Well, I must be a glutton for punishment, lol, but I have read every post in this thread (nearing 800 now I suspect). From that, I cannot say I have learned anything new about aiming, at least that I can put a finger on...
I do not post in areas that I am not familiar with, so I have no comments regarding the ongoing discussion, but this discussion leaves me with the following question: Can I benefit from the purchase of Stan's system (or any other aiming system for that matter)? Even though this thread is purported to not be strictly about CTE, many, many of the posts discuss it... Yes, I have already located Stan's website, and see the price is reasonable. I am not averse to spending a little money, I have been known to buy Accu-Stats Videos by the handful (that's one of my primary learning methods, watching others better than me, always has been). Currently own maybe 5-10 instructional books, all thoroughly dog-eared, but not visited recently (therefore the reason I don't know the exact count, or where I have stashed them). :smile:
For any of you to help me answer this question, a little about me might be required. I like to play on 9-ft'ers and the place I frequent has a mixture of Brunswick GC 3's and Diamond Pro-Am's. I have been playing for 25+ years and have an open mind to learning. Would say that I am self-taught (although when I was younger I would say I spent as much time watching the best players I could find for as many hours as I could - I couldn't afford to play them, I was young and broke). Then I would practice trying to execute what I saw them do on a table by myself. I am sure I long ago passed the HAMB milestone, but I have no way to quantify that for sure. Have never had a personal lesson - maybe I should try that, too.
Currently I aim by what most in this thread would describe as "feel", I think. There is definitely not any conscious system at work. When I started, the way you learned was by putting in time, word of mouth, etc. I am not even sure Al Gore had invented the internet yet, lol. Originally, I aimed by simply finding the point on the OB that was opposite the intended target (not always a pocket, of course), and then finding the point on the CB that would come into that point on the OB "first". I would then adjust my body, bridge hand, cuestick, stroke, etc. to ultimately try to use the CB to swipe the OB with that point on CB that arrived "first". I am sure this approach is not novel, and probably even has a formal name. If it is a geometrically correct approach, I am not sure... I still revert to this from time-to-time on some shots, as it seems to work for me.
I play with the same cheap Meucci I bought in 1990 and do not use a low deflection shaft. Tried one once and didn't like the idea of having to adjust my entire mental framework of how to adjust for squirt, swerve, deflection or whatever the appropriate term(s). Maybe I didn't give that enough time...who knows. I am not sure what the adjustment time is for the CTE method, but my experience with the LD shaft told me my patience is not great for re-tooling (I readily admit in advance this may be to my detriment with something radically different).
Anyway, I pot okay, I guess, but certainly not as well as I would like. Hmmm, what else? Oh, I was an APA SL-7 in 8-ball before I gave that up 4-5 years ago (like that APA number really means anything, though). In my most recent session of FARGO last night I scored 125 over 10 innings and cleared all 15 balls 6 out of 10 racks. But then again, if you are familiar with that solo practice game I recently learned about here:
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=85753 , it allows you to switch from random to rotation at a time of your choosing during the rack, so many of those shots end up being fairly close and familiar shots and you have options, i.e. multiple shots to choose from before you switch over to rotation.
I believe by asking this question, this thread can also serve a useful purpose for those who might have the same question as I do, and therefore, in it's own way, I believe it can become a contribution to the discussion at hand, and therefore not solely about "me", which is the last thing I want.
So no flames for this old man please, this is an honest and humble question merely seeking honest input in return. I will listen to all objective feedback, promise. Sorry for the length of the post, I couldn't get out the question I wanted in just a few words and expect to receive the feedback requested.
Many blessings, much respect and peace to all...
~Razor