Methodical vs. Momentum/free stroke

DirtyJersey

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Is it better to be a methodical player i.e. john morra/Ralph Souquet or is it better to be all out like Jason Shaw/earl Strickland? Opinions and why? I understand these examples are at the extremes but I'm just using them for clarity.
 
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philly

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Is it better to be a methodical player i.e. john morra/Ralph Souquet or is it better to be all out like Jason Shaw/earl Strickland? Opinions and why? I understand these examples are at the extremes but I'm just using them for clarity.

Everybody is different. That's what I like about pool players. They are all originals. :smile:
 

DirtyJersey

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
So you think a player is one way or the other based on their mentality and their play style shouldn't be altered from that?
 

nfuids

eh?
Silver Member
I'd say it may take a bit more work to get to the methodical style, but IMO once you get there, you'll make less mistakes.

I mean when playing as fast as Shaw, you are bound to make a strategic mistake because you didn't see a different play and/or to make a shooting mistake because you played too confidently.

This doesn't mean Morra won't make any mistakes, but I think two equally talented players, the one that play more methodical would win in the long run.

It helps reduce the emotional Ups and Downs if you stay calm, steady pace, exact same PSR.. Guys like Shaw vary their PSR depending on how they're feeling confident in the game and all.

just my opinion, I'm far from competing at this level :)
 

nine_ball6970

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Is it better to be a methodical player i.e. john morra/Ralph Souquet or is it better to be all out like Jason Shaw/earl Strickland? Opinions and why? I understand these examples are at the extremes but I'm just using them for clarity.

I do not think one way is better than the other, I think each player plays with a style that works best for them.

I play fast and loose like Earl and Jayson. I simply visualize what I want to happen and then try to execute.

I have tried the methodical approach and that leads to me over-analyzing things and getting the wrong part of my brain (conscious) involved. I start to steer etc.
 

nfuids

eh?
Silver Member
I have tried the methodical approach and that leads to me over-analyzing things and getting the wrong part of my brain (conscious) involved. I start to steer etc.

When I first started, I was exactly like you. Then when I tried to become more methodical, it took about 18-24 months before I could let go my consciousness once I selected my shot and let the subconsciousness take over to execute.

Being methodical does not mean you have to use your conscious brain to execute.

You can alter quiet easily your subconscious if you work hard enough to do it :)
It's really through repetition and once can achieve this a lot faster than I did, I simply did not know all that stuff when I tried to change style.

The same apply to fundamentals.. people ofter tell me they are used to play like they play, with their flaw and see no point of changing their stroke. That's fine by me, but why not try to improve overtime? At the beginning, it feels awkward, tense for some muscle, etc.. but after 2 weeks, it feels ok and after a month, it feels normal and it is now your normal position :)
 

duckie

GregH
Silver Member
Whenever this type of discussion comes up, I think of great musicians, but specficlly guitarist.

Few play the same instrument the same way, yet all can make great music.

It's whatever works for you that lets you express yourself.
 
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ps611846

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Is it better to be a methodical player i.e. john morra/Ralph Souquet or is it better to be all out like Jason Shaw/earl Strickland? Opinions and why? I understand these examples are at the extremes but I'm just using them for clarity.

I don't think methodical means "slow" !!!!!!!!!
The four players you mentioned are "methodical". And they have developed their own "method" of playing the game.
 

boogeyman

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
So you think a player is one way or the other based on their mentality and their play style shouldn't be altered from that?

I don't think he implied a player is one way or the other.
He merely offered a "spectrum" to go by: on one end, you have a Souquet and
on the other end, you have a Shaw.

I think he was asking where on this spectrum a player might most benefit.
My short answer is wherever a player feels most comfortable.
 

Tony_in_MD

You want some of this?
Silver Member
Everybody has their own internal clock so to speak, their rhythm. The challenge is to find it.


I don't think he implied a player is one way or the other.
He merely offered a "spectrum" to go by: on one end, you have a Souquet and
on the other end, you have a Shaw.

I think he was asking where on this spectrum a player might most benefit.
My short answer is wherever a player feels most comfortable.
 

BmoreMoney

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I play my absolute best pool when I don't think st all. When my sub-concious takes over and basically free stroke - and while in this mode it tends to be fast and loose. I don't see myself ever being a methodical player as I would over think myself right out of the shot. I think a lot of players are this way. But as already noted, each person has their own "style" @and has to do what works best for them, when you start doings things just because someone says " that's the way it is SUPOSSED to be " that's not a good thing at all.
 

ENGLISH!

Banned
Silver Member
I play my absolute best pool when I don't think st all. When my sub-concious takes over and basically free stroke - and while in this mode it tends to be fast and loose. I don't see myself ever being a methodical player as I would over think myself right out of the shot. I think a lot of players are this way. But as already noted, each person has their own "style" @and has to do what works best for them, when you start doings things just because someone says " that's the way it is SUPOSSED to be " that's not a good thing at all.

:thumbup2::thumbup2::thumbup2:
 

Tin Man

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
No right answer

There is no right style.

I wrestled with this one for a long time. I also included a third style, those that shift gears. Alex P, John Schmidt, Raj Hundul, they can shoot pretty quick at times. But they can also slow down and grind when they need to. They have some of the advantageous of both styles, but have the risk of sometimes being in the wrong gear.

Proponents of the quick pace site momentum, keeping the game easy, not over thinking. Proponents of the grinder style is the reduction of what appears to be unforced errors.

Neither style is better. That is clear in that you have champions on both sides. Mike Siegel, Buddy Hall, Jim Rempe, Nick Varner, and today Ralph Soquet, Neils Feijen, Thorsten Hohmann, and Dennis Orcullo all fit this style. On the faster side you have Earl, Hatch, Shaw, Morris, and quite a few others that play pretty quick.

In the end the results come down to what you do with your style.

There are a lot of haters about deliberate or slow play. They have an idea about how the game should be played and can't stand others that don't toe their line. Ignore them. This is a solo journey. In my experience people only get frustrated by slow players because they aren't getting enough shots to have fun free wheeling and they don't want to work for their opportunities. People wonder why players take time between shots. After seeing some of the reckless misses from the freewheelers I wonder sometimes why they DON'T. But it's all good either way. Play your game and take it to the top level.
 

akaTrigger

Hi!
Silver Member
Your pool game should reflect your personality
I agree. I have a friend who is a surgeon and he only does surgery on babies (his speciality). His style of play on the pool table is VERY deliberate and almost delicate. Just like he has to be at work.



Sent from my SM-P600 using Tapatalk
 

Drawman623

Box Cue lover
Silver Member
Free stroking is my answer.

Methodical may win more games...it may leave the player with fewer regrets and missed opportunities... but having tasted a set or two of dead stroke when in free stroke, I find there is no high in life to rival it.

I'm not much of a player...never was nor do I compare myself to truly methodical players. But after over 30 years of play, I have a few stand alone memories. It is good to feel unbeatable, to be able to make any shot on the table. Take his pushout and pocket the nine... nobody is safe tonight.

Try conservative play after that. it just doesn't come close.
 
I do not think one way is better than the other, I think each player plays with a style that works best for them.

I play fast and loose like Earl and Jayson. I simply visualize what I want to happen and then try to execute.

I have tried the methodical approach and that leads to me over-analyzing things and getting the wrong part of my brain (conscious) involved. I start to steer etc.

Yeah, I think that if you have played a certain way (either fast and loose, or slow and controlled) for a long period of time (many years), then it is very hard to change your style of play. If you did feel that changing your style of play to a more methodical (slow and controlled) style, then I think you would really have to work hard at doing that. It would not be easy, and would take a lot of devotion. I do not think that one way is any better then the other. There are many world class players that play slow and controlled and others that play fast and loose (alex pagulayan for example?). Sorry, I may be wrong about Alex, but I assume that he is the fast and loose type (but also in ways very methodical too at times). I guess it also depends on the game you are playing. Like in one pocket, most players would be very methodical.
 
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