Going to a 7’ Table to Get Your Stroke / Confidence Back?
- Thread starter ChrisinNC
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I would start with simpler practice setups, instead of shooting table length stop shots, do half table shots, if you play 9 ball ghost swap to 7, etc... Go back to focusing on basics like lining up, breathing well, chalking, fill your mind with the stuff that is not actually thinking about making the shot properly and let that side flow from muscle memory. Maybe try a new shaft or tip for variety. Buy new shoes, something to change things mentally.
WobblyStroke
Well-known member
I do the opposite and shoot on a snooker table. I don't play snooker, just make pool shots on the snooker equipment. The demands of snooker equipment force you to iron out any imperfections in your delivery in a hurry. Not only that, but it is really good for improving your focus as, for me anyway, it is all just different enough to feel like new. The table is higher up, the balls are smaller, everything looks a bit different, so it forces me to focus, aim, make sure of my aim when down, maybe even exaggerate the pause in my backswing to really get my eye in. With pool, you get away with so much it is easy for lazy habits to creep into your game before you even start seeing them show up as misses.
"Struggling" and "slump" are relative terms tho. For a guy like me, snooker is a better option because I don't ever lose confidence in my technique or what I am trying to do the way I don't lose confidence in my chef knife. I just understand both still need sharpening once in a while. A string of misses doesn't have me frantically searching for solutions and questioning my technique (as it used to). If you aren't through that stage of your pool development yet, perhaps playing on easier equipment may work better than more difficult equipment.
Like a 3point shooter that's gone cold, sometimes it is good to get closer to the basket, make some easy shots, and get used to that feeling of expecting a shot to go in every time. Rather than playing games on a 7 footer, you might be better served by not playing at all and work on some progression drills for shots that recently gave you trouble. You start with short easy shots you can be confident you are seeing right and just let that stroke out a bit. Then keep incrementally increasing distance of CB to OB or OB to pocket and do your best to maintain that same confident stroke as the shots become tougher.
Aren't you between shells with <cue ball last>? I'd use Gorst - in fact I am using Gorst, as a model for doing it consistently. The 7 footer might give you more confidence to shoot the balls but missing is a technical issue - something Gorst clearly has a handle on. I'd work it out as slowly as you can on your toughest table. The issue will disappear.
Yes, I will admit that my <cue ball last> experiment and initial early success with it has deserted me for now, but I haven’t given up on it just yet.
Missing shots will not get your confidence back, as previously stated .. shorten up your game. Play half court, play with the off hand for a few racks. Change your grip for a few racks, if you have an index/middle finger grip go with middle/ring finger for a couple of racks.Get out of your comfort zone.
Now go back to your normal everything, it will feel like an old friend, and start close and work your way back to half table shots but keep it simple for a few days
Now go back to your normal everything, it will feel like an old friend, and start close and work your way back to half table shots but keep it simple for a few days
Don’t bother stepping down in table size because you’r eventually going to get back on 9’ tables anyway.
Instead, identify where your game tends to go off and work on the basics, return to the fundamentals.
Challenge yourself repeating shots to get the same cue ball position and doing drills that sharpen your
accuracy and predictability. Treat it like time at the driving range and concentrate on the part of your
game that is not clicking. It all comes down to your cue stroke and your ability to repeat it consistently.
Even a stroke with minor flaws can be a great stroke if you did the same thing all the time. Repeatability
is what matters because when you do the same thing all the time, your stroke becomes predictable and
that’s a lot better than being inconsistent and it’s often the most important times in a match. There is no
substitute for putting in the work to get better……always practice with a purpose and don’t be impatient.
Instead, identify where your game tends to go off and work on the basics, return to the fundamentals.
Challenge yourself repeating shots to get the same cue ball position and doing drills that sharpen your
accuracy and predictability. Treat it like time at the driving range and concentrate on the part of your
game that is not clicking. It all comes down to your cue stroke and your ability to repeat it consistently.
Even a stroke with minor flaws can be a great stroke if you did the same thing all the time. Repeatability
is what matters because when you do the same thing all the time, your stroke becomes predictable and
that’s a lot better than being inconsistent and it’s often the most important times in a match. There is no
substitute for putting in the work to get better……always practice with a purpose and don’t be impatient.
PracticeChampion
Well-known member
Once your past knowing how to play, confidence is 100% needed, slightest doubt in a shot and your F'D......
If it boosts your confidence banging balls on a 7' go for it, doubt it will though. Now if you played a tournament on 7' and won, now we're talking.
If it boosts your confidence banging balls on a 7' go for it, doubt it will though. Now if you played a tournament on 7' and won, now we're talking.
The resizing of difficulty won't resolve the issue. Do the work is the crux of it. If you are unable to willfully produce pool, then that's the work.
Altering your method will seldom be a bolt on thing. The new algorithms have their own unique tempo. Different stuff has to stabilize before you can pull the trigger. The idea for us mortals is get consistent first. Why Gorst shoots so deliberately and why he pulls away from everybody.
Smutzc
Well-known member
One thing I do when I lose confidence in my stroke, set up a half table shot. Do your normal pre shot routine set down on the shot and when you are ready to pull the trigger close your eyes and make your final stroke. When I do this i really pay attention to making a good clean stroke, because you are not seeing anything to distract yourself. Just my two cents, but you will surprise yourself how many shots you will actually make with your eyes closed
Sometimes when I really struggle with 9 ball, I will move down to practice 6 ball ghost to try and gain confidence. And then I fail at that too. Eventually things get better for reasons I have never understood.
Strengthen your PSR. Something has become lax in your setup/stance/head over the ball.
It’s in your head. Work on your thought process and visualization. Study the ‘quiet eye’ as it applies to pool as well as the method of the ‘think box’ and ‘play box’. Those are concepts that I apply in golf but can also be applied in pool.
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xX-Wizard-Xx
Well-known member
burn 7 foot tables to the ground ......
I went from playing on a 9ft gold crown to playing on a 7ft diamond and my game got worse. Stick with the 9ft
xX-Wizard-Xx
Well-known member
just set up more drills .... that what you need. work on what is giving you trouble ... longer shots .. short shots ... getting shape from long shots ect ... it doesnt end
It might help for position play. I can’t answer to somehow getting confidence back in your pocketing stroke, if that’s what you’re asking.