Seeking Some Advice..

Welcome

Welcome to our World of 14.1
You wrote a lot and it would take some time to cover everything but I can give you a few points right off the bat.
First... great move by setting up a lesson with Jerry Briesath. Anytime that you can take lessons from people like that, take advantage of it.
Watch videos of "Blackjack's" he has many that are excellent with all stages of the game.
Also, send a PM to Ratta. He will PM you and will work with you on your game. He will go out of his way to help a player that wants to learn.
As for me, I have learned to play by myself most of my life in my home by just setting up a break ball and running one rack and working towards another. In later years I was fortunate to meet up with my mentor Leroy Kinman. Like I said, lessons are great and you can "pick their brains".....LOL
Here is a Link to one of my videos, that might get you motivated:
https://vimeo.com/31125261
There are a few other videos that you might like to view also. I am thinking about doing another. I have an idea that might make one more interesting.....maybe.
Good Luck to you and look into those lessons, Blackjack, & Ratta

There are alot of videos you can view. I have said this before but here I will say it again .watching a guy run alot of balls doesn't really help (IMO) knowing there thought process does.My favorites are Oliver Ortmann v Earl Hering accu-stats player review Ortmann runs 150 & out telling all the time what he is thinking .Another def is John Shmidt's (How I run the 100's) I believe he has a website to buy this In my opinion these two dvds will help you tremendously !

You ordered the Jerry Brieseth video, right? I think that is probably a very good start to getting your stroke and your fundamentals in order.

You need to understand the tangent line and how and where the cue ball will come off of the object ball in order to play shape on the next ball. You need to understand first with a sliding cue ball or center and then later how you can adjust the tangent line by the addition of high and low. I would not mix in left and right english until I had a pretty clear understanding of what the cue ball will do without English. After you have that down, you can add in left and right to figure out what the cue ball will do off the rail. I am sure that Brieseth's video covers tangent line and how top, bottom, right and left alter the course of the cue ball.

Once you know where the cue ball will go, you can play position a little better. Throwing 15 balls out there and clearing them off is good practice. Frank Sailor Stellman from Racine used to tell me to just do that over and over again. Get your speed down. Take cue ball in hand and figure out your next two shots and exactly where you want the cue to go. Then try to get there. After every shot, come up with a two ball plan. You can't run balls in a straight pool game until you can run an open table.

Generally, I think the 14.1 player has a shorter stroke. Most of the shots in a game should be in close quarters with minimal cue ball movement. Shorter bridge usually increases your make percentage and offers better fine cue ball control, moving it short distances.

I don't think the grip should be tight, but I will leave that to those more proficient than me.


There are many good resources for learning the nuances of straight pool, some mentioned above, but I think it would help if you worked on your tangent lines, positioning, and stroke first so that you have the proper weapons to attack the racks. Sailor would never talk to me about playing straight pool and picking the balls in the racks, until he figured I knew how to do what I needed to do in order to negotiate the racks. It was humbling, but necessary.


As Mike said, Blackjack and Ratta offer very good instruction and you should consider talking to them.

gerard soriano said:

There are alot of videos you can view. I have said this before but here I will say it again .watching a guy run alot of balls doesn't really help (IMO) knowing there thought process does.My favorites are Oliver Ortmann v Earl Hering accu-stats player review Ortmann runs 150 & out telling all the time what he is thinking .Another def is John Shmidt's (How I run the 100's) I believe he has a website to buy this In my opinion these two dvds will help you tremendously !

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Also check out from the Accu-Stats Library, Jim Rempe "How To Run a Rack" & "How To Run 100 Balls" and also while you are there look for the player review match between Jim Rempe and George "Ginky" SanSoucci i believe it was the 2000 US Open 14.1

there is a wealth of knowledge included in these titles and i think it will really benefit your game !

-Steve

Just my opinion but I believe you need to reach a certain skill level before the more advanced videos will help you and if you can't run a rack you aren't there yet. That's assuming you are making your bridge properly and have a good stance. Some of the questions you are asking are basic things you will learn with more time at the table. There is no replacement for table time.

One resource I would recommend is Ray Martin's 99 critical shots. Page 62, shot number 22 is something you can master while improving your overall skill level. It looks simple but is, for lack of a better word, critical. Distance of the object ball from the rail and angle of cue ball to object ball will cause you to adjust your english. If you are surprised sometimes by where the cue ball goes off the rail and/or don't know where it is going to go, you need to work on that. Those position shots come up constantly especially in 14.1 but in a lot of pool games. Knowing exactly what english to apply to get the cue ball where you need it to be will boost your game. In 9 ball you can get away with area position a lot but in 14.1 you need to be more precise.

Another good resource for pool related concepts in general is a web site by Dr. Dave at http://billiards.colostate.edu/. There are plenty of videos from basic concepts to advanced concepts.

If you need to better understand the tanget line, there are no better videos than Robert Byrnes. None better. It will not only explain the tanget line, but also the effects all englishes have off the tanget line as well as off the rails as you mentioned.

Well produced, well organized, and well presented. IMO the best beginners foundation video. Again, I say foundation. He hits the nail on the head providing the needed understanding to advance.

3andstop said:

If you need to better understand the tanget line, there are no better videos than Robert Byrnes. None better. It will not only explain the tanget line, but also the effects all englishes have off the tanget line as well as off the rails as you mentioned.

Well produced, well organized, and well presented. IMO the best beginners foundation video. Again, I say foundation. He hits the nail on the head providing the needed understanding to advance.

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This sounds like a good resource for the poster. Learn the tangent line and how the cue ball reacts to rails and english, first. Learn the nuances of Straight Pool later.

Again, work on your stroke, either through a lesson from Jerry Brieseth, which may prove invaluable or by looking at his dvd or both. I wish I had done something like that years ago. :frown:

I'll try to address some of your concerns. I assume it was my thread which prompted you to post so I'll reiterate what my main point was meant to be. I rambled on about a few different things but the thing I tried to get across is that this forum could be used to put someone who's seeking some help together with someone who's willing and able to help them. Put your location up on your profile. This forum is good, books & videos will help but the learning curve increases drastically by personal interaction with someone who has good knowledge of the game & is willing to share it with you. Hopefully there's someone near you who'll contact you.
Judging by some things you said in your post I'd agree with the below poster that his link may be where you should start.

9BallJim said:

Another good resource for pool related concepts in general is a web site by Dr. Dave at http://billiards.colostate.edu/. There are plenty of videos from basic concepts to advanced concepts.

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Now to your questions.
1) How to practice: There's a great deal of info on this forum about that topic. Just start going thru back threads & you'll find all kinds of stuff. Whichever method is used however it's usually best to try & simulate game conditions. The side pocket break shot used by just about everyone in the high run challenges is designed for only one reason. It allows them to cherry pick the 1st 14 balls. Doubt you'll ever see them use it in a game unless absolutely forced to. Better to set up "normal" breaks on the side & below the rack & get used to how the CB reacts. Note: 80-85% of breakshots can & should be hit with follow. You'll see a lot of instances where people use certain "rules of thumb" in regards to the CB/OB position in determining whether to follow or draw breakshots. That is not the best way to go about it IMO.
I'm not too big on drills but there's one I've been recommending for 30+ years. Search: Rempe + brainwash for an explanation. Once you start getting a little control of the CB this drill will help immensely with all the subtle little variations of CB control needed in 14.1. And it's something you can keep track of & try to beat your previous results which may help to keep interest up because let's face it, sometimes drills can get boring.
2) Tangent lines: Dr. Daves stuff should be a big help on this. As far as your example goes there's really not enough info to give an informed answer. There're a lot of variables involved. As you continue to learn & improve you'll find out that both follow & draw can do 4 different things to the CB depending on the situation. They can slow it down, speed it up, shorten & lengthen angles. Knowing when & how to control this is a big advantage for position play. You can often create angles that aren't there.
3&4) Stroke & grip: I really don't pay much attention to players strokes when watching videos but maybe you just happened to see ones where they had what appeared to be short strokes. If a top player were to change their stroke for a particular game most likely their game would suffer. The Filipinos all have that real long bridge & pump handle stroke & I don't see them changing it for different games. That being said a long bridge doesn't necessarily mean a long stroke. As I said I don't pay to much attention to it. You could watch videos of a particular player playing 14.1, 9 ball & 1 pocket & see if there's any difference. I'm guessing not.
Sometimes due to congestion a short bridge & stroke are necessary but other than that you shouldn't have to change your stroke for 14.1. In any pool game you just need a solid, straight repeatable stroke for optimum results.
Grip should be loose. Most players tighten their grip hand when the tip contacts the CB, especially when force is used. That's normal but the grip should be loose & relaxed the rest of the time. The type of shot shouldn't matter.
You may get some differing opinions on stroke/grip from the instructors here & they may be right. If I saw you play & you had a problem with your stroke I'm sure I'd recognize it but I'm not an expert in this area.
If you could post a video of yourself playing then people could evaluate where you're at & things you're doing right or wrong.

Bob Jewett said:

For the OP to figure out his own preferences, I think it is good to put the break shot down exactly the same multiple times and try some variations to see what works. Then try a slightly different break ball position. Even 1/8-inch difference on ball placement can make a huge difference in the break shot reaction.

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Exactly right, experiment. And just like an 1/8" makes a difference, speed also plays a major role in what happens. Particularly when the OB is 6 or more inches from the rack.
My point was meant to be that each breakshot should be analysed individually & it'll often be discovered that many can be followed even when it doesn't appear to be the case. I see people drawing breakshots that could be followed quite often. Usually with bad results. To categorize them is a mistake IMO.
This is probably heresy around here but I'll just say that because Hohmann prefers something doesn't mean it's always right. I've watched a number of his videos & no question he's a great player but he ends up at the top of the table & has to come with a hard shot way more often than he maybe has to. JMO