The forthcoming book on CTE.

Saturated Fats

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I am confident. I have been exposed to enough of the new language to see that it really does cover the bases. There were some things even I never quite put my finger on, but the language cleared them up. It was like a whole new perspective, pun intended. ;)

It is more than just "language" as well. There have been some new concepts discovered with approaching the system, ultimately arriving at the same answer that has been there all along. This, coupled with clearer language is the what puts it over the edge. I really do think this will clear a lot of bad air round here. Now if we can all agree WHY it works, well that is a discussion for a future day :)

The reason I'm skeptical is that DVD2 is full of descriptions that leave me without any useful information. Phrases like "aiming in a new dimension" and "connecting with the geometry of the table" don't convey (to me at least) anything that promotes understanding. I think the best plan would be to submit the working manuscript to uninitiated players and get their take on the effectiveness of the language and overall teaching methodologies.

Let's hope you are right in your opinion though.
 
Last edited:

GoldenFlash

Banned
The reason I'm skeptical is that DVD2 is full of descriptions that leave me without any useful information. Phrases like "aiming in a new dimension" and "connecting with the geometry of the table" don't convey (to me at least) anything that promotes understanding. I think the best plan would be to submit the working manuscript to uninitiated players and get their take on the effectiveness of the language and overall teaching methodologies.
Let's hope you are right in your opinion though.
I do not think any author of an instruction book should 'submit a working manuscript to the uninitiated' and get their take'. If they're uninitiated, how would their opinions matter anyway? Anyway...there are plenty of those giving their take right in this pool shooting site..plenty who've never worked...and I mean worked at trying it out.
The phrases about 'a new dimension in aiming' and 'connecting with the geometry of the table' made perfect sense to me right out of the gate. I had played pool for so many years, I knew the 'tried and proven' (?) ways were not just chiseled in stone. I had already "hit a million balls". Maybe, I thought, I wasn't hitting them enough in the right spots, often enough, to reduce the percentages of misses. Could it be???
(I played in an exhibition long ago against Mosconi and even he said..."I don't know how you miss so many balls, your stroke is beautiful." So, I eliminated that factor from the self analysis)
As for me, learning the method was another story entirely.....a nightmare. There were so many things I had to undo in the way my eyes were perceiving the shots. And that is tough to do after almost 60 years of playing a certain way.
But , money comes hard for me and I had plopped down the cash for the DVD's and I was determined to learn what was there. I had seen with my own eyes, this guy Stan Shuffett making all those shots behind that curtain over and over and over and that, in itself, convinced me that this was something that needed to be worked at and learned....it could really contribute to my game. It could eliminate guesswork regarding where to hit the balls for a higher percentage...and I am a VERY BIG believer in percentages. (I don't make any 2 card draws to a flush and I don't bet into any open pair in stud without having the lock).
I believe it just takes a blind leap of faith to seriously get into this method of playing the game. It costs money..there is a cash risk. And there are always those around who knock this and knock that...preaching how stupid you are to be suckered, and on and on, etc. etc.
But there is light at the end of the tunnel...my game improved a great deal once things began to fall into place. Especially on those long shots where he's got you jammed up against the rail and that money ball is wayyyy down there at the other end sitting at a 45 degree cut.
In the old Busch leagues, back in 1996, I was rated as a 7 player so I'm not a complete novice about pool shooting. I think my remarks are somewhat worthy. My eyesight is still wonderful, and I've been video taped for any stroke error study.
CTE is a process of study and execution...it certainly is NOT a panacea for those who're seeking instant gratification. That won't happen.
 

Saturated Fats

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I do not think any author of an instruction book should 'submit a working manuscript to the uninitiated' and get their take'. If they're uninitiated, how would their opinions matter anyway?

Maybe "uninitiated" is not the best choice of words. Assuming the book is being written for people that are beyond the basics of pool, but have no prior exposure to CTE, those are the kind of people that can determine if everything they need is in the book and if it is presented in a way that they can understand. Already knowledgeable players can provide valuable input, but the other group is important too.
 

mohrt

Student of the Game
Silver Member
The reason I'm skeptical is that DVD2 is full of descriptions that leave me without any useful information. Phrases like "aiming in a new dimension" and "connecting with the geometry of the table" don't convey (to me at least) anything that promotes understanding. I think the best plan would be to submit the working manuscript to uninitiated players and get their take on the effectiveness of the language and overall teaching methodologies.

Let's hope you are right in your opinion though.

I think the language and concepts have come along far enough to be considered complete and understandable. I guess time will tell, but I'm pretty confident from what I've seen thus far.
 

tonythetiger583

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Maybe "uninitiated" is not the best choice of words. Assuming the book is being written for people that are beyond the basics of pool, but have no prior exposure to CTE, those are the kind of people that can determine if everything they need is in the book and if it is presented in a way that they can understand. Already knowledgeable players can provide valuable input, but the other group is important too.

I think one of the main problems I had with the DVD's was that it was too detailed. It was like an overload of tons of information that I did not understand.

It felt like he was repeating the same things over and over in slightly different versions in the hopes that I'd do a helen keller and figure out that the thing I was holding was called a cup.

As someone who uses cte, I'm excited that such a massive project is underway, but if it's just like DVD2 but with waaaaay more of the same style of presentation, I feel bad for someone trying to pick it up.

It's just too much complicated information to try and chew on. There needs to be a CTE for Dummies.

Honestly if it was just how to perform the steps, rough parameters of when to use each category, and how to manual pivot and visual sweep, I think that would be great.

30-45 minutes tops.

Don't even try to explain how it works, cause it makes me feel like I'm listening to a sermon. Honestly it's boring and takes up way to much time, makes pretty much no sense to a beginner and I'm pretty sure a beginner doesn't actually care.

When I was excited to learn cte, and popped in the DVD I'm pretty sure the last thing on my mind was the miracle of why it works. And then I spent 45 minutes being explained in terms that I didn't have a clue about, as to how I could achieve a higher plane of existence.

The whole time, all I wanted to see was the part where they showed me how to put a ball in a pocket.

Honestly at this point I think the claims about being objective and higher plane stuff should just be dropped. Even if it's true that CTE has something more going on underneath the surface, no sane person is ever going to accept it, let alone buy into it I'd totally get the need to say stuff like that if CTE had nothing else going for it, but I think it overshadows CTE's best selling point.

It's probably the most well known aiming system of it's family. It's the most comprehensive, thorough and refined. When you think non-traditional aiming systems, you think CTE. There's no need to cover it in weird buzzwords when it's a fine stand-alone product.

I don't want my washing machine salesman telling me this model was also used by Sean Connery. Just tell me if it's a good quality washing machine.

p.s: if you want to release loads of complicated information for current cte users for advanced use, that is also perfectly acceptable.
 
Last edited:

mista335

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Honestly if it was just how to perform the steps, rough parameters of when to use each category, and how to manual pivot and visual sweep, I think that would be great.

Chapters 8 and 9 of the DVD show step by step cuts to the left and right.

What is it that is unclear in these 2 chapters?
 

tonythetiger583

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Chapters 8 and 9 of the DVD show step by step cuts to the left and right.

What is it that is unclear in these 2 chapters?

How about the fact that information on how to cut the ball are chapters 8 and 9?!

What is so important that it takes 7 chapters before we can actually get down to business?

Imagine if your vcr instruction manual spent 7 chapters teaching you the magic behind vcr's and how they work? I don't give a damn, I just want to record my soaps.

If you make me learn 7 chapters before I can even get started, I should be getting a diploma sent to my door when the DVD ends.
 
Last edited:

mista335

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
How about the fact that information on how to cut the ball are chapters 8 and 9?!

What is so important that it takes 7 chapters before we can actually get down to business?

Imagine if your vcr instruction manual spent 7 chapters teaching you the magic behind vcr's and how they work? I don't give a damn, I just want to record my soaps.

If you make me learn 7 chapters before I can even get started, I should be getting a diploma sent to my door when the DVD ends.

You said there was no simple explanation to just shoot.

But there it is.

After all this time there it was and you missed it.

Did you know your DVD player has a 2 chapter buttons?
 

mista335

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I never got to that part. My DVD instruction manual was like 20 chapters on why DVD's unlock a new dimension of visual entertainment.

Visual entertainment eh?

"...DVD's unlock a new dimension of visual entertainment"????

I know you are just trying to discredit the DVDs but what you asked for is clearly demonstrated in chapters 8 and 9.

The fact that you couldn't get past chapter 1 is a timely reminder to all not to mess with hallucinogenic substances.

So maybe you are just too far gone to absorb any new information.
 

mohrt

Student of the Game
Silver Member
I'm going to make a speculation of sorts. From what I've seen, I'm pretty confident that the new language and concepts forthcoming should have most anyone "get" CTE within a matter of an hour. Most certainly with someone else at the table that knows the information, it's way faster to demonstrate and correct than it is to read out of a book. That is just the basic part of understanding how to execute, what to look for, what you need to do to accomplish accurate ball pocketing. Within the course of several hours thereafter, proficiency should dramatically improve. That said, your current playing ability will affect the speed of your improvement. It's not hard, it's just very different. Your ability to be very exact and stroke pure is essential to your speed of success. Within days you may be comfortable enough to incorporate into your play, and in the coming weeks and months your abilities will refine as you use it for more and more situations at the table. So progress will look much like an upside-down hockey stick. Dramatic at first, then taper off to finer and finer details over time. And all the while your stroke and abilities in other areas of your game should also show marked improvement, as the aiming part of the game, arguably the most essential part, has also become the easiest part.

If you have followed my posts for any amount of time here (over the last 6 years) you will know I have never made any such speculation regarding CTE information to date. Stan has come a long way in the last year or so, and it shows.
 

Vorpal Cue

Just galumping back
Silver Member
It's just too much complicated information to try and chew on. There needs to be a CTE for Dummies.

Honestly if it was just how to perform the steps, rough parameters of when to use each category, and how to manual pivot and visual sweep, I think that would be great.

30-45 minutes tops.

This is how I select the visuals for my 2D system. It's not Pro One congruent but there are similarities between the methods used. It may help you choose the correct visual and pivot. If more experienced users of Pro One have opinions on the technique, I'm hoping they can correct any confusion I introduce by offering better advice.

This may be sacrilege but you can try to use the contact point on the OB as a guide. For 15 and 30 visuals the side of the OB with the CP gets 'covered' by the edge of the CB with a pivot into the CP.

For those 'almost' straight in shots where it's hard to tell which side to use, point your cue stick at the pocket and through the center of the OB. If the CB is on the right side of the line, use the left side of the OB for the 'edge' side of the visual.

For the 45 visual you use the center of the CB to 'cover' the CP side of the OB and the opposite edge for the visual but still pivot toward the CP. The 15 and 30 visuals are 'subtractive' visuals and the 45 visual is 'additive' which requires the opposite edge for the starting baseline.

As you can see, I'm always doing a pivot toward the CP side of the OB. I don't know if that's always true with Pro One but it works fine for my 2D system. Hopefully a more experienced user of Pro One can add more insight if I'm leading you astray.
 
Top