Yeah, I just can't make it to boston that week. Boston would have been great for me, it's only a 6h drive! Let me know if you come back anytime!
I'd be happy to have a day or 2 with you!
Comments about my game would be appreciated!
- Thread starter nfuids
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Yeah, I just can't make it to boston that week. Boston would have been great for me, it's only a 6h drive! Let me know if you come back anytime!
I'd be happy to have a day or 2 with you!
APA level probably 4 or 5 but APA level depends a lot on where you are playing. What I didn't see is much kicking which is important in 9 ball. Just based on shotmaking and controlling the cue ball 4, maybe 5.
You just need more experience to raise your level. There is no substitute for time at the table.
You just need more experience to raise your level. There is no substitute for time at the table.
I couldn't agree more on that! But getting help to focus on stuff that will pay more and more quickly help not spend 10 years to move 1 level up :grin:
I will also put in a good word for Scott. Although I have never been able to spend time with Scott I have been with in a few miles of him on several occasions, that alone improved my game by a ball. My kicks improved also by me kicking myself in the a$$ for not meeting up with him.
I guess specific feedback are welcomed as well
Ok. Since you asked for it. I think you need to work on your planning. The best way to do that, IMO is to revisit situations where you didn't do so well, and then figure out a way to solve whatever problem you were having. Overall your fundamentals are pretty good. You could be a lot better with just some minor adjustments to your patterns and thinking, the potential is there.
There are several situations you could benefit from setting up again.
09:57 Ball in hand. Set this up again. The first shot you should have started a little bit straighter or better still giving the ball more inside spin, instead of going straight up from the rail, you should have moved more diagonally to give yourself control of the angle. When the ball is close to the rail, like this, you can train yourself by going to the contact point on the rail and use the cue to illustrate the angle the ball will take with no english. Then you'll see what english, if any, you need. .
13:25 You moved on the shot! (And botched the position, because you overcut the ball as a result of moving)
13:55 I'm sure when you look at the video, you'll see that this was not a good way to shoot that shot. Sidespin is your friend, no matter what people try to tell you.
14:13 Kickers go home broke! (Play safe here, behind the 7 or 8 for instance)
34:39 Your opponent has scratched leaving you ball in hand. If I were you, I'd setup that layout again, but start with the cueball in a better position. The one you chose was very difficult to control and IMO wrong. You could have gotten hooked a million ways the way you went.
43;00 Another ball in hand you should set up again. You lucked in the 9, but the shot on the one was bad. The one was the crucial shot in that rack, so you should focus extra on that shot. After that they were pretty much all hangers. Did the ball skid or did you not put a good stroke on it?
45:47 A layout you should try again. The first shot, I feel you could have gotten more out of. But if we look past that, at 46:00 you made a big no-no. You were thinking the shot through after you went down, and even worse; you adjusted your shot while down in your stance. BTW that shot does not call for a lot of force! Try a couple of different alternative position shots here. I think you'll benefit a lot more from that, than having me tell you how to shoot it. Smooth stroke is the key, this is not a power sport.
50:00 Again, thinking while in your stance, getting halfway up, then going down. If you change your mind and have to make adjustments to your aim etc..Get up and start over!
53:38 Nice kick!
57:00 Another setup you should try again. The shot on the one was decent on this one, though.
59:00 Very nice shot. Clean.
1:04:05 If you're going to shoot that shot, shoot it harder and with inside. Are you sure you couldn't hold the ball up (tough to see the exact angle from a monitor)? The one thing you needed to make sure of was not to get short. It's very tough to get out from where you ended up. Wrong side of the ball and hard to reach, but you almost made it. On the 9 in that rack, you should ALWAYS shoot. Bank or cut it, whatever you prefer, but you are unlikely to get anyting better from your opponent. The bank has a chance of a safe leave, as well. But you should go for it, full throttle!
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Hello everyone,
Here is a video of me a couple months back, I'd like to have general comments about my game, areas you see I'm stronger/weaker, anything really. I'm the guy with a dark blue / grey shirt!
I won, but should have won earlier in the match, due to some unforced errors!
For the record, the guy I beat has a higher game level than I do (the equivalent of APA, but in Quebec), so I was happy to beat him! The evaluation felt like a tournament game, because we knew we were filmed and evaluated!
Also, please le me know what APA level do you think my game is, here in Canada we don't use APA ratings, so it'd be nice to have an idea of my APA level
Here is the youtube link: https://youtu.be/iwgN1eOVNto
Thanks!
Not too bad shooting.... Before you shoot, do you pick a small spot on the table that you want the cue ball to land after making the shot? That is the key to improving your game. A lot of players that can make shots just shoot and where ever the cue ball stops, they shoot from there. A very good set of videos to watch are from Tor Lowry with Zero-X Billiards.... I will provide a link... Watch them and apply to your game. You will improve.....I spent a few days in person with Tor.... He makes the game simpler...... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzjousgGLjU
I'm not qualified to speak to specifics about the skills the OP has or doesn't have, but as an APA 5 myself, I can tell you he would certainly be a strong SL5 here. Maybe 6, folks have better (and worse) days, we'd have to see more than one match to know....
Good luck!
Good luck!
With your potting skill level, and you <lack of> position skills::there is a practice technique that will help you a lot.
Practice (alone) with the notion that position is more important than making the shot. That is if you make the shot but miss the position--get down on yourself hard; and if you make position but miss the shot don't get overly down on yourself.
After a few weeks of concentrating on position over potting, you position will come way up and your potting will take a bit of a dump. After you reach this point, try to find that delicate balance between potting and position, and you will advance a whole APA level.
Practice (alone) with the notion that position is more important than making the shot. That is if you make the shot but miss the position--get down on yourself hard; and if you make position but miss the shot don't get overly down on yourself.
After a few weeks of concentrating on position over potting, you position will come way up and your potting will take a bit of a dump. After you reach this point, try to find that delicate balance between potting and position, and you will advance a whole APA level.
You don't seem to plan much farther than one ball ahead , and it looked to me like most of your position shots crossed the best shooting line for the next shot, instead of rolling along it.
The game gets a lot easier if you start thinking ahead 3 balls and are coming toward your next shot on a good line as often as possible.
Tor Lowry has some great stuff on You Tube and teaches, I also like Joe Tuckers stuff, you are undercutting balls down the rail like most people your speed.
Try telling yourself you would rather overcut the ball 3 inches than undercut it 1/4 inch.
Also don't think about the hole , look at the pocket facing and shoot the ball at that.
The game gets a lot easier if you start thinking ahead 3 balls and are coming toward your next shot on a good line as often as possible.
Tor Lowry has some great stuff on You Tube and teaches, I also like Joe Tuckers stuff, you are undercutting balls down the rail like most people your speed.
Try telling yourself you would rather overcut the ball 3 inches than undercut it 1/4 inch.
Also don't think about the hole , look at the pocket facing and shoot the ball at that.
As has been noted, position is weak. One time you managed to hook yourself with ball in hand, playing a force follow when you had the whole table open for position.
GENERAL NOTES:
Stop taking ball in hand straight in line with a pocket, give yourself an angle to work with.
Play 15-ball rotation by yourself, that will force you to develop more of your position game.
You also seem uncomfortable drawing and stunning, instead choosing to force follow in situations where a force follow has a high chance of going wrong on you especially since you haven't quite perfected your spin control just yet.
STANCE STROKE AND FORM:
You stand facing the table a lot more than most pool players, more like a snooker player, which has a lot of potential if you're comfortable shooting like that.
A few fixes that should help you immediately:
1) When you get down to shoot, you currently step with your left foot first and set it, then you set your right foot. This is backwards. Step into the shot with your right foot, that's where most of your weight should be, and you steady yourself with your left foot. Try turning your left foot outwards about 30 degrees. You're already keeping your right foot mostly pointed down your shot line which is good, but that should be your starting point, building everything off of that, so you end up with your foot, hip, and shoulder all securely down the line of your shot.
2) You're lifting and lowering your cue more than you need to. Given your stance and that you grip the very back of the cue, this is largely unnecessary for you to establish a stroking line. A lot of intermediate level players will have this aggressive looping backstroke (like the dude in the red shirt) but other than Bustamante you don't see many pros with it, they're usually more mechanical and deliberate. There's a reason for it. When you have your mechanics worked out right, you should be able to bring the cue straight back and power forward in a dead straight line just by hinging your elbow.
3) Your elbow is a little too low and you're raising/lowing it with your cue too much. Your elbow should really freeze in place, and typically with a good form your elbow will be higher than your head. Try standing back a few extra inches from the table, stretch your upper body out a little more for the shot, and reach your elbow (but not your hand!) back until it feels tight. Your whole wrist/elbow/shoulder setup is a little too loose and it can be very difficult to get repeatable results from that. I can't tell from the video how your grip is working or whether you're turning your wrist in a way it shouldn't be.
See if you can take a snooker lesson -- Canada might not have APA but it does have plenty of snooker, unlike the US. You already are in more of a snooker stance so if a snooker instructor can get you stroking a little straighter you should see a big jump in your game in very short time as long as you're willing to do what too many new players aren't: throw out what feels 'natural' and develop dependable, repeatable mechanics so that your actual 'natural' talent has a steady platform to grow from.
Good luck.
GENERAL NOTES:
Stop taking ball in hand straight in line with a pocket, give yourself an angle to work with.
Play 15-ball rotation by yourself, that will force you to develop more of your position game.
You also seem uncomfortable drawing and stunning, instead choosing to force follow in situations where a force follow has a high chance of going wrong on you especially since you haven't quite perfected your spin control just yet.
STANCE STROKE AND FORM:
You stand facing the table a lot more than most pool players, more like a snooker player, which has a lot of potential if you're comfortable shooting like that.
A few fixes that should help you immediately:
1) When you get down to shoot, you currently step with your left foot first and set it, then you set your right foot. This is backwards. Step into the shot with your right foot, that's where most of your weight should be, and you steady yourself with your left foot. Try turning your left foot outwards about 30 degrees. You're already keeping your right foot mostly pointed down your shot line which is good, but that should be your starting point, building everything off of that, so you end up with your foot, hip, and shoulder all securely down the line of your shot.
2) You're lifting and lowering your cue more than you need to. Given your stance and that you grip the very back of the cue, this is largely unnecessary for you to establish a stroking line. A lot of intermediate level players will have this aggressive looping backstroke (like the dude in the red shirt) but other than Bustamante you don't see many pros with it, they're usually more mechanical and deliberate. There's a reason for it. When you have your mechanics worked out right, you should be able to bring the cue straight back and power forward in a dead straight line just by hinging your elbow.
3) Your elbow is a little too low and you're raising/lowing it with your cue too much. Your elbow should really freeze in place, and typically with a good form your elbow will be higher than your head. Try standing back a few extra inches from the table, stretch your upper body out a little more for the shot, and reach your elbow (but not your hand!) back until it feels tight. Your whole wrist/elbow/shoulder setup is a little too loose and it can be very difficult to get repeatable results from that. I can't tell from the video how your grip is working or whether you're turning your wrist in a way it shouldn't be.
See if you can take a snooker lesson -- Canada might not have APA but it does have plenty of snooker, unlike the US. You already are in more of a snooker stance so if a snooker instructor can get you stroking a little straighter you should see a big jump in your game in very short time as long as you're willing to do what too many new players aren't: throw out what feels 'natural' and develop dependable, repeatable mechanics so that your actual 'natural' talent has a steady platform to grow from.
Good luck.
Great idea, will definately do that!!
Thank you all for the comments, very interesting ones!! Will have a lot to work on on the coming weeks
Always looking to improve. That video as been filmed in April, I've improved some of the stuff you guys mentionned, but still has a LOT to work on
I no longer a table at home, that does't help, but still, I do have quality table time, alone and with better players than I am!
Thanks
Always looking to improve. That video as been filmed in April, I've improved some of the stuff you guys mentionned, but still has a LOT to work on
I no longer a table at home, that does't help, but still, I do have quality table time, alone and with better players than I am!
Thanks
What I recommend for improving pocketing balls and controlling the cue ball is equal offense. To help with kicking you can add a rule where if you successfully kick a ball it doesn't count as a miss. That way you practice kicking as well as pocketing balls and moving the cue ball.
If you get to where you can consistently score 100 in equal offense then try some 9 ball.
You mean when I can either pocket a ball, safe myself or kick to a ball, it's 1 points?