Neil, You must be referring to me. I actually have bought the 2nd DVD, and studied it, and tried it on my table. As well as countless other products over the years. I've spent a lot of time gambling, practicing, setting up shots, etc etc. The end result is I'm in the exact same pecking order in my local pool halls. Just as every other single player is. No one changes speeds over the years. No one (unless they are new to the game).
What is your speed? I know you are decent, but you are no champ. Why not? Why aren't you 3 speeds better than you were 3 years ago? Why aren't you Brandon Shuff's speed? Why isn't Brandon Shuff Corey's speed? Why isn't Corey Shane's speed?
Its because everyone falls into a *standard distribution* of abilities. I happen to fall on the lower end of the pool distribution. I dedicated my life to the game, and can barely break into B territory. You have done the same, and are on a higher end of the distribution. Barton has done the same, and he's on the low A range of the distribution. Why people fail to see this is beyond me. You all must think everyone can get to Shane's speed given enough time and practice. The same is true for ANY activity you can name. From estimating the distance between two dots on a piece of paper, to hitting a baseball, to math class, to striking a pool ball. Sure, you can improve all of these with practice, no doubt. But once you've spent years doing something, thats all you are going to get. You have already taken your place in the standard distribution. And if you made the "tests" easy enough that everyone would get an "A" then the test simply is not hard enough to show the standard distribution.
Brandon Shuff just learned Pro1 last year or the year before. Has he played any better than before? I don't think so. He's still a middle of the pack pro player. Stevie more same thing. Is he any better in the past 5 years than he was 15 years ago? Remember, he was in "hiding" before his tournament run and was a gambler. We can go all day with this. People do not significantly improve, except when they are first learning something.
To Barton, you always challenge me with beating a "ghost" of crazy abilities (for me) like the 9 ball ghost or one pocket ghost. What if I challenged you to something "realistic"? You told me your high run in straight pool was I believe 98, years ago. Well, since that time, you've jumped up and down that you are so much better *because* of your lessons with Stan in the past year, and other things you picked up on the road. So, lets see if you really are better. Best your high run by 30%. See if you can run 130. You must certainly be able to run just 30 more balls with all the new knowledge you have gained the past few years?
Its easy when learning a new technique to think you are better. I did the same thing with Perfect Aim. I jumped up and down on these boards that it was the best thing since sliced bread. 4 years later, I still shift my head around to get my eyes as Gene says in the right spot. But guess what, I still lose to the exact same guys I've been losing to for the past 20 years. And still beat the same guys I used to beat. Its easy to think you are better at something, especially when learning something new. But the proof is in the pudding. How you actually play. Has your pecking order changed? We've all been around pool all our lives, and someone having their change in their pecking order is *extremely* rare.
Rich, I am amazed that as long as you have been on here, as much as you have read, you still don't see the forest for the trees.
1. As long as you believe you can't get any better, you are doomed to staying at the exact same level you are. Your subconscious will guarantee that for you.
2. You still seem to equate aiming systems to pool nirvana. They aren't. For once, please understand that. Aiming systems put you on the right line to make the shot, that is all they do. You still have to stroke straight to make the shot.
On top of that, there is much more to the game than just making open balls. There is kicking, safety play, speed control, mind control, ect. Aiming is just one part of the game. So, to equate someones speed improving or not due to using an aiming system is very disingenuous. That's like saying that when someone learns how to hit one rail kicks, there "level" should dramatically go up.
3. To go up in a level, one usually needs to change a number of things, not just one thing. Changing one thing most often leads to changing something else. Just getting on the right line to make a shot will not cause one to jump in levels. However, it will aid tremendously on making those tough shots, and making the easier ones more reliably.
4. The one thing that separates the upper levels is the mind. And only the mind. Any shortstop can do everything any pro can do. Some things they can do better than some pros can. But, once you know how to do things, it comes down to mind control. That mind control allows one to have higher consistency. At the upper levels, it often comes down to just one mistake.
5. Everything you can do to eliminate that one mistake, will aid your game. Sometimes that's an aiming system. Something that will give you confidence on being on the correct line. Couple that with a solid PSR and a straight stroke, and you now stop missing those easy shots. Add into that kicking systems, speed control drills, pattern play, safety play (cb control), and your game can't help but go up. There is NO such thing as being stuck at one level for ever unless you choose to stay there. The first step is believing that you can improve. There have been many testimonies on here of older guys improving after 30-40 years of playing, you are no exception to being able to do that also.
What level am I at? I'm a solid A player. I'm almost 60 (couple more months) and I am still improving. I would improve much faster if I actually had a reason to. Can't seem to find one anymore outside of personal satisfaction. And, I only play a couple hours a week, yet I am still improving. In the last three years, I went from some putting me at a B+, some at an A-, to some saying I should be upped to a AA.
It basically boils down to where I have my head at at the time. My best, which I would consider pro speed, was a period where I ran four or five 9 packs, a ten pack, and an unfinished 12 pack on a bar table in a couple of months. That's back when I was playing ten hours a day or more.
Now, I am not as consistent because I have no real goal anymore. Plus, I have CO
PD pretty bad which really hampers ones ability to play. Can't play consistently or think clearly when you are concentrating on just trying to breathe. Some days I can play for a couple of hours, some days just a couple of racks. Playing for fun just doesn't cut it for me for bringing out my best. Yet, having learned the proper way to play, I now can take a week off, and get on a table and run out the first rack with no warmups. I just get bored or can't breathe very well and then start making mistakes. I really wish I knew 40 years ago what I know now.
It just irks me to no end to see the opportunities you younger guys have that us older guys never had, and so many of you squander that opportunity and only want to scoff because you didn't immediately go up several levels in play. There is no magic pill. It's a combination of many little pills that will cure your game. But, you have to take those pills consistently, not just take a pill a couple of times and then say it didn't work. It's through the many small improvements that one sees the larger improvement.