I know that it's the Indian, not the arrow, but is there any equipment that a person needs to have to improve their shot making ability or cue ball control. I've always preferred soft tips and never played with an LD shaft, which are 2 things that I might need to change. Those things came to mind-anything else that I should consider. Thanks in advance for any advice.
Equipment to improve your game
- Thread starter Mole Eye
- Start date
^^^^^ This and about 5000-10,000 hours of table time. There are no shortcuts in this game, you have to put in the work.
Measle balls are good training tools.
Depends on what you're really asking!
There is no gimmick that will drastically improve your game overnight (tip, shaft, etc).
But there are gimmick that will help you train better, that will help you learn faster, and once you know better, you can play better!
Measle ball is an exemple, stuff to help you see tangent line, hole reinforcement, laser, etc
There is no gimmick that will drastically improve your game overnight (tip, shaft, etc).
But there are gimmick that will help you train better, that will help you learn faster, and once you know better, you can play better!
Measle ball is an exemple, stuff to help you see tangent line, hole reinforcement, laser, etc
Time spent wisely at the table is the key ingredient.
I'd say time is definately one of 2 key ingredients, the other being knowledge.
Knowing what happens help reduce the learning curve, since your brain can adjust far more quickly if it knows what went wrong!
While time at the table is of ultimate importance, those 5-10,000 hours can be greatly reduced with effective training methods. We've seen some players make very significant improvements in less than 1000 hrs of table time. How that time was spent is the key factor.
Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com
Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com
Equipment huh?
IF you have your own table or have access to one that you can practice on, ONE of the greatest pieces of "equipment" I've given to many friends and players to use is the Bullseye Billiards boxed set.
What it does is give you immediate feedback on what you are doing and SHOULD be doing with your cue ball - and most importantly, it is structured. Similar to target pool, complete with great diagrams and even a self-scoring game for solo work or even with a pal.
I think the best $59 (at retail) you'll ever spend - and can pass along to the next person when you've mastered it
IF you have your own table or have access to one that you can practice on, ONE of the greatest pieces of "equipment" I've given to many friends and players to use is the Bullseye Billiards boxed set.
What it does is give you immediate feedback on what you are doing and SHOULD be doing with your cue ball - and most importantly, it is structured. Similar to target pool, complete with great diagrams and even a self-scoring game for solo work or even with a pal.
I think the best $59 (at retail) you'll ever spend - and can pass along to the next person when you've mastered it
Thanks again for the replies. A little of my pool playing history might help. I started playing at about age 13, and about 18 started running the local pool hall, so I played every day for about 3 years. Never had real lessons, although the guy that owned the place would throw out advice on occasion. I have put in a lot of hours, playing regularly until I got married, then picked the game back up about 5 years ago after a 25 year layoff. I believe I have improved slightly from when I quit, thanks mainly to learning a lot about how to aim from this site, but I might be fooling myself. I play pretty much every day, but there are times when I wonder if an LD shaft would improve my game, or a different tip, or something I haven't thought about. Thanks again.
I'm still near the bottom of the learning curve - being a lifetime banger who's just starting to chase real improvements, and I am getting better. :smile:
A few things I did that helped me a lot were watching a variety of instruction videos, playing VirtualPool 4, and swapping my $15 cue for a 12mm S with a separate break cue.
The videos got my stance and bridges right. VP4 has taught me aiming technique and cue ball control to a much greater degree. The better (or more specific) cues have both caused immediate improvements as well.
Hope that helps! :smile:
A few things I did that helped me a lot were watching a variety of instruction videos, playing VirtualPool 4, and swapping my $15 cue for a 12mm S with a separate break cue.
The videos got my stance and bridges right. VP4 has taught me aiming technique and cue ball control to a much greater degree. The better (or more specific) cues have both caused immediate improvements as well.
Hope that helps! :smile:
With an LD shaft, you still need to master Squirt, Swerve and Throw just as you need to with a standard shaft. Since you're accustomed to a regular shaft, don't waste your money and stay with the shaft you have as long its strait.
Measles Ball is a great suggestion. K2Kraze mentioned Bullseye Billiards, I 2nd that one as this week I started taking one or two of its 200 shots and shooting them over and over until I have the shot mastered. Then, I'll move the target for variations on the shot. If I spend 60-90 minutes on 1 or 2 shots a night, I'll have all 200 mastered in less than 6 months, realistically if I have them all mastered by the end of 2016 I'll be happy. I think that will help my game as much or more than anything else.
Aside from that, as previously mentioned a lesson or pool school will help more than any equipment upgrade.
These guys are just breaking your chops. The one tried and tru piece of equipment that does not any personal opinion and feed back etc is this guy right here, price varies based on location and manufacture but they all offer it with a free liquid inside "think of it as a tootsie roll". Get yourself one of these and you can use it anywhere, even right at home on the kitchen table.
Guaranteed improvement.
Guaranteed improvement.
Attachments
The best training aid I ever used was a glass coke bottle on my kitchen table...I would spend hours when 14 years old touching the back of the glass with my tip, making sure not to hit the rim. Cheap and effective.
Barely beat me to it 7forlife! Greenie for sure!
Been there, done that - he's right, this is probably one of them most useful 'improvement' devices I've used. :thumbup:
You can use a striped ball as the cue ball as well for some drills and they are free. They work well for stop and follow shots . You can check for unwanted sidespin on the "cue ball" and also check the chalk mark to see where you hit the cue ball vs where you were attempting to hit it. Set it up with the number facing you as center cue ball. Chalk every shot and wipe the mark off before each attempt.