Robert Raiford visits Betmore's Basement- you have NO idea what you are missing

Looking forward to what Mark and RR have coming.. Anxiously awaiting, thanks for the heads up Don!
 
Thanks, Joe. Sorry for the 'torture', but unfortunately the book won't be available until later in the year. You make producing high quality instructional material look easy, but we both know it's anything but! I'm doing what I can to crank it out in the slivers of time between work and life obligations, but I'm no professional writer, and it's moving more slowly than I (or my students) would like. That's why I've been limiting my in-person teaching time as Betmore mentioned, since it's time I could otherwise spend finishing the book.

Btw, thanks again for all you've done to help make us all better players. Racking Secrets alone has already permanently altered the course of pool history for the better.

Robert

Thanks for the kind words Robert. Yes we no its anything but, its actually torture in itself. Good luck and stay patient.
 
Its hard to overstate how strong this material is. Me and my buddy ray call Rob "sensei".

D-man,
I was pleasantly surprised to hear that you have been exposed to the methods - I guess I should have guessed that any serious player in that geographical area would have shown interest.

The cool thing is that there is nothing about his calculations that require any "leap of faith," you just calculate, shoot, and watch the ball go just about where you intended. If it is something on which you have had formal instruction from Robert; I wonder how long it took you to feel familiar with it?
 
I used some of the carom info immediately the same week he taught me. The shot I executed was done in an 8 ball match. My opponent left me behind some of his balls. I could barely see one of my balls. I thinned off of it and went one rail with English and made a ball that sat near the side with the cueball. The shot was there and makeable without knowing any systems, but I never would have seriously considered it before I began to understand how to measure the carom with accuracy.
 
I used some of the carom info immediately the same week he taught me. The shot I executed was done in an 8 ball match. My opponent left me behind some of his balls. I could barely see one of my balls. I thinned off of it and went one rail with English and made a ball that sat near the side with the cueball. The shot was there and makeable without knowing any systems, but I never would have seriously considered it before I began to understand how to measure the carom with accuracy.

Interesting? How bout a clue without details Robert? Contact points, ball hit, angle in, what tree should I be barking up? Come on just a hint:shrug:
 
Interesting? How bout a clue without details Robert? Contact points, ball hit, angle in

JT,
You've got it!!! His method teaches one to quantify those bits with precision, and use them to calculate angle out, and place the cue ball path accurately:):).

Of course, there is slightly more to it....in the same way that learning how to place a rivet does not qualify me to build the Titanic...though my results couldn't have been much worse....the Ark was built by amateurs, the Titanic by professionals...
 
Interesting? How bout a clue without details Robert? Contact points, ball hit, angle in, what tree should I be barking up? Come on just a hint:shrug:

LOL Joe! :) I'll try, but a 10,000ft view is a little tricky because of its scope and somewhat different nature. Uwate's comment is suggestive of one aspect, but it's also a little misleading for the same reason.

For example, if I said it can help you accurately kick 1 or more rails with arbitrary spin across different kinds of equipment, you might say, "it's a kicking system!" If I said it can help you curve your CB with control onto precise lines to avoid scratches, break clusters, weave through traffic, etc. you'd say, "it's a carom system!". If I said it can help you pocket balls and make banks with various spins and speeds, you'd say, "it's an aiming system!" While it's true that it covers all of these things, I hope that it's not limited to them...

I prefer to think of it more as a model of billiard dynamics rather than specific systems for specific shots. My goal is to give players a solid understanding of ball and cushion interactions while providing the practical tools necessary to apply it spontaneously and with accuracy at the table.

My guiding inspirations were Sang Lee (billiards) and Efren Reyes (pool) because of their uncanny ability to not only find unusual solutions in difficult spots, but to execute them with deadly precision once imagined. I wanted to get as close to that kind of freedom at the table as my natural limitations would permit. It turns out that, besides helping my own game, my geeky analytical approach happens to make it possible to communicate my discoveries in detail to others. More purely intuitive or 'feel' players tend to have much of their knowledge locked away in their muscle memory only, making knowledge transfer difficult.

I know there will be plenty of critics - I'm not too worried about them. I'm hoping to connect with the others that I know have been searching for this kind of information (like me, before I finally realized I had to figure it out myself). Because of the interconnected nature of its different aspects as well as my personal emotional investment (hey, it's my baby :)), I have specific ideas about how I want to present it to the public. Unfortunately, that means........no peeking ;)

Robert

"All models are wrong. Some are useful." - George Box
 
My guiding inspirations were Sang Lee (billiards) and Efren Reyes (pool)

Both are favorite as well. Efren because i am lucky enough to know him and am still amazed every time I watch him play.
Sang Lee because, well, He is Sang Lee, the man did things to a billiard ball that you would never think were possible.

I still have a old VHS of Sang Lee playing Semih Sayginer. One of my favorite videos off all time.
 
Both are favorite as well. Efren because i am lucky enough to know him and am still amazed every time I watch him play.
Sang Lee because, well, He is Sang Lee, the man did things to a billiard ball that you would never think were possible.

I still have a old VHS of Sang Lee playing Semih Sayginer. One of my favorite videos off all time.

I'm jealous! I've never met Efren, but I hope to someday. Watching him play (especially one pocket) drew me back into pool after too many years as a carom-only player. He really showed the world how mixing creativity with strong skills across both disciplines could be truly magical at the table.

I was fortunate to know Sang Lee for many years, though, and he never ceased to amaze me with his unique conceptions. He was the kind of 3C player that could keep a room full of world class players on the edge of their seats watching the spin and direction of his practice strokes with no idea what he was about to shoot. I only wish he hadn't left us so early. :( Thanks to classic videos like yours from Accu-Stats and the "Sang Lee Collection" from CaromTV, he can continue to inspire new players for generations to come :)

Robert
 
Oh great another book to read...lol...i'm always amazed by your post willie! Sign me up for a copy,thanks,hoss.
 
lol joe! :) i'll try, but a 10,000ft view is a little tricky because of its scope and somewhat different nature. Uwate's comment is suggestive of one aspect, but it's also a little misleading for the same reason.

For example, if i said it can help you accurately kick 1 or more rails with arbitrary spin across different kinds of equipment, you might say, "it's a kicking system!" if i said it can help you curve your cb with control onto precise lines to avoid scratches, break clusters, weave through traffic, etc. You'd say, "it's a carom system!". If i said it can help you pocket balls and make banks with various spins and speeds, you'd say, "it's an aiming system!" while it's true that it covers all of these things, i hope that it's not limited to them...

I prefer to think of it more as a model of billiard dynamics rather than specific systems for specific shots. My goal is to give players a solid understanding of ball and cushion interactions while providing the practical tools necessary to apply it spontaneously and with accuracy at the table.

My guiding inspirations were sang lee (billiards) and efren reyes (pool) because of their uncanny ability to not only find unusual solutions in difficult spots, but to execute them with deadly precision once imagined. I wanted to get as close to that kind of freedom at the table as my natural limitations would permit. It turns out that, besides helping my own game, my geeky analytical approach happens to make it possible to communicate my discoveries in detail to others. More purely intuitive or 'feel' players tend to have much of their knowledge locked away in their muscle memory only, making knowledge transfer difficult.

I know there will be plenty of critics - i'm not too worried about them. I'm hoping to connect with the others that i know have been searching for this kind of information (like me, before i finally realized i had to figure it out myself). Because of the interconnected nature of its different aspects as well as my personal emotional investment (hey, it's my baby :)), i have specific ideas about how i want to present it to the public. Unfortunately, that means........no peeking ;)

robert

"all models are wrong. Some are useful." - george box

lol.........
 
Back
Top