Search results

This is a great post! I studied quite a bit about mental toughness and the mental tools needed to improve. This is what my 2nd book, "Playing to Win", is all about. There is a bunch of strategy stuff, but the gems are found in the chapters about the mental side of performance and skill...

I think all aspiring players, once the fundamentals are down, should experiment some on the artistic side of pool in order to learn and develop their creativity. It can really get you out of a tight spot or allow you to put your opponent in a tight spot. There is nothing quite as satisfying...

Only the first few inches of the shaft matter when it comes to deflection differences (from the tip back). So these two shafts must be pretty equal in those first few inches.

That's what I was thinking. Foul on purpose by knocking your opponent's 13 ball to the long rail between the 8ball and the side pocket. Then when you have a chance to kick the 3 away from the 8 you may not sell out. But this needs to be done as soon as possible, not after pocketing a few of...

But aren't different cues going to get different results due to different deflection amounts? And aren't different cb speeds and shot distances going to get different results due squirt and swerve? There is no one-size-fits-all method for aiming with spin. In other words, it boils down to...

That's what I'm thinking. But this game requires so much more than simply pocketing balls. The biggest and most important element is cue ball control. Any aiming method that requires the use of side spin can easily become a problem when trying to maneuver the cb from one shot to the next.

Absolutely, for shots where the cb is struck in the center there probably isn't a significant difference between shaft types. For spin shots it would be more different, depending on shaft deflection, but it's likely still insignificant. A hard tip, however, produces a noticeable difference in...

So true! Performance fluctuates. Sometimes a 600 player will play like a 700, yet other times he/she might play like a 500. Most of the time we play our average game, sometimes better, sometimes worse. It's called regression to the mean, and everyone has to deal with it when it comes to...

Exactly, the cb speed lost on impact with the ob is proportional to the fractional hit/overlap. So on a halfball hit the cb loses 50% of its speed. On a 3/4 hit it loses 75%. And on a 1/4 hit it loses 25%.

Good artists copy. Great artists steal. (unknown, yet credited to Picasso) Instead of trying to copy all the parts of a great players unique stroke, steal the parts that work best for you, the parts that feel natural, free-flowing, effortless. Incorporating those parts could help you find...

Excellent point. My favorite shot angles are around the halfball, a little thicker to a little thinner (20 to 35 degrees). That's a great angle range for controlling the cb.

Excellent history lesson, Dave, and much appreciated. Thanks.

When playing with a high deflection or low deflection shaft, the mind figures out (through experience and experimental and purposeful practice) how much to compensate for aiming. The compensation method could involve a backhand english pivot with just the right amount of bridge length for your...

Lol. Now I understand why the aiming forum was created. You just can't control yourself. Read a little book titled "Emotional Intelligence 2.0". Now, back to the op's topic....

Ok. You don't get it. I get it. No biggie. Every sport I listed involves a connection between mind and body, where the mind compares real-time visual data to known data that has been learned/embedded into memory through experience, practice, competition, etc.... We move our body into...

Yes, exactly.

No, not correct. Feel is feel. It's not a skill that you develop.

Yes, with enough estimation practice I am 100% certain that just about anyone could pinpoint the center of that rail and fine tune accurately from there. People prove it everyday, just how incredible the brain is at precisely estimating/pinpointing with only a handful of references, given...

Same thing. I mean, as far as the mind is concerned, feel is feel. It doesn't matter whether it's based on visual data or physical data. "It feels right" is correct, not "it seems right". Because when the mind finds a match for the input it's receiving - when it can link what you're seeing...

Yeah yeah, visual knowledge...whatever.