Made changes suggested by you guys, posted 9-Ball Ghost videos – feedback appreciated

I really like the way the snooker player's fundamentals

tangte said:
Hi FranCrimi. I would like to make some discussion about his 'bent brige arm'. You said the same thing about my stance earlier. My bridge arm is bent too. I don't know why you don't like the bent arm. But I have seen more people using a 'bent arm' than 'straight arm'. I think his stance is more like a snooker stance. I am not sure how familiar you are with the snooker players. Pretty much ALL the snooker players use a bent bridge arm. I have only seen one player using a straight arm, his name is Jamie Cope. But his stance looks really weird. I am going to attach some pictures of the world top16 snooker players below. At the same time, can you please share some pictures of people using straight arm? I am going to give that try as well. Thanks!
Stephen Hendry:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/snooker/1766367.stm
Ronie O'sullivan:
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/sport/snooker/article3404366.ece
Mark Selby:
http://www.sportinglife.com/snooker/news/article/663/8316568/selby-seeking-consistency
John Higgins:
http://blogs.bettor.com/Newspaper-hands-over-tapes-in-John-Higgins-scandal-a19211
Click to expand...

I really like the way the snooker player's fundamentals open up the visual perspective - I incorporated some of them back in the early 90s.

The main thing I found effective was keeping my left foot parallel to the line of the shot. On long shots I actually aim at different sides of the pocket using my left foot to change my alignment slightly. I also prefer playing with a bent left arm, and find I see the cue ball better being slightly closer and more compact.

We would just suggest whatever angle your right arm angle is coming down on the shot should be the same as above the shot. Too much change in any of the upper body angles will lead to inconsistency unless you are willing to play 6-8 hours a day. "Begin with the End in Mind" - 'The Game is the Teacher'
 
DeadStick said:
Hi again everyone. Yesterday I posted some stroke videos in this thread:

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?p=4174568

and got some great feedback, mostly that a) I was clenching my grip too tight on finish, and b) I was standing too far from the CB at address.

I had a chance today to work on these things today. I moved my grip hand forward about 2 inches, stood about 4 inches close to the CB, and shortened my bridge a tad. Keeping my grip relaxed through to finish was the hardest part for me... adding power without clenching my fist felt like I might throw the cue. Overall it felt pretty good after a bit of practice, but threw my speed control off a little. That said, here are the results... would love your feedback:

STROKE, POWER DRAW, SIDE VIEW: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmCwTdx3Q9A

9-BALL GHOST GAME 1 (ugly runout):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDlhRFJmD9c

9-BALL GHOST GAME 2 (ugly runout):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACSJT2ITTZo

9-BALL GHOST GAME 3 (sweet save on the 4, dogged an easy 7):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWBCJU3AxiI

9-BALL GHOST GAME 4 (dogged a thin rail cut on the 9):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LiCR_t-kD8

Thanks everyone!
Click to expand...


solid out in the first rack. i wouldn't call it ugly at all.
 
tangte said:
Hi FranCrimi. I would like to make some discussion about his 'bent brige arm'. You said the same thing about my stance earlier. My bridge arm is bent too. I don't know why you don't like the bent arm. But I have seen more people using a 'bent arm' than 'straight arm'. I think his stance is more like a snooker stance. I am not sure how familiar you are with the snooker players. Pretty much ALL the snooker players use a bent bridge arm. I have only seen one player using a straight arm, his name is Jamie Cope. But his stance looks really weird. I am going to attach some pictures of the world top16 snooker players below. At the same time, can you please share some pictures of people using straight arm? I am going to give that try as well. Thanks!
Stephen Hendry:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/snooker/1766367.stm
Ronie O'sullivan:
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/sport/snooker/article3404366.ece
Mark Selby:
http://www.sportinglife.com/snooker/news/article/663/8316568/selby-seeking-consistency
John Higgins:
http://blogs.bettor.com/Newspaper-hands-over-tapes-in-John-Higgins-scandal-a19211
Click to expand...

It's pretty much across the board for snooker players, the idea is the bend in the arm puts your bridge hand directly in front of you and also adds stability overall. to me the straight arm is a weird alignment and requires you to turn your shoulders.
 
Actually I think from a consistency standpoint a straight bridge arm would be the most practical... However as a player gets taller the straight bridge gets his eyes further away from the shot... I actually watched the original video from deadstick and realized CJ's point, in the other thread, of using the hip to control distance of setup was something I had quit doing and as a result I was straight arming my own bridge...

I used the hip for reference today and it forced me into a bent bridge arm but I noticed my eyes were a good 8inches or so closer to the cueball.. It made a huge difference in my practice session in that the long shots that had started to bother me somewhat on position weren't near as big of a pain to handle....

After my session was over I started watching several players in the room. One of which is a friend of mine who was been playing less than a year and is actually progressing very rapidly having never played...

"She" is of course considerable shorter than me but I noticed she was naturally pretty much hip distance from the cueball.. She did have a straight bridge arm and I thought to myself man it must be nice to be the right size for the bridge to be straight and the distance to be optimal for repeating your stroke and getting a consistent visual picture every time......

I'm going to pay a little more attention in Tunica to the bridge arms.. I am betting Alex is straight bridge armed and couldn't get himself too far from the cueball if he tried for normal shots.....

Chris
 
don't tell anyone {about this one}, there's a few things we shouldn't release yet

The Renfro said:
Actually I think from a consistency standpoint a straight bridge arm would be the most practical... However as a player gets taller the straight bridge gets his eyes further away from the shot... I actually watched the original video from deadstick and realized CJ's point, in the other thread, of using the hip to control distance of setup was something I had quit doing and as a result I was straight arming my own bridge...

I used the hip for reference today and it forced me into a bent bridge arm but I noticed my eyes were a good 8inches or so closer to the cueball.. It made a huge difference in my practice session in that the long shots that had started to bother me somewhat on position weren't near as big of a pain to handle....

After my session was over I started watching several players in the room. One of which is a friend of mine who was been playing less than a year and is actually progressing very rapidly having never played...

"She" is of course considerable shorter than me but I noticed she was naturally pretty much hip distance from the cueball.. She did have a straight bridge arm and I thought to myself man it must be nice to be the right size for the bridge to be straight and the distance to be optimal for repeating your stroke and getting a consistent visual picture every time......

I'm going to pay a little more attention in Tunica to the bridge arms.. I am betting Alex is straight bridge armed and couldn't get himself too far from the cueball if he tried for normal shots.....

Chris
Click to expand...

Yes, Chris, when you use your hip for distance control it's relative to the length of the cue, therefore if you choke up for a "touch" shot, your hip will automatically move you closer to the cue ball. This means you will always have the same relative feel, no matter how much you choke up on the cue (or how far you hold it back). This technique also changes your bridge length in perfect accordance to the distance as well.

This is a big advantage when you "real eyes" the importance of it, but don't tell anyone {about this one}, there's a few things we shouldn't release just yet. ;) 'The Game is the Teacher'
 
tangte said:
Hi FranCrimi. I would like to make some discussion about his 'bent brige arm'. You said the same thing about my stance earlier. My bridge arm is bent too. I don't know why you don't like the bent arm. But I have seen more people using a 'bent arm' than 'straight arm'. I think his stance is more like a snooker stance. I am not sure how familiar you are with the snooker players. Pretty much ALL the snooker players use a bent bridge arm. I have only seen one player using a straight arm, his name is Jamie Cope. But his stance looks really weird. I am going to attach some pictures of the world top16 snooker players below. At the same time, can you please share some pictures of people using straight arm? I am going to give that try as well. Thanks!
Stephen Hendry:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/snooker/1766367.stm
Ronie O'sullivan:
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/sport/snooker/article3404366.ece
Mark Selby:
http://www.sportinglife.com/snooker/news/article/663/8316568/selby-seeking-consistency
John Higgins:
http://blogs.bettor.com/Newspaper-hands-over-tapes-in-John-Higgins-scandal-a19211
Click to expand...

Tangte, you make a very good point and I am aware of the snooker bent arm stance. Snooker cues are shorter and lighter. The tip sizes are significantly smaller. The balls are lighter and smaller.

I have watched a fair share of snooker players make the transition from snooker to pool. They start out with a bent arm and eventually change over for most shots. Those who continue to play both snooker and pool usually have a mostly bent arm. But if the change to pool is permanent, the arm isn't as bent as it was with snooker. Yes, there is the occasional pool shot where you will see a former snooker player shoot with a totally bent arm, particularly with rail shots.

As for photos of players, just look up most pool pros and you will see a straight arm in most instances. I just don't have the time to figure out how to post links to photos but I'm sure you will see that there are no shortage of pool players with a straight arm. While you're at it, take a look at which players lean their bridge arm on the table and which ones don't.

Can you play pool with a bent arm? Sure, I guess so. I think it's significantly harder to play that way. Everything's heavier in pool. If you think the weight doesn't make much difference, try increasing your cue weight by 1 ounce and see how your arm feels by the end of the day.
 
Last edited:
One other thing I want to mention about pool cues and bent arms: As we know, a pool cue is significantly longer than a snooker cue. How does the longer cue length affect sighting with a bent arm? How does that affect cue balance?

Just something to think about, no?
 
FranCrimi said:
Tangte, you make a very good point and I am aware of the snooker bent arm stance. Snooker cues are shorter and lighter. The tip sizes are significantly smaller. The balls are lighter and smaller.

I have watched a fair share of snooker players make the transition from snooker to pool. They start out with a bent arm and eventually change over for most shots. Those who continue to play both snooker and pool usually have a mostly bent arm. But if the change to pool is permanent, the arm isn't as bent as it was with snooker. Yes, there is the occasional pool shot where you will see a former snooker player shoot with a totally bent arm, particularly with rail shots.

As for photos of players, just look up most pool pros and you will see a straight arm in most instances. I just don't have the time to figure out how to post links to photos but I'm sure you will see that there are no shortage of pool players with a straight arm. While you're at it, take a look at which players lean their bridge arm on the table and which ones don't.

Can you play pool with a bent arm? Sure, I guess so. I think it's significantly harder to play that way. Everything's heavier in pool. If you think the weight doesn't make much difference, try increasing your cue weight by 1 ounce and see how your arm feels by the end of the day.
Click to expand...

The standards for snooker cues are usually 57", 57-1/2", 58" 17-19 oz and of course the balls and tips are smaller, not sure what this has to do with bending your arm??
Anyway just for the record here's a couple of converts all with bent arms, there are not really that many.

Tony Drago
http://youtu.be/1WYAhhp84Oo

Darryl Peach
http://youtu.be/J6oy9R3BjFs?t=1m16s

Chris Melling
http://youtu.be/g2itwx0_CvY?t=7m52s

Tony Crosby
http://youtu.be/0bIdkuCaUek?t=5m43s
 
FranCrimi said:
One other thing I want to mention about pool cues and bent arms: As we know, a pool cue is significantly longer than a snooker cue. How does the longer cue length affect sighting with a bent arm? How does that affect cue balance?

Just something to think about, no?
Click to expand...

No, pool cues are not significantly longer than snooker cues. They are really about the same, both around 58 inches. Trust me, I played 6 years of snooker before I started to play pool. Snooker cue is just smaller in diameter. Also, snooker cue is usually made of one piece of wood, so you can see age-rings on the cue. I did have a hard time when switching from a snooker cue to a pool cue, but nothing to do with the balance. It's more about the way you stroke. Snooker players rarely move their upper arm, but pool players do. Anyway, it feels really different. We will talk more about that later.
 
tangte said:
No, pool cues are not significantly longer than snooker cues. They are really about the same, both around 58 inches. Trust me, I played 6 years of snooker before I started to play pool. Snooker cue is just smaller in diameter. Also, snooker cue is usually made of one piece of wood, so you can see age-rings on the cue. I did have a hard time when switching from a snooker cue to a pool cue, but nothing to do with the balance. It's more about the way you stroke. Snooker players rarely move their upper arm, but pool players do. Anyway, it feels really different. We will talk more about that later.
Click to expand...

Snooker cues are significantly lighter than pool cues. I have played my share of snooker. I find that they are significantly shorter too, but it's all a matter of what you feel is significant. For me, it's a significant difference.

Good luck with your bent arm but I do wish you would experiment with a straight arm. I think you will find some interesting benefits.
 
Snooker cues are generally gripped at the very end on the flat anyway most pool players are not at the very end so length is a moot point imo. Still doesn't explain the logic of a straight arm?
 
Slasher said:
Snooker cues are generally gripped at the very end on the flat anyway most pool players are not at the very end so length is a moot point imo. Still doesn't explain the logic of a straight arm?
Click to expand...

Try switching to pool exclusively and see what it feels like to have a straight arm not leaning on the table. You may like it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top