stroke when I start practicing.

Nine times out of ten, I am consistently missing toward one side or the other. I get immediate feedback based on my misses.

CueTable Help

Click to expand...

I have a straight stroke and alignment,my problem and it usually shows up in this drill is my aiming!I've worked on getting my stroke straight for years,hours at a time,video taping,coaches etc.For me it mostly boiled down to my pre-shot routine,when it's consistant so am I.
 
SpiderWebComm said:
Does anyone here think they stroke straight? Do any pros stroke PERFECTLY straight? Or, do pros just play their slightly crooked stroke perfectly?

Is it possible to stroke perfectly straight repeatably?

I'm curious to hear everyone's feedback.

I'm of the opinion that no one strokes straight and trying to do so is futile... but I might be wrong. Looking forward to sweating this thread-

Dave
Click to expand...

1. not even close

2 not that I've seen so far

3. i would probably agree there

4. doubt it

In closing I just want to say simply that I don't believe the human body is designed to be able to stroke a cue perfectly straight consistently. I think the better players just found a way to co-ordinate everything in a way that allows them relatively consistent results.
 
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