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As a pool player, should he/she learn snooker fundamentals such as the stance, aiming, bridge, grip, cue action ......... to play pool??
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As a pool player, should he/she learn snooker fundamentals such as the stance, aiming, bridge, grip, cue action ...... to play pool??
It's a tough call but it has been proven that snooker fundamentals translate easily to pool but pool fundamentals do not translate at all to snooker. No one using pool fundamentals has had a lick of success at snooker but plenty from the snooker world have killed it in pool. Aside from Allison Fisher and Karen corr in the womens, Darren Appleton and Karl Boyes basically played both snooker and english 8ball before switching to american pool
You don't need snooker fundamentals to play great pool, look at many of the top pool players.
I think it takes a lot longer to master snooker fundamentals than traditional pool fundamentals. Just taking the open/closed bridge debate. A closed bridge is going to give a beginner more stroke power and make a draw shot easier, but the top snooker players using an open bridge have some of the most powerful draw shots in the world (some of the full snooker table length draw shots they do are amaxing) but you don't develop that much accurate cue power overnight.
Bottom line, use what is best for you
I learned snooker first, growing up in the UK. The two most obvious differences (in the fundamentals) are the closed bridge, and the stance. In snooker, the balls are slightly smaller and the table is a few inches higher. I think those are the main reasons for the bridge and stance evolving differently.
Yes, I play pool with an accent
I believe the snooker stance would provide MANY benefits to your pool game...repeatability is a big one. The snooker stance puts you in such a position that it places your elbow, wrist, & cue in alignment & forces your body to remain still. The cue is forced to move along a straight line. Until you feel it, it's hard to fathom.
Unfortunately, I've discovered that it is not the perfect answer (for me) as I am taller than average (6'-4") and the pool table is lower than the snooker table. This forces me to bend over at an uncomfortable angle...so I'm trying to develop a hybrid.
A puzzle I haven't solved yet is why snooker players tend to step into position with the cue down & raise it up into position. Pool players tend to fall into position (sloppily I might add) with the cue already up & at their side. There must be something to that.
BTW, a snooker stance is HORRIBLE for the break. By definition the snooker stance locks you body into position, which counters the body movement needed to crush the rack. It's hard to transition between the two..."side-saddle", pool style for the break (for body transition) and then rigid snooker stance for shooting (for precision & repeatability).
One possible answer is because once the stance, bridge hand, head and back elbow are in position, the cue will just slot right in. If you put the cue in position first, you could adopt any old stance around it and think it's OK, because the cue is aiming correctly - your body might not be, though.A puzzle I haven't solved yet is why snooker players tend to step into position with the cue down & raise it up into position. Pool players tend to fall into position (sloppily I might add) with the cue already up & at their side. There must be something to that.
For a hard break, yes, of course. When I break, I switch my brain over to cricket and hit a straight drive back past the bowler, all along the ground. Seems to work quite well.BTW, a snooker stance is HORRIBLE for the break.
One possible answer is because once the stance, bridge hand, head and back elbow are in position, the cue will just slot right in. If you put the cue in position first, you could adopt any old stance around it and think it's OK, because the cue is aiming correctly - your body might not be, though.
For a hard break, yes, of course. When I break, I switch my brain over to cricket and hit a straight drive back past the bowler, all along the ground. Seems to work quite well.
One possible answer is because once the stance, bridge hand, head and back elbow are in position, the cue will just slot right in. If you put the cue in position first, you could adopt any old stance around it and think it's OK, because the cue is aiming correctly - your body might not be, though.
Exactly right. A common suggestion from instruction books is to place your cue first and then form your stance around it. Sounds great in concept, but I think it's actually quite awkward in practice.