address the ball and reverse pause question

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bbb

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after you line up the shot and come down to the table surface
at that point my cue tip is NOT touching or close to the cue ball(probably an inch or 2 or more away)
at that point my forearm is perpendicular to the floor
when the cue tip is close to the cue ball its slightly foward
IS THAT BAD??


2)
in my first life as a pool player
i would line up the shot
get down on the table
make sure things "looked right"
stroke 1-2-3 hit
even cadence
no pause

now in my second life as a pool player trying to play "correctly"

i find most "comfortable " is to after a few warm up strokes to pause when the cue tip is close to the cue ball then pull back and follow thru
when i conciously try to pull back..pause... then follow thru it feels awkward
i know its only a matter of repetition

can this "reverse pause" work???

or should i keep forcing the back stroke pause??

i will say in the last few weeks my game has gone down since im thinking about so much and not doing what comes "naturally"( ie the way i did for years)

as ive said in prior posts
ill gladly go backward to get foward

your comments are appreciated:)
 
Many top players grip the cue where you do relative to perpendicular. I describe it as "half a hand ahead". I think it is fine. If you want a little more power on the shot, you might try moving your grip back a hand or so.

Many top players do not have a pause at the end of the final backstroke. Try it some more but if it remains awkward/uncomfortable I think there is no point in forcing it.
 
Bob Jewett said:
Many top players grip the cue where you do relative to perpendicular. I describe it as "half a hand ahead". I think it is fine. If you want a little more power on the shot, you might try moving your grip back a hand or so.

Many top players do not have a pause at the end of the final backstroke. Try it some more but if it remains awkward/uncomfortable I think there is no point in forcing it.
Click to expand...

thanks for the responce
 
I will borrow one from Randy G.

"It is not how long you pause, it is about how smooth your transition is."
 
You might try altering your eye patterns... I found out that if I don't switch to the object ball until my backs wing starts on the actual stroke I minimize the awkward feeling when pausing at the back... I am betting that during you pause before the back swing you have already moved your eyes to the object ball.....
 
Regarding the pause. Like Bob Jewett says, many players don't like to pause at the end of their backstrokes.

You can try this: Make sure you pause at the cue ball just before you pull back and then focus on pulling back slowly on your last stroke. A slow backstroke will provide the same benefit as a distinct pause at the end of the backstroke. It should feel uncomfortably slow until you get used to it. If it doesn't, chances are you aren't taking it back slow enough.
 
bbb said:
after you line up the shot and come down to the table surface
at that point my cue tip is NOT touching or close to the cue ball(probably an inch or 2 or more away)
at that point my forearm is perpendicular to the floor
when the cue tip is close to the cue ball its slightly foward
IS THAT BAD??


2)
in my first life as a pool player
i would line up the shot
get down on the table
make sure things "looked right"
stroke 1-2-3 hit
even cadence
no pause

now in my second life as a pool player trying to play "correctly"

i find most "comfortable " is to after a few warm up strokes to pause when the cue tip is close to the cue ball then pull back and follow thru
when i conciously try to pull back..pause... then follow thru it feels awkward
i know its only a matter of repetition

can this "reverse pause" work???

or should i keep forcing the back stroke pause??

i will say in the last few weeks my game has gone down since im thinking about so much and not doing what comes "naturally"( ie the way i did for years)

as ive said in prior posts
ill gladly go backward to get foward

your comments are appreciated:)
Click to expand...

There are, of course, exceptions to every rule. Most professional players have their cue tip very close to the CB when they address the CB. At that point you will see that their forearm is usually perpendicular (90 degrees) to the cue, and not the floor. This is because the cue is not often parallel to the surface of the table, - rails and balls cause the shooter to raise the butt to varying degrees, and of course the butt may also be raised to apply various spins to the CB.
Not all pros use a pause, but most do. Most players tend to speed up their rhythm and their "down" time (the time they're in shooting position), as they play and as they get in stroke. The problem is when this speeding up of execution becomes too fast, and errors creep into the stroke. At higher speed, the shooter loses feel for the shot. I find myself using the pause unconsciously on some shots and not on others. Typically, the pause seems to help when I stroke with more force, or apply extra spin. The pause can be at the address point, or at the end of final pull-back, or both! If you shoot with say three or four practice strokes before the business stroke, the pause helps one be consistent, and not be down on the ball too long (thinking from the shooting position). I think the pause comes when your subconscious* tells you that your thinking and aiming are complete, and muscle memory takes over. When I'm shooting most shots, I tend to have less of a pause; I'm just slowing my final pull-back down a bit for the same affect.
*If one chooses to adopt or add a pause to one's shot routine, it WILL be a CONSCIOUS effort at first, and may feel uncomfortable for a while, UNTIL IT BECOMES AUTOMATIC. Changes of any kind tend to feel a bit strange, or uncomfortable, - that's why bad habits become ingrained...if you've been wearing your shoes on the wrong feet, it will feel strange to wear them correctly for a while! When you've worn your shoes on the right feet for awhile, you'll automatically put them on that way, without thinking about it. In other words, one must THINK about new techniques until they become automatic. You must THINK about the changes in varying situations as well, not just in practice, but in competition, and especially unusual or high-pressure situations, when your memory bank will call up the muscle memory from THAT situation and act accordingly. Remember, drills improve technique because they bury errors deep in the memory bank, and you'll be less likely to repeat them.

Donny L
BCA/ACS Instructor
Gainesville, Fl
 
FranCrimi said:
Regarding the pause. Like Bob Jewett says, many players don't like to pause at the end of their backstrokes.

You can try this: Make sure you pause at the cue ball just before you pull back and then focus on pulling back slowly on your last stroke. A slow backstroke will provide the same benefit as a distinct pause at the end of the backstroke. It should feel uncomfortably slow until you get used to it. If it doesn't, chances are you aren't taking it back slow enough.
Click to expand...

that is what im doing now
pause at cue ball... deliberate backswing... follow thru
in a separate thread on a wrist curl problem
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=256300
the drill with the dot on the ferrule
and me focusing on the straight follow thru is helping to extinguish the wrist curl
 
bbb said:
after you line up the shot and come down to the table surface
at that point my cue tip is NOT touching or close to the cue ball(probably an inch or 2 or more away)
at that point my forearm is perpendicular to the floor
when the cue tip is close to the cue ball its slightly foward
IS THAT BAD??


2)
in my first life as a pool player
i would line up the shot
get down on the table
make sure things "looked right"
stroke 1-2-3 hit
even cadence
no pause

now in my second life as a pool player trying to play "correctly"

i find most "comfortable " is to after a few warm up strokes to pause when the cue tip is close to the cue ball then pull back and follow thru
when i conciously try to pull back..pause... then follow thru it feels awkward
i know its only a matter of repetition

can this "reverse pause" work???

or should i keep forcing the back stroke pause??

i will say in the last few weeks my game has gone down since im thinking about so much and not doing what comes "naturally"( ie the way i did for years)

as ive said in prior posts
ill gladly go backward to get foward

your comments are appreciated:)
Click to expand...



No, it's not BAD. But perpendicular is better.
randyg
 
bbb... ALL poolplayers pause at the backswing (even those that don't think they do)...even if it's momentary. The good ones pause on purpose. Many rush the transition from backswing to forward stroke, causing grip issues which usually result in at least minor stroke errors on where and how you strike the CB. Again, like Randyg says...it's not how long you pause, but how smooth your transition is. Mine is very quick, at the backswing, but very smooth in the transition.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

bbb said:
that is what im doing now
pause at cue ball... deliberate backswing... follow thru
in a separate thread on a wrist curl problem
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=256300
the drill with the dot on the ferrule
and me focusing on the straight follow thru is helping to extinguish the wrist curl
Click to expand...
 
I think Fran is right, that a deliberate takeaway will accomplish pretty much the same as a pause. However, I do feel a pause is very useful as a training tool and as a means to get you back on track if your timing goes off.

I found the same thing you did when I first tried to pause. I found it very distracting. Eventually, what I had to do was actually make myself STOP--not pause, STOP and freeze for at least a second. Then I would try to stroke. It was really awkward at first. But as I stayed with it, I found I could stop and make a really smooth and accurate forward stroke. I found it very helpful because I had slipped into a quick transition and that cured it.

Now I don't stop on every stoke. But when I have to power a shot, or be extra precise, I find myself pausing unconsciously. It really helps me to focus and it allows me to accelerate the cue gradually. I like to spend a little time pausing whenever I practice; it just reinforces good habits.

So, even if you don't actually incorporate a pause in your backswing, the discipline you will derive from stopping in drills/practice will do you much good.
 
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