Ask Fast Larry Any Question
- Thread starter fast larry
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THE SILENCER said:
If you usually miss anything, you are far from the pro level. In 8-ball, it is not always possible that you leave yourself very close and straight-in on the 8-ball. You gotta take what the table leaves you. Even a "B" player knows that!
someone needs to tell him ...
to Bernie, The silencer:
If you are close to Pro level, you will never have a tough shot on the 8 except maybe 1 out of 500 games.... because your shape will be good at all times ...
Do you live in a small town with 1 pool table? If you haven't gambled for 4 figures or more a set, you are nowhere even close to Pro level .... sorry, didn't mean to hurt your feelings ... you probably just need more exposure to the level of play out there....
to Bernie, The silencer:
If you are close to Pro level, you will never have a tough shot on the 8 except maybe 1 out of 500 games.... because your shape will be good at all times ...
Do you live in a small town with 1 pool table? If you haven't gambled for 4 figures or more a set, you are nowhere even close to Pro level .... sorry, didn't mean to hurt your feelings ... you probably just need more exposure to the level of play out there....
fast larry
Banned
THE SILENCER said:
Yes I fully understand, the Chinese call the left brain, monkey brain, it just has to be silenced. It jabbers at your like a monkey. All voices must be silenced. You must play with a total empty brain with no thought just by feel. You all know I have been writing a book and it's only one third finished. I hope to have it out by mid summer and when it is, it will be ground breaking. It will change how all of you think and play to win. It is on this subject. All of your questions will be solved.
When you miss a easy shot, you have lost focus and concentration. In the future I will teach you how to go in and out of the deep zone at will and missing in the zone is then not possible.
fast larry
Banned
tshot said:
Hows things in Texas, nobody put you in a full nelson and made you go into this thread and live it. You came in here out of curiosity or to ask questions or to learn something. What is wrong with that. Players are realizing they ask me a question, they get a straight and honest answer with no bs attached. Pool players like that. That is why if you go back and study all the past threads listed, they are on 10 pages you can view, you see this is the largest thread on AZ in the archives, 83 replies, 3,426 views and 6 pages.
You can go on the chat board www.billiards-pool.net and the same thread is on there as well, ask fast any question and it has pulled 79 replies, 3.447 views and 8 pages.
I don't think a thread on ccb ever pulled that much. All this says, is people who play pool want answers they trust. They want it straight and they want to trust what they get.
I am doing nothing to keep this thread alive, you guys are. Frankly I wish it would die. I went around the world for a month and you kept it alive while I was gone.
Any questions you guys ask, I answer, that's the deal. That is what I promised on page 1, that I have now delivered.
fast larry
Banned
Top Spin said:"i believe i could beat any pro on earth"
"when i'm on the 8-ball if i'm not straight in and perfectly easily close, i usually miss"
Sounds like an oxymoron...
Just kidding and having a little fun. No disrespect. I'm looking forward to FL's response.
It is chess on wheels, pool at the highest level every one who's played there totally agrees it is 90% mental once the basics and the stroke is grooved. Pool to me is nothing but chess which is why I play Cribbage and Rotation all of the time and try to avoid 9 ball. The only sport that requires more thinking, focus, advanced planning and concentration is chess, nothing else comes close to pool. Golf does not even come close, tennis does.
fast larry
Banned
Sounds like an oxymoron...
What is that, try not to use these hi faluten words with me, remember I am a simple farm boy from Oswatomie, Kansas. I just opened up a 2nd office in north Georgia and you will never guess where it is. Mount Airy, yes, Goober and Opie work in the office. To get to my new place you turn off the main road and go 10 miles down the gravel road, turn at the forest fire ranger tower, go 15 miles to the deer locker and processing plant, turn and head 5 more miles past the chicken house, turn and head up the road and cross the creek, make the first turn up the mountain. If you all come up there un announced, if my 6 coon dogs dont get ya, my double barreled 10 guage with turkey shot in it will. That is my idea of paradise.
Oxymoron, that's those guys who go in these high priced discos, buy $25 shots of booze and sniff oxygen when air is free, does guys are morons, oxy morons.
What is that, try not to use these hi faluten words with me, remember I am a simple farm boy from Oswatomie, Kansas. I just opened up a 2nd office in north Georgia and you will never guess where it is. Mount Airy, yes, Goober and Opie work in the office. To get to my new place you turn off the main road and go 10 miles down the gravel road, turn at the forest fire ranger tower, go 15 miles to the deer locker and processing plant, turn and head 5 more miles past the chicken house, turn and head up the road and cross the creek, make the first turn up the mountain. If you all come up there un announced, if my 6 coon dogs dont get ya, my double barreled 10 guage with turkey shot in it will. That is my idea of paradise.
Oxymoron, that's those guys who go in these high priced discos, buy $25 shots of booze and sniff oxygen when air is free, does guys are morons, oxy morons.
J
jacko
Guest
fast larry said:
Everyone I see and everything I have been taught says use one grip on the cue. You are saying to use different grips, is that correct? Can you elaborate on that please, I am confused.
P
Pin
Guest
Hi Fast,
I've been having a lot of success with your '3 friggin balls' drill, working on 10 attempts per day for the last month or so. I've improved surprisingly quickly and am currently running them at around 70% of the time.
I've also been practicing my cueing and potting, and have seen big improvements in both.
I think the next step is for me to improve my positional play. More specifically I want to be able to better control where I stop the cue ball - from both in the speed of the ball and its path after hitting the OB.
Do you have any drills you can recommend to work on this?
Thanks,
Pin
I've been having a lot of success with your '3 friggin balls' drill, working on 10 attempts per day for the last month or so. I've improved surprisingly quickly and am currently running them at around 70% of the time.
I've also been practicing my cueing and potting, and have seen big improvements in both.
I think the next step is for me to improve my positional play. More specifically I want to be able to better control where I stop the cue ball - from both in the speed of the ball and its path after hitting the OB.
Do you have any drills you can recommend to work on this?
Thanks,
Pin
controlling the cue ball
Pin, First, you have to realize you are the one with the brain, not the cue ball.
Second, set up the same shot, and shoot it with 9 different types of english (surely you can figure out where I mean on the cue ball 3 across and 3 down matrix). Watch where the cueball goes with each shot. That's the way I started out. Most shots you won't have to do, but the ones that 'bother' you, you should do this with.
Third, cut a 6" circle out of paper, and lay it on the table where you want the cue ball to be after shooting the shot. Keep practicing until you come real close or on the paper circle for most of your shots tried.
This is a little bit 'ole school', but it works, and you will build on it from there.
Pin, First, you have to realize you are the one with the brain, not the cue ball.
Second, set up the same shot, and shoot it with 9 different types of english (surely you can figure out where I mean on the cue ball 3 across and 3 down matrix). Watch where the cueball goes with each shot. That's the way I started out. Most shots you won't have to do, but the ones that 'bother' you, you should do this with.
Third, cut a 6" circle out of paper, and lay it on the table where you want the cue ball to be after shooting the shot. Keep practicing until you come real close or on the paper circle for most of your shots tried.
This is a little bit 'ole school', but it works, and you will build on it from there.
Hello Fast. An oxymoron is simply words or comments that are in contradiction with each other. A humorous and basic example came from George Carlin when he spoke of "Jumbo shrimp" and how that sounds like such an impossibility!
I found Silencer's comments equally contradictory when in one breath he said he is at such a high level that he could beat any pro on earth, then two lines later he says he usually misses the 8 ball unless straight in and "perfectly" close!
I find it odd that he now has a thread called "ask the Silencer any question on 8 ball". Hmmmm...I'm not sold yet. Nevertheless, I will read that thread to see what kind of fruit the tree bares.
P.S. Fast Larry, I very much enjoy your comments and your colorful, straight forward personality. I disagree with anyone that has the nerve to say your answers and responses are too long or not appreciated- in fact, thank you for taking the time! I remain completely entertained. Regards.
I found Silencer's comments equally contradictory when in one breath he said he is at such a high level that he could beat any pro on earth, then two lines later he says he usually misses the 8 ball unless straight in and "perfectly" close!
I find it odd that he now has a thread called "ask the Silencer any question on 8 ball". Hmmmm...I'm not sold yet. Nevertheless, I will read that thread to see what kind of fruit the tree bares.
P.S. Fast Larry, I very much enjoy your comments and your colorful, straight forward personality. I disagree with anyone that has the nerve to say your answers and responses are too long or not appreciated- in fact, thank you for taking the time! I remain completely entertained. Regards.
fast larry
Banned
jacko said:
Sure on my jump cue and shot, I hold it with thumb and index finger and just throw the cue at the cue ball and let the tip bounce off of it.
Le Masse, I hold the cue in the european fashion, not in the American fashion like you see Gerni and Masse do. I have all four finger tips just riding on the outside of the masse cue.
On my playing cue, if I want to cinch a long hard shot all my fingers are on the cue, if I want to hit a big stroke shot, I then take fingers off, I might use 1-2 or 3, it depends. It's hard to describe, my pool school will be traveling the entire NE this march and be in Vegas for a month April to May, catch a clinic and see it live, then and only then will you be able to see where these fingers go and why.
fast larry
Banned
Top Spin said:
I thank you sir for your words of support and encouragement. I will not be driven into posting answers in sound bites for those who have limited iq's and short attention spans. The ones bitching probably only ready the funny papers any way. If I am going to teach here, then I have to explain things in detail and that takes print. Not all of my answers are long, some are short. There is no law that says you have to read what I write and post, your option is there to just skip over it. Some want to learn here, some already know all there is to know and you can't teach them nothing.
fast larry
Banned
How long is my stroke?
A player writes fast an email and asks:
Hi Fast Larry,
I have been practising the 5" stroke as stated in your website.
It stated there to pull the cue back til the ferrule is almost hidden.
Do I have to pull the cue back til the ferrule for all the 5",7",9" or 11"
stroke?
Can I just pull the back 2 or 3 inches and follow through til the
12",14",16" respectively?
Thanks for taking the time to answer the questions.
Hope to see you again when you are in Singapore in October this year.
Yours Sincerely
Terence
This is Fast, thanks for writing.
I'll be back in Hong Kong this June on tour, I am playing in the world artistic championship in Japan this fall and both times on both trips I am coming down to Singapore and will be setting up the pool school there again.
Yes, in fact what you described; that is what I do. Most of my shots are using the 7" length bridge, total accuracy I go to 5. Power, I move up to 9 or 11. Using the different bridge lengths is for speed control, you limit how much power you can put on the shot. When I plant, I try and make 3 or 4 strokes the entire length I have allotted me to stroke in. If it is a power stroke and I have set a 9" bridge then I stroke back and forth that entire 9" pulling the ferrule in where you can’t see it in my hand and making a 9" follow through back to the cue ball. I want to give my self the feeling of the power needed for the shot.
Then I go into a little series of jabs, very short strokes that are no more than 1 or 2" long, eyes on ob, cb, then on ob for a couple of these and I pause. When I get cpu green, cpu says I am locked on the shot, and then it’s a straight pull back and straight follows through into and through the cue ball. My pause is only for a second.
Others are pausing on the end of the backstroke; we are doing the same thing. Our methods are very similar. Nobody in golf pauses on the back of their swing; they do a pause just before they turn it loose. That is where my method came from, golf. When your final strokes are 1" long, what is there to go wrong, and then you make the full pull back of 9" and the full long follow through. You become very accurate with this very quick.
Mike Sigel, Allen Hopkins and the greatest 9 baller of all time Luther Lassiter used this method of the little jab strokes. Many of the ladies on tour today are doing this also, their jabs may be 3" long, but they are using that method, i.e., Jeanette Lee and Allison Fisher and most of her copy cat wannabees.
I have a DVD planned for this subject, how to build a stroke like a robot, it will be the 7th one coming out in my series, so you wont see it until the fall.
The draw technique I taught you will be my first DVD out; I am working on that one now. I plan to put some world class killer draw trick and power artistic shots on the end of it just to show what can be done on the draw at the highest level of skill obtainment. I have planned 40 such shots. Several of these I have invented and they have never been seen or published before. I will have so much on this course it is going to be several hours long and on two CD's in one case. Everything you need to have a pro level smoking draw or screw will be there. Finally, the lovely deep screw you see the experts just lightly touch and it explodes back will be owned and mastered by all who own and master the DVD.
A player writes fast an email and asks:
Hi Fast Larry,
I have been practising the 5" stroke as stated in your website.
It stated there to pull the cue back til the ferrule is almost hidden.
Do I have to pull the cue back til the ferrule for all the 5",7",9" or 11"
stroke?
Can I just pull the back 2 or 3 inches and follow through til the
12",14",16" respectively?
Thanks for taking the time to answer the questions.
Hope to see you again when you are in Singapore in October this year.
Yours Sincerely
Terence
This is Fast, thanks for writing.
I'll be back in Hong Kong this June on tour, I am playing in the world artistic championship in Japan this fall and both times on both trips I am coming down to Singapore and will be setting up the pool school there again.
Yes, in fact what you described; that is what I do. Most of my shots are using the 7" length bridge, total accuracy I go to 5. Power, I move up to 9 or 11. Using the different bridge lengths is for speed control, you limit how much power you can put on the shot. When I plant, I try and make 3 or 4 strokes the entire length I have allotted me to stroke in. If it is a power stroke and I have set a 9" bridge then I stroke back and forth that entire 9" pulling the ferrule in where you can’t see it in my hand and making a 9" follow through back to the cue ball. I want to give my self the feeling of the power needed for the shot.
Then I go into a little series of jabs, very short strokes that are no more than 1 or 2" long, eyes on ob, cb, then on ob for a couple of these and I pause. When I get cpu green, cpu says I am locked on the shot, and then it’s a straight pull back and straight follows through into and through the cue ball. My pause is only for a second.
Others are pausing on the end of the backstroke; we are doing the same thing. Our methods are very similar. Nobody in golf pauses on the back of their swing; they do a pause just before they turn it loose. That is where my method came from, golf. When your final strokes are 1" long, what is there to go wrong, and then you make the full pull back of 9" and the full long follow through. You become very accurate with this very quick.
Mike Sigel, Allen Hopkins and the greatest 9 baller of all time Luther Lassiter used this method of the little jab strokes. Many of the ladies on tour today are doing this also, their jabs may be 3" long, but they are using that method, i.e., Jeanette Lee and Allison Fisher and most of her copy cat wannabees.
I have a DVD planned for this subject, how to build a stroke like a robot, it will be the 7th one coming out in my series, so you wont see it until the fall.
The draw technique I taught you will be my first DVD out; I am working on that one now. I plan to put some world class killer draw trick and power artistic shots on the end of it just to show what can be done on the draw at the highest level of skill obtainment. I have planned 40 such shots. Several of these I have invented and they have never been seen or published before. I will have so much on this course it is going to be several hours long and on two CD's in one case. Everything you need to have a pro level smoking draw or screw will be there. Finally, the lovely deep screw you see the experts just lightly touch and it explodes back will be owned and mastered by all who own and master the DVD.
fast larry
Banned
Hi top spin, Yes this guy has me confused as well, I am sure he will get it together soon. Give the guy a chance, don't chop him off at the knees. Yes Carlin is one of my favorite comics, a little crude, but that’s his stick. That is what makes him funny. I was pulling your leg some; yes I do know what an oxymoron is. I have a dictionary and a full set of enclyopedias and use them every day. Yes I am a farm boy, but some think I am just a moron pool hustler or some southern red neck. Before I became a pool pro a decade ago, since the 60’s I have been in sales working for or selling to the fortune 500 worlds.
I have a college degree in business; I have worked for major corporations in NYC and Silicon Valley since the 60’s. I was an international sales and marketing manager and have worked for two fortune 10 companies, AT&T & IBM. I have a 152 IQ so I am not dumb nor did I climb to executive positions or work for these prestige companies by being dumb. Most pro players could not even get an interview with them. I am an electronic engineer by trade and have spent my life selling very high tech equipment. I was at the first Comdex convention and everyone held since then. I left the corporate world because I made enough to retire and just play for the rest of my life, which is what I do now, play for a living. The corporate BS just finally wore me out and I had to get away from it. I am very mis understood. Few know who I really am and what I can do. Today, I do what I want, when I feel like it and answer to no one. That is my definition of total success in life. Having total independence, I can go any where I choose, any time I choose. Total freedom as well. That is why you don’t see me kissing a lot of asses on these boards, because I do not give a flip, I just tell it like it is, some can handle it, some can not.
I have a college degree in business; I have worked for major corporations in NYC and Silicon Valley since the 60’s. I was an international sales and marketing manager and have worked for two fortune 10 companies, AT&T & IBM. I have a 152 IQ so I am not dumb nor did I climb to executive positions or work for these prestige companies by being dumb. Most pro players could not even get an interview with them. I am an electronic engineer by trade and have spent my life selling very high tech equipment. I was at the first Comdex convention and everyone held since then. I left the corporate world because I made enough to retire and just play for the rest of my life, which is what I do now, play for a living. The corporate BS just finally wore me out and I had to get away from it. I am very mis understood. Few know who I really am and what I can do. Today, I do what I want, when I feel like it and answer to no one. That is my definition of total success in life. Having total independence, I can go any where I choose, any time I choose. Total freedom as well. That is why you don’t see me kissing a lot of asses on these boards, because I do not give a flip, I just tell it like it is, some can handle it, some can not.
fast larry
Banned
LastTwo said:
Yes you are correct, rarely do you totally control every game. If the other guy wins and breaks bad then it becomes hard to run out, sometimes impossible. You get a lot of long cuts and banks to win on shooting the 8 ball. Having nothing but straight in close up shots on the 8 ball is nothing but arm chair fantasies. The shot maker is the winner at this game.
P
pocoloco12003
Guest
I heard you at the last Hopkins event telling a student during a clinic you were doing, stroke it, don't poke it. Would you elobrate on that for me please, people tell me I sort of jab the ball when I strike it, is that bad?
J
jacko
Guest
I saw your video tape and you have these dogs doing pool shots and running balls. How do you do that? Are you the one training them. I tried to get my dog to do this and got nowhere. all I have been able to do is get my mutt to shake hands. Is there some big secret to this I am missing.
fast larry
Banned
pocoloco12003 said:
There have been players who have performed at world championship levels doing this in the past. This shows pool can be played many different ways and if your way works for you, then that method is best for you.
Andrew Ponzi was the main star and champion when Mosconi came up and he poked or stabed the ball on his strokes. Tom Kennedy today is sort of that way on some shots.
I just see too many club players doing little pokes at the cue ball instead of making nice long smooth follow throughs instead which will produce more english and a better follow shot.
My super secret drill that everyone knows about but I have kept hidden is called the drill of doom. It will be the 4th DVD that I produce, I am releasing it to you. In that drill and number of the shots are actually little pokes and jabs in order to make the cue ball slide and change tangent angles. This is the drill I teach where you can put the cue ball any where on the table using no english.
Pokes and jabs have places to produce specific things, especially stun shots. When you want the cue ball to go forward and follow, especially the force follow, they should not be used. The long smooth follow through should be used there.
Is there any chance Larry can limit his "on my new dvd" talk and actually give instruction or do we have to sort through 1000 words of "I really am a pro... buy my secret,one-of-a-kind, can't get it anywhere else magical pool techniques." I'm sure the guy has some ability but for the 99% of us who just want run out at nine-ball and move like Bugs rucker at one pocket, reading his posts is just a waste of time. If you don't want to divulge anything other than buy my new dvd, you're just getting free advertising and doing the rest of us no good. Besides, trick shots are neat but maybe we should do a poll on how many people actually care enough about trick/artistic shots to practice them more than once a month. Trick shots to pool is like the team mascots doing acrobatic slams during NBA halftime; neat, sometimes exciting, but it would be ridiculous to hear some mascot say he is a basketball pro. Maybe we can Grady or Keith to post some answers; at least we know they can run three balls.