Get On the Plane

Patrick Johnson

Patrick Johnson

Fish of the Day
Silver Member
When your game starts to meander, what do you say to yourself to get it back on track? My meandering is usually about something I know but tend to forget - and my advice to myself usually sounds like "Hey, Dumbfvck, you forgot to ______ again."

Lots of the most important little things that tend to stray for me are stance related, and there's one stance-related principle that has proven to be the most widely applicable to those issues: the idea that the principle parts of my aiming and shooting "infrastructure" - grip hand, elbow, rear shoulder, eye(s), bridge hand, and, of course, the stroke itself - should all be on the same vertical plane as the stick and shot line.

Reminding myself to "get on the plane" reins in lots of potentially wandering parts with a single idea, so it gets frequent use with me, especially in practice.

What's yours?

pj <- can't take off if I'm not on the plane
chgo
 
Last edited:
mikemosconi

mikemosconi

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
For me it is all about FINAL FOCUS- if my game is off from what I know I can do- 90% of the time I am not completing that final transition from my backstroke to the cue ball with complete focus on the object ball- hence- "jumping" off the shot. Most of that "fault' in my physical presence at final focus is the result of some negative thought interfering with how i know that I should perform.

So the challenge is to stay positive, confident, and constant no matter what the shot or challenge at hand so that everything else flows as it should and final focus is maintained. A solid, repeatable, pre shot routine seems to be the best cure for this problem.
 
Cuebuddy

Cuebuddy

Mini cues
Silver Member
I have worked hard for the last six months to develop a pause on my last stroke and I am starting to see results. It takes along time after playing the same way for 50 years to get used to something new. I am not sure whether I can do it in competition or not since I live in the middle of nowhere and rarely get to a pool room.
 
Patrick Johnson

Patrick Johnson

Fish of the Day
Silver Member
mikemosconi said:
... FINAL FOCUS ... completing that final transition from my backstroke to the cue ball with complete focus on the object ball ...
Click to expand...
Cuebuddy said:
I have worked hard for the last six months to develop a pause on my last stroke and I am starting to see results.
Click to expand...
I've developed a more and more distinct pause almost without thinking about it as a trigger for that FINAL FOCUS.

pj <- consider that swiped
chgo
 
sjm

sjm

Older and Wiser
Silver Member
One thing I say to myself is "try to stay down on your shot for an hour and a half." That sometimes helps be maximize my dedication and focus at the table.
 
Cuebuddy

Cuebuddy

Mini cues
Silver Member
sjm said:
One thing I say to myself is "try to stay down on your shot for an hour and a half." That sometimes helps be maximize my dedication and focus at the table.
Click to expand...

That works well with a 91 minute shot clock:p
 
Black-Balled

Black-Balled

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I haven't played 2hrs of pool in a long time and no fundamentals are gonna get me anywhere decent.

I lost all muscle memory. Helpless.
 
sixpack

sixpack

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
"Make sure you make it." Is a phrase I use when I start to get too nonchalant.

There are two things that usually make my game go downhill. One is when I get too careless and start poking at the ball. This works great for a while but it always comes crashing down. Telling myself "Make sure you make it." makes me do my PSR and really aim before delivering a smooth stroke.

The slower deterioration of my game usually comes from depending too much on sidespin to play position. When that happens I have to go back to only using the vertical axis for a while and get used to getting the CB on the right angle using top and bottom. That usually resets my spin for a while.
 
TATE

TATE

AzB Gold Mensch
Silver Member
mikemosconi said:
For me it is all about FINAL FOCUS- if my game is off from what I know I can do- 90% of the time I am not completing that final transition from my backstroke to the cue ball with complete focus on the object ball- hence- "jumping" off the shot. Most of that "fault' in my physical presence at final focus is the result of some negative thought interfering with how i know that I should perform.

So the challenge is to stay positive, confident, and constant no matter what the shot or challenge at hand so that everything else flows as it should and final focus is maintained. A solid, repeatable, pre shot routine seems to be the best cure for this problem.
Click to expand...

That's exactly it for me too. i will add one more thing, before pulling the trigger, visualizing the object ball going into the pocket and the cue ball going on the line I want for position. The shaft-cue ball-object ball- pocket connection to me is critical. If I correctly visualize it, I usually pull it off.
 
336Robin

336Robin

Multiverse Operative
Silver Member
Before the quarantine, I was working on trying to be cognizant
of all of that as well as commit to my shot routine with a slight pause at the
backstroke (in the same stroke order.) Not an easy task for someone who's pot stroke
has been dictated by feel and may come at differing times when it feels right. Oddly
enough when I lose myself in a game I develop a small pause on my own but to
make myself aware of it and put it in a order where it has to go seems odd to me. I'll
remember that. Maybe that will help me arrange all those things with one order. Thanks.



Patrick Johnson said:
When your game starts to meander, what do you say to yourself to get it back on track? My meandering is usually about something I know but tend to forget - and my advice to myself usually sounds like "Hey, Dumbfvck, you forgot to ______ again."

Lots of the most important little things that tend to stray for me are stance related, and there's one stance-related principle that has proven to be the most widely applicable to those issues: the idea that the principle parts of my aiming and shooting "infrastructure" - grip hand, elbow, rear shoulder, eye(s), bridge hand, and, of course, the stroke itself - should all be on the same vertical plane as the stick and shot line.

Reminding myself to "get on the plane" reins in lots of potentially wandering parts with a single idea, so it gets frequent use with me, especially in practice.

What's yours?

pj <- can't take off if I'm not on the plane
chgo
Click to expand...
 
mikemosconi

mikemosconi

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
TATE said:
That's exactly it for me too. i will add one more thing, before pulling the trigger, visualizing the object ball going into the pocket and the cue ball going on the line I want for position. The shaft-cue ball-object ball- pocket connection to me is critical. If I correctly visualize it, I usually pull it off.
Click to expand...

I, too, use that same triangular visualization on all cut shots, and also a very noticeable pause in my final backstroke- my key is to "pull the trigger" right at the point where the visualization seems correct and then transition from pause to cue ball contact- it is all timing for me - any doubt in my mind destroys the physical timing mechanism.

No doubt, slight pause, visualize, shoot! ON EVERY SHOT- OVER AND OVER- that's my very best rhythm!
 
K

kollegedave

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Patrick Johnson said:
When your game starts to meander, what do you say to yourself to get it back on track? My meandering is usually about something I know but tend to forget - and my advice to myself usually sounds like "Hey, Dumbfvck, you forgot to ______ again."

Lots of the most important little things that tend to stray for me are stance related, and there's one stance-related principle that has proven to be the most widely applicable to those issues: the idea that the principle parts of my aiming and shooting "infrastructure" - grip hand, elbow, rear shoulder, eye(s), bridge hand, and, of course, the stroke itself - should all be on the same vertical plane as the stick and shot line.

Reminding myself to "get on the plane" reins in lots of potentially wandering parts with a single idea, so it gets frequent use with me, especially in practice.

What's yours?

pj <- can't take off if I'm not on the plane
chgo
Click to expand...

I have tendency to grip the butt way too hard. I am always reminding myself to keep my back hand loose.

kollegedave
 
dr_dave

dr_dave

Instructional Author
Gold Member
Silver Member
Patrick Johnson said:
When your game starts to meander, what do you say to yourself to get it back on track?
...
Reminding myself to "get on the plane" reins in lots of potentially wandering parts with a single idea, so it gets frequent use with me, especially in practice.

What's yours?
Click to expand...
My favorite is: "Be a relaxed statue."

And FREVD: Focus, Reset, Enjoy, Visualize, Diagnose, per my mental game resource page.

Good thread,
Dave
 
justadub

justadub

Rattling corners nightly
Silver Member
I try to remind myself to breathe slowly when down on the shot, that (usually) helps me slow down everything else, and remain a bit more measured.

If I get to "thinking" too much more than that, I tend to over-react and mess stuff up more than it was to begin with. And God knows I don't need that
 
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