I don't always agree with Blackjack but his analysis of your video is damn good. The parts about precision and attention to detail are invaluable.
You have a number of issues with your game that prevent you from running balls and lack of precision and attention to detail are among them. He also mentions stroke speed. That and also stroke length are another issue.
You seem to think that poor CB control is a large part of the problem and that may be a factor but correcting that will require developing a more reliable stroke.
A lot of the shots you missed weren't all that difficult and didn't have anything to do with poor position. You're also going into balls with no idea whats going to happen. That's a recipe for disaster and should be a last resort
Thought process needs work also. You're waiting way too long to address problems and shot selection is not good. Blackjack pointed this out right in the beginning of your 1st rack (13 and 2 ball) and continued to harp on it throughout the video. With good reason, it's extremely important. There were multiple instances during the video where your shot selection was not conducive to solving problems and at times, made them worse.
I've been rather critical here but if you're interested in improving it will take a major commitment to address things which are impeding your progress.
Well, I'll agree with you that my stroke could be more reliable, and my shooting isn't flawless. My eyes aren't great, so I may miss what looks like a pretty easy shot. Precision and attention to detail are important as well, and I'll work on that.
Where I'll disagree is that I'm going into balls without any idea of what will happen. I don't go into balls willy nilly. I almost always have insurance. But I acknowledge that I will go into balls a little bit more often than pro players with great cue ball control. I do this purposely, because sometimes those pro hairpin position plays are too unlikely for me to pull off at my level. I play zones with insurance where more than one shot option is often available. So what I don't think you'll find in either of my video runs is me snookering myself.
Yes, I want to improve and love criticism that is helpful, but if you offer criticism that I disagree with, I'm going to tell you. I don't want to go through the whole video and point out everything I disagree with, but since you brought up the 2-ball and 13-ball in the first rack, let me explain them...
After opening up the rack, I recognized the 2, 15, 5, 9 cluster as a cluster that couldn't be picked off one by one. It had to be bumped. I decided to float down off of the 11-ball to the middle of those four bottom rail balls to start working on the problems. Should I have walked around the table? Maybe. I do think I could be less lazy. Anyway, I got into a great position after the 11-ball to use an opportunity off of the 3-ball or 8-ball to go directly into the cluster with insurance balls. The 3-ball made more sense to me, because the angle off of the rail was more natural, and I felt the balls would open in a better direction. After I bumped the cluster, the 13-ball blocked the 2-ball, but it wasn't serious. What you're not seeing is that the 15-ball now has no pocket, so I immediately saw that the shot on the 10-ball bumping the six a bit would open it up, and I made a good shot on that and decided to take the 15-ball in the side next. I also saw a problem with the 7-ball on the rail. Besides it being a tough shot to get on and make, I strongly disagree that it is useful for getting on the 1-ball. It's way too iffy of a shot and position play. After the 15-ball shot, I had an angle on the 14-ball to get close and take it out. I knew I had to cinch the shot and come across table for the 5-ball next, which I did. The angle I ended up with allowed me to get back down-table to get back to work on the 2-ball issue. So I have the 8-ball and 4-ball as options to play next. The 8-ball had a slight angle to bump up the 13-ball, so I tried to do just that, and I missed it. Not a bad play to solve the problem, but I missed it. Next shot was either the 6-ball or 13-ball. The 6-ball was awkward and required too much precision to get the cue ball between the 4-ball and 13-ball at perfect speed to play the 13-ball in the bottom left corner, so I chose the bridge shot on the 13-ball. I wasn't "preoccupied" with the 13-ball when I shot it. It was really the right shot. Before I shot it I had the entire end pattern planned. It was 13, 6, 2, 4, 1, break ball on the 9. If I had pocketed the 6 first as suggested, I believe the end pattern would have been harder. My cue ball draw control was bad off of the 6-ball, and I had to take the shot on the 1-ball that I missed in the upper left corner. I mistakenly used running english to help the cue ball off of the rail off for the 6-ball shot to get on the 2-ball. Again, cue ball control issues.
Anyway, my point is, don't assume so much. There's a lot going on that apparently isn't being acknowledged. If you see different plays, tell me, but acknowledge all of the factors, because all of the factors have to be acknowledged at the table.
My second video shows a slightly more solid, slightly shorter bridge and a steadier stroke, I think. I noticed that I'm moving my head on many shots though, so I'll be working on that. I'll also be working on eating less, unless the camera adds 50 pounds.
