Aiming - My final thoughts

JB Cases

JB Cases

www.jbcases.com
Silver Member
So this will be the second thread I have ever started on the subject. The first was a thread that I begged for people to be allowed to discuss CTE without harassment. That failed.

I am tired too.

My final thoughts on this are that aiming systems/methods/routines all have merit, they are all worth exploring, everyone has some sort of method they use and if ingrained enough then it becomes natural in appearance and feel.

Shortcuts: there are definitely shortcuts to learning the game of pool. ANY quality instruction is a shortcut. Picking up the 99 Critical Shots book is a shortcut. Any method of aiming is a shortcut.

Still with any system/method/routine it has to practiced in order to become a reliable part of your game.

The difference between having the knowledge of the system/method/routine and not having it can be years of development.

Stroke/Stance: If you are aiming at the wrong target with the perfect stance you will miss the right target 100% of the time. If you are aiming at the right target with less than ideal stance and stroke then you will definitely hit the target SOME of the time. Aiming and proper stance/stroke go hand in hand but aiming is the more important part of the equation in my opinion. In order to hit the ball in a straight line you have to be able to deliberately identify and get down on a straight line.

So my final thoughts based on my 25+ years as a pool player are that if you can't develop accuracy through finding the right aiming line then you will never be a good player. Once you know that you can find the correct line then you can work on the delivery and adjustments for throw and spin. Any method/system/routine which helps you find the right aiming line consistently is a good thing.

And with that I am DONE with aiming and pool theory on this forum. I resolve from here on out to withhold any and all of my thoughts on how to play better pool from AZ Billiards and any unmoderated online forums and leave that to the professionals and professional instructors.

Hit some balls today and have fun. I will.
 
You are quitting?!?!

DAMN!!

<----just lost $20.

More power too you. Good luck with your yahoo group discussion.
 
Well it's not quitting the forum outright, but it has that "I'm packing up my ball and going home" feel to it.

Just because some guys don't agree with you on some things (really ONE thing) is no reason for a guy with near 6000 posts to stop giving people good advice on how to play better pool.

Very disappointing to see this from you. Not a mature way to handle it imo :/
 
Actually, i wasn't talking about the forums. I was betting that JB would never quit arguing about CTE.
I was actually thinking .oO(Don't these guys know what they are dealing with? These guys have no chance. Right or wrong, JB is going to argue with them till they want to hang themselves)

But oh well.
 
CreeDo said:
Well it's not quitting the forum outright, but it has that "I'm packing up my ball and going home" feel to it.

Just because some guys don't agree with you on some things (really ONE thing) is no reason for a guy with near 6000 posts to stop giving people good advice on how to play better pool.

Very disappointing to see this from you. Not a mature way to handle it imo :/
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Creedo, there are plenty of people on this forum who are far more qualified than me to give advice on how to play pool.

I am sorry but it all gets ridiculous to me when people start claiming that there are no shortcuts and education is meaningless. On top of that the snarkiness and outright ridicule is just too much and sad.

This community has pulled together so many times to help out our own and now over something like this I see people insulting and ridiculing each other simply because they happen to want to try something new.

I am a mediocre player. I have played all over the world, gambled for up to $1500 a set, beat a few better players in my life, lost to a lot more, about even with players my speed, won countless rinky dink events, played on a few decent league teams, won a few mid range events and generally have had a rollicking great time playing pool. I have a lot more to offer the people of this board recounting my experiences rather than instructing them on how to play.

My industry experience speaks for itself and is a continuing story. I am one of the few real industry people who participate on this forum that I know of. So my insights there might be of more value to the forum as well than pool instruction.

It wasn't my intention to become the front man for CTE. To me it works and like electricity I don't really have to know how it works to use it. I'd like to know how it works so I can understand it that much deeper and be able to show it in detail but it's not essential for me to enjoy the benefits.

Peace.
 
I have never see a player whit good technigue who can not pot the balls, but i have seen a lot of player who aim is good but can,t not pot nothing.
 
John-thanks

For taking one(many) for the team.

Thanks for your enthusiasm and zeal.

Get back to work.

Take care.
 
Oku-74 said:
I have never see a player whit good technigue who can not pot the balls, but i have seen a lot of player who aim is good but can,t not pot nothing.
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I can appreciate that, but check out the first triple negative in AZB forum history! :thumbup:

John,

You have a lot more to offer than you may think. If everybody had the same ideas about pool there would be no exchange of information and none of the SOS would ever get tested and debunked. I look forward to reading your posts and the ensuing sh!t storm that usually follows. :D Don't stop now. Let the blood pressure drop a few points and get back in there. Some of these guys never post until you do. They'd have to find something else to do! J/K I'll stop before the PM's start again. :D

Best,
Mike
 
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CreeDo said:
Well it's not quitting the forum outright, but it has that "I'm packing up my ball and going home" feel to it.

Just because some guys don't agree with you on some things (really ONE thing) is no reason for a guy with near 6000 posts to stop giving people good advice on how to play better pool.

Very disappointing to see this from you. Not a mature way to handle it imo :/
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At some point some people get tired of the BULL S**T FACTOR ON THE NET, and don;t NEED THEIR BLOOD PRESSURE RAISED!:angry:

That is why there are some on this FORUM I will never Reply to as my time is too valuable for their BULL S**T FACTOR. PLUS I PERSONALLY LIKE MY BP IN NORMAL RANGE!@:wave:
 
JB Cases said:
Creedo, there are plenty of people on this forum who are far more qualified than me to give advice on how to play pool.

I am sorry but it all gets ridiculous to me when people start claiming that there are no shortcuts and education is meaningless. On top of that the snarkiness and outright ridicule is just too much and sad.

This community has pulled together so many times to help out our own and now over something like this I see people insulting and ridiculing each other simply because they happen to want to try something new.

Peace.
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I know exactly how you are feeling about some of the people on this website. If they don't like the subject of your thread, or don't agree with your opinion, they try to make you feel like you're some kind of degenerate a**hole or something. I have never understood why people open a thread just to lodge a complaint about the subject matter of said thread (hey, that rhymes:D), then go so far as to belittle you as a human being.

OTOH, there are a great many people here who are not only friendly, but very insightful as well. You are one of them. Although I do not get on the "aiming-system" bandwagon (I feel that everyone who aims to pocket an object ball is using SOME kind of system, whether it has a name or not), I KNOW that your pool-shooting abilities are far greater than mine. That being said, I NEED for people like yourself to post on here your beliefs, advice, etc. to possibly better my own game. I'll sort out what I want to use and don't want to use. You just keep supplying the info. Please???

Shoot a few balls, you feel better soon!!!

Maniac
 
they make 'em by the bushel

I hadn't delved into the aiming threads and sometimes it seems a but much for my liking. But I largely choose to pass them by and let others have at it.

But as with everything, some humans just can't help but piss in the Wheaties. I think we just have to have the discipline to blow 'em off, else we absorb too much negativity. Let 'em piss while we move forward.
 
John,
If you leave the discussion to the professionals and the professional instructors here on AZ Billiards you will read VERY LITTLE that will benefit your game.

It is not in their financial interest to discuss the fine details of playing better pool.

As "professionals" they earn money for their respective jobs, so you have to attend their classes, pay for pool lessons or watch them ply their trade.

At least here on AZ Billiards, whether you agree with everyone's point of view or not, it is discussed, openly and subject to criticism from one and all. With private paid lessons, there normally isn't a large consensus of opinions. Here on AZB Main Forum, everything is free unless you choose to order some of the products that are reviewed and discussed.

I don't have any FINAL thoughts on aiming systems but I do have one current thought I shared just today with another member of AZ offline.

It is my belief that ALL aiming systems, help to improve FOCUS. Like most players, I notice that I play my best pool without any specific so called structured aiming system but my consistency isn't always there and the aiming systems (all of them) help to bring my mind back to a sharper focus and it is this improved focus that helps me with my consistency.

I know that you, nor anyone else on this forum believes that an aiming system is all that you need to play the best pool.

There seems to be some one upsmanship going on with proponents of aiming systems and those that don't use aiming systems and that is where the flaming begins. It's on both sides and both parties seem to regal in sticking the needle in each other's ribs.

The CORE TRUTH is that aiming systems WILL HELP SOME PEOPLES GAME, and in some cases, A LOT!

The other part of the CORE TRUTH, is that aiming systems WILL NOT HELP SOME PEOPLES' GAME.

And finally, no aiming system is going to make you a champion.

Oh yeah, one more thing, this Main Forum is about the discussion of billiards and that includes aiming systems. :D
 
John I hope you rethink this,with all these stupid threads ridiculing aiming systems they evidently miss them.If they can not get educated then they turn into teen age girls and try to provoke.Well I am provoked.They try and say CTE is bull, but I have yet seen these wise men do anything but shoot their mouth off.No titles among them,they have to refer to he said she said BS.Why is their way better?What makes them an authority ?They just think they know and anything they do not understand they ridicule .If they can not show me a championship title or credentials,then they are just another nobody period,with nothing more than an opinion about something they know nothing about.Hell they can probably tell you how to build your cases
Peteypooldude
 
peteypooldude said:
John I hope you rethink this,with all these stupid threads ridiculing aiming systems they evidently miss them.If they can not get educated then they turn into teen age girls and try to provoke.Well I am provoked.They try and say CTE is bull, but I have yet seen these wise men do anything but shoot their mouth off.No titles among them,they have to refer to he said she said BS.Why is their way better?What makes them an authority ?They just think they know and anything they do not understand they ridicule .If they can not show me a championship title or credentials,then they are just another nobody period,with nothing more than an opinion about something they know nothing about.Hell they can probably tell you how to build your cases
Peteypooldude
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I need to back off. I have a lot of stuff to do and I am neglecting it. I do plan to continue discussing CTE in the yahoo group and post some videos. I tried a few things today that were interesting.

AZ is a bit to wild west for me. Instead of offensive posts getting censored as they do it in other forums I participate in this forum has a habit of either allowing people to stalk and insult or they delete entire threads which sometimes contain a lot of good content that people put a lot of time and effort into. I really do think that AZ needs more moderators to keep it civil and keep threads on track. I used to think the complete opposite but the level of outright trolling and nonsense and sabotage currently present is disheartening. On other boards I am on which are heavily moderated everyone gets along and we have a great time. We learn from each other and good information doesn't get buried under personal conflict and sociopathic stalking. I need to spend more time on those boards improving my knowledge of leather working and laser engraving.

As I get older I realize that the reason most people are civil to each other in person is that there are consequences if they aren't. Here there aren't any such consequences, well very rarely does someone get reprimanded and banned for harassing and rude posts that are inciteful and hateful as well as off-topic.

This thing with CTE has taught me that there is no point in trying to prove with words what needs to be shown in person. This lesson applies to aiming systems as well as case construction. I have written a million words on this and other forums and still most people don't ever really get it until they see my cases side by side another maker's in person. Until then it's "on the internet nobody knows you're a dog" type of mentality.

So the epiphany I had is to to stick to relating things that I have been through, leave the theory to others, and try to have fun rather than prove points.
 
LAMas said:
They call it, "Freedom of Speech" here in the USA:thumbup:.
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Try inciting a riot using speech and see what happens. Make a threat against the president and see what happens. Yell "fire" in a theater when none exists and see what happens.

When you come into my house your right to free speech ends. You are expected to act civilly and courteously to me and my family and if you don't then I have the right to ban you from my property and you can freely speak elsewhere.

On the internet you can say what you want to. However when you put your thoughts up on someone else's space then they have the right to delete or edit it and censor it.

Mike Howerton can choose if I annoy him enough to erase all the content I spent years creating on this website.

I used to think that the net would be this place where anyone could be free to say whatever they want and only the content matters. For the past year I have changed my thoughts on this to the point that I see that the "web" is littered with a LOT of pure trash and drivel and it never goes away. All the aiming threads which started out with people just wanting to learn are now littered with pure crap making them pretty much useless to anyone interested in those techniques as they have to wade through the cesspool to pick out the gems.

In contrast - on www.leatherworker.net and www.sawmillcreek.org almost all the content is pure gold. Once in a while a little conflict will flare up between posters and the moderators crush it quickly, delete the offending posts without deleting the thread and the beat goes on with more great content.
 
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