Am I ever going to get the hang of this?

You're close Sam...It's THINK WITHOUT SHOOTING, and SHOOT WITHOUT THINKING. It basically means do your thinking standing up, have a well-practiced routine, so that when you bend down to the table, you can execute accurately, within about 10 seconds.

To the OP(jcommie)...Join the billiards club at UIUC. The president of the club is Jack Montgomery. He sometimes posts here under his own name (like I do). He has had instruction from me, and can help you with the knowledge you seek. Plus, you will find many others that you can practice efficiently with.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

poolplayer2093 said:
sounds like you're thinking too much. i think scott lee said something ( i can't remember exactly but the jist of it was ) think while you practice, do while you play.
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Already joined IBC, before I even knew of Jack. Did it for the table time discounts :D

We usually meet on Saturday mornings, but several meetings have been canceled due to all sorts of stuff. Only had chance to do 3.

To everyone else worried about my grades, no sweat. I'm keepin it above 3.5 atm, so I should be good to go. Sure, I can shoot for the insane 3.8-4.0, but I'm just not a perfectionist when it comes to things I'm not obsessed with. My OCD chooses what parts of my life it wants to take over :D
 
Making adjustments to your game can hinder your performance short term. Keep focusing on fixing your fundamentals. It will pay off in the long run. Now is the time ti invest in some billiard instruction from a local instructor or pro/ short stop. If you do this now you will not give yourself time to develop bad habits. I played pool for about 2 years with horrible fundamentals. Sure I could shoot decent but my improvement would be limited because of my form. I seen an instructor once a week for at least 2hours for a few months. Well worth it. Dont give up on the game. Billiards requires extreme amounts of focus, practice and persistance. There are some informative videos on the internet that can help you a bit. Check out Dr.Dave billiard instruction. I hope this has been a bit of help. Good luck and keep shooting!:thumbup:
 
Everyone is giving you some really good information as well as motivation to stay in the game! Keep at it. Sorry that I forgot about this in my first post, but this is equally as important...... Billiard Etiquette. In order for other shooters to respect you even if you are a beginner is learn the etiquette of this game. Here is an article from generation pool website, which I found to contain some good list of billiard etiquette. If you are going to take this sport serious, this list of etiquette, learn it and live it.

Every sport or recreation has its guidelines when it comes to etiquette, and billiards is no different. It helps to be familiar with these sometimes un-written rules when you try something new, and it makes it much easier and less stressful to know them ahead of time. Here are some of the basic dos and don'ts in the billiard room.

A. Respect your opponent and those around you.


1. No sharking!
I figure this is a good place to start. Contrary to popular belief, sharking has no place in billiards. Sit or stand away from the table when your opponent is shooting. This one ought to be a no-brainer, but it's amazing how often I see a player minding their own business, trying to focus on a shot, only to have their opponent standing inches away, breathing down the shooter's neck. Some recreational sharks even go as far as placing themselves straight in line with the shot, "accidentally" twitching in the middle of the shooter's back stroke. It's not only impolite and rude, but moves like these-intentional or not- won't win you any popularity contests with the regulars in your local billiard room. So please. Have a seat.

2. Speak softly; control your language and temper.
A billiard room is a place where men, women and children should be able to feel comfortable. So respect those around you by lowering your voice, mind your Ps and Qs and keep in mind how you would feel if the player on the neighboring table were to yell on the top of his or her lungs, just as you were lining up a game winner?

3. Mind your attire
Before heading to the poolroom, picture yourself bending over the pool table and dress accordingly. We all have different levels of modesty and comfort and therefore there is no set rule of thumb I can recommend here. (But trust me ladies, I always do a mirror check before I head to a match.) Most important is to feel comfortable and free to focus on the game and have fun.

4. Respect your opponent before, during and after the match.
See the points above, and always keep in mind the old saying - Treat and respect others the way you would want to be treated. And please. Unless someone asks for your input, don't coach others unless asked. This tidbit of advice will help save many marriages and friendships, believe me?
When shooting, always keep one foot on the floor.
Getting up on the table is a no, no. This is not only etiquette, but a rule of the game. No exceptions.
Make it a point to be a gracious winner and a good loser.
'Nough' said...

B. Respect the equipment



1. Keep food, drinks and cigarettes off the table.Not complying with this suggestion can end up having an even more dramatic conclusion than simply irritating your opponent. Replacing the cloth on the pool table is not cheap and it's amazing the damage a black Russian, a sticky soda or some barbecue sauce can do to the cloth. If at a billiard room, the proprietor will probably only give you one warning before you're faced with having to find a new place to play, while chances of being invited back to a homeowner's Christmas party after a major spill are slim.

2. Respect the property of the room owner, and play by the "house" rules.
If there is a sign on the wall stating "No Jump or Masse' Shots allowed" then go with that. Even if you're a somewhat accomplished player, house rules rule?

3. No sitting on the table.
Spend some time in a billiard room and you'll undoubtedly hear someone get yelled at from across the room to "get off the table!" This is an embarrassment that is easily avoidable. Unless a shot absolutely requires it, never sit on the edge of the table. The pool table has been meticulously leveled, ensuring that the ball travels the path you send it on, and excessive leaning on the rail will undo that work over time. In extreme cases, the slate seam can even crack!

4. Avoid powder at all cost.
Another popular misconception is that hand powder is a staple in the billiard room. Not so. True, there are some places that will supply a talc cone, and talc is by far the lesser of two evils, but both get in the cloth and on the balls, thus affecting the game and the equipment. Try instead to use a glove. It may take some time to get used to, but if your hands are extremely sweaty, then it's worth the effort.

5. Keep clean!
This is one of my personal pet peeves. Do not place the chalk upside down on the rail after chalking or you'll leave chalk residue on the rail that ends up getting everywhere. After chalking, place the chalk side up. This way, after a game you, your clothes and the table won't be covered in blue.

6. Leave everything the way you found it.
Finally, keep in mind to replace everything just the way you found it. The rack and the mechanical bridge both have their place on the table and if you borrowed a "house cue," return it to where you found it and don't forget to bring the balls back to the counter!
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another thing is to never drag your hand across the felt after a shot, just lay your bridge down, shoot, and pick your hand right back up. Not only do you keep the felt clean and not mess up the directional flow of the felt, you also keep you hands clean. In result, clean hands=clean cue. If you want to know what I mean, before a game starts and before you brush the table, try to drag your clean hand across the table and see what color it turns.

Any how, hope to see you around here and keep us updated on your progress, would love to know and help as much as I can. Have a good one.

Chino
 
Once a week for 2 hours, for a few months. Wow, at 50 dollars an hour, that's 100 a week, or 400 a month. 400 a month is like rent money o_O
I'd have to work 16 hours a week to pay for that, and have enough left over for my cell phone bill and some food. Maybe I should just talk to some of the old guys I see there shooting straight pool. :D
 
jcommie said:
Once a week for 2 hours, for a few months. Wow, at 50 dollars an hour, that's 100 a week, or 400 a month. 400 a month is like rent money o_O
I'd have to work 16 hours a week to pay for that, and have enough left over for my cell phone bill and some food. Maybe I should just talk to some of the old guys I see there shooting straight pool. :D
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I understand exactly where you are coming from, I am also a college student. We are constantly between a rock and a hard place when it comes to money (Unless you have wealthy parents). Read all the post that we have posted, invest the time to read them, it should help you shoot better. You don't have to get lessons or etc. I am sure there are plenty of experienced players who never got lessons, but just learned how to shoot by playing and practicing. For that kind of money, I'd suggest you invest in a good cue&case and other cue tools and accessories to maintain your cue. For $400 a month, I'd say for a beginner, that is a more than enough cue to get you started.

Here is a quote that a Pool Room owner/mentor told me "There is nothing a thousand hours cannot correct and cure." That means, practice, practice, and practice. Shoot until you don't want to shoot and shoot some more. That's how you become a shooter.

Though I am a beginner and I suggest to all that this is my humble opinion, so please don't take offense to it. I have seen guys coming into the pool room only once and sometimes twice a week. Staying for no longer than 2 hours a time. These guys walk in with thousand dollar cues, Schon, Vikings, etc wrapped in cases that cost more than my parent's mortage payment.

They shoot like crap and they have no respect for the sport, what-so-ever. These are what I call posers, people who shoot just to tell people they shoot. They don't reall like the sport. Either they are putting up a front for action. Which in term, a hustler, or they are going to be the ones who get hustled.

I don't know how far you are willing to take it, but I wish you the best in whatever you decide to do.

Chino
 
I'm currently in the process of trying to find a cue I like hitting with. I bought a bunch at what I felt to be okay prices, hit with them, and then resell them if I don't like them. I try to break even, but occasionally I do incur losses, but that's okay, its worth it to try out a cue.

I have a John Davis blanked Barnhart coming my way with an ivory joint and a G10 composite pin which will most likely become my playing cue until I'm strapped for cash. I absolutely HATE the feel of SS, I have no idea why but hitting with them just feels wrong. And yes, I'm totally asinine for trying to buy my game, but that stick was just too pretty to pass up.

If I like my Barnhart, expect a massive sale of my other cues in the near future :D
 
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jcommie said:
I'm currently in the process of trying to find a cue I like hitting with. I bought a bunch at what I felt to be okay prices, hit with them, and then resell them if I don't like them. I try to break even, but occasionally I do incur losses, but that's okay, its worth it to try out a cue.

I have a John Davis blanked Barnhart coming my way with an ivory joint and a G10 composite pin which will most likely become my playing cue until I'm strapped for cash. I absolutely HATE the feel of SS, I have no idea why but hitting with them just feels wrong. And yes, I'm totally asinine for trying to buy my game, but that stick was just too pretty to pass up.

If I like my Barnhart, expect a massive sale of my other cues in the near future :D
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:D I understand what you are saying. That John Davis should be a hell of a cue, my dad has a one piece Davis, and he loves it. Send me a PM of the cues you have for sell, I might take some off of your hands if I see some I like. I went to the billiard store last night, and was helping my friend shop for a cue. I picked up a Schmelke 16oz, and I instantly fell in love with it. I just had to have it. We all know how that goes right? :o
Schmelke is not a very high-end cue, but it was good for my price range and had a hell of a shaft. My friends laughed at me when I told them I got a 16oz. and told me I am shooting with a toy, but I was the one smiling at the end of the game (Not because I won by a hair, but because I got a new cue that I like!:) ).

Chino
 
This guy starts plaing in Oct. 08 he already knows about playing shape, bottom english, top english, stun, ordered a Barnhart, What a John Davis blank is, has a bunch of cues, ect. I could go on But I Smell a Fish Here!
 
I play regularly against a friend who comments on my play. He's no instructor but his pointers do help and he does seem to know what he's talking about. I've yet to miss a shot that he points out. I learned how to bank and cut frozen rail balls from watching him. The only times I win is when I luck out on the 9 either on the break or unintentional combo, or when he scratches on the 8 due to it being a cross table crooked shot on a 9 foot Brunswick and the 9 ball just happens to be an inch away from the corner pocket.

Grandparents sent me a couple grand for a bunch of accomplishments. Gramps told me to spend it doing something I love, hence, the Barnhart. Also, it wasn't a custom order, I got the cue off of someone else who told me it was a "Davis blank", yada yada yada.

You can smell a fish all you want, but in Champaign, the only places to play pool are bars on campus and the UIUC rec room, and none of them are advertised. I'm a townie, so I grew up in Champaign, and trust me, unless you seriously look for it, you won't find a pool hall/table. Also, I just turned 18 so bars were out of the question, and I just learned about the rec room this year since I became a Freshman there. If you're still paranoid, PM me and I'll send you a photo of my student ID.

PS: I suck at playing position. All I do in nine ball is try to pot the balls one by one. Yes, this does mean I shaft myself on a regular basis. :D I also suck at follow, I can't get the cue ball to do that pretty little curve after cutting with follow. You know, like where the cue ball seems to accelerate instead of decelerate after hitting the object ball. Stun isn't too bad, most of the time I just give the cue ball a tap and it stuns correctly. Draw is probably my favorite although I do occasionally scoop the ball if I use an open bridge.

Edit: The fact that I started out on Brunswick GC III's with narrow ass pockets (something like 3-3.5 inches?) probably has to do with my drive and success in improving as much as I have. I can't tell you how many times I've sledgehammered a straight shot into a corner pocket with draw, only to have that darned pocket spit it back out. But lately I've been in a total slump. :(
 
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jcommie said:
I started playing pool in October of 08, after getting acquainted with my campus. I'm a Freshman @ UIUC, and we have a nifty little rec room with 9 foot brunswick GC III's. Back in Oct, I checked the rec room out, saw the tables, and decided I would try to learn how to play pool out of curiosity. After failing at it (first time playing) for about half an hour, another guy comes up and asks me if I wanna play some 9 ball and split the bill on table time. Needless to say I got owned, but at least he taught me the basics (sorta). After that day, we regularly got together, and he would continue to dominate me.

Problem is, I haven't seen a lot of improvement. Heck, these few weeks, I'm actually playing a lot worse than before. I know I don't practice a lot, since I play on and off of an average of 4 hours a week, but it just seems like im not making progress. I remember pocketing tons of shots by aiming, but my aim has been funky lately, stuff that I feel I aimed right just doesn't work out. Straight shots into pockets turn into unintentional cuts. I reckon it may be because I unintentionally give the cue a "twist" at the end of my stroke when I hit hard, but I've been working on correcting that.

Maybe I'm just not cut out to be a good player, maybe it was all beginners luck when I used to somewhat consistently make cross table banks into corner pockets and all sorts of crazy cuts back in November. Has anyone had this kind of experience where you play great for a month or two, but after correcting your stroke, or fixing stuff that was "wrong" with how you play, you end up sucking more?
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It probably takes more than 4 hours a week to see much improvement. Even then it might be slow improvement over time instead of steady improvement.
 
Klink said:
This guy starts plaing in Oct. 08 he already knows about playing shape, bottom english, top english, stun, ordered a Barnhart, What a John Davis blank is, has a bunch of cues, ect. I could go on But I Smell a Fish Here!
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:D I learned this one from a comedian Dov Davidoff. He said,"If you ever got to think about using double ply (condoms), just don't do it."

I am a beginner shooter and nothing can really harm me, because I don't gamble anything. Maybe I'm what some people call a hobbiest :) I just play the sport and thrive to get better with every shot.

Here is a link to another thread that just started, great video:
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=127780

Chino
 
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All I am pointing out is the terminology you use "sledgehammered a shot" and the knowledge you have, all point to an experienced player.That you know or even pay attention to the kind of table you are playing on (Brunswick GC) much less the model (III) or the size of the pockets would be unusual for a person only playing 2.5 months.
 
I know what kind of table because I saw one on youtube that was exactly like the one I play on and they called it a gold crown 3. After talking with some people at my billiards club they said they were GCIII's or GCII's. Any you can learn a lot just by listening to what people have to say, or even what people post on here. Just from yesterday looking around the forums, I learned that Eric Crisp makes sugartrees and he's backlogged to hell, Barnharts are awesome and appreciate reasonably well, the difference between a full splice and half splice, that Sigel cues have little resale value, that Predator shafts are made in China (not from this forum), etc.

The term sledgehammer is something I picked up after seeing cues named after the word. I figured it was a term, turns out I was right. I didn't get into a University on good looks alone ;)
 
... to what? Im thinking business or econ major, so all I'll amount to is a paper pusher with a decent salary if I'm lucky :D. Then again, it won't be a super-hard job and will give me time to pursue hobbies and such. Pool being one.
 
jcommie...You should have invested some of that couple thousand in professional lessons. Much more worthwhile (and a MUCH greater payback) than spending hundreds on some fancy cue. Your own statement is that you still "suck", even though you have the fancy cue.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

jcommie said:
Grandparents sent me a couple grand for a bunch of accomplishments. Gramps told me to spend it doing something I love, hence, the Barnhart. Also, it wasn't a custom order, I got the cue off of someone else who told me it was a "Davis blank", yada yada yada.

PS: I suck at playing position. All I do in nine ball is try to pot the balls one by one. Yes, this does mean I shaft myself on a regular basis. :D I also suck at follow, I can't get the cue ball to do that pretty little curve after cutting with follow. You know, like where the cue ball seems to accelerate instead of decelerate after hitting the object ball. Stun isn't too bad, most of the time I just give the cue ball a tap and it stuns correctly. Draw is probably my favorite although I do occasionally scoop the ball if I use an open bridge.

But lately I've been in a total slump. :(
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