My stroke disappears:

bobroberts

bobroberts

Pool player
Silver Member
i don't know what it is but i play a little everyday and one day is great, the next i can't make a ball.
I do know a lot of it is concentration.
Ive noticed top pro's have what i call a hitch in their stroke. Instead of just straight back and forth they seem to also go up and down at the same time. I have tried to duplicate this but can't.LOL
I now pause before striking the qb and that helps, but my stroke isn't always the same.Suggestions.
 
Find the closest SPF Instructor and take a days lesson.....SPF=randyg

PS: Scott Lee is always around your area.
 
bobroberts said:
i don't know what it is but i play a little everyday and one day is great, the next i can't make a ball.
I do know a lot of it is concentration.
Ive noticed top pro's have what i call a hitch in their stroke. Instead of just straight back and forth they seem to also go up and down at the same time. I have tried to duplicate this but can't.LOL
I now pause before striking the qb and that helps, but my stroke isn't always the same.Suggestions.
Click to expand...

Bob find a pro who has a good stroke to emulate. Most pros have been playing for so long that these inconsistencies are a part of their stroke that they have learned to compensate for and adjust to over time.

Try doing the same thing every time. concentrate or a repeatable stroke. Pay attention to where you are hitting the CB and focus on delivering the cue to that spot. All the wiggle waggle in the world won't make a difference if you can hit the spot you are aiming at on the CB. All the wiggle waggle will do is impart unintended English on the ball when you fail to hit the precise spot on the CB you were aiming for and you'll miss.

Start with a comfortable smooth REPEATABLE stroke and go from there.

:cool:
 
I feel your pain bobroberts.

Are there any top instructors in the CT area?

Some days I feel like I should be playing on ESPN; other days, Sesame Street. Why do I always have so many television references?

Hey, maybe that's what's wrong with my game? :grin::thumbup::grin:

Best,
Brian
P.S. I really would take a lesson if anyone knows someone up this way...
 
Hey Bob, would you stand still for some advice from the bottom of the heap?

Some of your best training aids can be had at your local office supply store. Get some of those 3/4 inch paper disks that come in all different colors and some donuts, you know, those hole re-inforcers. Get the paper ones, not the plastics. The plastics are too hard to remove. The paper ones wont hurt your cloth a bit. Set up a straight in stop shot easy enough that you can do close to 100% on it. Put one of the disks down for a launching pad, the spot where you are going to put the cue ball. Put a donut where you are going to put the object ball. Now shoot that shot a million times. At the end of each shot, freeze, just like Scott Lee would tell you. Is your cue shaft smack dab over the center of the launching pad? If not, you have isolated one of your problems.

I hope that Scott Lee, Geno, Jerry Briesath or any of the other great instructors will not be outraged that an amateur such as me presumes to give advice. My intentions are honorable.

Dave Nelson
 
Last edited:
It sound like more of a concentration problem, I run into the same problem
some days i play real well and others i am a little off,
I found when I am off if I set up some drills with intent it brings my focus back in , also good to check fundamentals, and alignment ,
There are a lot of videos u will find useful on u tube Max E has some real good ones , also some others, but practice with purpose don't just hit racks of balls,

I turned to a couple of sports psychology books and they really improved my practice and play , especially when I am not playing my top speed
matches where I would get disgusted and fold I now hang in and come back and win some of those sure losses, be a grinder

2 good drills for alignment and stroke, one line cue ball and object ball about a foot apart in one corner and shoot diagonal to the other corner with follow trying pocket the cue behind the object ball, that will tell u if ur stroking straight, now do the same thing with no practice stroke at all. this will tell u if u are aligned

onestroke
 
Last edited:
Well gee, bob, could it be that you just can't play pool worth a crap in the first place? Huh?
Or, maybe you're old and feeble and suffering from dementia, pluresi, gout, nearsighteness, sinusitus, COPD, chron's desease, baldness, and ringing in the ears? Huh?
Or maybe, my good friend, you just need to do what Randy suggested and visit and instructor. Not so much for a lesson, you understand, but more like a coach being able to see some trouble spots. :)
 
Tramp Steamer said:
Well gee, bob, could it be that you just can't play pool worth a crap in the first place? Huh?
Or, maybe you're old and feeble and suffering from dementia, pluresi, gout, nearsighteness, sinusitus, COPD, chron's desease, baldness, and ringing in the ears? Huh?
Or maybe, my good friend, you just need to do what Randy suggested and visit and instructor. Not so much for a lesson, you understand, but more like a coach being able to see some trouble spots. :)
Click to expand...

Truth be told i probably do suffer from most of what you mentioned. now that you put my s--t out in the street.Thanks.

Thanks guys for your responses. i know most of my problem comes from not concentrating the way i should. But i do know that when i play a pro who has the same stroke as Mika its just different then my own. I've tried to copy their stroke but its theirs and i have mine. When i asked my friend "A Pro"about his stroke, he couldn't explain it. I figure its a god given thing that no matter how much you practice and do drills you wont be able to reach their level.I guess i will never be able to reach that level and that's okay as long as i am having fun.
 
Much like golf swings, where no two are exactly the same, a pool stroke will be yours alone and will be slightly different from everyone elses. You should know the cue ball doesn't care what you're doing with the cue until, and only for, the moment of contact which is a ridiculously short period of time. You can look like the smoothest or the goofiest person except for that moment and still make the shot! (Don't ask me how I know this.)

To be successful, one needs a repeatable stroke, a sense of touch, and a knowledge of what the balls will do when struck. All of these can be learned if the student is willing. Sounds like you are.

I can also recommend Scott Lee and or Randy G's pool school.

Brian in VA
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top