Lack of practice and playing makes us intermittently focused.
I agree. But I'm also referring to those who play almost every day or on a regular basis.
Doesn't matter if you play with CTE, fractions, contact points, etc.....we tend to not focus too well at times. We simply look at the balls and our brain says "this looks good", then we swing away.
Looking at the "BALLS" and looking at something very specific are two different things. Nobody can play excellent pool by looking at two balls and guessing. You seem to think so and always bring it up like the "brain" is what leads you subconsciously and it's called "feel".
NO! It's the EYES and specific focus. It can be any aiming system but it needs to be something. For years Dan White has said he doesn't use an aiming system. In one particular session we beat it around for days after he said he learned from Ghost Ball. We kept breaking it down to a finite end and we both agreed it was an overlap of the CB and OB together at impact. The distance between the two balls didn't matter, it was IMPACT POSITION aiming after telescoping the CB forward to the OB. It's very visible and extremely visual. An actual overlay of the CB on OB.
We have definitely had our differences and battles over the years but I wholeheartedly applaud him for it. I'm glad I was able to help. I think Lou does the same exact thing when he says "I just see the shot". EVERYBODY has to align and aim the balls to make them. When he "sees the shot" I think he's also envisioning full impact positions for all different cut angles.
The better skilled players with more experience have a better visual relationship with what "looks good" or "seems right", so we can get by shooting like this, sometimes feeling like we can't miss.
The better skilled players such as pros who were in the old P&B
magazine article had the MAJORITY of them saying they used a specific visual aiming system. Do we need to beat that dead horse again for a count?
But even a skilled/experienced player can be off, especially with lack of table time.
A skilled/experienced player or pro can be off after playing every single day for months. They go through a period of playing great and then can't string many balls together for days. It's a whacky thing to have happen but it does for everyone. It's called a "slump" and happens from one day to the next for no damn good reason and can last for a while.
Believe it or not, when you step up and get your CTE visuals, or your fractional aim point, or whatever, your brain is deciding whether or not it "looks right" based on your personal experience and judgment.
But it looks more right and is more likely to be right if you're aiming specific parts of both balls to finite visuals instead of a broad area for starters and then trying to close it in tighter little by little with guesses.
This requires visual focus, which becomes automatic with most shots after you play enough, regardless of what aiming method you use.
NOTHING should be taken as an automatic or given in pool. Not BIH, not hangers next to the pocket, not straight in with both balls close to each other and close to the pocket. Why? Because all of us have MISSED them when not being careful.
Yet still, as automatic as it becomes, we sometimes have cluttered minds, or lazy minds that don't function as well as they've been programmed to function.
Hence, we need to focus on the visuals between the balls. Otherwise known as either aim points, or contact points for those users.
When I was playing several nights per week it felt automatic, like I didn't have to consciously pay attention to any aiming process.
Everybody who has played a lot for a long time has been there and done that. It's fleeting.
And of course, on occasion, I would be off a bubble and have a bad night, not because I didn't know what to do, but because my brain was somewhere else, out of tune with what my eyes were seeing.
Or maybe your eyes weren't seeing at all because you were too confident and cocky from being in deadstroke for a while.
These off nights occur more often with lack of table time, and that's where a good system can help get your brain back in tune with your eyes.
It can happen any time. Why not use something like that ALL THE TIME to keep the eyes and brain coordinated? Are you saying a person actually plays better and shoots more accurately when they DON'T? Seems like it to me.
That's what Brandon was talking about in that interview last year. Having a good system to get you back on track is awesome. He says for him it's CTE.
How do you know he isn't using it more often now or all the time? Have you spoken to him?
Not sure what tool he used prior to learning CTE, but it must've been something..... he had some very profitable years several years back. I hope Stan's book can be a tool for others.
You don't need to hope. It's already doing it and has done it. All you're focusing on is the book but have no idea how many lessons he does. A LOT ON A REGULAR WEEKLY BASIS.
Although CTE is the main focus to be taught, Stan is one of the most well rounded instructors in all facets of the game in the country and has been for decades.
Pool is like roller skating. If you do it enough you get very good at it without consciously trying to do it.
What? This has to one of the most absurd comparisons of anything I've ever seen. Roller skating is the entire body working together dynamically like riding a bike. In the beginning it's about keeping your balance so you don't come crashing down. The main part is either peddling fast enough to balance automatically or move your feet fast enough in the right direction which goes out to the sides instead of straight ahead when skating and that's it.
The only thing you AIM for is not crashing head on into something or someone.
But if you don't do it enough, the first few minutes after putting on the skates will feel very uncontrollable and you'll find yourself trying to focus on the process of staying upright. After a few minutes your brain says "oh, I remember this" and you find yourself rolling around with minimal effort, minimal concentration or focus. You're just doing what feels and looks right. Then when you fall you revert back to consciously paying attention again. The more you do this the better you get. And the better you get the less you'll need to revert back to a conscious process.