A word about learning sidespin

jrctherake

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
A word about sidespin. I've had this come up quite a bit with different students the last month so I felt a general public service announcement was in order.

There are different approaches but the one I support by far is FEEL. The two other approaches I've seen are: 1) People struggling with the idea of back hand English, and 2) People that give up on sidespin because they can't stomach the short term impact to their pocketing.

Listen, I know a few people use BHE, but they are in a very small minority. The problem I have is it doesn't solve the need for feel. On a sidespin shot the cue ball deflects off the tip, curves back towards the shot line en route, then throws the object ball upon contact. How much depends entirely on swing speed and table conditions. So while a system can get you in the right general area, there is no escaping that you will need to develop a feel to make it work.

As for giving up on sidespin, this is a huge blunder I've seen so many times this year I am shocked. How can you spend years and decades playing a beautiful game like pool and resign yourself to slugging balls around with center-ball hits, shrugging off the fact you'll only be live to run about 50% of the tables where a limited tool box will suffice, and seeing only incremental improvement for half a lifetime? Why?

Sidespin isn't that hard. When you get down on the shot your tip should be where you want to strike the cue ball and you should be on the shot line you feel that already accounts for deflection/swerve/throw. When you're down you can fine tune the tip and aim slightly. If it's more than a fine tune rise up, air stroke, and reset.
From there all you have to do to master sidespin is miss 1,000 shots. That's it. Take my thousand miss challenge. Shoot with extreme sidespin on a variety of shots until you miss 33 times, and do that every day for a month. Ta-da. You can now make balls with sidespin and there is a new dimension and future for your pool game.

Don't buy into the whole 'pros stick to one tip from center'. That is absurd. Every strong player spins the ball like crazy unless they are playing straight pool exactly and their cue ball isn't moving more than 6-18" per shot. And for the love of all that is holy don't try to control all of this analytically. It can't be controlled consciously, you need to delegate this to your subconscious and give it the thousand shots worth of data for your inner computer to figure it out. I've spent time at the table with a lot of great players and none of them are making manual adjustments at the table. They just picture the shot they want to execute and feel it on in. If you can't do that yet then start missing and you'll be there before you know it.
I'm a BHE user. Always have been and always will be.

Having said that, I liked your post. It is good info for any student that is struggling with side spin.
 

Patrick Johnson

Fish of the Day
Silver Member
I pivoted the cue at the last instant just before it struck the CB when I wanted spin
You can get very good with "swooping" side spin, but because your tip is moving sideways it's harder to be precise with your aim and amounts of spin - a straight stroke on the pre-angled squirt compensation line is better.

Hopefully I'm not using it wrong but for an almost 90 degree cut on a rail it works like a charm. Trying to get a perfect cut resulted in a pocketed ball maybe 5% of the time. Now I shoot the rail with heavy sidespin and now at least 33% drop;)
Spin shouldn't be used to make normal shots, only when you need it for shape on the next shot. Using inside spin on rail frozen shots can make them a little easier, but it's better to learn to shoot them with any (or no) spin so you can control the CB as needed.

pj
chgo
 
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FranCrimi

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
As with any sport, we can not step outside of ourselves and watch ourselves as we are doing it. We have to know how it feels to be doing it right. There's simply no way around that. A player can measure and calculate at the table all day long, but when it comes down to execution, it's all about feel. Being in the zone means a player accomplishes a perfect rhythm and timing as they're performing. This is caused by a smooth back and forth between conscious and unconscious states while playing. Calculating is a conscious maneuver. Too much calculating will break your flow and and will prevent you from playing to your potential.
 

Patrick Johnson

Fish of the Day
Silver Member
As with any sport, we can not step outside of ourselves and watch ourselves as we are doing it. We have to know how it feels to be doing it right. There's simply no way around that. A player can measure and calculate at the table all day long, but when it comes down to execution, it's all about feel. Being in the zone means a player accomplishes a perfect rhythm and timing as they're performing. This is caused by a smooth back and forth between conscious and unconscious states while playing. Calculating is a conscious maneuver. Too much calculating will break your flow and and will prevent you from playing to your potential.
I agree about too much conscious calculating while playing - but I think it's OK (a good thing) to do while learning so your subconscious can learn to do the "calculating" while playing.

pj
chgo
 

FranCrimi

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I agree about too much conscious calculating while playing - but I think it's OK (a good thing) to do while learning so your subconscious can learn to do the "calculating" while playing.

pj
chgo
Yes, of course. That's how you train yourself, but the trick is to not lose your identity through too much conscious training. Then you become lost.
 

CJ Wiley

ESPN WORLD OPEN CHAMPION
Gold Member
Silver Member
A word about sidespin. I've had this come up quite a bit with different students the last month so I felt a general public service announcement was in order.

There are different approaches but the one I support by far is FEEL. The two other approaches I've seen are: 1) People struggling with the idea of back hand English, and 2) People that give up on sidespin because they can't stomach the short term impact to their pocketing.

Listen, I know a few people use BHE, but they are in a very small minority. The problem I have is it doesn't solve the need for feel. On a sidespin shot the cue ball deflects off the tip, curves back towards the shot line en route, then throws the object ball upon contact. How much depends entirely on swing speed and table conditions. So while a system can get you in the right general area, there is no escaping that you will need to develop a feel to make it work.

As for giving up on sidespin, this is a huge blunder I've seen so many times this year I am shocked. How can you spend years and decades playing a beautiful game like pool and resign yourself to slugging balls around with center-ball hits, shrugging off the fact you'll only be live to run about 50% of the tables where a limited tool box will suffice, and seeing only incremental improvement for half a lifetime? Why?

Sidespin isn't that hard. When you get down on the shot your tip should be where you want to strike the cue ball and you should be on the shot line you feel that already accounts for deflection/swerve/throw. When you're down you can fine tune the tip and aim slightly. If it's more than a fine tune rise up, air stroke, and reset.
From there all you have to do to master sidespin is miss 1,000 shots. That's it. Take my thousand miss challenge. Shoot with extreme sidespin on a variety of shots until you miss 33 times, and do that every day for a month. Ta-da. You can now make balls with sidespin and there is a new dimension and future for your pool game.

Don't buy into the whole 'pros stick to one tip from center'. That is absurd. Every strong player spins the ball like crazy unless they are playing straight pool exactly and their cue ball isn't moving more than 6-18" per shot. And for the love of all that is holy don't try to control all of this analytically. It can't be controlled consciously, you need to delegate this to your subconscious and give it the thousand shots worth of data for your inner computer to figure it out. I've spent time at the table with a lot of great players and none of them are making manual adjustments at the table. They just picture the shot they want to execute and feel it on in. If you can't do that yet then start missing and you'll be there before you know it.
The reason people don't have success using "backhand English" is I guess because of the name they believe they are supposed to initiate the movement with their Back Hand. This won't work except in limited cases because when you just move your back hand it doesn't also change your visual perception. In other words if you aligning to the object ball (center to center) and move your back hand one way or the other it will still look like you are shooting the object ball straight ahead.

One rule of thumb, when a player wants to play at their highest levels, try to initiate all lateral movement of the tip with the foundation, the feet. This way, when you pivot the cue to the left or right of the center cueball your eyes will also shift so that the perception stays congruent. When you keep this in mind and do it, you'll see that when you pivot the tip to the left using your lower body it will look like you are cutting the object ball to the right. This is important, I spent $700 to learn a banking system based upon this concept, within 30 days that $700 investment led to a $30,000 win, my end was $15,000 so I made over 20/1 on my investment, and it's directly and indirectly made millions since then.

The Game is the Teacher
 

The_JV

'AZB_Combat Certified'
You can get very good with "swooping" side spin, but because your tip is moving sideways it's harder to be precise with your aim and amounts of spin - a straight stroke on the pre-angled squirt compensation line is better.

Spin shouldn't be used to make normal shots, only when you need it for shape on the next shot. Using inside spin on rail frozen shots can make them a little easier, but it's better to learn to shoot them with any (or no) spin so you can control the CB as needed.
My favourite pass time at pool halls is watching the "swoopers" when it's going bad. Freak'n comical.... Introducing that type of timing into your game is just bad. Can it work...?..., definitely. Should someone who's trying to get serious about the game do it...?..., hell no.

Near 90 degree cuts frozen to rail cannot be done without siding. Near 90 degree cuts simply can't be done if the OB needs to carry any distance. I'm sure some will attempt to argue this, but physics is on my side. Spinning off the rail to pot frozen balls with sharp cuts is standard practice. It's apart of the shot, and needs to be factored into the decision whether to go for the pot or not. There are situations in this game wherein your hand is forced regarding resulting CB movement after the shot. This is one of these situations.
 

Protractor

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
You can get very good with "swooping" side spin, but because your tip is moving sideways it's harder to be precise with your aim and amounts of spin - a straight stroke on the pre-angled squirt compensation line is better.
Agreed. Nowadays I only 'swoop' on very short shots that I hit softly. Back then, I used to do it to cut balls frozen to the end rail into the corner from the other end of the table but I'm no longer shooting those from the hip.
 

BelleBelle

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
If we’re throwing a football back and forth and sometimes maybe you’re leading me with a pass. Do you think to yourself pull arm back this far, throw ball at this trajectory oh and wind coming SW at 3 MPH and my target is running X MPH. No you don’t or you could never throw the ball. It’s all feel just like shooting a basketball with defender running towards you. Your brain makes so many calculations instantly.

When I brought that mind frame to my pool game my game went to another level. Yes I think where I need the cue ball to be but when I get down on my shot I’m no longer thinking. I hit the object ball and the cue ball just goes there (wherever I intended for it to go). Just as I would throw a ball to someone. I know players that have to analyze every aspect of the shot like...hit the ball at 3 o’clock with medium speed and let’s not forget about side spin, squirt, deflection, throw it’s all so mind numbing. I’m not talking about beginner level players.

I’ve always used a standard shaft and have no problems using side spin with accuracy. As a matter of fact I use side spin on 90 percent of my shots. I feel side spin makes pocketing the balls easier. Yes yes I know I’m wrong with the pool detectives but I’ve been pretty successful playing like this.

Yes beginners should make note where they strike the cue ball but eventually it has to come down to feel just as driving a car or throwing a ball. Demetrius I enjoy your insights on the game and have gained perspectives from you. You are a student of the game with a open mind that’s always eager to learn and that’s why you play at the level you do.
 

straightline

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
As with any sport, we can not step outside of ourselves and watch ourselves as we are doing it. We have to know how it feels to be doing it right. There's simply no way around that. A player can measure and calculate at the table all day long, but when it comes down to execution, it's all about feel. Being in the zone means a player accomplishes a perfect rhythm and timing as they're performing. This is caused by a smooth back and forth between conscious and unconscious states while playing. Calculating is a conscious maneuver. Too much calculating will break your flow and and will prevent you from playing to your potential.
At play for real - yes. In RnD, however, 99% perspiration - 1% inspiration or you got nothing to feel at the for real part.
 

FranCrimi

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
At play for real - yes. In RnD, however, 99% perspiration - 1% inspiration or you got nothing to feel at the for real part.
I'm not so sure I agree with that totally. I think practice also should include a rehearsal of actual match play. For example: How quickly can you find your rhythm? Can you fall into the zone during a match? Can you relax on the tough shots? How long does it take to get rolling? How much trust do you have in yourself when you play? These are all things that involve just letting yourself play.
 

straightline

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I'm not so sure I agree with that totally. I think practice also should include a rehearsal of actual match play. For example: How quickly can you find your rhythm? Can you fall into the zone during a match? Can you relax on the tough shots? How long does it take to get rolling? How much trust do you have in yourself when you play? These are all things that involve just letting yourself play.
You sound like a musician. I had some music lessons as a teen. There's at least a couple of practice modes there: Learning to play the instrument, and learning how to make the music. The same can be said of any skill I suppose but anyway pool is mostly skill and as such, mistakes come from technical incompetence. You guys speak of Psy triggers but to me, what? You get tricked into faulty technique? My answer to that is developing (I did say RnD) the most concise and efficient method and routine I can stand. Works for me. I improved a couple ticks just by hammering the precision aspect. If that starts to gel, then maybe I can step on the gas.
 

Protractor

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I'm not so sure I agree with that totally. I think practice also should include a rehearsal of actual match play. For example: How quickly can you find your rhythm? Can you fall into the zone during a match? Can you relax on the tough shots? How long does it take to get rolling? How much trust do you have in yourself when you play? These are all things that involve just letting yourself play.

+1 on simulating match play in practice sessions. I play Doppelganger every practice session (see link) because I can focus on all elements of fundamentals and match play without any pressure or distraction. After a while, rhythm, feel, and getting in the zone just happen. Process steps meld to become "The Process" and when I play a match I just stay focused on following The Process.

The bonus of Doppelganger is the ability to set up a shot again and learn why it failed the first time and subsequently how to nail it. Instead of drilling to achieve a specific result the drill becomes dynamic, never the same, just like in a match where you don't get the do over and walk away from the miss, scratching your head instead.

https://forums.azbilliards.com/thre...tice-position-play.522969/page-3#post-6822596
 
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