I don't use a system. Learned 20+ years ago by starting out on a friends table, in the bar with my dad, and by myself in the pool hall when I was able to earn enough money to afford the table time. I learned how to make a shot without a whit of instruction. Picked up a gem here and there from better players, To this day I do not use a system. Not to say I haven't lined a few up to see what they (systems) offer...always seemed to make the game harder than I felt it needed to be. I can run the occasional 6 pack without you leaving your seat, I can also go four or five shots in a row without making a duck...systems are unnecessary (fundamentals more important than many think though), especially for those who are well into their 3rd decade of shooting pool. More power to those that do use "systems", but I find whatever you think makes you better, initially does, because your concentration level goes up (new cue) (new tip)...I think anyone that is truly a great pool player is better at the concentration end of pool than the rest of it...Just my humble opinion.
Very similar to myself here. I learned on my own with a set of old pool balls given to me by the owner of bar that had caught fire and burned to the ground. At 16 I would break into Maclin Hall dorm at the local college, afterhours, climb right through an unlocked window into the rec room where an old 9ft gold crown table sat. I carried the pool balls in a black leather sachel/briefcase. I had a Mali cue given to me by one of my dad's friends.
I think you're right about the importance of fundamentals, and there are many lessons better learned on your own -- just you and the table, paying attention to what works, what doesn't work, to what feels right, etc.... Eventually you're gonna get good at it -- months if you play every day with determination, or years if you just give it a so so effort.
I think a good solid aiming system can dramatically speed the learning process up, but I never found such a system. They all require months of practice to perfect, which is no different than learning via the old school rote method. So years later, having learned the old school way, I designed a system that could actually speed up the learning process for others. I'm not preaching about my book, just saying that aiming systems can actually be very useful tools to help build solid skills, as long as you don't have to spend months trying to get the system to work. In that case all you're really doing is learning via rote, trial and error, making things work as you go.
