A Hierarchy for Advanced Pool Skillls Acquisition

John Biddle

John Biddle

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I've been thinking about how many players, especially advanced beginners and low intermediates work on advanced skills way before they should. Not they can't learn them, but that they'd get much more benefit from working on other things.

I put together a hierarchy of many of these advanced skills and when in a person's learning curve they should introduce them. I based it on how well the person could play against the ghost.

The full article is on my blog, but the hierarchy itself is this:

3 Ball Half Table --- Safeties

4 Ball Half Table --- Kicking

3 Ball Full Table --- Banking

5 Ball Half Table --- English

4 Ball Full Table --- Throw

5 Ball Full Table --- Rail First

6 Ball Full Table --- Caroms & Billiards

7 Ball Full Table --- Tickies

8 Ball Full Table --- The Break

9 Ball Full Table --- Partial Masse

I'd appreciate your feedback on this idea, whether you think it has any merit or not, and if so, how you might enhance it. There's a short explanation of my logic about each selection and other info in the full article, so you might want to check that before asking questions.

Thanks in advance for your consideration.
 
I read you're blog on the subject and really can't even nit-pick about anything that I could say better. You don't pull any punches and I like that. Johnnyt
 
I like your list. I especially like how you point out what many instructors don't seem to understand: the break is only the most important shot if there's a reasonable likelihood that you'll get out from a successful break, and the vast majority of pool players are below that level.

However, I have to say I disagree with your take on english. You say "Great pool requires getting excellent position on every ball. While most of the time you can do that with only stun, follow and draw, sometimes more is needed." I think the words "most of the time" are totally unrealistic. Great players need english on probably 1/3 to 1/2 of all shots in a 9-ball match; mediocre players need it more like 3/4 of all shots. Furthermore, some positional shots that can be achieved without english are in fact higher percentage with english. I feel that english is something to be used as soon as a person has learned to pocket balls with any reasonable success rate. That way it isn't such a harsh adjustment when a player starts to really get into cueball control, and they won't miss so many balls due to english.

-Andrew
 
Andrew,

You make a couple of good points. I find especially intriguing your idea to introduce english into a player's game very early, so that he's more able to adjust to the aiming changes required. Mike Siegel did something like this on one of his perfect pool videos, advising to hit every cut shot with outside english. He didn't explain his reasoning, but I always thought it was so that the aiming point would be on the line to the pocket through the center of the object ball, thus making aiming easier. I thought the approach would make things tougher when introducing inside.

Anyway, where in the hierarchy would you put english? I wouldn't quibble too much with moving it up one level, but I think more would be a mistake. Remember, moving it up even one level means we're talking about people who can't get out more than half the time with ball in hand and 3 balls on the table.

I think that when a person is learning to play, the simpler they can keep it the better off they'll be. By sticking to a small set of options, they will more quickly make the cue ball paths a part of their subconscious. That is, they won't have to think analytically about where the ball is going to go. Then, adding english will be easier to absorb (cue ball path, not aiming) because there's a strong framework of known paths to compare it to. By bringing english into one's game too early, there's too much to absorb at once, and the player is left to "figure out" where whitey is going.

I see so many people who almost never use stun. It's such an underutilized stroke. My guess is that it's not as easy as follow, not as sexy as draw and english, so it just gets ignored early, and then doesn't get considered out of force of habit.
 
John Biddle said:
I've been thinking about how many players, especially advanced beginners and low intermediates work on advanced skills way before they should. Not they can't learn them, but that they'd get much more benefit from working on other things.

I put together a hierarchy of many of these advanced skills and when in a person's learning curve they should introduce them. I based it on how well the person could play against the ghost.

The full article is on my blog, but the hierarchy itself is this:

3 Ball Half Table --- Safeties

4 Ball Half Table --- Kicking

3 Ball Full Table --- Banking

5 Ball Half Table --- English

4 Ball Full Table --- Throw

5 Ball Full Table --- Rail First

6 Ball Full Table --- Caroms & Billiards

7 Ball Full Table --- Tickies

8 Ball Full Table --- The Break

9 Ball Full Table --- Partial Masse

I'd appreciate your feedback on this idea, whether you think it has any merit or not, and if so, how you might enhance it. There's a short explanation of my logic about each selection and other info in the full article, so you might want to check that before asking questions.

Thanks in advance for your consideration.
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John,
Your Pool Student's Blog is well written. http://www.poolstudent.com/

I scanned it rather quickly and enjoyed what I read, but will be back to pick up on some other GREAT TIPS.
JoeyA
 
Thanks JoeyA, I appreciate it. I hope you find more than enough to make it worth your while. Don't miss the links to the specialty pages in the upper right hand corner. Puzzles, quizzes, shot by shot walk throughs of a number of drills, and a custom cuemaker's link page with 22 pieces of info on 80 custom cuemakers. Like on AZ, I use Cuetable for my diagrams.

On the hierarchy, I thought about the differences between 8 Ball & 9 Ball players and considered either making 2 different ones or adjusting the playing the ghost rules in the lower levels to not require shooting the balls in rotation. I decided to go with rotation because it forces you to get position on one ball, rather than allow for complete changes in patterns. I figure I'm not creating something to train for 8 or 9 ball, just create a good relative skill measure.
 
Very well written John. My only criticism is the first few stages.

You suggest that low level players should begin by learning to play safe, however anyone who's new to the game will naturally want to play offensively. Playing safe just won't appeal, and expecting them to learn this right away is just not realistic.

Also, what about shot making? I'd rate this as the first thing someone should practice. After all, the whole premise of pocket billiards is to actually pocket balls. I'd put kicking second, seeing as they'd be inclined to leave themselves poor position, and often hook themselves. Safeties would then be third.

Aside from these first few stages, the rest looks excellent. The concept of the article itself is also very well thought out.
 
John Biddle said:
Andrew,

You make a couple of good points. I find especially intriguing your idea to introduce english into a player's game very early, so that he's more able to adjust to the aiming changes required. Mike Siegel did something like this on one of his perfect pool videos, advising to hit every cut shot with outside english. He didn't explain his reasoning, but I always thought it was so that the aiming point would be on the line to the pocket through the center of the object ball, thus making aiming easier. I thought the approach would make things tougher when introducing inside.
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I agree with your assessment here - always using outside english would be worse than always using the center of the ball, since the student would learn to rely on the english for aiming purposes, and would end up with a one-track mind when evaluating positional options. Center ball and inside would both be an adjustment, which would make things tough. My own philosophy is that learning with a variety of english breeds somebody who's comfortable using a variety of techniques; a more creative player if you will. It may make the shot-making learning curve a little slower, but it will pay dividends once the player does reach a higher level, or starts taking on other games such as one-pocket which require a wide arsenal of off-center touch shots.

John Biddle said:
Anyway, where in the hierarchy would you put english? I wouldn't quibble too much with moving it up one level, but I think more would be a mistake. Remember, moving it up even one level means we're talking about people who can't get out more than half the time with ball in hand and 3 balls on the table.
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I suppose I would move it up that one level, swapping it with banking. Most bank shots are pretty dodgy propositions at that skill level anyway; most of the time I'd say they'd be better off relying on the safety play they learned in step 1. And if we're talking a 9' table, you do need some positional ability to run out 3 balls, unless you're a very confident shot-maker. I believe it is time to start learning some less conservative positional techniques at that point.

John Biddle said:
I think that when a person is learning to play, the simpler they can keep it the better off they'll be. By sticking to a small set of options, they will more quickly make the cue ball paths a part of their subconscious. That is, they won't have to think analytically about where the ball is going to go. Then, adding english will be easier to absorb (cue ball path, not aiming) because there's a strong framework of known paths to compare it to. By bringing english into one's game too early, there's too much to absorb at once, and the player is left to "figure out" where whitey is going.
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There's undoubtedly some truth to that, but bear in mind that most players who are at these levels don't strike the cue ball very precisely anyway. There will be unintentional english on many shots, there will be many shots they think they're drawing where they're actually stunning, there will be many shots where they think they drew the ball too much when they actually just hit the ball too thick, etc. It takes a lot of practice to get from where you start thinking about cue ball control to where you start really achieving it, and I think this is a VERY important part of most players' development. I feel that using english when needed during this time will only increase a player's understanding of how to make the CB do what you want, and in fact where the limits are of what you can do on a certain shot. Further, I think it increases the player's consciousness of exactly where the tip actually strikes the ball (as opposed to where they intended to strike it).

John Biddle said:
I see so many people who almost never use stun. It's such an underutilized stroke. My guess is that it's not as easy as follow, not as sexy as draw and english, so it just gets ignored early, and then doesn't get considered out of force of habit.
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Stun requires precision. You've got to hit a very precise distance below center with a very precise amount of force. Use less stroke, you have to hit lower. Use more stroke, you have to get closer to center. If you can do it right, it makes for a very predictable CB path (90-degree rule is easy to visualize), but it's touchier than many instructors acknowledge.

-Andrew
 
Andrew:
the break is only the most important shot if there's a reasonable likelihood that you'll get out from a successful break
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If you simply make a ball on the break and get a look at the 1 you have first chance to take control of the table even if you can't run out.

pj
chgo
 
looking at the full article

John,

We all have different approaches. I wrote my thoughts in-depth based on your full comments. Some may be food for thought, some we may simply disagree on and be firmly entrenched in our beliefs. :smile:

First, I think you have to separate the break shot down into a basic and an advanced section. Do you really want to keep a new player frustrated about the first shot they make in many games until they can beat the eight ball ghost? Just because the newcomer has to have a basic break to play the game I do think the basic break has to be taught from the very beginning. Hitting the cue ball hard and hitting an object ball squarely is a wonderful thing in itself and this is what the basic break should teach.



01 3 Ball Half Table Safeties
Safeties are an important part of everyone’s game. They can be a valuable play when the offensive shots available to you are too tough. They can be even more valuable when you fit them strategically into your plan. Since many are easy, and many people need to be encouraged to use them more often, I’m making them the first, most important of the specialty shots.


Safeties are needed knowledge. You may be introducing them a bit early. I do find it odd that you wait so much longer to introduce the safety's close cousins, the caroms and billiards.



02 4 Ball Half Table Kicking
Sometimes your opponent will leave you with no clear shot to make a legal hit. This happens often enough (and even more often when you add in the times you do it to yourself), and the penalty for missing (ball in hand) is severe enough, that you’ll need to learn this skill early in your career. Plus, if your opponent knows you can’t kick, you see lots of them.

03 3 Ball Full Table Banking
While it’s true that you should usually cut rather than bank, sometimes only a bank will do. Or, getting shape off a bank shot may be much easier than off a cut. It would be nice to think this was rare, but it isn’t, so banking skills will be required relatively early.

I think that english(I do prefer the term side or side spin if you want to be even more descriptive) Anyway, I think that side spin needs to be introduced before banking for obvious reasons. Like the break, this is something that limits might be placed on at first.



04 5 Ball Half Table English
Great pool requires getting excellent position on every ball. While most of the time you can do that with only stun, follow and draw, sometimes more is needed. With english you can adjust the trajectory of the cue ball off the rail, giving yourself extra flexibility in choosing a route for whitey. English can also add or reduce speed off the rail, opening up even more choices.

When you start using english aiming gets more difficult, because of all the additional factors you now need to compensate for. You’ll miss many more balls until you get the hang of it, and that won’t happen for a while. Be prepared to work hard on this one; it’s deceptively tough but you can only go so far without it.

05 4 Ball Full Table Throw
Knowledge of throw will help you make frozen balls that point slightly away from the pocket, as well as helping you control cue ball movement in tight situations. It can even help you make balls where a blocker is in the way just a little bit. Not dramatic, but not at all difficult.



06 5 Ball Full Table Rail First
This one is great for making balls near a pocket that are blocked by another ball. Especially useful in 8 Ball, but valuable in all games, this variation on the kick can really deflate your opponent who’s sure you can’t get out.

Rail first is often an easier way to make a ball than shooting directly at it. Some old time players and I myself often preferred to shoot rail first when the straight in shot was available if the object ball was near a rail. I don't really see why this or basic throw are so far down the list. Rail first could easily lead into the more difficult kicks.



07 6 Ball Full Table Caroms & Billiards
Conceptually simple, these beautiful shots can be difficult for some players to get a feel for. Based on the tangent line and a stun shot, they can get you out of all kinds of jams, especially on crowded tables.



08 7 Ball Full Table Tickies
A combination of a rail first shot with a carom or billiard, knowing these will help you get blocked balls near a pocket that you couldn’t get to with a simple rail first shot. Easier than they sound, and more useful than you might guess at first, these will take some effort to get comfortable with.

While some are fairly simple the advanced knowledge of how the balls interact with the rails and each other combined with the fact that there are often better options than tickies would make this below the advanced break on my list of what to teach.



09 8 Ball Full Table The Break
This one will probably generate the most criticism, since so many others are advocating breaking practice. When you can beat the 8 Ball Ghost, and you make a ball with a controlled break, you have a good chance to run out. Before now, you’ll mostly run out enough balls to make the run out easy for your opponent.

10 9 Ball Full Table Partial Massé
Another way to get around a blocker ball is a partial or half massé. These are difficult to control, requiring much practice, and not needed as often as other, simpler techniques.

I like using masse and dislike jumping. However, I have to concede that jump shots can usually achieve the same goals with less skill required. They are legal almost everywhere now and I think we have to teach jumping before semi-masse and masse other than the slightest masse effect we get on many shots with side.

Combinations are a specific enough skill that they might be somewhere on your list too. One problem with trying to assign skill levels to certain types of shots are that the skill level required to make the shots varies widely with the actual position of the balls. As an example, a many ball combination is usually a difficult thing but occasionally it is dead and you simply have to tell a beginner to hit the first ball.


Hu
 
Great Blog

This is very nice blog.Well done.I think it was layed out pretty good and learned some new things.Thanks for posting it!I like the idea of getting safety play on the mind early in the learning curve.Many people neglect this area early in their game and it can really hinder your chances of winning later on.Overall well written and a very informative blog.Thanks!:thumbup:
 
Everyone,

I do not think that this hierarchy represents the training regimen, only the order in which advanced skills are added. I don't think a person should start on any of this until they have sound fundamentals, and have worked on shot making, speed/distance control and getting position. Then, I think these things should continue to be the bulk of practice and skill improvement. It's just that sooner or later all these other areas of the game merit some consideration and I tried to find a simple way to lay out a reasoned and easy to apply approach.

Nathan,

I put safeties at the top of the list because of how often beginners get themselves in a jam and a safety could get them out. As Stormshadow1 mentioned, for most beginning players it's all offense. getting safeties introduced early can keep that rigidity out of their game. When people come to safeties much later they see the value, but often don't see the opportunities because they are so focused on offense.

Andrew,

On the english we don't disagree too much. I agree with you that left and right should be seen as variations from center ball rather than center and inside being seen as variations from outside. It's just that I think a stronger grounding in the basics of center ball (follow and draw also) will help created a worldview if you will of pool ball interactions that can be developed in a reasonably short time if concentrated on. Then adding left and right works better because there's something to tie them to and to use as known quantities.

you're right, of course, when you point out that beginners don't always hit the cue ball where they intend to. But I think that is another reason to favor the more controlled approach of starting with center ball. There's less to know, and the resultant directions can be known with a high degree of accuracy. Thus, the resultant direction of the cue ball can help point out deficiencies in cueing.

More to follow, have to cook lunch
 
Andrew Manning,

As I said, I think banking & english could be switched. The reason I had banking first was that by learning banking before english, it's simpler. You have fewer factors to account for. Then, when you add english, you add a dimension to banking, as well as to kicking and safeties. But it's the same adjustment for all of them, and to me, that way it'll be easier to understand. Learn a skill in the minimum way, then add to it, rather than immerse yourself in all the complexity at once. I can see how each could work better for different people.

Stun only requires precision when the cue ball and the object ball are well separated. When they're within 12" you just have to hit with a modicum of force. Even at 12" to 24 " you can hit with stun by hitting center ball, but crisply. When early position play is being taught i would think most do it with easy shots, so as to take the shot making out of the picture as much as possible and allow for more concentration on the cue ball's movement. This would naturally put the cue ball close enough to the object ball for the complexity you mention to not be much of a problem.

Obviously you're right that on many shots, getting perfect stun requires a deft touch. But in the early learning phase, and for many shots with CB & OB close together, it's a non issue.

Patrick Johnson,

I agree that there's value in making a ball on the break, but it's a question of how much value vs how much effort has to be invested to improve enough to get the value.

In 8 Ball, I would readily agree that making a ball on the break has significant value if you're playing BCA rules, and have a chance to select your suit. But even here, the value diminishes as the capability of the players goes down. If it takes 12 innings to end a typical game, the balls will likely have been moved around so much that the value of picking the easier suit will have been diminished greatly if not eliminated.

That said, the value of a safe early in a game between the same two people is probably not worth a fig either. But the value of a good safe late in the game can be huge, even for weak players. And having an approach to shot selection that isn't heavily tilted toward offense will help as well.

If you were doing it, where would you put the break?

ShootingArts,

I like your idea about separating the break shot into basic and advanced. I agree that learning to hit the head ball squarely at speed is a fundamental skill that I would put in with the basics that would all come before the first of the advanced skills on my hierarchy. I could just change the name of my 9th item to advanced breaking to accomplish that.

The reason I waited 5 levels to introduce caroms and billiards after safeties was that I was thinking mostly about more elementary safeties, like a stop shot behind a blocker, etc. Based on my experience, caroms and billiards aren't used very often or by very many people. Other than easy ones to make the nine, I see them quite infrequently. I think that they should be used more, but are either not known well enough or not thought of. I tried to find a compromise position. Would you move Caroms & Billiards up the list, or move Safeties down, or both?

For the reasons stated above, I think banking should be taught first without english, and then enhanced with the addition of english. It may seem counterproductive to learn a skill and then relearn it with changes due to new information, but I believe that doing it all at once is too much, and learning will go slowly. I think the tortoise wins this one.

Rail first is a specialized kick, with a higher degree of accuracy required. I put if after kicks for that reason. It's also behind other skills because of the frequency at which I thought it would be useful. I freely admit that the list is far from perfect, and cases can be made to change the order.

Keep in mind the original purpose is to find a way to study the things that will help the most, taking into account one's ability to learn and understand them, as well as how much effort it takes to gain the requisite skill. Perhaps you could suggest your alternative list order.

Combinations are a big miss on my part, thanks for pointing that out. I'm not sure where I'd put them in the list, I'll have to think about it more. Plus it means adding to the list, or putting multiple advanced skills on the same level.

I agree that jumping requires skill, and that it it easier to teach & learn than half masse. However, as I said, jumping harms the cloth. At my home room, the tables were just recovered and one already has a small hole in the cloth from someone jumping (the incident was seen, not guessed at). Why else do so many places ban jumping? I see it an much more damaging than a phenolic tip, and they were just banned.

Stormshadow1,

Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad to know it's providing value. With over 80 pages of content I feel like I'm just getting started.

Everyone,

Thanks for the well considered feedback, it's appreciated. No reason to hold back, either. I have thick skin, so if you think I'm nuts don't hesitate to say so. Just say why.

Everyone
 
John Biddle said:
Andrew Manning,

ShootingArts,

I like your idea about separating the break shot into basic and advanced. I agree that learning to hit the head ball squarely at speed is a fundamental skill that I would put in with the basics that would all come before the first of the advanced skills on my hierarchy. I could just change the name of my 9th item to advanced breaking to accomplish that.

The reason I waited 5 levels to introduce caroms and billiards after safeties was that I was thinking mostly about more elementary safeties, like a stop shot behind a blocker, etc. Based on my experience, caroms and billiards aren't used very often or by very many people. Other than easy ones to make the nine, I see them quite infrequently. I think that they should be used more, but are either not known well enough or not thought of. I tried to find a compromise position. Would you move Caroms & Billiards up the list, or move Safeties down, or both?

I would probably move both towards each other a little. Like most folks in peanut galleries I am much better at suggesting what needs changing than how to go about doing it! :D :D :D One issue trying to choose where things go is that we all picture different things when we think of the same term. Kicking to hit a ball to avoid a foul, not too difficult if you have a clear path, kicking to make a ball can often be much tougher!

I strongly agree with what I think you are saying, playing style has changed so that people overlook some easy shots simply because they aren't often played. An easy carom, rail first, or follow shot is often ignored in favor of a more difficult shot that is more popular now. I watch a fair amount of video and am amazed at how often even the pro's select much tougher shots.

For the reasons stated above, I think banking should be taught first without english, and then enhanced with the addition of english. It may seem counterproductive to learn a skill and then relearn it with changes due to new information, but I believe that doing it all at once is too much, and learning will go slowly. I think the tortoise wins this one.

Rail first is a specialized kick, with a higher degree of accuracy required I put if after kicks for that reason. It's also behind other skills because of the frequency at which I thought it would be useful. I freely admit that the list is far from perfect, and cases can be made to change the order.

I have to admit we completely disagree here, probably due to the shots we both picture in our minds when we think of rail first shots. I find them very simple to make and very useful. Aside from other things, rail first often turns a fairly difficult draw shot into an easy follow shot to get shape on the same ball. Of course with my viewpoint I use rail first and follow much more often than many players who seem to fall in love with draw and favor it as the first choice for all shots. We all see the shots we use the most as easiest and often for us they are simply because we perfect the shots we use the most.


Keep in mind the original purpose is to find a way to study the things that will help the most, taking into account one's ability to learn and understand them, as well as how much effort it takes to gain the requisite skill. Perhaps you could suggest your alternative list order.

I have to admit that I never tried to put these things in any order before looking at your list this morning. I have taught the game to a lot of people but it was informally and decades ago. My focus was first on holding the cue and making an adequate bridge. I started with center ball hit and tightly restricted the amount of draw, follow, and side that the student was allowed to put on the ball until they could control small amounts.

I never tried to say a person needed to be at a certain level before learning a shot. To be honest, the one thing I tried to discourage my students from using was my specialized break. It was more about control than speed and it required a large amount of spin. Not what is in style now but it pocketed balls and spread the rack nicely. Invariably my students were soon trying to sneak my break into their game. They felt that I was trying to keep something from them by not letting them try a break they would miscue on more often than not.

Combinations are a big miss on my part, thanks for pointing that out. I'm not sure where I'd put them in the list, I'll have to think about it more. Plus it means adding to the list, or putting multiple advanced skills on the same level.

I agree that jumping requires skill, and that it it easier to teach & learn than half masse. However, as I said, jumping harms the cloth. At my home room, the tables were just recovered and one already has a small hole in the cloth from someone jumping (the incident was seen, not guessed at). Why else do so many places ban jumping? I see it an much more damaging than a phenolic tip, and they were just banned.
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Jumping does not have to do any greater damage to cloth than a masse shot. Unfortunately, like my break, jumping and masse are some of the first things that beginners want to master. Nobody learns stunts on a bicycle before learning to just keep from falling riding straight down a path however most seem to think that they should be able to fly before they can walk on a pool table. This leads to scooping under balls and hammering down through a ball both of which will damage cloth. No real solution since people are going to attempt to do what they see done.

I suspect teaching them the fundamentals of the jump and masse early so they at least know enough not to damage the cloth might be wise. I would be perfectly content if the jump was outlawed but that genie was let out of the bottle long ago and we will never get it back in.

Hu
 
John,

I absolutely agree with you 110%.... I am sooo glad someone has actually put all this in writing like you have. For a long time I have said this but yet lesser players seem to want to "learn to much to quick" for my liking. To many detailed instructions out there for the so called "intermediate player".
It would be confusing to me to learn the basics as well as aiming points and diamond systems and ect ect. Practice is where it is at and I show alot of players in my city some basic shots and english to shoot them with for practice.... IE: 1 shot with outside english for 15 mins. Same shot with inside english for 15 mins. and so forth. I tell them these are the most common shots that come up and in 2 weeks with this practice everyday you will become a ball better. Yet... everyone is very interested in what you say but... noone is willing to actually do it! What can you say?

I especailly like the banging balls but with a purpose in mind! I do this quite a bit especially the inside english part. I also do the "middle english only" banging.... top, middle and bottom but always hitting the cueball in the middle part of the CB. Helps me alot especially with the angles of deflection. Instead of using sidespin use middle with less or more speed to get the angle you want the CB to follow.

I have read alot of your other articles and the more I read the more I have to say that I completely agree with just about everything you write. I have actually (through the years) done exactly what you have suggested and it has done wonders for me. I am just glad you have come along and put them in writing. A+ read for me thankyou!
 
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There are a lot of valid points in this thread, but there is one important thing that we're all over looking:

Fun :)

Pool is all about fun for me. Forget being competitive and forget winning. None of that is important in comparison to having a good time. Progression just happens to be a pleasant repercussion of this. :p

We can all say that learning to jump and masse early on is bad for a beginners game, and this may be true. But these are fun shots. Avoiding potentially fun shots just defeats the purpose.
 
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ShootingArts,

One issue trying to choose where things go is that we all picture different things when we think of the same term. Kicking to hit a ball to avoid a foul, not too difficult if you have a clear path, kicking to make a ball can often be much tougher!
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When I referred to kicking in my list, I was referring to the simpler kicking to hit rather than the much tougher kicking to make. However, with the concept understood, kicking to make balls very close to a hole would fit right in.

I have to admit we completely disagree here, probably due to the shots we both picture in our minds when we think of rail first shots. I find them very simple to make and very useful. Aside from other things, rail first often turns a fairly difficult draw shot into an easy follow shot to get shape on the same ball. Of course with my viewpoint I use rail first and follow much more often than many players who seem to fall in love with draw and favor it as the first choice for all shots. We all see the shots we use the most as easiest and often for us they are simply because we perfect the shots we use the most.
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Sounds like you shoot a very unorthodox game, I hope we get to play some day. Can you be more specific about what shots you'll shoot rail first? How far from the pocket and how far from the rail. And will you only shoot them with a shallow angle? I only find the easy with the ball close to the rail (1 ball or less) and close to the hole (less than 1 diamond, preferably half that).

As far as using it instead of a tough draw, I think one should have both down, because the paths are wildly different and only one may work. That, and the rail first shot is a 3 railer rather than one or none with the draw, at least in the shot I'm thinking of where the cue ball in along the same rail as the object ball, just maybe further away from that rail. I think beginners will have trouble with these. Since they come up less often than the need for draw, I'd push draw first, but you open some interesting possibilities I'll have to play with on the table.

I have to admit that I never tried to put these things in any order before looking at your list this morning. I have taught the game to a lot of people but it was informally and decades ago. My focus was first on holding the cue and making an adequate bridge. I started with center ball hit and tightly restricted the amount of draw, follow, and side that the student was allowed to put on the ball until they could control small amounts.

I never tried to say a person needed to be at a certain level before learning a shot. To be honest, the one thing I tried to discourage my students from using was my specialized break. It was more about control than speed and it required a large amount of spin. Not what is in style now but it pocketed balls and spread the rack nicely. Invariably my students were soon trying to sneak my break into their game. They felt that I was trying to keep something from them by not letting them try a break they would miscue on more often than not.
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I'm not saying one has to follow the hierarchy either. I'm just suggesting that if one is seeking to improve at a maximum rate, or to a maximum degree, he must use his time efficiently. I think that following a plan like the one proposed will do that, though it may be unrealistic in the real world.

I also mean that these more advanced skills are things that shouldn't be practiced, with significant time spent on them. I don't mean to say that you need to be anal about it, and never even try a rail first shot or throw a frozen ball into a pocket. I didn't get into too much detail in my post since I was already worried it was getting too long.

Jumping does not have to do any greater damage to cloth than a masse shot. Unfortunately, like my break, jumping and masse are some of the first things that beginners want to master. Nobody learns stunts on a bicycle before learning to just keep from falling riding straight down a path however most seem to think that they should be able to fly before they can walk on a pool table. This leads to scooping under balls and hammering down through a ball both of which will damage cloth. No real solution since people are going to attempt to do what they see done.
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I tried to use the term partial or half masse, to indicate shots where the cue ball is gently curved around a blocker, not full masse shots which has the CB changing direction radically. I didn't even put that in my list, it would be even higher up.

I completely agree with you that jumping is here to stay, i just don't think it's a good idea and don't use or advocate it. If I did, I'd put it where I have kicking, near the top.

ShootingRazbone,

Thanks so much for your compliments, I'm glad you like my work. I just had another article where the major point was not to bother wasting your money on lessons if you aren't going to do the practice. If you will do the practice, lessons from a good instructor are very valuable indeed.

Nathan,

I don't mean to exclude fun, and I wouldn't presume to define what people should think is fun, in pool or in anything else. But if a person is serious about getting better, which is the subject of my blog and this thread, then introducing some discipline into their training will make a significant difference in the rate at which they improve. There's no value judgment here, just a choice.
 
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