Mat Sherman About Sports:
When shooting pool with english, you are likely to miss your target or miscue without using the methods I describe. Here are reasons to shoot with carabao english or parallel english.
What I mean by taking your "best worst pool stroke" refers to the little known pro technique, today called "carabao english," referring to the Filipino pros including Efren Reyes, "The Magician," who popularized the style.
Carabao is a Filipino water buffalo. Buffalo leather is a popular cue tip material, and there you have it. What looks like an awful pool stroke, curving and twisted, is a powerful way to shoot sidespin or "english" without a miss.
2 Wrong Ways And 1 Right Way For Shooting Pool With English
The carabao stroke is taken by aiming as normal using what I call a "shoot through" center ball stroke , before--and importantly, only on the final stroke forward, not the backstroke--moving the shooting hand to one side for generating english!
In other words, take a regular stroke, and if you want, say, bottom left english, at the last moment move your hand UP and RIGHT to shoot down and left through the cue ball.
The magic of this stroke is that its momentum is mostly taken forward with a little momentum out to the side. This reduces if not eliminates aim adjustment--the cue ball will still propel forward right at the target.
Only rarely, if ever, should you shoot english with a pivot stroke, where the cue stick is swiveled to one side through your bridge hand before you stroke back and through. Wrong!
The third technique for shooting pool with english, and nearly as safe as carabao, is a parallel english stroke, with a stroke parallel to the line of aim but with both hands moved to shoot english to the side.
When shooting pool with english, you are likely to miss your target or miscue without using the methods I describe. Here are reasons to shoot with carabao english or parallel english.
What I mean by taking your "best worst pool stroke" refers to the little known pro technique, today called "carabao english," referring to the Filipino pros including Efren Reyes, "The Magician," who popularized the style.
Carabao is a Filipino water buffalo. Buffalo leather is a popular cue tip material, and there you have it. What looks like an awful pool stroke, curving and twisted, is a powerful way to shoot sidespin or "english" without a miss.
2 Wrong Ways And 1 Right Way For Shooting Pool With English
The carabao stroke is taken by aiming as normal using what I call a "shoot through" center ball stroke , before--and importantly, only on the final stroke forward, not the backstroke--moving the shooting hand to one side for generating english!
In other words, take a regular stroke, and if you want, say, bottom left english, at the last moment move your hand UP and RIGHT to shoot down and left through the cue ball.
The magic of this stroke is that its momentum is mostly taken forward with a little momentum out to the side. This reduces if not eliminates aim adjustment--the cue ball will still propel forward right at the target.
Only rarely, if ever, should you shoot english with a pivot stroke, where the cue stick is swiveled to one side through your bridge hand before you stroke back and through. Wrong!
The third technique for shooting pool with english, and nearly as safe as carabao, is a parallel english stroke, with a stroke parallel to the line of aim but with both hands moved to shoot english to the side.