Stan posted a new you tube video

A few comments about this interesting new development, namely Stan updating his laser video based on my critique (which, by the way, was not credited as such -- kind of poor form not to acknowledge helpful peer review, but I guess that's another story).

First off, for mohrt, please acknowledge that nearly the first word out of Stan's mouth is the words "this session." You tried to tell me that a morning or afternoon session was a lesson with a student, who presumably chalked up Stan's table. I assume we can put that myth to bed with this video, agreed?

Another observation, for what it is worth, is that the curtain is about a foot closer to the pocket than the last laser video.

I think the first laser video discussed in the other thread was so implausible that Stan felt compelled to redo it with more a more rational looking spread of "predictions" as to where the pocket was.

I'm not sure what this accomplished as pretty much all of the shots marked on the triangle would have been pocketed due to the 4.5" or so width of the pocket and may even be clean shots. If the intention was to illustrate that CTE puts the ob into center, dead nuts pocket even when you can't do it yourself with a laser, then this video is incomplete. What is missing is an overhead close up view of the ball entering the pocket. Only then will you know whether the variability in guessing the pocket location with the laser is any better or worse than when actually pocketing balls. If the precision of the two scenarios is about the same, then that would indicate that CTE does not somehow make your ball pocketing precision even better than your pocket locating ability with a laser, which of course is the lesson Stan is trying to teach.

There were some other "curious" things that perplexed me about the 15 degree shot Stan was demonstrating, but I can wait for the book to come out.

I'd like to end on a high note, not to be accused of being overly critical, which of course goes both ways. I suggest that anybody watching this video should pause the motion after Stan gets down on the shot and is about to start his backswing. Put the tip of your cursor at the tip of Stan's elbow and leave it there while he shoots. Stan exhibits excellent form in that the elbow is rock solid during the stroke. If you think you have a solid elbow, video tape it and you might be surprised to find you have anything but. If you can master the motion that Stan shows here, you will find yourself pocketing many more balls and getting better position than ever. Personally, and until I am enlightened by the new book, I think this is the most valuable lesson to be learned in these videos.
 
Thanks for the link.

I sincerely hope that Stan stays healthy and doesn't take all of the negative responses of his work to heart.

God bless you Stan. I mean that.

And yes I started using the system and I'm intrigued. After using it for a while you really do get to start to see the angles and the system becomes more easily to use.

I am in the early stages of learning CTE, this will take time and time is on my side. :)

Thanks again for the link.

John
 
First off, for mohrt, please acknowledge that nearly the first word out of Stan's mouth is the words "this session." You tried to tell me that a morning or afternoon session was a lesson with a student, who presumably chalked up Stan's table. I assume we can put that myth to bed with this video, agreed?

Sorry I've been away from AZB. You had mentioned in a reply, a quote where Stan straight up said he practiced the shot earlier that day. I had missed that post. I didn't go looking for it but I believe you were honest. That said, what Stan means by "session" is likely going to be relative to context, and doesn't really matter in this case, since he said he practiced the shots. So we've established that.

I believe what you were getting at, from the original post, is that Stan might be using the chalk lines on the table to aid him in making those shots. My point is that Stan has many videos of curtain shots where he puts up balls randomly and pockets them quite cleanly, so the question of needing chalk lines is pretty much debunked, are they not? As for "needing" practice, well I know I shoot much better if I get warmed up first, so that may come into play. But needing practice to see the CTE alignments? Without a doubt he can do that anytime. Practice is just a good way to get in stroke.

Regarding this video, you say it is incomplete because there is no video of the ball entering the pocket. Stan states toward the end "go back and listen to the balls drop", and I tend to agree you can listen and tell just how cleanly and consistently these balls are dropping in the pockets. Do you not agree? There is a characteristic slap on the back of the pocket when the ball hits dead center and STOPS, not glances, on the backside of the pocket. We as pool players know exactly what that is. Now go back and listen. An inch off would not make that sound.

You also stated the laser pointer marks of his, although not exactly center, are basically good enough to pocket the balls. I don't think that is accurate. If you are wavering 1-2 inches from center pocket from shot to shot, there is no way you are going to be shooting pool at a level like Stan. You're going to miss too many shots. So I think the point Stan makes, you can't "see" center pocket, even with a laser pointer, nearly as accurately as you are going to find it shooting balls using CTE. Does that mean CTE is going to get you DEAD center every shot? If CTE is executed correctly, it gives you that center pocket within a very slim margin, just as good as your eyesight is. Visually, you'll have the line to center. However, we all know that you have to back up the game with a solid stroke and fundamentals. This all takes a toll on our ability to stroke that ball exactly where you are looking, so everybody will differ on that subject.
 
Sorry I've been away from AZB. You had mentioned in a reply, a quote where Stan straight up said he practiced the shot earlier that day. I had missed that post. I didn't go looking for it but I believe you were honest. That said, what Stan means by "session" is likely going to be relative to context, and doesn't really matter in this case, since he said he practiced the shots. So we've established that.

OK, great... some agreement. Let me push my luck by asking whether you think, given his time practicing the very shots he video taped, he either misspoke or chose poor words when he said, "I actually made this on the first try that I set it up." Is that not a little misleading?

I believe what you were getting at, from the original post, is that Stan might be using the chalk lines on the table to aid him in making those shots.

I snipped the rest of the paragraph because that is not what I said. I never mentioned anything about chalk lines. I said that the dispersion of chalk, as you know, in front of a reinforcer is evidence of a great deal of practice shots from that reinforcer. The fact that this chalk dispersion is in the exact direction of Stan's object ball indicates that he shot those shots all morning, as he admitted to. I never mentioned that the chalk itself on the table aided his shot making.

Snip...So I think the point Stan makes, you can't "see" center pocket, even with a laser pointer, nearly as accurately as you are going to find it shooting balls using CTE. Does that mean CTE is going to get you DEAD center every shot? If CTE is executed correctly, it gives you that center pocket within a very slim margin, just as good as your eyesight is. Visually, you'll have the line to center. Snip

Rather than argue the sound of balls entering a pocket dead center or 1" off dead center, let me ask you something: When Stan talks about the center of the pocket, what point exactly is he talking about? Is it the intersection of the two rails if imaginary lines are extended into the pocket until they intersect? He shows a large white dot on the triangle that looks like it might be at the intersection of the rails. Is that what you believe he is talking about, or something else?
 
OK, great... some agreement. Let me push my luck by asking whether you think, given his time practicing the very shots he video taped, he either misspoke or chose poor words when he said, "I actually made this on the first try that I set it up." Is that not a little misleading?

I guess we'll have to ask him but to me, that means he came back from a break, setup and turned on the video camera, and did it in one take. How much was practiced earlier in the day is not a known. (see next comment)

I snipped the rest of the paragraph because that is not what I said. I never mentioned anything about chalk lines. I said that the dispersion of chalk, as you know, in front of a reinforcer is evidence of a great deal of practice shots from that reinforcer. The fact that this chalk dispersion is in the exact direction of Stan's object ball indicates that he shot those shots all morning, as he admitted to. I never mentioned that the chalk itself on the table aided his shot making.

Ok so chalk means many shots have been shot from this spot. Stan even stated he uses this specific spot for different of drills. Makes sense. Saying he "shot these shots all morning" is an assumption. Do you think he shot them all morning, or maybe a time or two, amongst other drills either that morning or the days before? How would we know?


Rather than argue the sound of balls entering a pocket dead center or 1" off dead center, let me ask you something: When Stan talks about the center of the pocket, what point exactly is he talking about? Is it the intersection of the two rails if imaginary lines are extended into the pocket until they intersect? He shows a large white dot on the triangle that looks like it might be at the intersection of the rails. Is that what you believe he is talking about, or something else?

As for what "center pocket" is technically, I believe it has been stated as the intersection of the two rails drawn together from the nose. You'd have to ask Stan to clarify his understanding of that.
 
I guess we'll have to ask him but to me, that means he came back from a break, setup and turned on the video camera, and did it in one take. How much was practiced earlier in the day is not a known. (see next comment)

Ok so chalk means many shots have been shot from this spot. Stan even stated he uses this specific spot for different of drills. Makes sense. Saying he "shot these shots all morning" is an assumption. Do you think he shot them all morning, or maybe a time or two, amongst other drills either that morning or the days before? How would we know?

mohrt - I thought we already agreed on this. You are arguing points that Stan has already conceded. He said he practiced the shot in the morning because he had new cloth and rails (yet curiously had an old hole reinforcer on new cloth). The chalk marks have nothing to do with any other shot than the ones in the video. Just look at the direction of the chalk. You DO NOT get that much chalk on the cloth with only a few or even only a few dozen practice shots. That's why I say Stan practiced it "all" morning rather than just "in the morning."

As for what "center pocket" is technically, I believe it has been stated as the intersection of the two rails drawn together from the nose. You'd have to ask Stan to clarify his understanding of that.

That's what I thought he was showing, too. This fact makes his whole video meaningless. It's odd because I hear Stan was a math teacher, and presumably he knows something about geometry. Either he isn't really a math teacher, or he is relying on his students not being too sharp with the math.

If the center of the pocket is the intersection of the two rails, and you aim to hit that spot from anywhere on the table as Stan said in his video, you will miss a good number of shots, correct? and you will not be hitting them clean into the pocket very often, correct?
 
mohrt - I thought we already agreed on this. You are arguing points that Stan has already conceded. He said he practiced the shot in the morning because he had new cloth and rails (yet curiously had an old hole reinforcer on new cloth). The chalk marks have nothing to do with any other shot than the ones in the video. Just look at the direction of the chalk. You DO NOT get that much chalk on the cloth with only a few or even only a few dozen practice shots. That's why I say Stan practiced it "all" morning rather than just "in the morning."



That's what I thought he was showing, too. This fact makes his whole video meaningless. It's odd because I hear Stan was a math teacher, and presumably he knows something about geometry. Either he isn't really a math teacher, or he is relying on his students not being too sharp with the math.

If the center of the pocket is the intersection of the two rails, and you aim to hit that spot from anywhere on the table as Stan said in his video, you will miss a good number of shots, correct? and you will not be hitting them clean into the pocket very often, correct?

Just sitting here wondering just what it is that you get out of nitpicking every little sentence someone says? Why can't you just be happy that CTE helps a large number of people play better, and leave it at that?
 
Just sitting here wondering just what it is that you get out of nitpicking every little sentence someone says? Why can't you just be happy that CTE helps a large number of people play better, and leave it at that?

Nitpicking? Do you think this video has any real meaning when you realize that you can't pocket balls by aiming them at "dead center pocket" from all over the table? Stan is plain wrong. The aiming point at the pocket, for a clean shot, has to move left and right of "center pocket" depending on where the object ball is. If the ball is near a rail, the aim point is the opposite pocket facing, not "center pocket." So I guess CTE automatically takes you to the pocket facing when that is needed and to center pocket when that is needed, right? Or something else?

Stan illustrates that he can't find center of pocket with his laser, but CTE Pro1 can find it, and the proof is that the ball sounds like it hits the pocket cleanly. The fact is that each of those CTE shots is hitting a different part of the pocket depending on the direction it is heading to the pocket from. So in reality, Stan's CTE shots would show hole reinforcers to the left and right of the center line. They would HAVE TO in order to pocket the balls! This invalidates Stan's video, which he is using to say that CTE locks you in to center pocket when you can't do so yourself.

If he wants to make some kind of point he needs to find another way to do it. It would be nice if he took a more scientific attitude and actually defined things like "center pocket."

You call that nitpicking? Really?
 
Nitpicking? Do you think this video has any real meaning when you realize that you can't pocket balls by aiming them at "dead center pocket" from all over the table? Stan is plain wrong. The aiming point at the pocket, for a clean shot, has to move left and right of "center pocket" depending on where the object ball is. If the ball is near a rail, the aim point is the opposite pocket facing, not "center pocket." So I guess CTE automatically takes you to the pocket facing when that is needed and to center pocket when that is needed, right? Or something else?

Stan illustrates that he can't find center of pocket with his laser, but CTE Pro1 can find it, and the proof is that the ball sounds like it hits the pocket cleanly. The fact is that each of those CTE shots is hitting a different part of the pocket depending on the direction it is heading to the pocket from. So in reality, Stan's CTE shots would show hole reinforcers to the left and right of the center line. They would HAVE TO in order to pocket the balls! This invalidates Stan's video, which he is using to say that CTE locks you in to center pocket when you can't do so yourself.

If he wants to make some kind of point he needs to find another way to do it. It would be nice if he took a more scientific attitude and actually defined things like "center pocket."

You call that nitpicking? Really?

This just seems like what a few others have wanted, Stan to do and say everything like they want it done. It's Stan's system, he has the right to describe and word things as he so chooses.

PS center pocket is center pocket, and you know it when you hear it. It's also a pretty sight
 
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