3 questions

N

nrhoades

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Three questions here because I don't like littering forums:

1. I play with a Z2 Predator shaft. The end mass of the stick is lower than other shafts, so the tip deflects more after impact, and the mass is displaced, and cue ball squirts less than convectional shafts, yada yada. I often can't drive an hour to play on a real table, so all I have are bar tables to tide me over. Playing with a cheap house cue REALLY messes me up now because it squirts so much.

Should I risk being "that guy" and bring my Predator to the bar, or risk calibration issues for squirt between bad and excellent equipment. The third choice is to not practice at all.

2. How long is too much practice. I'll often practice myself into a hot sweat, ignore hunger sometimes, and get a headache, and usually leave on a low note. I get addicted into doing drills for a long time. Should I "play the guitar until my fingers bleed", or limit myself?

3. I have a nasty habit of dropping my elbow. I always felt slamming my fist into my armpit wasn't a graceful stoke, but I get good results when I keep it up. Is this very important?
 
I'm not qualified to answer #1 or #3.... and really not even #2 other than in a general sense. And that is in any endeavor, practice must be productive.

If you are so tired that you aren't sharp in what you are doing, you really aren't gaining anything, and are quite likely reinforcing bad habits and/or techniques. This is true with anything that requires practice to refine your abilities, and is not limited to pool. But I believe it certainly applies.

I'm quite sure you'll hear more along these lines from those who are far more qualified than I to answer your questions. Good luck and better shooting.
 
Be that guy....

nrhoades said:
Three questions here because I don't like littering forums:

1. I play with a Z2 Predator shaft. The end mass of the stick is lower than other shafts, so the tip deflects more after impact, and the mass is displaced, and cue ball squirts less than convectional shafts, yada yada. I often can't drive an hour to play on a real table, so all I have are bar tables to tide me over. Playing with a cheap house cue REALLY messes me up now because it squirts so much.

Should I risk being "that guy" and bring my Predator to the bar, or risk calibration issues for squirt between bad and excellent equipment. The third choice is to not practice at all.

2. How long is too much practice. I'll often practice myself into a hot sweat, ignore hunger sometimes, and get a headache, and usually leave on a low note. I get addicted into doing drills for a long time. Should I "play the guitar until my fingers bleed", or limit myself?

3. I have a nasty habit of dropping my elbow. I always felt slamming my fist into my armpit wasn't a graceful stoke, but I get good results when I keep it up. Is this very important?
Click to expand...

Be that guy, the best thing you can do for your game is to remain consistent with your equipment.

There is no too long to practice, you've got the bug like most of us have or have had. Practice till you fall down.

What works for you is the most important; however, it depends on what you mean by it works for you. What level are you playing at? What level do you want to get to?

Keith Mccready had one of the most unconventional strokes in pool and had one of the best games in pool. So what works for one doesn't necessarily work best for others.

Your best bet is to find a good instructor that can figure out what will work best for you.

I had a friend that I taught how to throw knives. I had to give him an unconventional method of throwing knives because he had three vertebrae fused together and couldn't move his body in a conventional way.

A good instructor knows what mechanics work best and will be able to tailor his instruction to your abilities and or limitations.

Jaden
 
nrhoades said:
Three questions here because I don't like littering forums:

1. I play with a Z2 Predator shaft. The end mass of the stick is lower than other shafts, so the tip deflects more after impact, and the mass is displaced, and cue ball squirts less than convectional shafts, yada yada. I often can't drive an hour to play on a real table, so all I have are bar tables to tide me over. Playing with a cheap house cue REALLY messes me up now because it squirts so much.

Should I risk being "that guy" and bring my Predator to the bar, or risk calibration issues for squirt between bad and excellent equipment. The third choice is to not practice at all.

2. How long is too much practice. I'll often practice myself into a hot sweat, ignore hunger sometimes, and get a headache, and usually leave on a low note. I get addicted into doing drills for a long time. Should I "play the guitar until my fingers bleed", or limit myself?

3. I have a nasty habit of dropping my elbow. I always felt slamming my fist into my armpit wasn't a graceful stoke, but I get good results when I keep it up. Is this very important?
Click to expand...
1. You might try doing aim-and-pivot with the bar cues. Another possibility is to prepare a bar cue to be low squirt and leave it at the bar. I've found that if you switch among cues you eventually learn to switch well, but that could limit your top speed with any particular cue. Also, when playing with the bar cue, limit your use of side spin.

2. Squeeze in food when you're hungry. As long as you continue to pay attention, and in particular you are not simply repeating mistakes, practice for as long as you are interested.

3. Most top players drop their elbows after impact on power shots. You may want to check with an instructor who has video equipment. It's better for you to straighten out any fundamental problems before you set them in stone.
 
1) Personally I would play with your own cue whenever possible and not worry about anyone else. Not only do you have deflection issues to adjust to but also have to deal with the straightness and smoothness of the stick you choose, shaft diameter, quality of the tip, etc. I know there are players out there that are very good at adjusting to different equipment, but most of use shoot much better with our own.

2) I like to practice a lot too. Many times I will go up to the counter to pay and realize I was there for 6 hours and didn't eat or drink anything because I was so into it. I wouldn't recommend consciously not drinking or eating though if you are thirsty or hungry, or making yourself not feel good because you will end up feeling bad when you finish. I also wouldn't practice for that long without a focused plan and practicing the correct things, whether it be working on aspects of your stroke, drills, practice play, etc. And I think a blend of practice and play is healthy as well.

3) Lots of opinions here on elbow dropping. A few things I think are factual on this, based on what I've read and experienced. You don't need to drop your elbow to achieve any sort of special action or power/speed, and the pendulum stroke is certainly mechanically sound and simpler than adding other extra movements. That being said, if you drop your elbow after the point of contact, then it also probably doesn't hurt anything, a lot of players do this. I for one am an elbow dropper, it takes a lot of effort for me to not do it. I found recently that I was sometimes dropping it right at or around the point of contact, which was caused by my grip hand being forward of perpendicular, now that I fixed that I believe I've also eliminated some inconsistency that was associated with it. But I still drop it, just more natural to me, like you when I shoot a power shot and my hand rams into my chest I don't like it, it hurts… :)

Good luck!
Scott
 
1. Should I risk being "that guy" and bring my Predator to the bar,

Unless the bar is unusually "seedy" sure, take your own cue--I do.

2. How long is too much practice.

When you get to the point you don't care if you are making the shot (or not) the practice is doing more harm than good.

3. I have a nasty habit of dropping my elbow. I always felt slamming my fist into my armpit wasn't a graceful stoke, but I get good results when I keep it up. Is this very important?

Hold the cue farther back and you won't bang the armpit.
Shoot with less energy and you won't bang the armpit.
Shoot with less backdraw (movement of the cue backwards before the forward part of the stroke) and you won't bang the armpit.

Important? Some yes, Some no, Some it just don't mater.
 
Regarding #2, you should always WANT to play. I think it's important to be in situations where you feel making the ball is important. Whether you're playing for money, for league or for drills, you have to want to succeed at the task before you. The moment you don't care if the ball goes in or not is the moment you should unscrew. That time at the table will never help you improve. If you're hungry or tired, it's going to eventually have an impact on your desire to play.
 
1. I am always "that guy". I have spent some hard earned dollars on my cues and put in a fair bit a practice time to make my game respectable. No point in throwing that out the window because I am playing at a bar.

2. I don't think there is too much practice. It can only make you better. I do find after a long session I begin to smash the balls around the table without trying very hard to pocket them or play shape. This is usually when I decide it is time to go home.

3. Sorry, can't help you on the elbow dropping.

Shorty
 
I'll only respond to question #1.

If it were me, I'd either find a decent Sneaky Pete butt to screw your Pred Z2 shaft onto (make your cue less obvious), or I'd just get another Sneaky/Z2 combo for taking to the bar.

If the Z2 is what you're playing with, it should be what you practice with.



Maniac (usually has a granola bar somewhere in his case)
 
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