best New Years in a long time for me. found my stroke

J

judochoke

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
after playing and practicing for 6 months and 17 days, on New Years day of all days did I discover my stroke. this Is after months and many missed balls, shooting too hard, bridge too close, bridge too far, trying to muscle the cue ball. miss after miss, changing this and changing that.

I was aiming at the object ball on the long rail, second diamond, (shot #4 on burt kinister video) with top right, and when I hit the cue ball, the shot just flowed, not too hard, not too soft, it sounded perfect, the cue ball went two rails to the exact middle of the table.
and I did it again and again, and it was a good feeling. no more forearm muscle bulls$it, no more hitting as hard as I could. now I can use this same stroke on all of my shots.

and I owe it all to one man. one special man. BURT KINISTER!!

I would just watch his videos over and over. when he did a shot with a lot of spin or English, the first 15 minutes I could not even get close to the same results as he did. but I would go back to the video and rewatch and rewatch. and I would fiinnaly get the shot.
I think it helps that both him and I have fat fingers, so by copying him and his stroke, I finally caught on.

now nothing changes, closed bridge, 6 inches away from the cue ball, nice firm stoke, not too hard, not too soft. 2019 is going to be a good year for the judo. :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
 
judochoke said:
after playing and practicing for 6 months and 17 days, on New Years day of all days did I discover my stroke. this Is after months and many missed balls, shooting too hard, bridge too close, bridge too far, trying to muscle the cue ball. miss after miss, changing this and changing that.

I was aiming at the object ball on the long rail, second diamond, (shot #4 on burt kinister video) with top right, and when I hit the cue ball, the shot just flowed, not too hard, not too soft, it sounded perfect, the cue ball went two rails to the exact middle of the table.
and I did it again and again, and it was a good feeling. no more forearm muscle bulls$it, no more hitting as hard as I could. now I can use this same stroke on all of my shots.

and I owe it all to one man. one special man. BURT KINISTER!!

I would just watch his videos over and over. when he did a shot with a lot of spin or English, the first 15 minutes I could not even get close to the same results as he did. but I would go back to the video and rewatch and rewatch. and I would fiinnaly get the shot.
I think it helps that both him and I have fat fingers, so by copying him and his stroke, I finally caught on.

now nothing changes, closed bridge, 6 inches away from the cue ball, nice firm stoke, not too hard, not too soft. 2019 is going to be a good year for the judo. :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
Click to expand...

Congrats on your accomplishments and I'm sure you will reach much higher levels of play as the weeks, months and years pass.

I dont know if you already record your play or not but I "HIGHLY" recommend that you start recording your free play and drills to help you...... find what your SPECIFIC problems are......... and then better enable you to choose EXACTLY which drill/drills you need.

Record every time you have a chance but remember:

Recording your play/drills is worthless unless you actually watch and analyze your videos in depth.
 
What a great feeling it is to finally fall into stroke! I have only vague memories. :smile:
 
judochoke said:
after playing and practicing for 6 months and 17 days, on New Years day of all days did I discover my stroke. this Is after months and many missed balls, shooting too hard, bridge too close, bridge too far, trying to muscle the cue ball. miss after miss, changing this and changing that.

I was aiming at the object ball on the long rail, second diamond, (shot #4 on burt kinister video) with top right, and when I hit the cue ball, the shot just flowed, not too hard, not too soft, it sounded perfect, the cue ball went two rails to the exact middle of the table.
and I did it again and again, and it was a good feeling. no more forearm muscle bulls$it, no more hitting as hard as I could. now I can use this same stroke on all of my shots.

and I owe it all to one man. one special man. BURT KINISTER!!

I would just watch his videos over and over. when he did a shot with a lot of spin or English, the first 15 minutes I could not even get close to the same results as he did. but I would go back to the video and rewatch and rewatch. and I would fiinnaly get the shot.
I think it helps that both him and I have fat fingers, so by copying him and his stroke, I finally caught on.

now nothing changes, closed bridge, 6 inches away from the cue ball, nice firm stoke, not too hard, not too soft. 2019 is going to be a good year for the judo. :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
Click to expand...

Are you saying your improvement has to do with a shorter bridge than before?
 
Congrats Judo!

For me there is nothing sweeter than hitting that cut shot on 8 with high inside english and going 3-4 rails and falling dead perfect on the 9 ball on the opposite end of the table short rail.
 
yes I think a shorter bridge worked better for me. I see guys using 12 to 18 inch bridges, and that never worked for me. more room to wobble. with my fat fingers, a six inch bridge is perfect, I will even creep up a little closer for a nice draw shot. works for me.

but just finally not hitting the cue ball so hard was the key. just letting my cue do the work.
 
judochoke said:
after playing and practicing for 6 months and 17 days, on New Years day of all days did I discover my stroke. this Is after months and many missed balls, shooting too hard, bridge too close, bridge too far, trying to muscle the cue ball. miss after miss, changing this and changing that.

I was aiming at the object ball on the long rail, second diamond, (shot #4 on burt kinister video) with top right, and when I hit the cue ball, the shot just flowed, not too hard, not too soft, it sounded perfect, the cue ball went two rails to the exact middle of the table.
and I did it again and again, and it was a good feeling. no more forearm muscle bulls$it, no more hitting as hard as I could. now I can use this same stroke on all of my shots.

and I owe it all to one man. one special man. BURT KINISTER!!

I would just watch his videos over and over. when he did a shot with a lot of spin or English, the first 15 minutes I could not even get close to the same results as he did. but I would go back to the video and rewatch and rewatch. and I would fiinnaly get the shot.
I think it helps that both him and I have fat fingers, so by copying him and his stroke, I finally caught on.

now nothing changes, closed bridge, 6 inches away from the cue ball, nice firm stoke, not too hard, not too soft. 2019 is going to be a good year for the judo. :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
Click to expand...

Congratulations, it will keep getting better the more you practice. I found a video of when I just picked up a cue again. It's tiring remembering the pain and suffering I put on myself and remember the feeling of accomplishment.

I had years of stuff accumulated in my pool room and used my table as a work bench leaving it uncovered. Then one day, cleaned the table off and had the table redone. That obsession and fire was lit again. This is what I would do when I missed a shot, made myself shoot the shot and make it 10 times, instead of 3. My stroke and everything is much better today, than then.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sq2vSTHIEVnrfi47gs6tHYK-5nPiOJ4A/view?usp=drivesdk
 
judochoke said:
yes I think a shorter bridge worked better for me. I see guys using 12 to 18 inch bridges, and that never worked for me. more room to wobble. with my fat fingers, a six inch bridge is perfect, I will even creep up a little closer for a nice draw shot. works for me.

but just finally not hitting the cue ball so hard was the key. just letting my cue do the work.
Click to expand...

Good on both counts, I often proscribe a shorter bridge and gentler stroke--although it depends on the student, shooting more softly helps avoid jumping the cue ball with the stroke, increasing accuracy. And a short bridge combined with a smooth backstroke all the way to the fingers of the hand bridge helps distance and accuracy.
 
judochoke said:
after playing and practicing for 6 months and 17 days, on New Years day of all days did I discover my stroke. this Is after months and many missed balls, shooting too hard, bridge too close, bridge too far, trying to muscle the cue ball. miss after miss, changing this and changing that.

I was aiming at the object ball on the long rail, second diamond, (shot #4 on burt kinister video) with top right, and when I hit the cue ball, the shot just flowed, not too hard, not too soft, it sounded perfect, the cue ball went two rails to the exact middle of the table.
and I did it again and again, and it was a good feeling. no more forearm muscle bulls$it, no more hitting as hard as I could. now I can use this same stroke on all of my shots.

and I owe it all to one man. one special man. BURT KINISTER!!

I would just watch his videos over and over. when he did a shot with a lot of spin or English, the first 15 minutes I could not even get close to the same results as he did. but I would go back to the video and rewatch and rewatch. and I would fiinnaly get the shot.
I think it helps that both him and I have fat fingers, so by copying him and his stroke, I finally caught on.

now nothing changes, closed bridge, 6 inches away from the cue ball, nice firm stoke, not too hard, not too soft. 2019 is going to be a good year for the judo. :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
Click to expand...

Congratulations , will you look around and see if you can find mine ?
 
6 great players will play 6 different ways. Different stances, bridge lengths, etc. You have to find what works for you for the different shots. Different grips for different strokes. Different bridge lengths. Through practice and experience you will naturally "know" how to approach the different shots that come up. Congrats on your hard work! Getting "in-stroke" is what makes the game a life long addiction. Happy New Year!
 
Matt_24 said:
6 great players will play 6 different ways. Different stances, bridge lengths, etc. You have to find what works for you for the different shots. Different grips for different strokes. Different bridge lengths. Through practice and experience you will naturally "know" how to approach the different shots that come up. Congrats on your hard work! Getting "in-stroke" is what makes the game a life long addiction. Happy New Year!
Click to expand...

I said exactly that in More Pool Wars. At the beginning of a chapter called "My Little Black Book of Pool Secrets" I stated that there is no one right way to stand, stroke or hold a cue. There are as many different pool "styles" as there are pool players. You just need to find the one that works for you. Good luck in your quest! :D

The esteemed Hall of Famer, Lou Butera, said it best when he stated, "Pool is a game of stances and bridges."
 
jay helfert said:
I said exactly that in More Pool Wars. At the beginning of a chapter called "My Little Black Book of Pool Secrets" I stated that there is no one right way to stand, stroke or hold a cue. There are as many different pool "styles" as there are pool players. You just need to find the one that works for you. Good luck in your quest! :D

The esteemed Hall of Famer, Lou Butera, said it best when he stated, "Pool is a game of stances and bridges."
Click to expand...

Great minds, Jay. Look at Keither in his prime....and then compare that to Efren....and then to Hopkins (to name a few extremes). No "instructor" is going to teach that. But, for a newbie, they can get your brain into the process of learning how to find the line of the shot, a balanced stance, etc...but as you play and your talent (if you have any) emerges you will find your way.
 
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