Do You Focus more on the Shot or the Stroke

It depends what kind a shot i have.

If it´s long shot with elevated cue i will first focus shot and then lock shot on "remember" mode. Then i put focus on stoking it straight and pure.

For too many years i was focusing too much for stroke and it keep my game inconstintent. I could not let focus from stroke to go. Finally i got over it and actually i stroke normally better without focusing it. edit* but trying to perfect stroke helps anyway so it is not for vain.
I really can´t say this topic right way how i mean it because English is not my native language.
 
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Push&Pool said:
So everyone who's doing something wrong should stop their learning efforts and give up the game instead?
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You obviously misunderstood my meaning as was evidenced by your red (bad) repping me for my simple statement.

I did not say that the OP or anyone should give up the game. Do you see those words in my post?

There is thinking about the game, studying the game, physically practicing the game , & actually 'playing' the game.

The place to focus on one's stroke in NOT when 'playing' the game. That is the time to actually PLAY the game.

Practicing the game would be the place to focus on one's stroke. If one is focusing on one's stroke while 'playing' the game then some aspect of actually 'playing' the game is suffering.

If you would have PMd me instead of just bad repping me, we could have had a discussion.

May God Bless You,
Rick
 
If you dont see the shot its hard to deliver!

oldplayer said:
just curious about what importance you on putting on either. after my PSR I have been focusing more on the shot, taking the "pro" time and pause on the shot before the stroke but then starting thinking maybe it should be the stroke. when I do the perfect stroke I make every shot and position (well 95% of the time) so maybe I should focus more on the stroke and let my initial alignment be more automatic. I know it is all about being an automatic thing but, hey, I'm an old guy and can't remember last week! :eek:
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Some thought need to be given to being able to see the shot. Then its about delivery, The art of the game is built around perfect delivery.
 
railbird99 said:
Mutually exclusive means it is either/or, not both.
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Mutually exclusive means they are independent variables. One does not depend upon the other, add or detract from the other, or present an either/or proposition.

In this case, time is the factor; since they don't occur at the same time (for me, anyway -- "Shot" is prior to getting down on the ball, while "Stroke" is after getting down on the ball), they are independent of each other.

If you're concentrating on the shot and your stroke while down on ball (at the same time), then they are dependent and you can't do one without effecting the other (i.e. then it's an either/or proposition). I guess some advanced players do this, but I've never been able to.

BTW, I think ENGLISH! (Rick) meant that perfecting your stroke is something you should be doing during practice...not while playing. Probably the best advice in this thread, assuming one practices...which I don't do enough of. Oh well, another New Year's Resolution down the drain.
 
the cue and stroke are the "delivery system"

oldplayer said:
just curious about what importance you on putting on either. after my PSR I have been focusing more on the shot, taking the "pro" time and pause on the shot before the stroke but then starting thinking maybe it should be the stroke. when I do the perfect stroke I make every shot and position (well 95% of the time) so maybe I should focus more on the stroke and let my initial alignment be more automatic. I know it is all about being an automatic thing but, hey, I'm an old guy and can't remember last week! :eek:
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We play the game with the cue's tip, the cue and stroke are the "delivery system" - being aware of the tip and cue ball's connection are vital to playing at a high level. imho
 
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bdorman said:
Mutually exclusive means they are independent variables. One does not depend upon the other, add or detract from the other, or present an either/or proposition.

In this case, time is the factor; since they don't occur at the same time (for me, anyway -- "Shot" is prior to getting down on the ball, while "Stroke" is after getting down on the ball), they are independent of each other.

If you're concentrating on the shot and your stroke while down on ball (at the same time), then they are dependent and you can't do one without effecting the other (i.e. then it's an either/or proposition). I guess some advanced players do this, but I've never been able to.

BTW, I think ENGLISH! (Rick) meant that perfecting your stroke is something you should be doing during practice...not while playing. Probably the best advice in this thread, assuming one practices...which I don't do enough of. Oh well, another New Year's Resolution down the drain.
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Thanks much.

I could have been less blunt & more expressive but I was mentally occupied elsewhere & was just browsing while waiting.

Best 2 You & All,
Rick
 
ENGLISH! said:
Thanks much.

I could have been less blunt & more expressive but I was mentally occupied elsewhere & was just browsing while waiting.

Best 2 You & All,
Rick
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Well, this afternoon I'm off to the pool room to practice.

Who am I kidding? I'll just play...:o
 
bdorman said:
Well, this afternoon I'm off to the pool room to practice.

Who am I kidding? I'll just play...:o
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Ahhhh,

But there is 'playing'...& then there is PLAYING.

I know, for me, the difference.

Best 2 You & play.....I mean practice well.:wink:
Rick
 
All I think about is how fast I want the cue ball to travel when down. I don't think about cueing straight, where the cue ball needs to be, potting...just how fast this cue ball needs to be sent in the OBs direction
 
How can you separate the two? Since trying CTE mine is : see the two lines, air-pivot and shoot. If spin is required i usually backhand it from center-ball.
 
I can't rightly say. The other evening I was focusing on the the girl playing nine-ball at the table next to mine, when her boyfriend caught me ogling her ta-tas, and punched out my headlamps.
Now I can't focus on anything. :)
 
garczar said:
How can you separate the two? Since trying CTE mine is : see the two lines, air-pivot and shoot. If spin is required i usually backhand it from center-ball.
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And, don't forget a nice pirouette, followed by a silky smooth plie, ending with a triumphant revotade. Good grief. :smile:
 
Pidge said:
All I think about is how fast I want the cue ball to travel when down. I don't think about cueing straight, where the cue ball needs to be, potting...just how fast this cue ball needs to be sent in the OBs direction
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I've had seconds thoughts...

I thought I thought about speed when down, but I don't.

I don't think of anything when down as it turns out. I kept getting down and getting down hitting ball after ball trying to remember what was going through my mind and I couldn't put my finger on what I thought about. I think about what I'm having for dinner, do I need a new car, do I stand a chance with the barmaid. Everything I think about when down isn't pool related.

..sometimes its best not to think.
 
The next time you are playing someone, stop in the middle of your pre-shot routine and look at your opponent and ask him "When you are down on the shot, do you breath in or out before pulling the trigger?". :)
 
JohnnyP said:
The next time you are playing someone, stop in the middle of your pre-shot routine and look at your opponent and ask him "When you are down on the shot, do you breath in or out before pulling the trigger?". :)
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Johnny,

I think you should be honest & upfront & explain that that is a 'sharking' move.

Otherwise, many on here will not understand that.

Instead of asking for a clarification or an explanation, some might just give you a bad red rep for not being perfectly clear in your attempt to help.

I guess I should now clarify & explain 'sharking'.

No....that's off topic. I might get scolded or receive bad red rep for doing that.

Best 2 You & All,
Rick

PS If anyone does not know what 'sharking' is please don't red rep me. Just ask here or in a PM? Thanks in advance.
 
Best advice on this is from Max Eberle, IMO,-- When your cue tip is contacting the cue ball, you must be focused visually with correct fundamentals for shot execution, your inner self controls the cue ball with your stroke. Both are the result of practice/natural ability - but the stroke needs to be on auto pilot to achieve consistent results. So yes there are two points of concentration at the point of final execution on each shot - one is more controlled than the other -- but they very best players have both working more consistently than other players.
 
A lot of thought can go into 1 shot, I think it's best to keep it as even as possible which in turn keeps you even.
Why stress over one aspect of a shot, treat it as one with a smooth mental transition.

Pocketing, kicking, jumping, banking, masse, draw, follow, punches, slow roll, heavy power.Cue ball track is cue ball track, tangents, position, altering lines, etc etc and so on and so on... They are all part of a days work on a pool table.

It doesn’t matter the shot, the track or anything else that may be going on, I give them equal attention, my eyes never bleed. I never look like Gilbert Gottfried in need of bran to loosen me up.
Each shot is a puzzle; I solve the puzzle standing over the shot, I feel the stroke and speed My bridge goes from 0-100 as soon as I drop in; it hits the table locked or open, depending. I write the movie and star in it.

Once I begin to drop in my brain shifts into aim accuracy mode. I keep my eyes soft; I focus on tip precision, my tip to the cue ball, leveling out, feeling the weight of the cue and swing away. I approach it the same way every time, every shot, every stroke, any dilemma. Everything receives its own attention in its order of my approach, no more, no less. I think 10 seconds to analyze, a few seconds to execute on routine play, which in rotation is probably 95% of the time,15 to 20 seconds isn't the worst thing, anything after that on routine stuff shoot me dead, twice, then kill me.

We may need more time or an extension but they are far and few. Brain overload players are easy to spot, they are a dime a dozen, It's common for them to miss on the 6 or 7 ball or dog position after running the other balls.

It's an automatic you must be focused and mentally strong.

How you separate on a pool shot is another story.

Sincerely: SS
 
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bdorman said:
Mutually exclusive means they are independent variables. One does not depend upon the other, add or detract from the other, or present an either/or proposition.

In this case, time is the factor; since they don't occur at the same time (for me, anyway -- "Shot" is prior to getting down on the ball, while "Stroke" is after getting down on the ball), they are independent of each other.

If you're concentrating on the shot and your stroke while down on ball (at the same time), then they are dependent and you can't do one without effecting the other (i.e. then it's an either/or proposition). I guess some advanced players do this, but I've never been able to.

BTW, I think ENGLISH! (Rick) meant that perfecting your stroke is something you should be doing during practice...not while playing. Probably the best advice in this thread, assuming one practices...which I don't do enough of. Oh well, another New Year's Resolution down the drain.
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From your earlier post:

bdorman said:
I guess I think of the "shot" as visual, while the "stroke" is tactile. Both can happen at the same time.
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You are clearly saying the two can happen at the same time, which contradicts your assertion that they are mutually exclusive.

Of course nothing is an either/or proposition if you are talking about different time frames.
 
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