Difference between great players and good players

P

player77

Registered
Ive noticed that descent to good players usually decide on the spin and speed of the shot before they get down because once they got down into the shot they just need to focus on the shot.

On the other hand I have noticed that very good players tend to make some of that judgment when they are actually down on the shot. It is hard to explain, its almost like their stroking arm and their judgment of speed work intuitively. They can almost "feel" where the ball will go, and they just make it happen. Its not done in two steps, its much more intuitive.
Discuss..
 
J

jburkm002

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Great players use a system. They just don't know it.


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BRussell

BRussell

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I don't know how good or better players do it, but not knowing what you're going to do until you get down to shoot seems like a bad idea to me.
 
HawaiianEye

HawaiianEye

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
BRussell said:
I don't know how good or better players do it, but not knowing what you're going to do until you get down to shoot seems like a bad idea to me.
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You should VIEW the shot from several DIFFERENT angles before you even get down to shoot. The view from "over the cue" is MUCH different than other angles and not necessarily the BEST view. You need to have comparisons and then YOU choose which is BEST for YOU.
 
center pocket

center pocket

It's just a hobby, but a fun one.
Silver Member
It's a two part process. First you visualize EXACTLY where you want the cue ball to be. Visualize the cue ball with the spin needed to get there. When down on the shot you FEEL the stroke speed and tip placement needed to get there. It is intuitive because good to great players have done this process 100,000s of times. Without the FEEL part when cueing the shot, you will never consistently have the cue ball "on a string."

I am very aware of this and laziness plagues my consistency.

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B

bdorman

Dead money
Silver Member
I agree with your basic premise, but consider how many times you see a player (great or good) get back up and start his PSR again. And again, and again.

He might do it for many reasons, and I'll bet that re-thinking his "spin choice" is right up there.
 
boogeyman

boogeyman

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
jburkm002 said:
Great players use a system. They just don't know it.
Click to expand...

Indeed. That "system" is called the ability to find their vision center,
which in turn allows them to hit the ball DEAD center on demand.
These players improve quite quickly when compared to others
because these players can forget about focusing on, again, hitting
the ball square, and can focus more on "playing" the actual game.

Add to that various amounts of hand-eye coordination—or lack thereof—
and other myriad dynamics, and you get different levels of players, e.g., champions, shortstops.

I've posted this last part before in that: it really is true that all those players who simply can't get
better despite their large efforts can SOMETIMES be attributed to not playing from their true
vision center (notice I avoided using the term "dominant eye," as that seems to vex some on here).
 
CJ Wiley

CJ Wiley

ESPN WORLD OPEN CHAMPION
Gold Member
Silver Member
champion players are consistent, and it takes blending the following three components

player77 said:
Ive noticed that descent to good players usually decide on the spin and speed of the shot before they get down because once they got down into the shot they just need to focus on the shot.

On the other hand I have noticed that very good players tend to make some of that judgment when they are actually down on the shot. It is hard to explain, its almost like their stroking arm and their judgment of speed work intuitively. They can almost "feel" where the ball will go, and they just make it happen. Its not done in two steps, its much more intuitive.
Discuss..
Click to expand...

That's because we have found a way to make all shots seem the same. There's a process to get to this level, and it takes blending the following three components:

1) Shot Speed - this must be consistent when every possible (you could think of this as "cue speed") - even on the delicate shots there's a way to maintain the same shot speed.

2) Creating Angles - this must be done in the same way, no matter if the ball is straight in or not.....I hit every shot "as if" they're nearly straight in (I favor the inside of the pocket, so every shot is a "touch" of angle).

3) Cue Ball Targeting - this is where you are going to hit the cue ball with the tip to get the response needed to create the upcoming shot. This should be consistent as well.
 
Kris_b1104

Kris_b1104

House Pro in my own home.
Silver Member
player77 said:
Ive noticed that descent to good players usually decide on the spin and speed of the shot before they get down because once they got down into the shot they just need to focus on the shot.

On the other hand I have noticed that very good players tend to make some of that judgment when they are actually down on the shot. It is hard to explain, its almost like their stroking arm and their judgment of speed work intuitively. They can almost "feel" where the ball will go, and they just make it happen. Its not done in two steps, its much more intuitive.
Discuss..
Click to expand...

The difference between a good player and a great player is Shane Van Boening and myself.
 
CJ Wiley

CJ Wiley

ESPN WORLD OPEN CHAMPION
Gold Member
Silver Member
great players all have a systematic way of thinking that calculates variables

BRussell said:
I don't know how good or better players do it, but not knowing what you're going to do until you get down to shoot seems like a bad idea to me.
Click to expand...

You're right, it may appear this way, but it's not......great players all have a systematic way of thinking that calculates variables (in the upcoming shot) almost simultaneously.
 
T

takeitdown

Banned
19902I not
​
iced that descent to good players usually decide on the spin and speed of the shot before they get down because once they got down into the shot they just need to focus on the shot.

On the other hand I have noticed that very good players tend to make some of that judgment when they are actually down on the shot. It is hard to explain, its almost like their stroking arm and their judgment of speed work intuitively. They can almost "feel" where the ball will go, and they just make it happen. Its not done in two steps, its much more intuitive.
Discuss..[/QUOTE]
The difference is the strength of their muscle memory, visualization of the dynamics of the shot. The expert relies on learned subconscious execution and just performing not forcing results. Being there and having done that makes all the difference.
 
RED LITE

RED LITE

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Player77: Just how do you know when good players make these judgements? Do you have a bug in their head?
 
H

hotrod

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
The difference between a great player and a good player is a few thousand hours of pratice.
 
jay helfert

jay helfert

Shoot Pool, not people
Gold Member
Silver Member
The difference between good players and great players is more upstairs than anywhere else! And that's a fact Jack! :thumbup:
 
vvsels

vvsels

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
hours and hours of practice and confidence level also plays a factor in the difference between good and great players.
 
S

ssbn610g

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Jay, I have plenty of hair upstairs. I guess I am a great!! :D

Just kidding!!

I think it was Floyd Patterson who said as he got older he saw the opening but could not execute whereas when he was young it just happened. What is obvious to a great player is not obvious to a good player and the great player knows he/she will execute under pressure and will not wilt. They will rise to the occasion. I guess Danny D. was right, "What you don't know...."

Watching Efren perform a difficult kick at a ball and then get a roll leaving a player safe, I thought was a lot of luck. But, watching him do this time after time made me realize that most of the shots were planned.

Al

PS - great player make difficult racks seem easy as they peel the onion.
 
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