help a new player

M

Makey98

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I am still a beginner at this and recently got my own table so I am playing a lot. *
Straight pool is my favorite game, but my stroke is inconsistent and I feel like I change it everyday, trying to get it down.
It seems to come and go.* When I slightly change my eye position, arm, body position and it feels good, it feels like I have a stroke with results (cue follows table length shot into the pocket or I
am hitting good dead stop shots 4 diamonds apart.) but then I have to relearn cutting the ball in.* I am making progress however.
*
So I haven’t strung any runs together.* Mostly just about 10 balls or so.*
Going through Joe Tuckers drill book and really committing to a practice routine, rather than just playing.
*
However, one thing I do notice when I try to run some racks to see how my drills are improving my play is that I don’t have
great breaks.* I set up the classic break shot and need to work on just hitting those balls in.
*
However, when I do hit the ball in, I am trying various things, like hitting between the 1st *two balls of the rack, hitting the 1st ball dead on, etc.
I try different spins, slight draw, follow, center ball etc and I notice two things that consistently happen and I don’t know what I am doing wrong.
*
I either hit the stack decently but the cue ball comes all the way down towards the head of the table, giving me a hard first shot.
This seems to happen regardless of if I use draw or not.
Other times I consistently hit the break ball in, the cue bounces off the rack and then goes straight in the corner pocket.*
This happens regardless of if I use follow or not.
*
It seems like it is the angle I am hitting the stack.* Any thoughts on why these two things happen?

any other advice is welcome to help me run my first 20!!
*
Matt *
 
Makey98 said:
I am still a beginner at this and recently got my own table so I am playing a lot. *
Straight pool is my favorite game, but my stroke is inconsistent and I feel like I change it everyday, trying to get it down.
It seems to come and go.* When I slightly change my eye position, arm, body position and it feels good, it feels like I have a stroke with results (cue follows table length shot into the pocket or I
am hitting good dead stop shots 4 diamonds apart.) but then I have to relearn cutting the ball in.* I am making progress however.
*
So I haven’t strung any runs together.* Mostly just about 10 balls or so.*
Going through Joe Tuckers drill book and really committing to a practice routine, rather than just playing.
*
However, one thing I do notice when I try to run some racks to see how my drills are improving my play is that I don’t have
great breaks.* I set up the classic break shot and need to work on just hitting those balls in.
*
However, when I do hit the ball in, I am trying various things, like hitting between the 1st *two balls of the rack, hitting the 1st ball dead on, etc.
I try different spins, slight draw, follow, center ball etc and I notice two things that consistently happen and I don’t know what I am doing wrong.
*
I either hit the stack decently but the cue ball comes all the way down towards the head of the table, giving me a hard first shot.
This seems to happen regardless of if I use draw or not.
Other times I consistently hit the break ball in, the cue bounces off the rack and then goes straight in the corner pocket.*
This happens regardless of if I use follow or not.
*
It seems like it is the angle I am hitting the stack.* Any thoughts on why these two things happen?

any other advice is welcome to help me run my first 20!!
*
Matt *
Click to expand...


i know it's stupid but i always do better when i avoid the classic break shot. i do better with the break ball under the rack and use inside english or when i have a thin cut on the break ball and the cb goes directly into the stack.

do yourself a favor and checkout blackjack's youtube page. lot of good 14.1 videos on youtube. getting on the keyballs and break balls are what i like to focus on when i watch videos
http://forums.azbilliards.com/member.php?u=141
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwNISCMfjD8
 
Makey98 said:
Going through Joe Tuckers drill book and really committing to a practice routine, rather than just playing.
Click to expand...

The above statement will do the most for you. You can never practice your stroke too much, keep that in mind! Being able to stroke the ball smoothly and apply spin will help you more in the long run. Being able to do this will help you control the cue ball on those break shots your having trouble with.
 
14.1

Welcome to the "World of 14.1" It is by far the best game within the sport.
Blackjacks videos are the way to go. A ton of information covering different aspects of the game.
 
Makey98 said:
I am still a beginner at this and recently got my own table so I am playing a lot. *
Straight pool is my favorite game, but my stroke is inconsistent and I feel like I change it everyday, trying to get it down.
It seems to come and go.* When I slightly change my eye position, arm, body position and it feels good, it feels like I have a stroke with results (cue follows table length shot into the pocket or I
am hitting good dead stop shots 4 diamonds apart.) but then I have to relearn cutting the ball in.* I am making progress however.
*
So I haven’t strung any runs together.* Mostly just about 10 balls or so.*
Going through Joe Tuckers drill book and really committing to a practice routine, rather than just playing.
*
However, one thing I do notice when I try to run some racks to see how my drills are improving my play is that I don’t have
great breaks.* I set up the classic break shot and need to work on just hitting those balls in.
*
However, when I do hit the ball in, I am trying various things, like hitting between the 1st *two balls of the rack, hitting the 1st ball dead on, etc.
I try different spins, slight draw, follow, center ball etc and I notice two things that consistently happen and I don’t know what I am doing wrong.
*
I either hit the stack decently but the cue ball comes all the way down towards the head of the table, giving me a hard first shot.
This seems to happen regardless of if I use draw or not.
Other times I consistently hit the break ball in, the cue bounces off the rack and then goes straight in the corner pocket.*
This happens regardless of if I use follow or not.
*
It seems like it is the angle I am hitting the stack.* Any thoughts on why these two things happen?

any other advice is welcome to help me run my first 20!!
*
Matt *
Click to expand...


welcome to the world of straight pool...it will reward you at times and yet frustrate you many others...I will leave you with something BlackJack once left for us a few posts back..which may be of use to you...

The 10 Unwritten Rules of Straight Pool

1. In straight pool it is just as important to get the balls open as it is to get them into the pockets.

2. You can have the best stroke in the world, but if your brain is of low quality, you'll always have a rough go of it.

3. When you find yourself in a bad spot, remember that sometimes experiencing the problem is worth twice as much as finding the solution.

4. Great straight pool players are keenly aware to operate within their own capabilities. Many frustrated straight pool players see their runs end by being completely unaware that they are operating within their inabilities.

5. Frustration is the bastard child of laziness and complacency.

6. The break ball is not the most important shot ... the most important shot is the shot the gets you on your break ball. If you can remember that and learn to combine it with masterful simplicity, then you're likely to get into the next rack.

7. The most important ball on the table is not the break ball, its not the key ball, nor is it any of the other object balls - the most important ball is the cue ball. Players that fail to realize this are usually the ones that you see having to bank their break ball.

8. In straight pool, self control is twice as important as cue ball control. If you cannot control you, then sooner or later everything else will.

9. You usually make the shots that you think you're going to make, and you usually miss the shots that you think you're going to miss. More times than not, what you think is going to happen usually does happen... so it's best to be thinking something good.

10. In straight pool, nothing will end your run quicker than carelessness. When it comes right down to it, I'll take bad luck over carelessness any day.

:thumbup:
 
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