Can anyone help me out? What are the advantages of getting low on your cue?

[floridaboy24]

I was just curious if anyone could give me some insight on some of the advantages of getting lower on your cue vs standing a little higher up. I personally get down low but i have also experimented with playing a little more upright but i found my cueball wasnt nearly as good. Thanks.

 

[Scott Lee]

It's all about perception...and personal preference. Some players "see" the shot better down low. Others see it better standing more upright. Some players get down low on some shots, and stand up more on other shots. IMO, there is no specific advantage to having your chin on the cue. If you like that, and it works for you...great! If not...stand up higher.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

 

[Impact Blue]

Sometimes I like to visualize the shot as being a two-dimensional image, seeing how much of the cueball is eclipsing the OB, or how much OB I'm hitting. Fractional aiming methods rely heavily on this theory, and getting low on the shot helps reinforce that visually. Personally, I just like to see the lay of the land that.

Just one of those things. I can't say that there is any particular advantage either way generally speaking.

 

[Tennesseejoe]

I'm not sure if there is a concrete answer to your question. But it is a great question. It seems like snooker players seem to get lower on the cue and billiard players may get a little higher. Why? Probably because Snooker players need the accuracy and billiard players need a harder stroke.

Personally I use a higher stance on hard stroke shots, especially on the break, and lower on accuracy shots. Oh, but when the cueball is very close to the object ball---I tend to be higher for accuracy.

What is the take home message? It depends on the shot. Get comfortable with the variety.

 

[mamono]

On breaks, I practically have my chin on the cue because I throw my whole body weight into the break so being low allows me to jump forward at the table as if I'm springing forward.

As for shots, I agree that it really is mostly about perspective though some people see the world a little differently that others so to each their own. See what works best for you!

 

[macguy]

On breaks, I practically have my chin on the cue because I throw my whole body weight into the break so being low allows me to jump forward at the table as if I'm springing forward.

As for shots, I agree that it really is mostly about perspective though some people see the world a little differently that others so to each their own. See what works best for you!

I don't think there is an advantage or disadvantage. Top players play both ways.

 

[sfleinen]

There is no correct answer

I was just curious if anyone could give me some insight on some of the advantages of getting lower on your cue vs standing a little higher up. I personally get down low but i have also experimented with playing a little more upright but i found my cueball wasnt nearly as good. Thanks.

floridaboy24:

There is no correct answer here. It really does depend on the game, what kind of shot, your body's anatomical features (e.g. short or long-ish arms, broad shoulders, stiffness of back), etc.

Rudolf Wanderone Jr. (a.k.a. "Minnesota Fats") had an almost fully-upright stance at the table. Although not a particular accurate straight shot maker (i.e. ball to pocket without involving rails), he was a DEVASTATING Bank Pool and One Pocket player. One could plainly see evidence of that in the ESPN Classic matches between him and, say, Willie Mosconi -- whenever a bank shot came up, Fatty would step up to the table, line it up, one stroke, and FIRE that shot home authoritatively. With an upright stance like that, he was able to clearly see the angles, as well as his whole cue -- his peripheral vision had a wide-field view.

On the other hand, pure shot-making skills (like that displayed by the always head-spinning abilities of snooker's Ronnie O'Sullivan) sometimes advocates getting as low to the cue as you possibly can. This is where that "chin on the stick" comes from. One can even go lower than "chin on the stick" if one has a same-side dominant eye (i.e. right eye in the case of a right-handed shooter, vice-versa for a left-handed shooter). In this case, the head is lowered down past the cue, until the cue is resting on the cheek. Good examples: Earl Strickland and Niels Feijen.

There are arguments pro and con to each technique; it all comes down to TRYING EACH and see what works for you. Don't be biased or judgmental; give each a try for a couple weeks, and see what the pros/cons are for you. You may find out, for example, that an upright stance works well for banks, and a low stance works better for shot-making and cue ball control.

P.S.: in case you're curious, I'm personally a "chin on the stick" guy, because I have pure binocular vision (no preferred or dominant eye, as verified by an eye doctor). However, for bank shots or shots where the cue ball is very, very close to the object ball (especially if a cut-shot is involved), I shoot with an almost upright stance, because I can see the angles better.

Hope this is helpful,
-Sean

 

[JimS]

The advantage to having my chin along the side of the cue, and lower than the cue, is that I like it. :groucho:

 

[Andrew Manning]

The advantages are very much visual as opposed to mechanical. You can have a great stroke with your chin on the cue, just above the cue, or way up in the air. It all comes down to what angle allows you to see the shot best. I personally don't understand how anyone could line up a shot from very high above it; my eyes and brain just don't work that way, and so my chin stays on or very near the cue. But some people can clearly be very accurate that way.

-Andrew

 

[ShootingArts]

rifle barrel or seeing the angles

I was just curious if anyone could give me some insight on some of the advantages of getting lower on your cue vs standing a little higher up. I personally get down low but i have also experimented with playing a little more upright but i found my cueball wasnt nearly as good. Thanks.

Standing upright we see the angles better. Down very low, we see the alignment of stick and balls better. Once I shot most shots with a medium stance, neither extremely high or low, but to make table length razor thin cuts after determining the angle I got down on the shot until the cue stick was sliding along my jaw. A heavy beard makes a nice sliding surface.

The one major advantage of a higher stance is that it involves less work and less wear and tear on back joints that aren't designed to be bent over a pool table for hours on end. You can last longer in a session with a higher stance and are likely to have a longer playing life, as in playing your best game for long hours for more years.

Hu

 

[3kushn]

It's all about perception...and personal preference. Some players "see" the shot better down low. Others see it better standing more upright. Some players get down low on some shots, and stand up more on other shots. IMO, there is no specific advantage to having your chin on the cue. If you like that, and it works for you...great! If not...stand up higher.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

I agree with Scott, Whatever works well for you is the way to do it, but want to give you my take.

In my first real 3 Cushion lesson my instructor told me to stand tall. The reason he gave was if you get low you lose sight of the angle. I agree with that and for years that's what I did and it improved my game. Later, as I started learning more about applying EXACT amounts of English, it appeared that getting low helped to consistently pinpoint the contact point on the CB. I'm now much lower although I don't touch the cue with my chin. My justification is the effect of parallax on consistent tip placement.

Now, with that being my belief, if we look at the generally accepted method of addressing a shot, all of our decisions are made while standing up. And as I said while standing tall we see the angle better but when down all those decisions are already made. The only thing we need to be concerned about is execution.

I must now confess some laziness here. I do believe that Consistent and Exact English can be accomplished while standing tall and this is why I agree with Scott. What works is what's right. After all if we look at the Old Masters of the game we see most of them if not all standing tall. I guess I'm not willing to do the work to go back.

I guess the real question and hard to answer, you have to ask is:
Is What I'm Doing Working?

 

[matta]

I was just curious if anyone could give me some insight on some of the advantages of getting lower on your cue vs standing a little higher up. I personally get down low but i have also experimented with playing a little more upright but i found my cueball wasnt nearly as good. Thanks.

Would you go hunting and shoot your rifle from the hip? No.

Those pool shots aren't any easier. Get down on it. Sight down it so you can aim properly. It's that simple.

matta

 

[Patrick Johnson]

Hu:
Standing upright we see the angles better. Down very low, we see the alignment of stick and balls better.

I may give Hu a heart attack by doing so, but I agree completely with this. Billiards players stand more upright so they can see the angles better and snooker players put their chins on their sticks so they can aim more accurately. I play mostly a little more upright (maybe 12 inches off the stick), but I get down more for long thin cuts, etc.

I'm always a little amazed at how accurately I can line up a shot with my eyes so far above the aim line.

pj
chgo

 

[tom mcgonagle]

I get as low as I can because the game is played, on the table, not above it, and sighting and aiming is more accurate. Just my beliefs.

 

[whitewolf]

I was just curious if anyone could give me some insight on some of the advantages of getting lower on your cue vs standing a little higher up. I personally get down low but i have also experimented with playing a little more upright but i found my cueball wasnt nearly as good. Thanks.

When I was young I got down over the ball, but only as low as Efren, which isn't very low but somewhere in the middle, IMO. Count that as 6 years.

When I had to wear glasses I had to stand more erect, like Irving Crane. Count that as 10 years. So I have lots of experience playing both ways.

For me, it is easier to aim when getting down low - NO QUESTION - on most shots. I am currently going back to this method because I have NO problem with aiming. My head/eyes just fall into place naturally.

It is HARDER for your stroke to get out of line when you are down low - NO QUESTION - there is less room for incorrect movements, like straying side-to-side, or dropping your elbow, or lifting/moving your head.

However, standing upright IMO I believe it is easier to control the cue ball for some reason, probably because it is easier to get a fluid stroke this way. And, if you can ever get in stroke, I think you get a better feeling standing slightly more erect. But, in order to shoot good standing more erect, it takes more hours of practice.

Like the others have said, it is a personal thing. Good luck.

 

[ShootingArts]

not just a heart attack but the big one!

I suspect we agree on more things than either would ever admit to. We spend much more time focusing on what we disagree on.

Hu

I may give Hu a heart attack by doing so, but I agree completely with this. Billiards players stand more upright so they can see the angles better and snooker players put their chins on their sticks so they can aim more accurately. I play mostly a little more upright (maybe 12 inches off the stick), but I get down more for long thin cuts, etc.

I'm always a little amazed at how accurately I can line up a shot with my eyes so far above the aim line.

pj
chgo

 

[mosconiac]

Whitewolf said nearly everything I would have said. Down low I have a straighter (but more mechanical) stroke with better vision of the shot. Up high, I have a smoother stroke with better CB from better vision of the table. I prefer staying low.

BTW, a friend of mine commented long ago that my cue would slip to the right side of my chin sometimes and he thought that was weird...I pushed it back under my chin. I'm right eye dominant and I've recently discovered that I shoot straighter with it over there. That inch or two improves my cue/dominant eye alignment and brings my elbow out slightly for better elbow/cue alignment (my elbow is normally slightly tucked behind my shoulder).

I've a 14.1 match tonight (league championship match) & I will play low with the cue beside my chin to see if I've truly discovered my best alignment.

 

[mosconiac]

The following work of art will kinda illustrate what moving the cue to the side of the chin does for me. I wonder if those with wider shoulders are more prone to this kind of alignment?!?!

 

[CreeDo]

I think most high level players of this generation get down low. Players from the past generation stood a little more erect. This is because they were often playing straight pool and if their cue ball control is pretty tight, most of their shots were what you'd call short shots. They didn't need to get way down to see their line of aim. Today's games like 9 ball have a lot more long shots than straight pool did.

I believe that for hitting a very precise part of the cue ball, nothing beats getting way down low, especially for those little stun follow shots or shots where you need to load up on sidespin.

If you plan on playing mostly straight pool you can get away with standing upright more, but if not... I recommend getting low. Sure, it's possible to get good while standing upright, but past a point you're not going to be able to drill in those really long shots until you get lower.

 

[androd]

Whitewolf said nearly everything I would have said. Down low I have a straighter (but more mechanical) stroke with better vision of the shot. Up high, I have a smoother stroke with better CB from better vision of the table. I prefer staying low.

BTW, a friend of mine commented long ago that my cue would slip to the right side of my chin sometimes and he thought that was weird...I pushed it back under my chin. I'm right eye dominant and I've recently discovered that I shoot straighter with it over there. That inch or two improves my cue/dominant eye alignment and brings my elbow out slightly for better elbow/cue alignment (my elbow is normally slightly tucked behind my shoulder).

I've a 14.1 match tonight (league championship match) & I will play low with the cue beside my chin to see if I've truly discovered my best alignment.

Standup players shoot at an angle, chin players shoot at a spot on the ball, it's a different look, try filling a glass half full with the spigot at your waist. Like Mosconiac the extra step back helps align my vision on longer tough shots.
Rod.