Shooting Left-Handed

Here is an example of what kills me. i've just pocketed the 3-Ball into the bottom right corner and have come up for position on the 4-Ball, hoping for position to get to the 5-Ball.

But......instead of getting at Point A or Point B which gives me an angle to get over to the 5-Ball, i end up about where the CB is now and have a very, very slight cut on the 4-Ball. And with draw i will draw it back up the long rail.

Its missing position like this - just ever so slightly - that continues to kill me. as well as missing shots i have practiced 10,000 times.

Mike

CueTable Help

 
DrCue'sProtege said:
Here is an example of what kills me. i've just pocketed the 3-Ball into the bottom right corner and have come up for position on the 4-Ball, hoping for position to get to the 5-Ball.

But......instead of getting at Point A or Point B which gives me an angle to get over to the 5-Ball, i end up about where the CB is now and have a very, very slight cut on the 4-Ball. And with draw i will draw it back up the long rail.

Its missing position like this - just ever so slightly - that continues to kill me. as well as missing shots i have practiced 10,000 times.

Mike

CueTable Help

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there's a main problem....perfectionist.......just put the CB in the area of the "L" where it says Pool.biz

you don't have to get on the nuts of the balls to run out. Its not even a difficult lie, and you can smooth stroke the ball and get it back over to the right side for the 5 straighter in line for the 6.......b/c thats your main issue on this rack the left to right travel between the 4 and 5/6 not the transition to the 3 to 4
 
on second thought maybe you should switch to lefty bro.....you think too much like a right hander lol j/k:p
 
For the above shot, you're trying to do too much. You want a close, easy shot in a window that gets smaller and smaller the closer that you get. Try for the easier window, which is what GG was talking about. Get a little wide on the angle and you're still guaranteed a pretty easy way to get shape on the next without having to work hard on either the shot or the leave. That's currently one of my bigger problems - working for that "easy" leave (that sometimes seems like a no-brainer) and tossing aside the idea of the stupidly easy shot and leaving myself a guaranteed mediocre/somewhat-easy shot (which I'll try to do more of tonight).

As for the opposite-handed stuff.. just keep practicing until you get over that awkward feeling (it happens eventually). Keep in mind that if you start practicing seriously with it, that's time you could be spending seriously practicing (like working on not working too hard).

Stop putting yourself through the wringer and put your game through it instead. You keep telling yourself that you're missing run-outs.. it sounds more like you're trying too hard to make them ridiculously easy. Like I said, I'm going to work on putting my own words into action tonight if I can.
 
I was going to say the same thing Neil just said. When I finally figured out 2-rail shapes the first time and english, etc... I tried to get pinpoint position all the time, and never did. Even though my logical brain knows what to do (usually), I'm trying to force my body to do it. After repeatedly being told by players with more experience that what I'm doing isn't the way to go about - just play for an area in the right angle, unless there's a need for pinpoint, just be sure to get to the area with that angle.

As GG has said, once I gave up trying to scientifically plan the exact route, and played a little more dumb, I started running racks. I still don't run multiples and I still make mistakes, but I no longer over-analyze the table so much so that I'm in a constant state of "analysis paralysis".

I always point to a location on the table where I want to end up, but as long as I'm in line with the next shot, if it's a little farther away, I'm okay with that. I hope to play pinpoint at some time in the future, but for now, this is making me quite happy.
 
I agree with what you guys are saying about trying to be perfect. Buddy Hall is known for his saying "Why play for position when you already have it?"

however, in the above diagrammed shot i wasnt trying for pinpoint dime position. i came around two rails after pocketing the 3-Ball and hit it too hard and ended up with the CB where it was. i didnt aim for it to go that far, i just messed up.

and i told myself if i would have stopped 6 inches back, or been a ball to the left or right i would have been ok. as usually happens, i stopped at just about the worst spot possible, and this type of thing kills me.

Mike
 
I shoot left-handed and am also left-eye dominant but am somewhat ambidextrous. A couple of weeks ago when I was down in Kenmore I decided to shoot an entire rack northpaw (breaking lefty, of course). It was quite a learning experience, especially with regards to the stance and sighting the shots.

I actually found it not nearly as difficult as I originally thought it would be, even with my circa 24.25-ounce cue...
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
i didnt aim for it to go that far, i just messed up.

Mike
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And that is all you really need to know. We can usually learn something from our mistakes. Figure out what you did wrong, and don't do it anymore!

If you can identify exactly what you did wrong (wrong speed, wrong kind of spin, etc) you can correct the problem.

Every shot you make...good or bad...is a learning experience. But only if you take advantage of it.

Steve
 
pooltchr said:
If you can identify exactly what you did wrong (wrong speed, wrong kind of spin, etc) you can correct the problem.
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It was the wrong speed thing again. You know, speed control, something i've been working on for about 10 years now and still dont have under control.

Mike
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
It was the wrong speed thing again. You know, speed control, something i've been working on for about 10 years now and still dont have under control.

Mike
Click to expand...

have you been working on the numerical speed drill found in the mothers drills you got from scott?
 
greyghost said:
have you been working on the numerical speed drill found in the mothers drills you got from scott?
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He seems to think that there is little to be learned from MD#5, since it's just rolling balls up and down the table. I really do hope he figures it out one day.

Steve
 
pooltchr said:
He seems to think that there is little to be learned from MD#5, since it's just rolling balls up and down the table. I really do hope he figures it out one day.

Steve
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Two things:

1) I've practiced Mother Drill #5 many times and am pretty good at it.
2) Yes, for me its a complete waste of time.

Mike
 
If learning how to measure the speed of your stroke is a waste of time to you, I can only conclude that you have not taken the time to learn how to apply that information to your shot making.

If you set up a half ball cut shot, and shoot it at a 3 speed and see how far the cue ball travels after contact, then shoot the same shot with a 1 and a 5 speed and observe the difference, you have learned something. Do the same thing with a nearly full hit, and a very thin hit, and pay attention to your results, you've learned something else.

Speed control is a tool. If you choose not to use the tools at your disposal, how do you honestly expect to improve?????

You say you missed a shot because of poor speed control, yet you think that a speed control drill is a complete waste of time??????

Do you not see a problem here? You have all the tools you need to improve, but if you don't use those tools effectively, it ain't going to happen. An instructor can only show you what you should do to improve. It's still up to you to do the work.

Steve
 
pooltchr said:
If learning how to measure the speed of your stroke is a waste of time to you, I can only conclude that you have not taken the time to learn how to apply that information to your shot making.

If you set up a half ball cut shot, and shoot it at a 3 speed and see how far the cue ball travels after contact, then shoot the same shot with a 1 and a 5 speed and observe the difference, you have learned something. Do the same thing with a nearly full hit, and a very thin hit, and pay attention to your results, you've learned something else.

Speed control is a tool. If you choose not to use the tools at your disposal, how do you honestly expect to improve?????

You say you missed a shot because of poor speed control, yet you think that a speed control drill is a complete waste of time??????

Do you not see a problem here? You have all the tools you need to improve, but if you don't use those tools effectively, it ain't going to happen. An instructor can only show you what you should do to improve. It's still up to you to do the work.

Steve
Click to expand...

Uh, hey, Pooltchr, didnt you read my post? i said i've practiced MD#5 many times and am good at it.

Mike
 
You said you're good at MD#5 and yet you said speed control is something you practised but still am not good at after 10 years?
 
Umm...

You do understand that you do drills to work on your in-game shotmaking abilities, right? For example, you need the cueball to travel x distance, so you hit it with x amount of power, which you should have learned by doing speed control drills. doesn't matter what type of shot it is, the same basic rules apply. And I thought I was as hard-headed as you.
 
Keith Jawahir said:
doesn't matter what type of shot it is, the same basic rules apply.
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I absolutely 100% totally disagree with this statement!

On MD#5 you roll balls up and down the table, just hitting center ball. and what happens if i have to hit a ball with low left? there is no comparison. none whatsoever.
 
Hi all there :)

1.) You need a repeatable straight stroke-this is the goal for everyone right on beginning!
2.) Good fundamentals are the key for successful and good billiards!
3.) Practice
4.) Practice
5.) Practice
6.) Practice
7.) Practice
8.) Practice
9.) Practice
10.)Practice

P.S.- if you don t believe what your *instructor* told you, you can delete Point 1-10

lg
Ingo
 
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