Can someone please critique my stroke?

pmata814

pmata814

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I've been working on my stroke and I was hoping someone would be kind enough to look at some short videos and give me some tips and confirm if i'm headed in the right direction.

I purchased Randy & Scott Lee's video and also read quite a bit of literature including some of Capelle's books and Martin's Critical shots. Anyways here are the Vids:

Long Straigh-in Stop Shot
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJMEFxQzRWM

Follow shot
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJrZhGwX4Kw

Draw shot
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVmerEeIWIs

I hope I did this right. I've never posted videos before. :)

A million thanks in advance!!

P.S.
I made 8/10 stop shots
9/10 draw shots
6/10 follow shots (don't know why struggle so much more with the follow, maybe because it's open bridge)
 
One thing for sure

One thing for sure is the butt of the cue is elevated way too high. your cue should be as level to the table as possible. If you look at your elbow way in the air its cause of the butt is jacked up in the air. Just watch any pro on Y-tube and see the amount of elevation the have over the edge of the table.

The other thing i notice is you may becoming off line during normal game situations cause on your final back stroke. you come to a very abrupt stop before you go to strike the cue ball. if you have a trully smooth stroke youll have to smooth out the direction change. I learned alot about pool by watching other sports like the golf swing or a major league pitcher. Its now how fast the back stroke is its how smooth it is. Even when you swing a hammer while nailing a nail there is a rythem to it. Some player even stop at the final back stroke before they commit to striking the ball.

Hope it helps.
 
J-Flo said:
One thing for sure is the butt of the cue is elevated way too high. your cue should be as level to the table as possible. If you look at your elbow way in the air its cause of the butt is jacked up in the air. Just watch any pro on Y-tube and see the amount of elevation the have over the edge of the table.

The other thing i notice is you may becoming off line during normal game situations cause on your final back stroke. you come to a very abrupt stop before you go to strike the cue ball. if you have a trully smooth stroke youll have to smooth out the direction change. I learned alot about pool by watching other sports like the golf swing or a major league pitcher. Its now how fast the back stroke is its how smooth it is. Even when you swing a hammer while nailing a nail there is a rythem to it. Some player even stop at the final back stroke before they commit to striking the ball.

Hope it helps.
Click to expand...

Thank you very much for replying.

I tried to lower my elbow but found it very hard to level my cue because I like to lower my head so my chin is practically touching the cue. But I'll keep experimenting with both of your suggestions. Thanks again!
 
Overall you do a lot of things well.

Your bridge length is fine, but you only use half of it. This will cause you to jab to get speed. Using the full length will allow a smoother stroke.

As mentioned in the previous posts, work on a smooth and relaxed transition at the end of your backswing.

Your grip hand seems a bit tight. Keep it relaxed throughout the stroke.

Your final set position seems a bit short at times. It's your last chance to make sure everything is OK and your aim is accurately on target. Make good use of your final set.

Keep these things in mind when you review Randy and Scott's video.

Framing the subject properly is essential to getting the most out of a video review. These diagrams show good camera setups to use. Frame the side shots to capture a little past the butt of the cue at the end of the backswing and a little past the tip at the finish position. Use an open bridge.
 
Your stroke timing is off. Something that Bert Kinnister once said to me many years ago that stuck: Think of your stroke as if you were throwing a punch. Your wind-up should be slow and deliberate. Right now you're bringing your cue back as fast as you want it to go forward. Would you throw a punch or a baseball that way? Would you kick a soccer ball that way?

You can do one of two things to adjust your timing issue. First choice is to bring your cue back more slowly, like you're winding up to throw a punch. Your back stroke speed should be pretty much the same on all shots, regardless of how fast you stroke forward.

You need to find your own personal wind-up speed that works for you. You'll know it when it's right.

If you have trouble taking a slow back stroke, the alternative is to take a pronounced pause at the end of your back stroke.

Once you develop good stroke timing you may find that your accuracy and position play will improve dramatically. You will also find that you won't have to work as hard.
 
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- Your cue is too jacked up

Regardless of where you want to put your chin, jacking your cue up like that will make you miss...a lot. Find a way to lower your butt and level your cue as much as possible. Do that first--- master it--- then work on re-arranging your body to get your head lowered.

- Your stance is too random

You don't seem to have a set procedure in getting down over a shot. I'm not saying you HAVE to step into a shot; however, you must have a way to get perfect feet position and distance of the CB each and every time (Efren is the best at this).

You're also very closed on the shot. Your shoulder line is nearly parallel to the shot line. Check out your left foot---- that's perpendicular to the shot line. If you reverse those two you'll find yourself facing the shot a little more, which might help your setup a little. I'm NOT saying what you're doing is super bad--- I'm just saying that looks super uncomfortable and might make you a little stiff on the shot.

- Your tip rises at impact

This is probably the result of your jacked up cue. Your tip has nowhere to go but up. If you leveled your cue, your tip would likely naturally dip. At the very least, the tip can remain on the same vector as your stroke with a slight elbow drop (as long as it drops after contact).

- Stroke smoothness / timing

I think Fran touched a little on this. I think this all comes down to your setup, which forces you to be rigid. When you stroke forward, let the cue do ALL the work. You seem tight throughout your stroke. Let your cue slide forward slightly in your backhand during the forward motion of your stroke.

- Cloth

Get rid of that red cloth ;)
 
SpiderWebComm said:
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- Cloth

Get rid of that red cloth ;)
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Lol! Seriously, you're the second person that's told me to get rid of the red cloth. Why don't ya'll like it? :( I happen to love it and it goes perfectly with the colors in my gameroom (I have a dark red wall and also goes with the carpet).

Thanks so much for the detailed feedack. :)

P.S. What color cloth do you like?


Sent from my BlackBerry 9780 using Tapatalk
 
pmata814...As mentioned, your cue is too high off the table. You don't have to have your chin on the cue (so you need not necessarily stand any lower)...just lined up correctly on the shot. Lower your back arm, so that the cue is resting on the rail. Work on your bridge...it is not secure enough. Get your palm and fingertips on the cloth (not just fingertips...too wobbly)...it needs to be very sturdy. Get your forearm off of the rail. When you rest you arm on the rail, it takes away from the stability of the bridge. I'm with Mark...your Set position is too short (the stop at the CB before you pull the trigger), and you're not using your full stroke. As mentioned your Pause is irregular, and the transition is poor. Fran touched on that, because it's definitely a timing issue. How long the pause lasts is up to you, but it should be consistent, and make for a nice transition to the forward accelerated stroke...regardless of whether you're shooting easy or hard.

On your videos...I only saw 1 or 2 real stopshots. The rest drew back a little, rolled forward a little, or went right or left (of course you picked a tough shot too...try them at 1 or 2 diamonds apart, and strive for perfect.
The draw shots looked pretty good, although your cue is still jacked way up. Once you level your cuestick you'll find draw to be effortless...as long as you are hitting low, with a loose grip, and good timing. Follow shots are always difficult to get the CB to run straight, once the distance between the CB & OB is more than 2-3 diamonds apart...and yours were farther.

All in all, I like what you have figured out. Make sure you know where your finish position is, and where your grip hand goes home. The grip pressure on the cue (we call it cradle) should be the same, from the start of the final backswing, to the finish of the forward acclerated stroke. Hope this helps. Nice camera position. It allowed us to see a lot! :thumbup:

Oh...and about the red cloth. You'll find it does not wear as well as other colors, and it gets "red" all over everything...your hands, your cue and your cloth (red chalk = big mess). Go with green or blue next time.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
 
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Thank you all so much for taking the time to post and help me with my stroke. I can't wait to start working on these suggestions!I can't tomorrow because it's my son's bday party and then we have superbowl sunday... but I'll probably be able to squeeze an hour or two on Sunday :D

One final question though, Mark and Scott: what do you mean I'm not using my full stroke or not using my full bridge length?

Thanks again.
 
OH, I think I see what you mean. Are you saying I should pull my tip all the way back to my fingers (on the bridge hand) during warm-up and my final stroke?
 
Yes...Always pull the tip back that far, on a normal shot, and then finish your stroke. That way you can generate speed with just your arm and the cuestick.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

pmata814 said:
OH, I think I see what you mean. Are you saying I should pull my tip all the way back to my fingers (on the bridge hand) during warm-up and my final stroke?
Click to expand...
 
My 2 cents

Just like what was already said:
-Consistancy - alignment, stance, approach (develop a pre shot routine you follow on all shots)
-Cue height - you want as low as possible so your cue is as level as possible
-Bridge hand should be rock solid - even lean weight on it so weight is even between the 3 legs of the tripod.

And most of all is the stroke. You only have the correct bridge distance but you waste it by not using it. If you bridge 6 inches from the ball your back swing should be almost 6 inches and your follow through should be 6 inches. And timing is very important.

I would try to meet up with an instructor and over a few lessons they could help you straighten out all that was mentioned and get you working toward your own pre shot routine.

If you can't meet up with an instructor then I'd work on each of these things one at a time.
1) drop your elbow, its ok for your head to be 5 inches above the cue
2) solid bridge hand that is never off balance
3) consistant approach to the shot from the line of the shot, step in the same way from behind the shot
Once you have those better...
4) work on your stroke so you have a full back swing and follow through
5) slow down the back swing and pause, before you shoot
6) freeze on the follow through - see if you followed through the right distance or if you stopped your stroke

Good Luck
 
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