Inconsistent stroke

you can try useing a water bottle set it on a table and aim for the hole do this ever night till you can't miss an dont hit the hole edges . worked for my stroke now I dont miss at all outside a miscue ever now and the .

Have you tried taking a lesson with a pro, and see if the pro can spot something? Have you tried videotaping yourself? Watch when you miss, and see if you can spot something.

EddieBme said:

Does anyone else have problems with an inconsistent stroke. I've tried most every stance, and drills to develope a consistent straight stroke. I can shoot the CB from the spot to the far rail, and have the CB come back and hit the cue, but it's only about 50% of the time. Any suggestions would certainly be appreciated.
Thanks
Not "Fast" Eddie :-(

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Try using a Striped ball and place the stripe vertically. Notice what happens to the stripe when the ball doesn't return to the tip of your cue.

You can spot unwanted english this way among other things.

check your bridge and stroke..

After you take your last warm-up stroke, close your eyes before shooting the final stroke. This will teach you the bridge and the grip that you need to be consistant....Your bridge will probably get shorter and firmer, and your grip will probably get lighter.

Best of Luck !

My NO TIME FOR NEGATIVE DVD explains how to become consistant with your shot making. It's available now for $30 on Ebay.

Jimmy Reid said:

check your bridge and stroke..

After you take your last warm-up stroke, close your eyes before shooting the final stroke. This will teach you the bridge and the grip that you need to be consistant....Your bridge will probably get shorter and firmer, and your grip will probably get lighter.

Best of Luck !

My NO TIME FOR NEGATIVE DVD explains how to become consistant with your shot making. It's available now for $30 on Ebay.

Click to expand...

Thank you again Jimmy! By the way, we heard you were joining onepocket.org. We are anxiously awaiting your arrival!

All good stuff above. You should do those things.

In addition, you can place your bridge hand on the top of the left rail and you can stroke trying to keep your shaft EXACTLY over the seam created by the rail surface and the cushion.

In addition, I would STRONGLY suggest a distinct pause at the back of the backstroke like Buddy Hall and Allison Fisher use...followed by a SMOOTHLY but DEFINITELY accelerating forward stroke.

Finally, you should try to FINISH the stroke in EXACTLY the same place every single time.

By that I mean, many/most (but not all) top players will finish the stroke with the inside of their right thumb (if they are right handed) impacting the chest...roughly at the bottom right of the pec muscle. (different body shapes and stances require different finish positions)

But if you do the "straight stroke" drills into a pop bottle or on the top of the rail...when you complete a PERFECT stroke...just FREEZE everything for long enough to determine where the inside of your butt hand thumb has contacted your chest.

Do that MANY times to be sure what the EXACT position is on PERFECTLY straight strokes and guess what....you have figured out how to finish a stroke PERFECTLY every time.

Now...all you have to do is not screw the whole process up with a faulty BACKSTROKE and that is why I SO strongly recommend a definite pause at the back...like for a full second.

To get used to that...shoot 1000 shots with NO preliminary strokeing. Just draw the cue back ONCE...hold for 1 second...and shoot. Your speed control MIGHT suffer...a LITTLE...but your potting percentage should rise because you're not screwing up good aim with a bad stroke.

Also, stop at the back with the "straight stroke drills" and FEEL where the butt hand should be....STRAIGHT BACK. You will KNOW it is straight back because, if it isn't, then your shaft will pull off the seam on the top of the rail so you can SEE you pulled it back off line.

You just gotta do that 1.5 million times (kidding of course) to come the KNOW what a straight back stroke and forward stroke feel like and until you can PARK your butt hand thumb in EXACTLY the same place on your chest...every time. (with a FEW exceptions like if you have to jack way up etc.)

Once you've mastered that, then yes...spend a LOT of time with a striped ball with the stripe straight up and down and watch that sucker wobble down the table...until BOTH your stance AND stroke are ideal such that you can consistently deliver the tip to the EXACT center of the CB. Then the stripe will roll like a tire.

But you CANNOT consistently deliver the tip to exactly where you want it if you have a crooked stroke (unless you are a Phillipino) OR if your body position forces your straight stroke to travel an unintended path.

(-:

EagleMan

Jimmy Reid said:

check your bridge and stroke..

After you take your last warm-up stroke, close your eyes before shooting the final stroke. This will teach you the bridge and the grip that you need to be consistant....Your bridge will probably get shorter and firmer, and your grip will probably get lighter.

Best of Luck !

My NO TIME FOR NEGATIVE DVD explains how to become consistant with your shot making. It's available now for $30 on Ebay.

Click to expand...

And that will be THE BEST 30 bucks any pool player has ever spent............................FOR SURE....PERIOD.

EagleMan

EddieBme said:

Does anyone else have problems with an inconsistent stroke. I've tried most every stance, and drills to develope a consistent straight stroke. I can shoot the CB from the spot to the far rail, and have the CB come back and hit the cue, but it's only about 50% of the time. Any suggestions would certainly be appreciated.
Thanks
Not "Fast" Eddie :-(

Click to expand...

Try lining up your shot, then place your tip at the cue as a start point for your follow through. Focus on the object ball and where you want to contact it without continuously stroking back and forth, Just line up and when it feels right stroke straight through.

I have found that for some people moving the cue stick back and forth can effect their concentration and cause their stroke to be hit and miss. The above method has helped some of them a great deal, and giving it a try certainly will not hurt anything.

Good Luck

EddieBme...Get your stroke "video-analyzed" by a qualified professional instructor. That will show you why you have an inconsistent stroke, and give you the tools to create your own consistent stroke...which will allow you to set goals, and measure your improvement. Where are you in TX?

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com

EddieBme said:

Does anyone else have problems with an inconsistent stroke. I've tried most every stance, and drills to develope a consistent straight stroke. I can shoot the CB from the spot to the far rail, and have the CB come back and hit the cue, but it's only about 50% of the time. Any suggestions would certainly be appreciated.
Thanks
Not "Fast" Eddie :-(

Click to expand...

Jimmy Reid said:

check your bridge and stroke..

After you take your last warm-up stroke, close your eyes before shooting the final stroke. This will teach you the bridge and the grip that you need to be consistant....Your bridge will probably get shorter and firmer, and your grip will probably get lighter.

Best of Luck !

Click to expand...

i was going to say check your bridge and then grip and then move on from there up the body maybe i do know something lol

Here is a clip from that zerox video on how to have a steady consistent bridge position and direction. It took me a while to figure this out on my own and now this video popped up. Make your cue run on top of your thumb, you may have to move your hand counter clockwise until it kind of locks. If you notice, moving your bridged hand clockwise will give you many different looks/positions down the shaft. You may be getting different looks down the shaft because of inconsistent bridging position on the table.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=z5qqPm1Pqcs#t=10s

I would also look into a cocked grip to try to stop any unwanted sideways wrist action. If you can master some form of a cocked grip you can really open up your stroke and get a lot of action on the cb which is a bonus.

manwon said:

Try lining up your shot, then place your tip at the cue as a start point for your follow through. Focus on the object ball and where you want to contact it without continuously stroking back and forth, Just line up and when it feels right stroke straight through.

I have found that for some people moving the cue stick back and forth can effect their concentration and cause their stroke to be hit and miss. The above method has helped some of them a great deal, and giving it a try certainly will not hurt anything.

Good Luck

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I agree. And the "next level" would be as I described....an actual "playing stroke" but one that pauses distinctly at the back for the exact same reasons you mention.

(-:

EagleMan

KEEP YOUR HEAD STILL.

It may not be that, but that's among the best advice I've ever been given to a straight stroke. A slight movement in the head gets magnified through the body. I had such an issue with this when I was a kid that my instructor made me wear a neck brace...unorthodox, but effective.

A few other little gems I stumbled accross are a slow, I mean very slow backstroke, over exaggerated pause then accelerate through the CB when practicing. Keep the slow backstroke and lessen the pause slightly when playing for real.

Loosen the grip. Your grip gets tight, your whole arm gets tight and your stroke becomes jerky.

Also back in the day, i had to stroke up and down with my cue against a wall. Bridge hand at full stretch as high as I could reach on the wall and stroke 100 times before I could hit a ball. Supprisingly it worked wonders.

Like others have said, hit a striped ball and see if the stripe is vertical when it comes back. If not its easy enough to work out what went wrong. Try some dead straight draw shots with a stripe as the CB. If it draws back dead straight with a vertical stripe then great, if not you can tell where you went wrong.

The best wayto a straight stroke is first finding out where you are going wrong. That makes developing a consistent stroke much, much easier.

I would go and take a few lessons though. An hour or 2 lesson will be more beneficial to you than 10 hours trying to resolve it yourself.

Good luck.

Without video it's near impossible to say, my hunch would be in the grip as this is the most common source for this problem. Either the grip is too tight or you are tightening it somewhere along the stroke.
Personally I don't see the logic in practicing one thing when you intend to do another, practice hitting balls.

It is a fairly consistent problem which is more than arm/wrist motion. As you choose shoots play for thicker postion so as to keep cue ball short. Try to stay in center of the cue ball, roll it when you can especially on modern fast cloth.

To work on your stroke try to use consistent bridge length, slow back swing to an almost non existent pause or slightly longer, swing or toss cue to its finish point. Stay down watch the object ball motion after impact, look at tip position prior to getting up.

Easy to say - more work to actually do it will pay off if you stick with it.

One more thing set the stripe up on the head string with the number facing you or turn it so somewhere on the number is your tip target. Perhaps a tip high or dead center or a tip low just have an intent as to where the tip will contact the cue ball. Super chalk the tip. Set up and with a slow back swing / pause then fire it straight into pocket at far end of the table. Pull the ball out and you should see a chalk dot where it was hit. Is the tip hitting where you expect? clean the ball between reps with a cloth. Do the exact same shot 10 times. note where each dot is, if they are all off in the same location you are off but consistent, if the are all over you have no repeatability if they are perfect and same location every time then you are ready to go. This checking the dot thing will tell you quite a bit about what you are actually doing more so it is worth the effort.

In closing have expectations and compare the results with the goal. The more detailed the expectation the better the comparison and the feedback.

There is only one way to get a consistent stroke, 2 hours of practice, everyday of the week for a year.

No other way. Plain, simpe, hard truth.

duckie said:

There is only one way to get a consistent stroke, 2 hours of practice, everyday of the week for a year.

No other way. Plain, simpe, hard truth.

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True, that is 100% guaranteed to give you a consistent stroke...

But it you're practicing 2 hours a day 365 days with a bad stroke, you will have a consistently bad stroke.

The stroke is really just taking the hand back and returning it to where it started.

EddieBme said:

Does anyone else have problems with an inconsistent stroke. I've tried most every stance, and drills to develope a consistent straight stroke. I can shoot the CB from the spot to the far rail, and have the CB come back and hit the cue, but it's only about 50% of the time. Any suggestions would certainly be appreciated.
Thanks
Not "Fast" Eddie :-(

Click to expand...

Try making it more simple. The stroke is really just taking the hand back and returning it to where it started. If you do that you will force yourself to hit where you're aiming on the cue ball.

Be very precise when you aim at the cue ball. Aim with the top "pin" of your tip (the smallest portion you can imagine) and then feel your hand position the cue to that point. We all play the Game with our TIP, so be focused on delivering the TIP to Target. And that "Target" is always a spot on the cue ball, not the object ball. The object ball is a secondary target and responds as a result of how you contact the cue ball.

Be consious of where your right hand is and make sure your left bridge hand is firm and is contolling the cue. Before, during and after the shot the bridge hand must remain firm for maximum control.

Now simply take your hand back and return it to where it was, without trying to follow though at all. A long follow though "can be" negative and I could go into reasons not to do it unless "you're just showin off."

Keep it simple and effective, straight back, then straight back to the starting position. Now, the more you accellerate this motion the more you can do with the cue ball. :wink: 'The Game is the Teacher'

If you dont know how to get better you never will. I see these 6 older guys that play everyday for like 8 hours at the room i play at. I would crush them because i am always seeking knowledge on how to play better and i leave no rock unturned lol

RG1 said:

If you dont know how to get better you never will. I see these 6 older guys that play everyday for like 8 hours at the room i play at. I would crush them because i am always seeking knowledge on how to play better and i leave no rock unturned lol

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True that! I started playing not long ago and when I started coming to the pool hall I always saw the same few guys shooting pool all day long. They have been doing it for years, way before I picked up a cue for the first time. In my short time of going to the pool hall to practice I started showing significant progress, especially in the last 3 months.
Those guys in the room they shoot at the same level they shot 10 years ago.