Automatic aiming

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Renegade_56

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
thenaturalpoolplayer said:
I have come across some videos discussing this and it should be termed shooting with muscle memory. It is not really aiming at all. It encompasses your walking, chalking, stance, drop, english, stroke...all of these are being done subconsciously.

Like when I hear players talk about its 2 tips of left english, or that its a half ball hit or 30%, 60% etc I just roll my eyes.
First of all there are an infinite amount of points on the cueball so you can never purposefully ever hit the exact english you are trying to. I don't think its ever even possible to hit center ball...you are always imparting some sort of english. Secondly, there are an infinite amount of degrees between 30% half ball hit to 60%...so all this half ball hit stuff is garbage because there is no such thing as exactly a half ball hit. Not to mention there is deflection, swerve and throw to take into account, and distance for all of that to take, and speed etc...good luck figuring all that out deliberately, and consistently. If you could figure all that out deliberately, you would still need to deliver the cue perfectly to complete the shot, but if you could deliver the cue perfectly to complete the shot, then you already have the muscle memory for the shot and don't need to be deliberate about it at all...in fact you will mess yourself up.

The only way to play consistently and at your best level is to get out of your own way and let your body do the shooting...it will account for all of these "infinites". I never stand above a shot and think about what english I need, or the path of the cueball, or the speed...all of this is done subconsciously...even standing behind the cueball is not done in a deliberate way like foot placement etc...its all subconscious as well. I basically walk from shot to shot, landing on the english I need for the shape I want, and deliver the cue at the speed I need. That's it.

You do need the fundamentals, and if you see me play my fundamentals are sound, but it is NOT deliberate.

The only way to get to this level is to play and let your body remember every possibility so eventually it starts to recognize situations and will go on autopilot.

I recall seeing a youtube video of Ronny Osullivan on some podcast. They wanted to watch Ronny do a 147 so they spread all the reds out evenly...but it totally messed Ronny up because his muslce memory wasn't developed for that kind of layout. He even said it would be easier if they left the reds clustered. This is also true for chess...they tested some grand masters who could remember multiple layouts of chess games, and if the board was wiped, the grand masters could replace the pieces easily from memory...but if the pieces were just skewed around the board randomly, and not in some "chess" layout, they could not recall it.

Typing a great example of the power of muscle memory...I can type 80 wpm but if you gave me a pen and paper I could not write out the keyboard layout. It is all mapped via muscle memory. At first it was tedious, and I had to think about where each letter was...but as time went on my fingers just started finding the keys...to the point where now, when I am totally flowing, I am actually reading ahead of what my fingers are typing!

Pool is no different...at first you will need to think about EVERY aspect but in time you should be relying more on muscle memory and less on being deliberate.

I am sharing this because hopefully it will enlighten (and speed up) some of the tedious, methodical, painstakingly slow play out there...even at the professional level.
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Sorry, I think we gonna need a video of you doing this through at least a rack or two. Honestly though, sounds like BS to me.
 
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WobblyStroke

Well-known member
Renegade_56 said:
Sorry, I think we gonna need a video of you doing this through at least a rack or two. Honestly though, sounds like BS to me.
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Don't hold your breath. But Tor Lowry does have several racks posted where he uses what he calls 'automatic aiming' and gets down with his cue pulled back in his bridge so doesn't even sight with the shaft and gets out just fine. This is def possible. I do it to an extent and have said many times that I don't know how I aim, I just see shots (not to say I didn't build up my shot repertoire over thousands of hours during which I was doing conscious aiming but I've long forgotten the system(s) I used all those years ago). My PSR is largely subconscious as well and I do things without even knowing I'm doing them...but all those little things I do were once on a checklist too. No shortcuts. As I said in my original response to this thread....you can play like this once you're already decent and have logged a bunch of hours...it is not, however, a way to get good faster.
 
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Renegade_56

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
WobblyStroke said:
Don't hold your breath. But Tor Lowry does have several racks posted where he uses what he calls 'automatic aiming' and gets down with his cue pulled back in his bridge so doesn't even sight with the shaft and gets out just fine. This is def possible. I do it to an extent and have said many times that I don't know how I aim, I just see shots (not to say I didn't build up my shot repertoire over thousands of hours during which I was doing conscious aiming but I've long forgotten the system(s) I used all those years ago). My PSR is largely subconscious as well and I do things without even knowing I'm doing them...but all those little things I do were once on a checklist too. No shortcuts. As I said in my original response to this thread....you can play like this once you're already decent and have logged a bunch of hours...it is not, however, a way to get good faster.
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This guy made some pretty direct claims about what he can and does do, I call BS on them. Maybe somebody can do some of it sometimes, but I bet he can't.
 
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WobblyStroke

Well-known member
Renegade_56 said:
This guy made some pretty direct claims about what he can and does do, I call BS on them. Maybe somebody can do some of it sometimes, but I bet he can't.
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Well, like I said, "don't hold ur breath" waiting on proof. lol.
That said, even intermediate B players can go into automatic mode in spurts. I think many would surprise themselves if they tried it.
 
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WobblyStroke

Well-known member
For those interested in automatic aiming. This is a vid of Tor Lowry discussing the zone and subconscious vs conscious parts of players' pool games and how as they progress more and more is able to be performed subconsciously.
 
cookie man

cookie man

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
thenaturalpoolplayer said:
No aiming systems work lol...they are bogus...like selling magic beans to players who don't want to put the time in.
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What would be better? Just randomly picking out where to hit the OB to make it and learn from that, or being told exactly where to hit the OB and learn from that.
 
galipeau

galipeau

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
The contact patch on a cb is not infinite. How do you explain miscues? Half ball etc are COMMON aim points. Yes, you have to adjust based on feel, but there are angles that come up most often and you can make most shots just using those points. Ever see a rempe training ball? There are points to place your tip. Most people need a visual aid to imprint in their minds.

If you play by feel only, that's OK. Other established methods are not bullsh it just because you don't use them.
 
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straightline

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
thenaturalpoolplayer said:
No aiming systems work lol...they are bogus...like selling magic beans to players who don't want to put the time in.
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Systems aren't perfect but they do work. You have aiming aids like google that will start you at your front door and show you the layout of the earth so you can locate that building with the table rental and go waste your day on automatic.
 
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