35 Tips to pool Domination - please give an opinion

Good for beginners, but more advanced players probably use english more liberally than you are suggesting and likely employ an elbow drop of some sorts rather than a true pendulum stroke. Also, most shots should be hit at a speed that gives you a good stroke rather than just rolling the ball at the pocket.
 
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Someone who just picked up a cue for the first time could take years off if they took all of this and worked with it a little. Anyone who has been playing reguarly for a year or so should already know all of this. Great tool for beginners and maybe even for the seasoned players who just need to be reminded of some things they already know - Thanks for the post.
 
ernier4154 said:
I just wrote up a short report entitled 35 Tips to Pool Domination for the visitors to my pool sites to download. I would appreciate it if the experienced pool folks at this forum could take a look at it and give me an honest opinion of it. Is it crap? Is it useful? Did it help? :D

The link is below. Thanks.

35 Tips to Pool Domination
Click to expand...

Kudos to you, Ernie, for presenting info about pool in a concise, readable document. It's not easy!

I have a few recommendations:
1. Minimize the size of the graphics on the first page.
2. Consider trimming down the introduction. If the cover page included just the graphics and the introduction then the list of tips could begin at the top of the second page.
3. Grouping the tips into categories such as Equipment, Stroke, Mental Game, etc., can make it easier for a reader to find and review specific tips.
4. If possible, consider using manual page breaks to ensure that a tip appears on only one page.
5. Consider including one illustration or graphic per page. Illustrations showing good tip shape vs. bad tip shape (#2), pendulum motion of the arm (#8), etc., would go a long way in reinforcing these important concepts.

On the one hand I like the conversational style of writing, and on the other hand I tend to favor the Strunk & White style of pruning out as many words as possible.

Keep up the good work.
 
Not bad,

but a couple notes,

#6 is not necessary you can have clean hands and no glove provided you clean both your hands and shaft properly (minor gripe)

#8 those rules should apply on the break as well.. but many people see it differently (minor gripe)

#9 should not read "except for the break shot" it should read "especially for the break shot" a loose grip is important regardless of what shot you are taking... the few exceptions to that rule.. are shots that a beginner should not be worrying about..(Major gripe)

#11 follow through is a symptom of a good stroke not the cause... but other people see it differently (minor gripe)

#14 you should use your normal stroke on almost every shot.. regardless of tip position.. again the only exceptions are shots a beginner should not be concerned with..(major gripe)

#16 how you hit the ball should be the same for nearly every shot... where your tip hits the cueball is whats important and what I belive you are trying to get across..mostly a wording issue (minor gripe)

#17 complete BS!!!
some may disagree but the point you should be driving home is that an accurate break will serve them far better than and uncontrolled "as hard as you can" break ever will (major gripe)

#22 should be 3 shots ahead... (minor gripe)

all in all not a bad effort...
 
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Neil said:
Tip 1- As long as the stick is fairly straight, it really doesn't matter. The old time players almost always played with a cue off the rack. The tip is what really matters.

Tip 14- Sorry, but those aren't three strokes. They are 3 different places to hit the cueball. They employ the same stroke on all three.

tip 18- The better you get, you will find that the less you want to roll a ball. When you do that, you are asking for trouble. And, if you are just rolling balls in, good luck on position. You don't need to slam them in, but you do need to 'shoot' them in.

tip 22- First time I have heard that one. I've always heard plan 3 shots ahead. You have to know what side of the next ball to get on to get to the 3rd ball.


One other thing I think is important for a beginner that you left out. How to stand and get in a semi-decent stance. You want your head over the cue, your elbow over the cue, your shoulder over the cue. All your ducks in a row. Many beginners have no idea how to stand. And for some reason, many of them just don't bother to look around and see how others do it.

Other than above mentioned items, not bad for beginners. I see you have been on here for about 22 months and already have 6 posts! Don't slow down any! (feel free to contribute now and then)
Click to expand...

I agree with this assessment.

The only addition I have is

16. This is a bit ambiguous. I'm not quite sure what you are recommending. If I understand you correctly I think you could change the tip to something along the lines of "stay along the centre axis", but even so it is a bit redundant with 28.
 
Hi Ernie. You have put some good work into this project, thanks. Along with all this work you have perpetuated some of our game's "urban myths", or more simply stated, not true (BS). Try to clean these up.

I see many of our posters have offer their help in cleaning up these un-truths. Since you asked, here's my take:

7. Not true for every player! Staying low over the cue is a personal choice. For you, low may work but not for everyone including myself.

Keeping your eyes directly over the cue only works for certain players. Check out Earl Strickland for just one example.

11. Hogwash! As "softshot" stated: "Follow Through" is just a part of a perfect stroke. The length of extended follow through does not have much to do with the shot.

14. One stroke, different tip and speeds.

16. Maybe.

17. Not true for all players.

18. Speed control is about the cue ball not the object ball. Blocking a pocket means you planned on a miss.

I like 31-32-33-34-35

Clean it up and you have got a great list of pool tips.


SPF=randyg
 
I know you will have a lot of poeple chirping in your year, and some who will want to contest everything you write, but using hand chalk, or talc is a big no no at many a pool hall, I've had a regular patron at a hall come over to me and inform me that they do not allow any types of powder used for this purpose.

I was using talc on the crotch of my thumb and index finger, very sparingly.

Beginners often will tend to walk out from behind a cloud of dust, and pat hand prints of talc on the cloth, pissing off some of the shooters.

Better they find out from your manual than the hard way!
 
Nice work, but for a novice player I would reccomend #35 Practice pool etiquette. as #1

Great job Thanks for sharing
Darin

green sent
 
What a great forum! I just posted this thread last night and when I checked it today at noontime I already had 10 great suggestions!:thumbup:

I truly appreciate all the comments and I will modify the document to impliment many of them. Great stuff!

I'll also try to post more so I won't have to get thumped again. :embarrassed2::smile:
 
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