Aiming for power draw

[td873]

Any recommendations for the Houston area?

I'm in the Houston area, ha!

There are a fair number of pros for lessons in the Houston area. Roberto is here if you want world class, but there are also a lot of 700+ Fargo players/instructors. Depending on what you are looking for, you can get quality instruction in H-town. No prob.

-td

 

[dr_dave]

For those who want to learn more about this, check out the info and videos here:

power draw technique advice​

Here is the main video illustrating and demonstrating the power draw technique advice:

 

[dr_dave]

... another problem is that many people tense up during a draw shot, causing the tip to hit lower than it is at address. For those who want to improve draw shot effectiveness, consistency, and control, check out the videos and info here:

draw shot technique advice​

For those interested, here are the most useful videos from the resource page:

 

[Willowbrook Wolfy]

impressive
wish i could do that....
seems you had low left on many of your draw shots by the way the cue ball came off the head rail
was that on purpose?

No pus arm on that guy.

 

[bbb]

No, not on purpose. There are 2 main reasons I mis-hit these shots:
1) It is hard to cue the ball at that spot. The bridge distance is too short to use a normal table bridge, but too long for a good rail bridge (for me). This causes a small mis-hit on occasion.
2) Shooting with that much power exacerbates any mechanics issues (and I have plenty!).

-td

i wish i could hit them as "bad " as you....

 

[Zerksies]

how loose is very loose? fingertip- only loose like bustamante? I hold it "the baby bird" method. Firm enough that it is under full control and doesnt slip, but not a tight death grip on it. I actually grip the cue tight while getting down on the shot and into position, and then loosen up the grip when i start stroking. You dont want to drop that baby bird, but you dont want to squeeze it and hurt it. I have tried the extremely light grips before and could not control the cue and had zero feel for the shot. I can draw the cueball 9 foot table length.

You need to experiment and see what works for you

 

[eg9327]

Many people say concave tips are the best! Chalking is a pain, though.

View attachment 757813

OK, you made me laugh.

 

[eg9327]

Since the subject line was "aiming" for a power draw, I'll offer this…

For extreme draw shots, I aim at the very bottom of the ball. Pretty much where it touches the table. The reason being is that I know that with that particular strong stroke, my tendency is to drop my elbow and I end up actually striking the cue ball higher than where I initially aimed.

I suspect that a lot of other players do the same. The result is that they end up striking the cue ball higher than they actually think they are.

Again, just a personal perspective and ymmv...

Use a Jim Rempe practice cue ball and dirty chalk while practicing. You will know instantly where you actually strike the cue ball. My stroke had felt pretty "natural", but it was only when I started this did I realize how sloppy my stroke really was.

 

[Philthepockets]

Grip is the biggest factor, timing the tightening of the grip is often where it goes wrong. You start off loose and tighten too early the tip will rise and you will get less action. Practicing this shot looking only at the cueball is a good way to see what is happening through the stroke.

 

[Flakeandrun]

Hitting the cueball in the right place, timing and a healthy squeeze as you get through the ball at the end of the stroke. Long, straight draw is the only time I will adopt a loop/phillipino bridge.
Watch Judd Trump if you are interested in how draw works on a snooker table, or Ko Pin Yi on a pool table.

 

[Patrick Johnson]

Use a Jim Rempe practice cue ball and dirty chalk while practicing. You will know instantly where you actually strike the cue ball. My stroke had felt pretty "natural", but it was only when I started this did I realize how sloppy my stroke really was.

You might also try looking at the CB last while practicing draw - it's easier to hit where you're aiming on the CB and your arm will (eventually) learn that stroke.

In case it hasn't been mentioned already, don't forget to hit a little higher than max draw when the OB is far away.

pj
chgo

 

[David in FL]

In case it hasn't been mentioned already, don't forget to hit a little higher than max draw when the OB is far away.

pj
chgo

PJ, 'splain please...

 

[Flakeandrun]

PJ, 'splain please...

options are now either buckle yourself in, or leave the thread
jk jk

 

[Bob Jewett]

PJ, 'splain please...

It has already been explained in post 36. Hitting a little higher gets the cue ball there faster so it has less chance to lose backspin.

 

[tableroll]

I just tried the shot you suggested (shooting from 7 diamonds away) and it's actually hard to bridge from there. That said, on my 9' diamond I can get around 18-20 diamonds of draw, with a slightly elevated cue due to the rail. My cloth is maybe 4 years old, but the balls are pretty clean. I shoot with a Cuetec Cynergy 11.8 with whatever tip comes from the factory.

If I was going to guess, I would suggest that your intended tip position is different than your actual contact position. You can verify this by taking your phone and getting some video from the side when you shoot a draw shot. This will confirm/deny your contact point vs intended point, and perhaps illustrate how you can aim lower without getting to your miscue point.

View attachment 757822

Do you have new cloth? Has the Q ball been polished? I could not get that kinda draw from that distance unless the q ball was slick and clean. Yet you are quite accurate on the hit. I believe you are using a 9 foot table?

 

[David in FL]

It has already been explained in post 36. Hitting a little higher gets the cue ball there faster so it has less chance to lose backspin.

Thanks, I missed that one.

 

[BRKNRUN]

The one thing that never seems to get mentioned (on the draw shot) is the amount of tip movement from intended contact point..

It is fairly well known that with BHE side to side movement.....the longer the bridge length the more tip movement you get with smaller amounts of Back hand movement....

The same holds true for up and down movement.....The longer your bridge length is.....the more up and down tip movement you will get if your back hand is moving up or down a small amount on the forward stroke.

So the longer you make your bridge length on a draw shot......the more "perfect" your stroke needs to be....any "raise up" in the back hand during the stroke will magnify the down movement on the tip and thus......launch it off the table.

A way to combat that....Is to start with the tip on the cloth during alignment....(with your grip hand feeling a little higher than normal set up).....Not only does it give you a better view of center CB.......when your grip hand drops down to normal height...the tip raises up slightly but you are still hitting very low on the CB for maximum draw.

The other way to do it (which I suspect is the most common way) is to set up higher on the CB and because you tense up or raise up on the CB you actually hit a bit lower on the CB than you set up for an thus get a draw shot.

 

[td873]

Do you have new cloth? Has the Q ball been polished? I could not get that kinda draw from that distance unless the q ball was slick and clean. Yet you are quite accurate on the hit. I believe you are using a 9 foot table?

Cloth is the original stuff that came with the table in August 2020, so almost 4 years old. [9' Diamond, pro-cut pockets, Simonis 860 HR]. Balls are the new Ararmith 100 anniversary set. They have over 100 hours on them, but are generally clean because I run them through the ball cleaner once a week.

FWIW, here's a video from 2020 [when the cloth was still new]. Somewhat interestingly, it's about the same amount of draw.

-td

 

[gregcantrall]

Grip is the biggest factor, timing the tightening of the grip is often where it goes wrong. You start off loose and tighten too early the tip will rise and you will get less action. Practicing this shot looking only at the cueball is a good way to see what is happening through the stroke.

Barry Stark gives good guidance on youtube. His Grip lesson lead me to the ring finger as the trigger. It works! Well for me . Interesting that Barry doesn't teach cueball last but he can't deny the success some like Hendry and O'Sullivan attain doing it. I think you make a good point in that it can help in practice even if the other method is employed in competition.

 

[FeelDaShot]

I remember really struggling to draw the ball when I was first starting out. It seemed like I was doing everything right but the cueball wasn't drawing back. Eventually I figured out the problem. It was my follow through. I was striking the cue ball below center, but on the follow through the tip was raising up in the air. I fixed this by making a conscious effort to finish with my cue tip on the cloth. Once I fixed that little problem it was easy. Hopefully this will help.