Cue Chalking Crutch

[ShootingArts]

I chalk once at the beginning of a game, again if I am going to go out to the edge of my tip applying spin. Miscues are so uncommon with my normal shaft and tip that I can never remember the last time I did. I deliberately took chalking out of my preshot routine. While I understand what people are saying about using it as a waypoint, it is a poor one in my opinion. Chalk has abrasive grit in it and chalk getting into the table cloth speeds wear. My own table or just consideration for the hall's tables, I try to minimize getting grit in the cloth. I chalk then whack my shaft a bit below the tip on my forearm away from the table to dislodge loose chalk. Still get some on the table but less than most players I believe. I get ten or fifteen hours of play out of a piece of chalk then when it is a little into the paper wrappings I leave it at a pool hall. I know there is a lot left to use but I figure leaving that sixteen cent cube of chalk behind lets everyone know I am a high roller!

I do think a synthetic tip, possibly one that doesn't need chalk, is long overdue. Gonna play hell with a lot of players preshot routine when they no longer need chalk on their tip!

Before leaving the subject, how many finish their session by swiping their cue tip across the hall's carpet to clean the tip? You know that carpet with spit, honkers, dirt, animal feces from shoe and boot soles, countless other things that you wouldn't let your pampered tip near at any other time. It also seems to be an excellent way to pop off a tip too. I wipe mine on a damp paper towel as a first choice, dry as a second choice, then if nothing in the way of new paper is handy, I raise the cuff of my jeans and wipe the tip in the inside surface of my blue jeans. Keeps my case cleaner and my tips in decent condition.

Hu

 

[SSDiver2112]

I chalk once at the beginning of a game, again if I am going to go out to the edge of my tip applying spin. Miscues are so uncommon with my normal shaft and tip that I can never remember the last time I did. I deliberately took chalking out of my preshot routine. While I understand what people are saying about using it as a waypoint, it is a poor one in my opinion. Chalk has abrasive grit in it and chalk getting into the table cloth speeds wear. My own table or just consideration for the hall's tables, I try to minimize getting grit in the cloth. I chalk then whack my shaft a bit below the tip on my forearm away from the table to dislodge loose chalk. Still get some on the table but less than most players I believe. I get ten or fifteen hours of play out of a piece of chalk then when it is a little into the paper wrappings I leave it at a pool hall. I know there is a lot left to use but I figure leaving that sixteen cent cube of chalk behind lets everyone know I am a high roller!

I do think a synthetic tip, possibly one that doesn't need chalk, is long overdue. Gonna play hell with a lot of players preshot routine when they no longer need chalk on their tip!

Before leaving the subject, how many finish their session by swiping their cue tip across the hall's carpet to clean the tip? You know that carpet with spit, honkers, dirt, animal feces from shoe and boot soles, countless other things that you wouldn't let your pampered tip near at any other time. It also seems to be an excellent way to pop off a tip too. I wipe mine on a damp paper towel as a first choice, dry as a second choice, then if nothing in the way of new paper is handy, I raise the cuff of my jeans and wipe the tip in the inside surface of my blue jeans. Keeps my case cleaner and my tips in decent condition.

Hu

It isn't a dedicated part of my PSR. Had a guy ask me once how I could play a whole game without chalking my cue. He didn't realize when and if I chalked it was behind him while he shot.

And yes I use a paper towel to clean the shaft and tip before it goes in the case. I've even used my palm when I couldn't get anything else, never the dirty floor. The butt of my cue rarely touches the floor as well, it rests on the top of my shoe.

 

[RicNic]

As for chalking crutch, in my opinion, cue chalking should be done at most only once to START the pre-shot routine. Once chalking is out of the way, the shooter will then be able to effectively concentrate on the other aspects of the pre-shot routine such as stance, stroke, position and finally aim.

 

[KissedOut]

It feels odd to NOT leave it on the table to me too, but most pro cue sports see each player using his own piece of chalk...which isnt really a bad idea.

I started using my own chalk when I gave up pool and only played 3C. 'When in Rome . . ." Carom and snooker players all seem to carry their own chalk and take it with them when they miss and return to their chair. I wonder how the disparity in practice came about. Or are pro pool players doing this now? I never watch pool anymore so I don't know.

 

[KissedOut]

As for chalking crutch, in my opinion, cue chalking should be done at most only once to START the pre-shot routine. Once chalking is out of the way, the shooter will then be able to effectively concentrate on the other aspects of the pre-shot routine such as stance, stroke, position and finally aim.

Nobody really cares about your opinion. You are not the arbiter of chalking practices. There is a vast gulf between "This how I do it and why" and "This is how you should do it and if you don't I am going to call you a cowardly mental cripple lacking confidence." See the difference?

 

[logical]

Nobody really cares about your opinion. You are not the arbiter of chalking practices. There is a vast gulf between "This how I do it and why" and "This is how you should do it and if you don't I am going to call you a cowardly mental cripple lacking confidence." See the difference?

I get the sense that if it wasn't obvious to him before...like it was to every other human being on the planet who ever even once observed and pondered it...then it likely never will be.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

 

[boogieman]

I chalk once at the beginning of a game, again if I am going to go out to the edge of my tip applying spin. Miscues are so uncommon with my normal shaft and tip that I can never remember the last time I did. I deliberately took chalking out of my preshot routine. While I understand what people are saying about using it as a waypoint, it is a poor one in my opinion. Chalk has abrasive grit in it and chalk getting into the table cloth speeds wear. My own table or just consideration for the hall's tables, I try to minimize getting grit in the cloth. I chalk then whack my shaft a bit below the tip on my forearm away from the table to dislodge loose chalk. Still get some on the table but less than most players I believe. I get ten or fifteen hours of play out of a piece of chalk then when it is a little into the paper wrappings I leave it at a pool hall. I know there is a lot left to use but I figure leaving that sixteen cent cube of chalk behind lets everyone know I am a high roller!

I do think a synthetic tip, possibly one that doesn't need chalk, is long overdue. Gonna play hell with a lot of players preshot routine when they no longer need chalk on their tip!

Before leaving the subject, how many finish their session by swiping their cue tip across the hall's carpet to clean the tip? You know that carpet with spit, honkers, dirt, animal feces from shoe and boot soles, countless other things that you wouldn't let your pampered tip near at any other time. It also seems to be an excellent way to pop off a tip too. I wipe mine on a damp paper towel as a first choice, dry as a second choice, then if nothing in the way of new paper is handy, I raise the cuff of my jeans and wipe the tip in the inside surface of my blue jeans. Keeps my case cleaner and my tips in decent condition.

Hu

I used to chalk before every shot.

As a test I didn't chalk with V10. I shot extreme shots 20 times without a miscue and the tip still looked great. Now I chalk real good at the start while analyzing the rack after break. If I run into an odd situation I might chalk just to kind of have time to think. Generally I'll figure a pattern and as long as it goes well I won't mess with chalk. If I get out of line and need to re plan things, I'll chalk. I'll always chalk before the money ball just to leave nothing up to chance and make sure I'm not rushing things.

I find it very freeing to not have to stop the visualization of a pattern just to chalk.

 

[ShootingArts]

I used to chalk before every shot.

As a test I didn't chalk with V10. I shot extreme shots 20 times without a miscue and the tip still looked great. Now I chalk real good at the start while analyzing the rack after break. If I run into an odd situation I might chalk just to kind of have time to think. Generally I'll figure a pattern and as long as it goes well I won't mess with chalk. If I get out of line and need to re plan things, I'll chalk. I'll always chalk before the money ball just to leave nothing up to chance and make sure I'm not rushing things.

I find it very freeing to not have to stop the visualization of a pattern just to chalk.

Seems like we are very much on the same page! Some call it flow, I am trying to plan an inning before hitting the first ball then have the entire inning flowing as part of one action.

Been quite awhile now but twice within a month I was practicing with different youngsters and they wanted to finish off the session with a quick set. I knew their thought, finish the session on a high note! If it was important to them to win, it was important to me too. While I had been ambling around the table, now I was stalking around the table gliding into position for a shot and moving towards the next position as soon as I hit the cue ball and followed through. No attention given to balls still in motion, they were going to do what I wanted them to. Seeing that things weren't going to go their way, both youngsters quit on me midset! I just grinned to myself. Chalk up more triumphs for age and cunning over youth and skill. I have to admit I especially enjoyed one youngster realizing there was to be no high note finish for him. He had said he played APA, BCA, TAP, a few more, maybe SPCA. He had his cue case covered with patches and decals, some for running a table, and seemed to think I should be properly awed.

Good times! Get back Covid, it is time to play!

Hu

 

[RicNic]

Nobody really cares about your opinion. You are not the arbiter of chalking practices. There is a vast gulf between "This how I do it and why" and "This is how you should do it and if you don't I am going to call you a cowardly mental cripple lacking confidence." See the difference?

Yes, I see the difference, but do you think that you might see the difference in the quality of your game if you wouldn't interrupt your thought process by chalking in the middle of your other preshot routine steps? Don't you think that your mental concentration might improve?

 

[TheJackal]

Why do most players chalk their cue when they get up when reconsidering a shot? This results in unnecessary chalking. It appears that they use it as a crutch. Do they believe it is important to chalk their cue as a last step in their pre-shot routine?

For the same reason baseball players bang their cleats after each pitch, bowlers wipe their bowling ball before each shot, tennis players bounce the ball X times before serving, etc etc. Yes, for some is could be a crutch. But, I think, for most, it's just a pre-shot routine.

As for NEEDING to chalk before each shot? That's debatable. I'm far from a pro, and after seeing this post, I watched a few minutes of 2-3 videos and noticed most do chalk after each shot

 

[RicNic]

Your reply doesn't help to understand why players chalk unnecessarily, for example, after chalking and going down to shoot, a player gets up to reconsider his shot, but before going down again, he or she chalks the cue again. This process might repeat a few times, each time chalking just before going down to shoot. Can you explain why most players do that?

 

[Black-Balled]

Yes, I see the difference, but do you think that you might see the difference in the quality of your game if you wouldn't interrupt your thought process by chalking in the middle of your other preshot routine steps? Don't you think that your mental concentration might improve?

Are you thick?

It has been said many times by many before you posted the above:
Chalking is an early part of PSR.

Can you not comprehend that getting up from a shot and chalking restarts the PSR, it does not pause it.

 

[robertod]

I realize everyone has habits or routines. But some of them are just plain bad for the game.

No doubt many players chalk excessively and incorrectly. Just look at the snooker players. Never more than a couple of swipes ( not drilling) holding the cue away from the table (keeping chalk off the table) . Keeping the shaft at angle as to not let all the chalk go down on the shaft.

All that excessive chalking just ends up on your hands, on the cue, on the table, on the cue ball and eventually on the object balls, possibly adding to more skids.

 

[RicNic]

To: Black-Balled, please answer the question below?
Again -
Your reply doesn't help to understand why players chalk unnecessarily, for example, after chalking and going down to shoot, a player gets up to reconsider his shot, but before going down again, he or she chalks the cue again. This process might repeat a few times, each time chalking just before going down to shoot. Can you explain why most players do that?

 

[bbb]

Are you thick?

It has been said many times by many before you posted the above:
Chalking is an early part of PSR.

Can you not comprehend that getting up from a shot and chalking restarts the PSR, it does not pause it.

To: Black-Balled, please answer the question below?
Again -
Your reply doesn't help to understand why players chalk unnecessarily, for example, after chalking and going down to shoot, a player gets up to reconsider his shot, but before going down again, he or she chalks the cue again. This process might repeat a few times, each time chalking just before going down to shoot. Can you explain why most players do that?

RicNic
read black-balled post 100 times
more if you have to
until you get it

 

[lfigueroa]

To: Black-Balled, please answer the question below?
Again -
Your reply doesn't help to understand why players chalk unnecessarily, for example, after chalking and going down to shoot, a player gets up to reconsider his shot, but before going down again, he or she chalks the cue again. This process might repeat a few times, each time chalking just before going down to shoot. Can you explain why most players do that?

They do it because it is an integral part of their PSR.

Which means they are using chalking to get body parts in the same starting position to execute the motion they use to get into shooting position. I think it was Allen Hopkins who would, religiously, switch hands to chalk, then return the cue to his other hand to descend into shooting position. Each and every shot.

It is done to achieve repeatable precision and for some guys this is an essential part of shooting well. Others, maybe not, but for many.

Lou Figueroa

 

[ShootingArts]

People, you are arguing about something silly. As Lou's post somewhat addresses, whatever chalking does for your routine is a conditioned response. You can choose what it does or doesn't do in your preshot routine. I made it part of my preshot routine for a short period but to me it seemed silly to chalk before shots that didn't need it so I deliberately moved chalking outside of my preshot routine.

Our choice what chalking is or isn't so no answer is wrong when we are talking about ourselves.

Hu

 

[RicNic]

OK, I give up. I realize now that I should have been asking, "Why do most players include chalking in their PSR, when all they need to do is chalk once before starting their PSR?"

 

[Black-Balled]

OK, I give up. I realize now that I should have been asking, "Why do most players include chalking in their PSR, when all they need to do is chalk once before starting their PSR?"

In the interest of logical investigations the critical thinker must approach a given question from all angles.
Can chalking be considered part of a psr?

Was I born in the depression and will I argue contrary to the popular claim: chalk is free'?

 

[ShootingArts]

OK, I give up. I realize now that I should have been asking, "Why do most players include chalking in their PSR, when all they need to do is chalk once before starting their PSR?"

The original rational behind chalking every shot was so that you didn't forget to chalk when you needed to. Even Master only needs using at the beginning of a rack and when a lot of spin is needed. Forget to chalk before a shot and get the dreaded miscue and immediately a lack of chalk is blamed although the truth is no amount of chalk will help when many players try to reach out past the limits on a cue ball.

Better to chalk dozens of times when you don't need to than to fail to chalk once when you need to, or so the theory went!

Hu