thenaturalpoolplayer
Active member
I have come across some videos discussing this and it should be termed shooting with muscle memory. It is not really aiming at all. It encompasses your walking, chalking, stance, drop, english, stroke...all of these are being done subconsciously.
Like when I hear players talk about its 2 tips of left english, or that its a half ball hit or 30%, 60% etc I just roll my eyes.
First of all there are an infinite amount of points on the cueball so you can never purposefully ever hit the exact english you are trying to. I don't think its ever even possible to hit center ball...you are always imparting some sort of english. Secondly, there are an infinite amount of degrees between 30% half ball hit to 60%...so all this half ball hit stuff is garbage because there is no such thing as exactly a half ball hit. Not to mention there is deflection, swerve and throw to take into account, and distance for all of that to take, and speed etc...good luck figuring all that out deliberately, and consistently. If you could figure all that out deliberately, you would still need to deliver the cue perfectly to complete the shot, but if you could deliver the cue perfectly to complete the shot, then you already have the muscle memory for the shot and don't need to be deliberate about it at all...in fact you will mess yourself up.
The only way to play consistently and at your best level is to get out of your own way and let your body do the shooting...it will account for all of these "infinites". I never stand above a shot and think about what english I need, or the path of the cueball, or the speed...all of this is done subconsciously...even standing behind the cueball is not done in a deliberate way like foot placement etc...its all subconscious as well. I basically walk from shot to shot, landing on the english I need for the shape I want, and deliver the cue at the speed I need. That's it.
You do need the fundamentals, and if you see me play my fundamentals are sound, but it is NOT deliberate.
The only way to get to this level is to play and let your body remember every possibility so eventually it starts to recognize situations and will go on autopilot.
I recall seeing a youtube video of Ronny Osullivan on some podcast. They wanted to watch Ronny do a 147 so they spread all the reds out evenly...but it totally messed Ronny up because his muslce memory wasn't developed for that kind of layout. He even said it would be easier if they left the reds clustered. This is also true for chess...they tested some grand masters who could remember multiple layouts of chess games, and if the board was wiped, the grand masters could replace the pieces easily from memory...but if the pieces were just skewed around the board randomly, and not in some "chess" layout, they could not recall it.
Typing a great example of the power of muscle memory...I can type 80 wpm but if you gave me a pen and paper I could not write out the keyboard layout. It is all mapped via muscle memory. At first it was tedious, and I had to think about where each letter was...but as time went on my fingers just started finding the keys...to the point where now, when I am totally flowing, I am actually reading ahead of what my fingers are typing!
Pool is no different...at first you will need to think about EVERY aspect but in time you should be relying more on muscle memory and less on being deliberate.
I am sharing this because hopefully it will enlighten (and speed up) some of the tedious, methodical, painstakingly slow play out there...even at the professional level.
Like when I hear players talk about its 2 tips of left english, or that its a half ball hit or 30%, 60% etc I just roll my eyes.
First of all there are an infinite amount of points on the cueball so you can never purposefully ever hit the exact english you are trying to. I don't think its ever even possible to hit center ball...you are always imparting some sort of english. Secondly, there are an infinite amount of degrees between 30% half ball hit to 60%...so all this half ball hit stuff is garbage because there is no such thing as exactly a half ball hit. Not to mention there is deflection, swerve and throw to take into account, and distance for all of that to take, and speed etc...good luck figuring all that out deliberately, and consistently. If you could figure all that out deliberately, you would still need to deliver the cue perfectly to complete the shot, but if you could deliver the cue perfectly to complete the shot, then you already have the muscle memory for the shot and don't need to be deliberate about it at all...in fact you will mess yourself up.
The only way to play consistently and at your best level is to get out of your own way and let your body do the shooting...it will account for all of these "infinites". I never stand above a shot and think about what english I need, or the path of the cueball, or the speed...all of this is done subconsciously...even standing behind the cueball is not done in a deliberate way like foot placement etc...its all subconscious as well. I basically walk from shot to shot, landing on the english I need for the shape I want, and deliver the cue at the speed I need. That's it.
You do need the fundamentals, and if you see me play my fundamentals are sound, but it is NOT deliberate.
The only way to get to this level is to play and let your body remember every possibility so eventually it starts to recognize situations and will go on autopilot.
I recall seeing a youtube video of Ronny Osullivan on some podcast. They wanted to watch Ronny do a 147 so they spread all the reds out evenly...but it totally messed Ronny up because his muslce memory wasn't developed for that kind of layout. He even said it would be easier if they left the reds clustered. This is also true for chess...they tested some grand masters who could remember multiple layouts of chess games, and if the board was wiped, the grand masters could replace the pieces easily from memory...but if the pieces were just skewed around the board randomly, and not in some "chess" layout, they could not recall it.
Typing a great example of the power of muscle memory...I can type 80 wpm but if you gave me a pen and paper I could not write out the keyboard layout. It is all mapped via muscle memory. At first it was tedious, and I had to think about where each letter was...but as time went on my fingers just started finding the keys...to the point where now, when I am totally flowing, I am actually reading ahead of what my fingers are typing!
Pool is no different...at first you will need to think about EVERY aspect but in time you should be relying more on muscle memory and less on being deliberate.
I am sharing this because hopefully it will enlighten (and speed up) some of the tedious, methodical, painstakingly slow play out there...even at the professional level.
Last edited:
