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I've heard some dumb things lately, but.. seriously..
Pool Myths Explained
- Thread starter JoeyA
- Start date
I've heard some dumb things lately, but.. seriously..
Sorry, duckie; pool isn't one of those "literal" games where you have aim points painted right on the balls, or that you can use paper arrows to training-wheel your way around shooting balls, or that you take colloquialism like "1/2 ball hit" literally like half the object ball's surface area is being contacted.
I'll bet you're a blast at social events. Would love to hear what a duckie "party joke" sounds like...
"Your momma is so fat, that when she jumps for joy, she gets stuck..."
-Sean
10. It the arrow, not the Indian myth???
10. It's the arrow, not the Indian.
A good player can play well with any cue (assuming it is mechanically sound and has a decent tip). Furthermore, a great cue will not truly help a bad player play better (although, there could be psychological effects resulting in slight improvements if a player thinks they should play better with a better cue).
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10. It's the arrow, not the Indian.
This one isn't entirely a myth. A good player can play fairly well with any cue (assuming it is mechanically sound, is straight and has a decent tip).
A bad player may be able to play better with a different cue, especially if they have trouble consistently hitting the center of the cue ball. All cue sticks are not created equal and some cues create more squirt when applying side spin than others.
The fact is that some low deflection cue sticks will help bad players who have difficulty striking the center of the cue ball because some low deflection cues reduce the amount of cue ball squirt.
This doesn't mean that a good player can't use a high deflection cue and play well. It simply means that some bad players who don't currently possess a straight stroke and hit the cue ball off center unintentionally could benefit from reduced cue ball squirt in a low deflection cue.
Some low deflection cue sticks will enable the bad player to come closer to their intended target area even if they hit the cue ball slightly off center.
A bad player or even an occasional player may improve their level of play using low deflection cues.
The fact is that many of the best players in the world use low deflection cues, so the myth about "It's the arrow, not the Indian" is actually a gray area.
Furthermore, many top players use playing cues with traditionally sized maple shafts, that weren't designed to be low deflection cues but modify the maple shafts, often by reducing the diameter of the shafts which reduces the end mass of the shaft and as a result, the cue ball squirts less when side spin is used on purpose or by error.
:duck::duck:
JoeyA
10. It's the arrow, not the Indian.
A good player can play well with any cue (assuming it is mechanically sound and has a decent tip). Furthermore, a great cue will not truly help a bad player play better (although, there could be psychological effects resulting in slight improvements if a player thinks they should play better with a better cue).
---------------------------------------------------------------
10. It's the arrow, not the Indian.
This one isn't entirely a myth. A good player can play fairly well with any cue (assuming it is mechanically sound, is straight and has a decent tip).
A bad player may be able to play better with a different cue, especially if they have trouble consistently hitting the center of the cue ball. All cue sticks are not created equal and some cues create more squirt when applying side spin than others.
The fact is that some low deflection cue sticks will help bad players who have difficulty striking the center of the cue ball because some low deflection cues reduce the amount of cue ball squirt.
This doesn't mean that a good player can't use a high deflection cue and play well. It simply means that some bad players who don't currently possess a straight stroke and hit the cue ball off center unintentionally could benefit from reduced cue ball squirt in a low deflection cue.
Some low deflection cue sticks will enable the bad player to come closer to their intended target area even if they hit the cue ball slightly off center.
A bad player or even an occasional player may improve their level of play using low deflection cues.
The fact is that many of the best players in the world use low deflection cues, so the myth about "It's the arrow, not the Indian" is actually a gray area.
Furthermore, many top players use playing cues with traditionally sized maple shafts, that weren't designed to be low deflection cues but modify the maple shafts, often by reducing the diameter of the shafts which reduces the end mass of the shaft and as a result, the cue ball squirts less when side spin is used on purpose or by error.
:duck::duck:
JoeyA
Ron Swanson
Banned
Well stated Joey. I agree. Although, I would add that low deflection cues have both advantages and disadvantages for different people. For some people (at all skill levels), the LD shaft will result in worse play (especially if they don't put in enough time to learn how to fully take advantage of the LD shaft's benefits).
Regards,
Dave
Regards,
Dave
It's a myth that fat people get stuck in the air when jumping.
Fair enough.
But it looks like the majority of the possible disadvantages for using a low deflection cue, don't apply to "bad" players.
JoeyA
Follow Thru. Is that when you promise to call them the next day?
The main thing I disagree with is whoever said it is a myth that playing better players makes you better. I'm not a great player by any means and for a long time I shot in an 8ball league that I actually feel hurt my game. We won every session by a huge amount, not because we are amazing players but because a lot of the players had so much to drink they were seeing double by the last round. I knew going in to almost every game I was going to get to the table at least 4 times. The last couple years I've gotten pretty serious about pool (I blew out my knee bowling and I'm competitive and have always liked pool but have grown to love it ). In the last couple years I've moved up in leagues and 4 years ago I would have said I was a pretty good player, these leagues were a reality check. Now that I know I'm lucky to get to the table twice it has upped my shot selection, my pattern play, and my choices tenfold. I know most of it comes down to me being lazy even when practicing but I always tended to play down to my opponents level. I am one of the biggest advocates of playing better players routinely makes you a better player yourself. If nothing else it will show you where your game needs work and teaches you defensive pool rather than the typical hail Mary of your lower level or newer players.
I assume the idea of what a half ball hit is is actually being misunderstood here, or taken in some odd literal way. the idea of a 1/4 and 1/2 ball hit is certainly not a myth.
Also, the idea of reference points is certainly not a myth either, otherwise we would have to say that trying to hit the CB center is a myth. There is certainly a center of the CB, although some people have difficulty finding it. Any object that is proportional throughout can be broken into fractions. One's ability to accurately perceive those fractions without them being labeled can vary, but they are still there. With a little practice, most people can consistently find those reference points with enough accuracy to utilize them as actual reference points.
A soft tip puts more spin on the cueball than a hard tip.
The point is: you will learn nothing from playing better players that you can't learn WATCHING better players. Esp from a gamblin stand point. Why lose your $$$ when you cant win? Just watch them. I believe you learn MORE by watching than playing them, + most good players wont play hard when they have an easy game.
If you're a gambler, then you know this. I know many players that donate to Efren, Shane, etc, at Derby City and other tourneys, playing them for $$$. All you learn is how to pay off!
Good luck
Playing better players doesn't necessarily mean donating to a champion, it could just be playing against someone who is a ball (or two or three) better than you.
But "bad" players don't typically use english much, not intentionally anyway. And when they use english unintentionally (e.g., with a swooping stroke), or if they are using back-hand english (either with a pre-stroke pivot or with a swooping stroke), an LD shaft is better only if they use a long bridge length. If a player prefers a short bridge length, the advantages an LD shaft offers is limited. Now, if the "bad player" attempts to use "parallel english" and doesn't compensate aim for squirt, then the LD shaft will offer an advantage; although, he or she will still miss many (if not most) shots in this situation.
Regards,
Dave
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Myth • hamb
The most important thing you can do to improve your pool game is to hit a million balls (HAMB).
While hitting a millions balls isn't a bad thing (if you have the time and the motivation to do so), it takes a lot of effort and time and you would be far better off by FIRST, investing your time in working on improving your fundamentals and pool knowledge, as you're wasting an awful lot of time just hitting a million balls without building a strong foundation governing all fundamentals and yes, that also includes learning how to aim.
JoeyA
The most important thing you can do to improve your pool game is to hit a million balls (HAMB).
While hitting a millions balls isn't a bad thing (if you have the time and the motivation to do so), it takes a lot of effort and time and you would be far better off by FIRST, investing your time in working on improving your fundamentals and pool knowledge, as you're wasting an awful lot of time just hitting a million balls without building a strong foundation governing all fundamentals and yes, that also includes learning how to aim.
JoeyA
I've seen a lot of discussion about semantics on here. I have done it quite a bit myself. And, that is usually a good thing. But, when you start saying some of the stuff is false (like above) that EVERYONE else agrees on, ever consider the fact that the problem might just be you, and not semantics??
If you feel you must swim upstream, first make sure there is enough water in the stream to even swim in it.
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