Switching Hands...... I Am Lost

subdude1974

subdude1974

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I play right handed and play pretty good. I have tried and tried, but I can't seem to switch up and shoot left handed. I can shoot one handed far better. I just can't seem to get lined up. I feel twisted and can't hardly pull the cue back. Before he passed, I used to talk to Grady about it but he told me it just took practice. Is there any literature out there that addresses this or is there a "trick" or key to doing it? Any help will be appreciated. Thanks.
 
I play pretty decent opposite handed, but had to practice alot. I think alot of it is pure ability, and the rest is work. Not sure there's a silver bullet. You might consider practicing only the shots that come up the most frequently opposite handed (straight shots along the rail, diagonal shots where the corner of the table hits your hip, etc.)
 
Find someone else that cannot play off handed and start playing games using only your off hand. You will see improvement quickly.
 
I spent about 3 months practicing playing left handed only (I played matches right handed). That was the only way I was able to build proficiency with my left, although recently I haven't maintained my off hand, so my skills have decreased considerably.
 
I like to play right hand vs left hand. My right hand gives my left hand the 8ball playing 9ball and one game on the wire playing sets to 7.

It has taken a long time to get good left handed but it was the same right handed. You just have to put in the table time.

I asked a league operator if I could pay for two spots on my league team, one right handed and one left handed. She said no. :(
 
@TX: I did almost the same thing lol. I asked if they'd re-rate me if I played opposite handed but they didn't go for it either. In bar leagues we'll do almost anything to combat the boredom eh? :-)
 
DJ14.1 said:
@TX: I did almost the same thing lol. I asked if they'd re-rate me if I played opposite handed but they didn't go for it either. In bar leagues we'll do almost anything to combat the boredom eh? :-)
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I even offered to pay both spots all league dues up front. She couldn't figure why I'd want to do something like that. I just wanted to challenge myself. She wasn't biting.
 
DJ14.1 said:
I play pretty decent opposite handed, but had to practice alot. I think alot of it is pure ability, and the rest is work. Not sure there's a silver bullet. You might consider practicing only the shots that come up the most frequently opposite handed (straight shots along the rail, diagonal shots where the corner of the table hits your hip, etc.)
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I like that idea! Why waste time shooting the shots you will only shoot with your dominant hand.
 
I'm with you OP. When I was in Basic Training, I had a Drill Sergeant who swore I was left eye dominant (I'm not BTW) and wanted to make a left handed shooter out of me. I couldn't even hold the rifle left handed. It was awful!
 
My left-handed play went up considerably when I realized that I needed to start at my feet and do a complete "left-handed" pre-shot routine. Before that I would just get down on the ball and shoot -- I figured I was good to go as as the cue stroke looked straight. Wrong!
 
bdorman said:
My left-handed play went up considerably when I realized that I needed to start at my feet and do a complete "left-handed" pre-shot routine. Before that I would just get down on the ball and shoot -- I figured I was good to go as as the cue stroke looked straight. Wrong!
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You have the right idea. The best thing to do is to know what you do with your dominant hand, and then just reverse the steps. Allowing for adjustments for eye dominance. Don't try anything fancy at first, keep it simple. In short order it will start to feel natural. Then you can start adding speed and spin.
 
I appreciate the input. I am just gonna have to take it slow and really focus. I may even take a video. But I am unsure if I want to see something that freaking ugly.����
 
One reminder, your left handed stroke will never be or feel the same as your right handed stroke. So don't expect it to be. Even when you begin to learn how to play lefty, it will feel entirely different than your right handed game. The advice you're getting here is good, it just takes practice, a lot of it. You will actually learn faster left handed than you did right handed. Remember how long it took you to learn how to play right handed. I bet it was a long time.
 
Jay, bro! Cheyenne pete truillio, grady mathews , frank burgess, danny medina , all from cheyenne...south , denver &colo. Spgs... etc . All used to help me play lefty.
I never became proficient at it.
Key i learned(mainly) was to keepa closed bridge,/ which goes against the grain & yourbalance in yourstance.
I learnedto make balls at will lefty after lots of play.
Balance and stroke...
I COULD NEVER learn to break lefty, but breaking r handed, then shooting lefty... i ran two racks of 9-ball.
I'msure that'snot as good as y'all are, but that's'My PersonalBest'(lefty) yet when i was learning lefty, it'sstuck w me , if only to shoot short sretch shots. Insteadill pull up a lefty!! W stroke etc..
Wat they call the ghost, is a great time to knock em down lefty.!!! Frustrationandfun...
 
The preshot routine does become really important opposite handed. Practicing with the right foundation speeds up the learning curve. My experience has been your head position and dominant eye will find itself without much thought, but others might be different. Moving the cueball without losing your mechanics becomes the real meat of the learning. And I found jacking up over a ball to be so tough that I just use the rake.
 
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