Do I draw to much?

So here are the advantages of using rails mentioned so far and a couple others.

1. Rails are more predictable than the most polished of strokes;
2. Rails allow you to play "down the line of the shot" giving you the greatest margin of error;
3. Rails allow you to play natural paths and make the pockets play to their maximum size;
4. Rails will keep you from scratching and from being on the rail more often than not;
5. Rails allow you to control the speed of the shot so you can let your stroke out;
6. Rails will keep you on the right side of the ball, and the long side of the ball more often than not;
7. Rails give you options to avoid obstructions;

Really, there is no way to play the game correctly w/o rails. You probably avoid using rails to minimize cueball movement, which is great. But that has to be balanced with other positional considerations like the ones I listed.

If you're running out often w/o rails, wait until you start using them...;)
 
To answer your first question...YES... you draw to much and so does almost every other amatuer play I have ever seen or taught. Draw looks cool...hey see the cue ball on a string.

When you advance or want to advance you will find that a rolling ball is much more predictable, as well as the rails action on the cue ball. If you want to get better and advance you must learn to use the rails for position.

Funny thing is in 20 yrs of instruction I have never had a potental student come and ask me to teach him follow, but have had hundreds that just wnated to learn to draw.
 
JohnnyP said:
Someone once told me "stroke varies, rails don't".

Using draw, your position depends on your stroke and cue tip placement.

Using rails, your position is less dependant on stroke, more on speed control.
Click to expand...

hate to say it but:
they lied
 
the day i discovered follow (and, consequently, using the rails for shape), began a new chapter in my game. i can't believe how much i limited myself when i drew everything. friends have told me i use follow most of the time, but that's just their perception. in reality, i try to use CENTER BALL whenever possible, and you should too. the further you get away from center ball, the more variables you have to calculate. i read somewhere that great players will play 80%+ of shots with center ball hit, and i'd bet they'd hit 'em all center ball if they could. my first consideration when looking at a shot is finding out where center ball hit will take the CB, then i adjust from there.

i guess what i'm getting at is, yes, you draw too much. and i talk too much.

-s
 
scottycoyote said:
... pay attention more and more to the "attack line".......concept talked about in "the pool players edge", bascially you draw a line thru the next ball you want to play, and then if you can you want to bring the cue ball around kind of on that line, which gives you larger margins of error and still be in shape. ...coming in on the attack line i can be off by 2 or 3 foot and im still perfect.
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tap-tap.

I never heard it called the attack line before, but recognize the thinking! and the corollary is that it is hard to control the CB when you are travelling across the line of attack, because a little bit of error goes a long way to messin' you up bad (so you can't make the shot or you are wrong-sided for the 3rd ball, etc.)

...so yes, you need to be able to play position using rails, because you're going to need that skill sometimes to get on the attack line.
 
Sounds like you've got pretty good draw control. This is great and will probably help you win many games that others may not be able to. The down side of this is that you possibly take away part of the ability to make the game as easy as you can on yourself. After watching a couple of pro matches on TV, I noticed that rarely is the cb hit hard. Spend some time here and there using pocket speed without draw. This helped me immensely in learning position. You will see how the cb tends to react to the rails and the slow speed will help in giving you plenty of time to examine the shots and the results. After a little bit, start practicing using side/top/draw/etc to find out more on the positions after rail contact. Keep in mind that you will need to put a little more on the shot in most cases to stop the cb from either losing its spin or from throwing itself off track with side. I try to stress pocket speed with my APA teammates in the same way, since the cb will do any number of things after contact on a shot with more than pocket speed and the harder the hit the more difficult it becomes to see why things happened the way they did and the lesson gets lost in the wild results of the shot.
 
Actually

the situation is not an uncommon situation by new players who think they
can learn the game by just playing somone all the time in 8 ball or 9 ball, and never really work on the little building blocks of shots and knowledge you need to learn to put a whole game together the right way.

They have a tendency to avoid rails, or even learning how to bank or kick, especailly when it comes to more than 1 rail. And when they learn to bank, even 1 rail, they only know how to do it with outside low or high english.

Good opponents recognize all the nuances of weakness in your game, why do you think you end up with so many leaves that you do not know for sure how to shoot them, for example, playing a safety where you have to kick at it using 2 or 3 rails, when they already know you are strictly a one rail guy.

That is what is meant by learning the right way, a step at a time. The same as you did not go straight to Calculus when you were 8, you had to
take several math courses through the years to lead you to Calculus.
You can learn the game of Pool overnight and have fun doing it, but to learn the sport of Pool takes much longer.

Another point I would like to make is that at the end of your cue ball path
on a shot, you should be coming into your shape not going away from it.
My players will have a shot where they try to kill or hold the cue ball, when
the simpler solution is just go to the rail and come back into your shape.
My motto for years has been, when in doubt, go the extra rail.
 
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My game shot up three ball when i learned what to do using the rails. Bert Kininster's 60 minute workout is what sharpened my rail use. He makes you use the rails to come thru the center of the table..the beauty of this that there is no scratch shot..Having the ability to draw is a great thing to fall back on when you get out of line but it is not the thing to build or rest your game on..using the rails prepares your offensive game as well as your deffensive game
 
Scottlucasi19 said:
Alright thanks guys, but why would it be better to start using rails when i can get out fine without them? Is using rails better for the long run if so then how? again thanks for the advice
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What do you mean by getting out fine without them? When someone says that I would expect them to be an A player or better.

Rails are more predictable, its far easier to control distance if you are going to the rail then to draw it back. Furthermore if you are comfortable using spin and the rails it opens up more positional opportunities.

When playing position you want the cue ball to be rolling in line with the shot rather than away from it, if that makes any sense.

Finally you said you use a lot of low left and right english. If you don't use rails why are you using so much english? If you are not using english to get position, throw a ball into a pocket or to avoid a a skid, don't use it. Don't use english to make balls unless the shot can't be made without it. Keep it simple.
 
Your closest exit may be behind you (or not)

Just two labored analogies;

When we board the plane, they always point out our exit routes and remind us that the closest (easiest) exit may be behind us. In pool, keep in mind that the easiest out may be in front of you.

When we first learn to draw the ball, it's like when we first discover our unit. We want to play with it all the time. Contrary to the nuns I will say that the latter will not make you blind, but the former may blind you to other options.
 
Scottlucasi19 said:
I've been watching alot of pro games lately, and I've been comparing there patterns to the way I would shoot, and I've noticed that my patterns are alot less complex (using less rails), I draw alot more and use alot less rails to get out but it works good for me, I dunno if this has to do with the bar tables being smaller, I havnt played on 9 footers that much. But should I start trying to use the rails more to take my game to the next level? any advice would be much appreciated thanks!
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Hard to imagine one would even question which is better. At any rate you have and got your answer. If you want to be a player, use the rails. Since your play is limited to a bar box some play on a 9 footer will define how much you really need to use rails. Or to give you an even broader spectrum, play on a 12' Snooker table. See how much you like to draw into position on Big Bertha.

Rod
 
Thank you everyone for the advice you have changed my perpective of the game, for the last two days I been experimenting with the rails and now I understand how much better it is to work with the CB instead of against it all the time, it has helped my kick game out and even my stroke.
 
Hard to Imagine

I wasn't asking which one was better, like I said have been watching the PRO's, I simply wanted to know why it would be better in hopes of an answer better than "If you wanna be a player" lol
 
Tommy Tube Sock said:
Just two labored analogies;

When we board the plane, they always point out our exit routes and remind us that the closest (easiest) exit may be behind us. In pool, keep in mind that the easiest out may be in front of you.

When we first learn to draw the ball, it's like when we first discover our unit. We want to play with it all the time. Contrary to the nuns I will say that the latter will not make you blind, but the former may blind you to other options.
Click to expand...
Nice analogies....welcome to the forum!
 
Scottlucasi19 said:
I've been watching alot of pro games lately, and I've been comparing there patterns to the way I would shoot, and I've noticed that my patterns are alot less complex (using less rails), I draw alot more and use alot less rails to get out but it works good for me, I dunno if this has to do with the bar tables being smaller, I havnt played on 9 footers that much. But should I start trying to use the rails more to take my game to the next level? any advice would be much appreciated thanks!
Click to expand...


Hi there,
I personally prefer straight pool-bar tables are tough-depends on how the rails play--I shoot center ball,following natural path and making sure you get on the RIGHT side of the next object ball-know your angles when using rails and practice on 9 foot-its easy to lose the cueball so watch your speed!
Good luck!
Carol
 
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