Ambidextrous Shooting

jviss

jviss

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
What percentage of pool players regularly play both left and right handed?

Does anyone practice this? I was thinking I might pursue this, but I should probably learn to shoot properly right handed first!

By the way, I'm right handed, right dominant eye. Any tips for shooting left handed?
 
jviss said:
What percentage of pool players regularly play both left and right handed?

Does anyone practice this? I was thinking I might pursue this, but I should probably learn to shoot properly right handed first!

By the way, I'm right handed, right dominant eye. Any tips for shooting left handed?
Click to expand...

I'm right handed and found I was way more comfortable using my left hand versus a bridge or trying to stretch out using my right hand.

I don't break left handed and for whatever reason, I don't use a closed bridge left handed. Once I got past the initial awkwardness, I had no more issues.

Like anything else...practice.
 
I'm right handed.

Any shot that requires me to hit left handed, I do so.

Practice it, when I practice and those shots come up, yes. Practice it exclusively, hardly. If I'm playing someone I have beat frequently, I'll play them left handed sometimes, so long as they don't catch on.

It makes you remind yourself of the fundamentals.
 
jviss said:
What percentage of pool players regularly play both left and right handed?

Does anyone practice this? I was thinking I might pursue this, but I should probably learn to shoot properly right handed first!

By the way, I'm right handed, right dominant eye. Any tips for shooting left handed?
Click to expand...
Its great practice. Can get you out of jams. Buddy Hall used to play lefty REALLY sporty.
 
I can make routine shots left handed I don’t practice left hand shooting because it’s not something I need to do to often. With all the extensions and the bridges available a person shouldn’t have to shoot a shot off handed that often. However if it is just something you want to learn then by all means just practice and it will get better.
 
Years ago the guys i played with would do "opposite hand wednesdays". All day that day you had to play opposite-handed. On a big table it comes in really handy. You'd be surprised how quick this takes effect.
 
jviss said:
What percentage of pool players regularly play both left and right handed?

Does anyone practice this? I was thinking I might pursue this, but I should probably learn to shoot properly right handed first!

By the way, I'm right handed, right dominant eye. Any tips for shooting left handed?
Click to expand...
For what it's worth, there is a comparison of all the players at the Mosconi Cup in the current Billiards Digest and none of them shoots any significant shot wrong-handed. Mike Sigel and Keith McCready are two pool players who shoot almost equally well with their "wrong" hands. Mosconi was said to have run 75 right handed and then 75 left handed against Jackie Gleason, at which point Gleason was said to have caught on that Mosconi was probably not the dress merchant he had been introduced as.

And then there is Ronnie O'Sullivan.
 
jviss said:
What percentage of pool players regularly play both left and right handed?

Does anyone practice this? I was thinking I might pursue this, but I should probably learn to shoot properly right handed first!

By the way, I'm right handed, right dominant eye. Any tips for shooting left handed?
Click to expand...

I began practicing, for hours, playing opposite hand when I was 17. Best move I ever made. It's much easier to learn opposite hand than it was when you first started playing period because your brain now already knows how to play. It's simply a question of training proper motor-skills.

Opposite hand comes iin reallllyyyyyyy handy, trust me.

And to answer your first question, I would guess of the top 30 players in the world, probably 90% play opposite hand and of that 90%, I'm guessing at LEAST half of those play pretty F'ING sporty opposite hand.
 
I have never learned to shoot opposite handed and I believe my win/loss record would be no different, had I learned to do so.
 
Being comfortable to play shape for a wrong handed shot can and does extend a run. I actually have straighter cueing wrong handed, likely due to increased focus on my stroke. I do breakdown on power shots like punching CB across table or break shot. As far as practice goes, it doesn't take much. It isn't like the physics of the game changes because of the switch, just a few stroke drills works for me.
 
Bic D said:
I'm right handed and found I was way more comfortable using my left hand versus a bridge or trying to stretch out using my right hand.



I don't break left handed and for whatever reason, I don't use a closed bridge left handed. Once I got past the initial awkwardness, I had no more issues.



Like anything else...practice.
Click to expand...



I learned to play righty very young and have a chicken wing stroke there.....in a few years I was playing lefty a lot and switched full time by time I was in my teens.......

I mention that because of the bridge, I shoot the bridge with my right hand always, my arms used to being cocked out so it’s more natural to me.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
 
garczar said:
Years ago the guys i played with would do "opposite hand wednesdays". All day that day you had to play opposite-handed. On a big table it comes in really handy. You'd be surprised how quick this takes effect.
Click to expand...



Stevie Deason and I are both extremely adequate on the switch hit.....but we are naturally opposites I’d say I have better touch righty but he’s got a lot more power he can give lefty. We used to dick around practicing opposite handed against on3 another here and there. Great player that kid....I mean old man lol we all gettin old homie....what’s gonna happen with t’s billiards now that Tommy’s gone?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
 
10 years ago or so I would practice every Saturday for 3-4 hours. I'd spend a half hour of it shooting only lefty, including the breaks. After some time I was able to break and run lefty. I don't practice it anymore, but I shoot lefty shots frequently with ease. Some of the harder shots I screw up, but for basic lefty shots I switch and make them.
 
I play both ways, shoot a little better left handed, when it to potting balls. Play better position, have better feel with my right hand.
I am right handed, ever so slightly right eye dominant
 
Bob Jewett said:
For what it's worth, there is a comparison of all the players at the Mosconi Cup in the current Billiards Digest and none of them shoots any significant shot wrong-handed.
Click to expand...
I think the wording of this is subtle, but important. It wouldn't surprise me to find that several of those players are fairly proficient with their off hand, but when it comes down to the choice of using a mechanical bridge, shooting behind the back, choosing a different shot, or shooting with their off hand, the off-handed is the last resort.

Personally, the only time I will shoot with my off hand is if I just need to bump a hanger in and leave the CB nearby. For anything more than that, I am more comfortable controlling the CB when I shoot with the mechanical bridge.
 
There's a player out of Lasing, MI who can play either hand. Larry (won't reveal last name)..has run 150 numerous times left and right handed. Somewhat of a freak. Actually he recommends practicing for a month straight exclusively with whichever hand you're working on.
 
Bob Jewett said:
For what it's worth, there is a comparison of all the players at the Mosconi Cup in the current Billiards Digest and none of them shoots any significant shot wrong-handed. Mike Sigel and Keith McCready are two pool players who shoot almost equally well with their "wrong" hands. Mosconi was said to have run 75 right handed and then 75 left handed against Jackie Gleason, at which point Gleason was said to have caught on that Mosconi was probably not the dress merchant he had been introduced as.

And then there is Ronnie O'Sullivan.
Click to expand...

And virtually all of the top 3c players shoot with the off hand as needed. I have seen a couple, most notably the late Sang Lee, who do the behind the back thing rather than shoot with the off-hand. I don't think I've ever seen a top international 3c player shoot with a mechanical bridge in all of the hundreds of hours I've watched on kozoom and youtube.
 
I remember seeing Keith end a set for the money shooting
a 4-9 combo left-handed.. “How about lefty for the cheese?”
... he made it look easy.
 
I routinely play with either hand. I generally play right handed. but frequently shoot shots left handed and may continue for several shots or even racks. I almost never use a bridge, I simply play left handed. When I was actually trying to get in stroke, I would commonly play my right hand against my left hand.


As to advice for doing so, its really quite simple. You simply reverse the mechanics, plain and simple. I have used many different strokes in my life, I have always been able to play with the same stroke left handed as I did right handed. While I can indeed break left handed, its not as good as my right handed break primarily because I do not have as much control left handed as I do right handed. As I said simply reverse the mechanics and practice. Learning any skill requires dedication and repetition.
 
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