Important Tips for Beginners

I like your videos.

What do I wish they told me?
I got a lot of help.
Some things that helped the most.

Learning to stay still on the shot and
trust your arm. (Takes a while but eventually
they started going in)

Learn how to play without chalk.

This last one was the best.
A guy told me which shot to shoot,
where to put the cueball, and walked
me through a run out in 8ball after
I broke.

Easiest run out of my life. I could not believe it.
I remember thinking if I could get this guy to
tell me how to run them out each time, I have
the ability to run 1000 racks!
The power of patterns, a revelation.

Sharivari said:

What do you wish somebody would have told you about the game when you just started?

- work on a proper technique right away

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That.

pj <- not that I would've listened
chgo

Sharivari said:

What do you wish somebody would have told you about the game when you just started?

What tips would you give someone who is at the beginning of a long journey as a pool player?

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Work on technique for sure. A buddy and I started taking the game "seriously" at roughly the same time. We insisted on playing on 9' Diamonds even though a single game of 8-ball would take us forever.

He was very particular about his mechanics and delivering the cue in a perfectly straight line. I was more worried about how to aim. After about a year of casual play, he had developed a very nice straight stroke. I was much better at cut shots and cue ball control but couldn't shoot straight to save my life. I would miss dead simple straight shots and any amount of pressure caused my stroke to just completely fragment.

So our matches would unfold with me making several balls, eventually missing, and them him running out by literally slow rolling everything in from any distance. It was maddening to watch.

It took me getting lessons from an instructor and a video of my stroke/stance/mechanics to realize how bad they were. I reinforced bad habits for years. And then it took me a few years of consciously fighting those bad habits to truly correct them.

That same friend actually kinda gave up on pool a few years ago, which is unfortunate because he had developed a perfectly straight, smooth stroke without much effort or table time. I think he had a fair amount of natural ability, or at least could have progressed quickly had he put more time into his game.

work on fundamentals and learn to hit the perfect stop shot
learn the tangent line and how to "massage" it for position without spin

I’m a believer in creating individual style. Some call it bad habits but I find it’s what separates out the very best from the best...Two things I do well in life...Snooker and guitar...best Players in both have quirky unorthodox styles..

I started at 14 playing Snooker so don’t remember. However I find new players way too overwhelmed. Pool isn’t that complicated. Practice sinking balls...forget racking or using the white ball as cueball...just hit balls in....Using any ball as the cueball. See how many you can sink in a Row, shoot every 15 seconds...toss the balls back on, repeat. Bang, bang ...bang , have fun.

Re cueball control for beginners. At first instead of trying to control the cueball (no sense until you can sink balls) Just try to guess where the cueball is going to end up. Don’t try to Get it there. The attention is 100% on sinking a ball. After a while you get a sense of how the cueball reacts...then after becoming half decent at sinking balls, try and actually position it.

Re spin on the cueball. I’ve used spin ‘forever’ and Use it on 90% of shots. Pro Snooker players use spin on almost 100% of shots. I actually think it’s underused and contrary to many, encourage it. It gives a sense of the dynamics and ‘feel’ for the game. Otherwise, learning becomes about geometry.

Patrick Johnson said:

That.

pj <- not that I would've listened
chgo

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So, it’s not just me?!

David in FL said:

So, it’s not just me?!

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I have a tip , Stay in School , get a job and don’t look back !!!!!!! Lol

gypsy_soul said:

I have a tip , Stay in School , get a job and don’t look back !!!!!!! Lol

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LOL.... Nailed it. Worst thing I ever did was buy a pool cue.

My answer to the question is traditional stance, and swing mechanics. It's the basic fundamental that success in the game relies on. Screw the personalized take on it until you have mastered the ground work. An individual that has the basics in mechanics mastered can come back after years of zero play and compete. When that same person is struggling on a given day. They can rein themselves in and focus on those mechanics and work themselves out of the in match slump.

Sharivari said:

As a pool player and coach I noticed one thing that many beginners do wrong, when playing shots with spin on the cue ball. The mind blowing thing is, that they could actually get better results with less effort. I've put it into a video:

https://youtu.be/EXZym0lfTkw

It's just one small thing from a long list of good tips for beginners.

What do you wish somebody would have told you about the game when you just started? I think the following would have helped me a lot:

- learn to control the cue ball without any spin first
- work on a proper technique right away
- compete in tournaments and money matches to get used to competition

What tips would you give someone who is at the beginning of a long journey as a pool player?

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Since you are talking about beginners the first thing is, it has to be fun. I doubt any beginner has any aspirations of being a pro player or much really beyond knocking in a few balls.

Teach them some simple fundamentals and basics as well as the why you are telling them this. Once the understand the reasoning behind what you are teaching them it make sense to them. Avoid things like a closed bridge at first. Once they develop a little bit of a stroke and are knocking in balls see where that goes. Balls going in makes it fun for the beginner.
Jerry Briesath used to do a thing at shows and tournaments where he would take a total beginner and go off and work with them for maybe an hour. When they came back and this total beginner would actually be playing the game completely from scratch. It was amazing.
I am sure there is something on the net or youtube with him. Hell, I don't know if he is still alive.
My point is, there is a simplicity about the game that is often overlooked by teachers. The game is not as hard as it may seem at first. With simple building blocks and a basic understanding even a beginner can have fun and success at the game. As far as how far they go from there is up to them.

What do I wish someone shown/told me when I started playing. I would say how easy the game actually is. I have owned three poolrooms and have watched thousands of beginners play from a distance. The thing they always seem to have in common, is making the game harder then it is. The best lessons I used to give, and I am no teacher, was just playing with beginning players.

Show them a few fundamentals and then just play. I know you have heard this many times, "You make it look so easy". The thing is, it is easy to a degree.
Beginners learn a lot from osmosis. They watch and just seem to just pick it up. Even experienced players learn this way. They watch a few good players play a match and can go to a table and actually feel they can play a little better right away. I know anyone reading this has experienced this.

‘ Since you are talking about beginners the first thing is, it has to be fun. I doubt any beginner has any aspirations of being a pro player or much really beyond knocking in a few balls. ’

This is what is missing from most discussions. Advice of practice, equipment, etc is geared towards Assuming everyone being an eventual pro. The reality is I play with about 120 individuals and zero want to be a pro player. Most would be hard pressed to even name a top pro player.

People enjoy the game. Then they go home and watch tv. Playing isn’t a goal to some other end. I play hockey and slowpitch...we enjoy the moment. Again, no need to practice skating on its own as if The objective is to make it to the NHL.

My advice is ‘hold the cue as horizontal as reasonable and try and hit the centre of the cue ball.’ That’s it. The grip, posture, will come naturally, The rest is hitting balls on the table and Learning through play.

Someone once said the world doesn’t need more pornography. It just needs good search engines. It’s the same with on line guitar, diet, golf, billiards, fishing, etc lessons.

sharivar
check your pm

This is a great example of what some players need to learn. Depends on what you consider a beginner.

Sharivari I really do enjoy your lessons. I won't make a youtube account so I can never follow anyone on that platform but I can still watch. Good luck with your new place.

I think if I was teaching someone new to play I would try to get them to learn to hit the ball straight up the table and have it come back to the cue tip. Once someone can do that consistently they will have much more fun playing because they will know how to hit the ball straight and balls will go in more often.

Based on a couple of "just have fun" type of answers. I'm thinking I may have interpreted the original post in the wrong manner.

Sharivari said:

What do you wish somebody would have told you about the game when you just started?

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Ok, my original reply stands... Stance, and bridge matter... ...and I guess I'll add, to never take it seriously enough to buy a cue.

What tips would you give someone who is at the beginning of a long journey as a pool player?

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Always order your next beer from the waitress well in advance of needing it. Especially on league night

I think if a beginner can learn how to hit a stop shot first and completely ignore side spin their games will take off and they will develop much quicker. A stop shot looks simple but it requires a lot of good fundamentals to do well. Also as an extension if you can learn where a cue ball will go with center ball it is easy to later know when and how to apply English. It is amazing in APA leagues as an example how many people are incapable of hitting a stop shot and also have no idea what a cue ball will do with center ball English.

Another great video Sharivari. I only have one gripe, if you will. You mention following through farther to get more distance on the CB. While I agree with tight grip preventing easy movement of the CB, how far you follow through has no relevance to how much energy transfer you get. The tip is in contact with the CB for only 1/1000th of the second...therefore extra followthrough doesn't do anything. Accuracy is key. It's all about a loose grip and timing...letting the cuestick do the work. It's the main reason we teach our students to FINISH their stroke, rather than 'hit the ball and follow through'!

Scott Lee
2019 PBIA Instructor of the Year
Director, SPF National Pool School Tour

Sharivari said:

Those are some very valid points. I made a survey on my page and the majority wrote about fundamentals, a pre shot routine and a stop shot.



I totally agree with the stop shot. With that you know how to move the cue ball along the tangent line. And this gives you one clear reference line for the cue balls path. Then you can start leaving the tangent with just adjusting on the vertical axis.

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