A shooting tip for those who've given up all hope of shooting straight.

fan-tum · Mar 4, 2019

Goes against conventional teachings.
1. grip...not light, but strong,firm,all the way thru the stroke.
2. Aim normally..keep body still..stare at middle of cue ball and keep your focus there...draw cue back about 10-12 inches..stroke thru trying to hit the spot you've been staring at (middle of C.B.).

garczar · Mar 4, 2019

fan-tum said:
Goes against conventional teachings.
1. grip...not light, but strong,firm,all the way thru the stroke.
2. Aim normally..keep body still..stare at middle of cue ball and keep your focus there...draw cue back about 10-12 inches..stroke thru trying to hit the spot you've been staring at (middle of C.B.).

Get ready for the onslaught.

Seriously, i've NEVER looked at the cueball while hitting the shot. Preshot routine/stance will take care of a straight shot provided one doesn't steer the cue thru impact. I DO use a pretty firm grip. Got that as a tip from Buddy Hall.

fan-tum · Mar 4, 2019

garczar said:
Get ready for the onslaught. Seriously, i've NEVER looked at the cueball while hitting the shot. Preshot routine/stance will take care of a straight shot provided one doesn't steer the cue thru impact. I DO use a pretty firm grip. Got that as a tip from Buddy Hall.

I'd be willing to guess you're a decent shooter. My advice is mainly for those like myself...can't for the life of me consistently hit my aiming spot on the c.b. My c.b always has some degree of right spin..my misses are usually overcut to the right.

MattPoland · Mar 4, 2019

fan-tum said:
I'd be willing to guess you're a decent shooter. My advice is mainly for those like myself...can't for the life of me consistently hit my aiming spot on the c.b. My c.b always has some degree of right spin..my misses are usually overcut to the right.

Tor Lowry has a drill where you simply hit the cue ball with top english to follow the object ball straight into the pocket. Start up close and slowly introduce greater distance (with CB from OB, or OB from the pocket).

I struggled for a bit until I realized I was putting a touch of left on my shots. It meant I was addressing the ball wrong. My CB would deflect ever so little, enough to pocket the OB but the CB would go right of the pocket.

Once I figured out what was going on, I could start to easily see I wasn’t hitting center. I could see the top curve of my tip wasn’t align with the top curve of the CB. After adjusting and practicing, my shooting of long straight shots improved massively.

Also a nice side effect was I learned to respect deflection. I realized that OB throw from english may counteract (and sometimes overpower) CB deflection on a full hit, but it won’t on a thin cut. I learned to start respecting the amount of deflection to account for when using sidespin on thin cuts.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

fan-tum · Mar 4, 2019

MattPoland said:
Tor Lowry has a drill where you simply hit the cue ball with top english to follow the object ball straight into the pocket. Start up close and slowly introduce greater distance (with CB from OB, or OB from the pocket).

I struggled for a bit until I realized I was putting a touch of left on my shots. It meant I was addressing the ball wrong. My CB would deflect ever so little, enough to pocket the OB but the CB would go right of the pocket.

Once I figured out what was going on, I could start to easily see I wasn’t hitting center. I could see the top curve of my tip wasn’t align with the top curve of the CB. After adjusting and practicing, my shooting of long straight shots improved massively.

Also a nice side effect was I learned to respect deflection. I realized that OB throw from english may counteract (and sometimes overpower) CB deflection on a full hit, but it won’t on a thin cut. I learned to start respecting the amount of deflection to account for when using sidespin on thin cuts.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Your post brought back an ancient memory,circa 1968. I observed a shooter who aimed at the extreme tip of the CB and never missed. And I remembered I tried that method with decent results.

garczar · Mar 4, 2019

fan-tum said:
I'd be willing to guess you're a decent shooter. My advice is mainly for those like myself...can't for the life of me consistently hit my aiming spot on the c.b. My c.b always has some degree of right spin..my misses are usually overcut to the right.

If your stance is bad or you tip-steer then HOW is looking at the cb going to help? All you'll get is a better look at bad contact.

Bob Jewett · Mar 4, 2019

fan-tum said:
... My advice is mainly for those like myself...can't for the life of me consistently hit my aiming spot on the c.b. ...

I think there are much better ways to work on your problem.

nine_ball6970 · Mar 4, 2019

fan-tum said:
I'd be willing to guess you're a decent shooter. My advice is mainly for those like myself...can't for the life of me consistently hit my aiming spot on the c.b. My c.b always has some degree of right spin..my misses are usually overcut to the right.

You're head is most likely in the wrong place.

PoolBoy1 · Mar 5, 2019

fan-tum said:
Goes against conventional teachings.
1. grip...not light, but strong,firm,all the way thru the stroke.
2. Aim normally..keep body still..stare at middle of cue ball and keep your focus there...draw cue back about 10-12 inches..stroke thru trying to hit the spot you've been staring at (middle of C.B.).

Pool is a simple game. If one can't hang down an arm and move it back and forward fairly regular need to stick to bingo.

fan-tum · Mar 5, 2019

PoolBoy1 said:
Pool is a simple game. If one can't hang down an arm and move it back and forward fairly regular need to stick to bingo.

If you get a "greenie" for that insufferably ignorant post, that'll confirm a few suspicians I've had.

Texas Carom Club · Mar 5, 2019

I dont try and make perfect straight strokes on a straight shot
I aim off a bit of the desired spot and shoot
Works well enough for me

Pidge · Mar 5, 2019

This forum has gone drastically down hill over the past years. Bad advice seems to be the norm now.

Bobkitty · Mar 5, 2019

Pidge said:
This forum has gone drastically down hill over the past years. Bad advice seems to be the norm now.

Some guys post in EVERY thread. Guess they know everything.

pinkspider · Mar 5, 2019

fan-tum said:
Goes against conventional teachings.
1. grip...not light, but strong,firm,all the way thru the stroke.
2. Aim normally..keep body still..stare at middle of cue ball and keep your focus there...draw cue back about 10-12 inches..stroke thru trying to hit the spot you've been staring at (middle of C.B.).

if you can pull back 10-12 inches and hit straight consistently with this method i think your set up/mechanics are pretty decent to begin with...

fan-tum · Mar 5, 2019

pinkspider said:
if you can pull back 10-12 inches and hit straight consistently with this method i think your set up/mechanics are pretty decent to begin with...

The last few days I've been using my method, and my CB no longer has any unintended side spin, plus as long as I concentrate on hitting my aim point on the CB, my potting has improved, for the first time in 30 yrs. When I miss I can tell that I didn't try hard enough to hit center CB. I retry the shot, shut out everything except center CB, and usually make the shot.
And possibly 10" back straight to center might have some unexpected pluses.

jimmyco · Mar 5, 2019

Pidge said:
This forum has gone drastically down hill over the past years. Bad advice seems to be the norm now.

"When I miss I can tell that I didn't try hard enough. I retry the shot..."

Sounds like solid advice. Although I doubt my opponent will agree.

RiverCity · Mar 5, 2019

jimmyco said:
...Although I doubt my opponent will agree.

There is no such thing as a "BAD SHOT".

Every shot makes somebody happy. :thumbup:

jason · Mar 5, 2019

Pidge said:
This forum has gone drastically down hill over the past years. Bad advice seems to be the norm now.

Good...now I will feel safe saying this! I sometimes look at the cue ball when pocketing shots and I feel that many times I am more accurate.

For those who say they never look at the cue ball when stroking, try doing that on a jump shot when the OB is all the way down table.

A shooting tip for those who've given up all hope of shooting straight.

fan-tum

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garczar

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fan-tum

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MattPoland

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fan-tum

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garczar

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Bob Jewett

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nine_ball6970

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PoolBoy1

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fan-tum

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Texas Carom Club

9ball did to billiards what hiphop did to america

Pidge

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Bobkitty

I said: "Here kitty, kitty". Got this frown.

pinkspider

Crap user name, I know.

fan-tum

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jimmyco

NRA4Life

RiverCity

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jason

Unprofessional everything