The Pause

Frosty said:
Well, the group of instructors that like to call it SPF (set,pause,finish) believe that it prevents that quick jerk in the stroke that often happens in the transition to players early in their learning of the game and even to some pro players on shots in big moments.

Me? I like to keep the cue moving, more fluid. Kind of like golfers that utilize the waggle. For me it’s about the rhythm and timing of my stroke which is critical in controlling the cue ball, to each their own.
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Shooters waggle is after you kick out your forward foot and you've then chosen your rear foot placement.
Often after I'm down on a Looooooong shot.... I'll pull up, keep all body parts the same and rotate my body & feet an 1'' or so left or right to correct my shot line..... then down on the shot and pocket the ball or miss and learn a little more about conditions.
Often times you'll see an 800 player do this on long shots, get back up and reset/reapproach.
But I've seen Filler before, and quite a few other Top pros, when they are completely down and getting set, he will reset/maybe change his back foot angle inward or outward a little, then SPF....a great term when helping players understand the swing.
 
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Double paws pause. I winz.
 
Chili Palmer said:
If you want to see me short circuit, force me to pause. I've messed with it just to try it but I am very much a rhythm player and pausing in the back stroke screws up my speed control and rhythm in general. I have also found that on hard shots I would have a tendency to jerk my arm forward instead of having a smooth stroke.

To each their own.
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Took me most of a year to just start getting comfortable with pausing on backstroke.
Right now, today? I'm feeling its baked in ..... kinda.

Maybe if I wasn't also working on a straighter stroke too, the feel I searched for could have come sooner. IDK

What I do know is my game has improved, but maybe that's only because of increased table time working on those 2 things.
Maybe I would have seen the same improvement by just working on a straighter stroke and screw the pause.

Who knows.

I'm thinking what I call a "painfully slow backstroke" naturally caused at least a slight pause without thinking. Slowing up the backstroke if you're naturally quick with it is also a painful transition that throws your natural/learned rhythm out of kilter.
 
I always pause at end of backstroke, not so much for a smooth transition but also for transferring 100% of my focus to OB which until I start my backstroke is shared between OB and CB.
 
A pool stroke is not a true pendulum. It also doesn't move on pure gravity/momentum. The tricep pulls the cue back and the bicep drives it forward. The pause, regardless of its duration, is what allows the transition from backswing to forward swing. I just don't see how that transition can be done smoothly without a pause of some sort. I just watched an old AS match with Earl playing Varner and they both clearly pause. IMO there are far more good players with a pause than without.
 
There has to be a "pause" for the motion to change direction, but there does not need to be a "forced" pause that causes the motion to come to a complete stop for more than a millisecond or so. The "pause" should come naturally.

Some people come to a complete stop and look each way for oncoming traffic before the cue is brought forward.

That is not necessary.
 
HawaiianEye said:
There has to be a "pause" for the motion to change direction, but there does not need to be a "forced" pause that causes the motion to come to a complete stop for more than a millisecond or so. The "pause" should come naturally.

Some people come to a complete stop and look each way for oncoming traffic before the cue is brought forward.

That is not necessary.
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agree here, a forced stop is no good. the pause is slight but still has flow.
 
HawaiianEye said:
There has to be a "pause" for the motion to change direction, but there does not need to be a "forced" pause that causes the motion to come to a complete stop for more than a millisecond or so. The "pause" should come naturally.

Some people come to a complete stop and look each way for oncoming traffic before the cue is brought forward.

That is not necessary.
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garczar said:
agree here, a forced stop is no good. the pause is slight but still has flow.
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3d agree
Screenshot_20261031-132712.jpg
 
HawaiianEye said:
Some people come to a complete stop and look each way for oncoming traffic before the cue is brought forward.

That is not necessary.
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Yeah 👍 BUT they have never been hit by a truck when playing pool.
I have....it was a beer truck. 😉
 
Well, the pause for me is just to wait for All the voices in My head to STFU. 🤷‍♂️ Sometime z that takes longer than others.
 
There's also the rhythm (for lack of a better word) (FLOABW ?) of a sequence. Players with smooth chops can breeze through racks if the easy ones come up. Most prefer the safety of sane tempi and assured consistency. One thing that might help this group is to number the shots in a sequence. If you have 5 shots to get out, make sure you are aware of this and also count them as you go. At the very least, you wont interrupt yourself to breathe before you're done.
I think counting shots can help fortify the idea and ability of doing longer licks.

Warning, this is an advanced and highly technical method. If you experience runs longer than 8 racks, consult an instructor for assistance in managing the issue.
 
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