Can you play decent pool using both your right and left hands?

[Geosnooker]

I’m right handed and shoot most shots that way. I don’t shy away from shooting lefty when it comes up. My dad is a lefty and I hate taking the time to get the rake off the rack. So, I just shoot it off handed. I’m probably 75% or better. I can draw the ball a couple feet or stop shot if necessary. No breaking or jumping though. My left handed bridge isn’t good enough for that level of skill. :thumbup:

Reanne Evans, Women’s World Snooker champion was interviewed. She shoots both left and right. She was asked why? She said it wasn’t intentional but that she started young and was just tool lazy to use the rake.

I shoot both ways and rarely use a rake on a snooker table. Almost never on a pool table. Likely started the same...couldn’t be bothered. I take my time in a game but at home I bang balls around and have fun. Two seconds to flip the cue around.

 

[angluse]

During the lockdown I wasn't feeling like playing as much, without matches or tournaments to motivate me. So I set out to use the time to get better left handed. To that end, I installed a speed bag. It's helped some, that overall feeling of awkwardness holding the cue grip, but it's still amazing how bad I am forming stable bridges with my dominant hand.
Other than just practicing forming and holding those new hand positions, I don't know what else to do for dexterity and flexibility.

 

[HaroldWilson]

I'm ambidextrous... but only with my right hand.

I would give my right arm to be ambidextrous.

Back in the day it was frowned upon to be left handed. Joe Davis the 21 time world snooker champion insisted that his younger brother Fred Davis who was left handed learn how to play right handed from an early age. Fred went on to become both a world snooker and world billiards champion as a right handed player.

 

[Flakeandrun]

Reviving an old thread here. Generally been able to pick things up both handed my whole life, with a preference to the right, as most sports and things have been taught to me that way (except Golf, which I play left-handed and was taught my swing by my grandad who is left-handed).

I have recently started playing Left Vs Right handed, and am able to run racks with both hands. I am starting to get a feel of which shots I play best with either hand, and it's rather surprising/annoying which shots those are... Not what I'd have expected.

Naturally, break and jumps are currently a 'no' with my left-hand... I am a right-eye player (slightly), but playing left-handed seems to align the cue more tightly against my body, and gives a nice stroke on longer straight shots, and the purchase I can get on the ball when drawing it back is feeling cleaner than with my right. As a snooker player, I would never have considered using my left (except from the very odd occasion).

I am guessing I have drilled some relatively bad habits into my right-handed stroke over the years, or skills that are more pertaining to snooker. So playing with my left I am uninhibited by these. When talking technique with some friends/better players, my brain has actually started to copy their right-handed stroke in the fashion of a mirror, and my brain naturally goes to thinking about/feeling comfortable to imitate the action left-handed.

Is there anyone else who uses both hands.... and not just for unreachable or unplayable shots with a particular hand, just because it is the better hand to take the shot... if that makes sense? Is there anyone who practices both hands regularly?

 

[JABSolstice]

My wife always made me play lefty. Since it was on my 9' GC, I got fairly decent to the point where I almost never need a bridge or extension now. I also started playing against myself as right vs left. Right won the majority, but left wasn't too far behind after a while.

 

[Flakeandrun]

My wife always made me play lefty. Since it was on my 9' GC, I got fairly decent to the point where I almost never need a bridge or extension now. I also started playing against myself as right vs left. Right won the majority, but left wasn't too far behind after a while.

Racing to 7, either hand can win, and I am getting to a point whether I am unsure which hand would functionally be the best. Whether I am missing out on performance due to sticking with the learned, natural feeling of playing right-handed. I am not sure whether to make a choice to pursue one over the other, or just stick with how I've been holding a cue the last 15 years. I could play snooker right, and pool left-handed (as many cricketers I know bat right-handed and play golf left, to avoid messing their swing - could apply similar logic here for a few months and see how it goes)

 

[JABSolstice]

Racing to 7, either hand can win, and I am getting to a point whether I am unsure which hand would functionally be the best. Whether I am missing out on performance due to sticking with the learned, natural feeling of playing right-handed. I am not sure whether to make a choice to pursue one over the other, or just stick with how I've been holding a cue the last 15 years. I could play snooker right, and pool left-handed (as many cricketers I know bat right-handed and play golf left, to avoid messing their swing - could apply similar logic here for a few months and see how it goes)

That's pretty impressive. I wish I had your dedication to practice!

 

[Pocket Change]

For me that's complicated...NO. Well, the complications are the bridge and extensions. However, I'm not a 600ish Fargo player

 

[Flakeandrun]

For me that's complicated...NO. Well, the complications are the bridge and extensions. However, I'm not a 600ish Fargo player

We don't have Fargo where I am, and I've only been playing pool since December.
But I have beat some 'good' players (domestic and international pro) in casual matches, not had much luck in the few tournaments I've entered. But still new to it all.

The bridge I found no trouble, I play with an open bridge. I did find the occasions where I am jacking the cue up to be problematic (the muscles in my back/shoulder made it super annoying), but the stroke and bridge, smooth as right - The initial reason for playing with the left, was to avoid ever having to use the extension on the table. But as I mentioned, there really are some strokes that seem much easier with one hand or the other.

That's pretty impressive. I wish I had your dedication to practice!

Well, I live 8000km from home, in a country where I am not particularly as proficient as I'd like to be in the native language, doing a job I hate... I have a lot of time to practice! I'd still only be playing snooker if I didn't force myself to socialise and join some friends at the pool hall. It's been a bit of a life-saver for me since I started playing in December

 

[korey]

Better off with my right foot than left hand

 

[bbb]

Presently cant play left handed
But started to work on it
I think its an advantage if you can do it
I am having a senior moment
Who was the pro who switched from right to left and now plays pro speed left handed
I think he still breaks right handed
Is that correct?

 

[George the Greek]

Presently cant play left handed
But started to work on it
I think its an advantage if you can do it
I am having a senior moment
Who was the pro who switched from right to left and now plays pro speed left handed
I think he still breaks right handed
Is that correct?

John Morra! I remember him as a baby and by the time he could see over the rails he was rolling balls around the table. Both parents were good players and his dad and I were friends going on 55 years

 

[bbb]

John Morra! I remember him as a baby and by the time he could see over the rails he was rolling balls around the table. Both parents were good players and his dad and I were friends going on 55 years

thanks george
it was bugging me i could not think of it
and google could not find it !!!!

 

[garczar]

Back in the day we would have 'opposite hand' day at the hall. Great tool to have. I can't play at all opposite paw due to car wreck yrs ago and it sucks. I hate using the fkng crutch.

 

[jay helfert]

You will learn much faster with your second hand! Thirty minutes a day for thirty days and you will be proficient on ordinary shots. Try it, you'll like it, and be a better player for it.

 

[9BallKY]

I’m still trying to learn how to play right handed. My Fargo is about 630 so until I learn to play right handed there’s not much point in trying to do it left handed.

When I was younger and played softball I could bat left or right handed. Had just a shade more power right handed but hit the ball just as good left as right.

 

[Pocket Change]

Back in the day we would have 'opposite hand' day at the hall. Great tool to have. I can't play at all opposite paw due to car wreck yrs ago and it sucks. I hate using the fkng crutch.

The guys I used to play golf with years ago would have one day every month where we would only take a 5-iron and putter for all 18. It really got you thinking. I've never tried shooting off-hand but there is probably something to it.

 

[wilhelm]

I can't switch hands worth a damn, but I'm especially disadvantaged since I took a .22 to the left wrist when I was a kid and lost use of that hand for an entire year.

Lefties have an advantage over right-handed people in a whole lot of things, and it makes sense when you consider they've had to live in a right-handed world their whole lives (scissors being the best example).

Left-handed boxers have a substantial advantage when fighting a right-handed opponent as they've fought a whole lot more right-handers than the other way around.

A good friend of mine is a lefty and he can switch hands without hardly even noticing.

Generally speaking, lefties have an advantage when it comes to dexterity in my opinion.

 

[gregcantrall]

assume it is something that would take years of practice , and a lot of hard work, for hours a day practicing .

I see this is a few years old and am replying without reading beyond post 1.
I started playing left handed in pool at about 10 years in. My first intention was to make the game interesting against weaker players. I soon found that the left did better on certain shots.
My experience is that it took a year to get the left to the level that it took 10 years to get the right to. My conclusions include that I built the left handed routine with a better foundation.(The basics). Now my morning fitness program is built around playing the left against the right. It's an even game. The left has helped me eliminate bad habits the right had ingrained. Habits are hard to break, so starting with a clean slate is advantage.
Life's lessons opened my eyes to ambidextrous advantages. My first was Little League baseball and Ray Ellis pitching with both hands at a semi pro level. Hitting from either side of the plate was more common but both were beyond my ability at the time. (Can't Means Won't).
Breaking my right arm twice as a Yute (as Cousin Vinnie would say), was a beginning. Learning to write with the left was difficult but necessary. I think it was 4 and 6 weeks in a cast. So I learned to use the left.
Now when in competition I shoot predominantly Right but switch seamless if the shot suits the Left better. Sometimes the right hand being table hooked and other times it just feels more comfort or confidence with the shot. Endurance is an overlooked advantage as well. Kind of like having a 2 man team.

 

[gregcantrall]

Reviving an old thread here. Generally been able to pick things up both handed my whole life, with a preference to the right, as most sports and things have been taught to me that way (except Golf, which I play left-handed and was taught my swing by my grandad who is left-handed).

I have recently started playing Left Vs Right handed, and am able to run racks with both hands. I am starting to get a feel of which shots I play best with either hand, and it's rather surprising/annoying which shots those are... Not what I'd have expected.

Naturally, break and jumps are currently a 'no' with my left-hand... I am a right-eye player (slightly), but playing left-handed seems to align the cue more tightly against my body, and gives a nice stroke on longer straight shots, and the purchase I can get on the ball when drawing it back is feeling cleaner than with my right. As a snooker player, I would never have considered using my left (except from the very odd occasion).

I am guessing I have drilled some relatively bad habits into my right-handed stroke over the years, or skills that are more pertaining to snooker. So playing with my left I am uninhibited by these. When talking technique with some friends/better players, my brain has actually started to copy their right-handed stroke in the fashion of a mirror, and my brain naturally goes to thinking about/feeling comfortable to imitate the action left-handed.

Is there anyone else who uses both hands.... and not just for unreachable or unplayable shots with a particular hand, just because it is the better hand to take the shot... if that makes sense? Is there anyone who practices both hands regularly?

Kind of funny that I jumped to the current conversation to find that my experience is similar and I inadvertently answered your questions.