The book Billiards Manual - Three Cushion by Gerhard Hüpper, has an extensive discussion of the various types of billiard strokes. Plus a lot of other great material you don't easily find elsewhere.
Finally getting a table
- Thread starter nataddrho
- Start date
Stroke is important, and I don't disagree with any of the points made above. But it's not A number one, the Biggie. That's "choice of shot", and it will make or break your average. And the strange thing is: many if not most 3-C players will have no trouble admitting to technical flaws, but we all seem to think we play the correct shots. Well, more often than we care to admit, we don't. If you look to make progress, that's where the best bounty is.
dont you need a mentor to learn choice of shot?
or watch alot of videos of the pros?
can you learn it just by table time?
I like to watch pro-level videos and pause them to decide what shot I'd select before resuming and see what they actually shoot. Of course in some cases they shoot something I never could, like a power draw around the table. And videos with Blomdahl and Bert commenting are particularly useful because they can see when a shot is a bad choice because of kisses. I don't think you can learn shot selection in a sterile solitary fashion so I don't think you learn all that much just by table time. I had the good fortune to occasionally play with Dave Gross, @12squared , and those the times I learned the most.
Watching top player videos is very educational, but you can supercharge its use with the PaDeWaRe routine. Get a video of your favorite players, and hit Pause. Look at the position, and Decide what you would play. Then Watch, and Repeat. You'll be amazed how often they find a solution that scores at a higher percentage than yours. Naturally, nothing beats a mentor but not everybody is lucky enough to have one at hand.
Kissed Out said a few things I intended to say as well, and he beat me to it. I tip my hat.
I do that and also try "see/guess" where 1st object ball gonna hit first rail so i then get feedback about cut thicness they use. I feel I start get good on it!
dhansen
Active member
Do you think it’s worthwhile for novice players to study solutions to defensive positions or is time better spent on more open positions?
I’ve been doing this recently also.
Definitely the second, because the return on investment is higher. The average isn't made on how you hit very tough shots. You could double your skill there, and go from 4 % success rate to 8 % success rate and not much happens to your average. If you double your consistency on the bread & butter positions, you WILL see the numbers change.
I picked up the table today. It is actually a 9’ table, and the slate looks to have been modified from a pool table to carom a some point in the distance past. It might have been by the manufacturer since the sides are matched. The slate pocket cuts are filled in with wood inserts. Not sure what the rail rubber profile is. Very solid wood frame and curtains. For $500 and a single tank of gas I’m not complaining at all.
I’m thinking of Simonis 300 with K-55 rubber, if it’ll fit. There are a few people I know that I can call to set it up in a few months after I’m done with the house.
I’m thinking of Simonis 300 with K-55 rubber, if it’ll fit. There are a few people I know that I can call to set it up in a few months after I’m done with the house.
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Nooooo. Simonis 300 is 10x better!
I trust your advice. I'll buy 300.
The table doesn't have a heater, but I can easily make my own. I only need 200ft of 26AWG nichrome wire, which with 3 meanders per section (6 sections) will output 600W total at 110VAC @ 5.5A (about 4.4W/ft output). I'll tack the wire right to the slate with thermal adhesive or putty. That's only about $50 worth of materials. A temperature/humidity controller with a relay is easy to make myself from parts I already have, so I can even control the table temp based on the dew point instead of a temp differential to save energy. But whatever for now.
I'm also going to cut a trench in the concrete floor and run wire, then backfill it.
For the table setup, it still may be worth hiring someone, because I don't have a machinist level or a pneumatic stapler, so that'll be the cost of the labor anyway.
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What evidence is it 10 times better?
I’d much prefer the cloth that does not need heating and is unaffected by the air
Royal pro over anything, if it’s good enough for mr 100s personal home table, it’s good enough for anyone
We had Royal Pro first cloth on table. It is good when new. After a while it went downhill fast. And saying it wont need heating or not affected by air is just b.s.
We now had Simonis 300 double the time we had RP and it is still fast and good. It also can burn skin easily.
But any proof at all or only insults?
I’ve had it on my own tables in my garage in very humid Houston tx
Not bs in any way
Just like the players that only play on verhoeven or Gabriel’s
Who won’t play on 8ft tables or balls without measles
It’s equipment elitism snobbery that is apart of 3c world
Even about the games themselves
No proof just kool kids club
A few things to keep in mind: 1) A cloth is only as good as the mechanic who installs it. That goes for wool-based cloth and synthetic cloth alike. "My" or "our" experience is anecdotal, can't be any more than an indication. 2) Synthetic cloth does not require heating, period. I have no idea why anyone would call that b.s. when it's an established fact. 3) "went downhill fast"? Synthetic cloth will play at the same speed and at the same length for much longer than wool-based cloth. 4) "It can also burn skin easily". Would have been helpful if you mentioned which type of cloth you are referring to, in that sentence. 5) Taking a cue (pun intended) from Raymond Ceulemans or from Poolmanis, that shouldn't be too hard a choice. 6) I've once run the numbers on ten Dutch Grand Prix tournaments played in 2018 and 2019, five on RP and five on Simonis, with basically the same last 32 field. Averages were around 1,5 % higher on RP. The difference was a bit larger in the qualifications (2.5 %) because lower-average players benefitted more from the extra speed of the table.