There are a lot of good players on here that discount systems as useful for beginners only. While I agree that if you are playing for 6-8 hours per day practicing as a pro, maybe they are. If you are practicing for 1-2 hours per day like I do (I work alot also), a system is better than nothing. I played in a tournament this weekend and my opponent played safe leaving me a kick at the 8-ball (playing 8-ball). I lined up the 2+ kick system Tom Rossman teaches, adjusted for the ball being farther out from the rail than Tom shows, and making sure I hit long, not short due to scratch. I picked a track line, parallel shifted, and kicked in the 8-ball. Although I was in a bad spot due to a failed runout, I was able to use Tom's video to pick a spot, give myself a good chance at hitting the 8-ball, possibly making it.
The guy's eyes got 3 times bigger, said "Nice F__ing shot" and about 20 people watching were hooting and hollering. I calmly said "Thanks" and held out my hand for more quarters (giving the illusion that I knew I would make it).
My only point is that systems help me out alot, especially since I can't get enough table time to go by feel alone, and I encourage others to use them.
Thanks Tom, learning your systems helped me out alot (although I have a question on one of them that I will post for comment in another post). BTW- I ended up winning the tourament (undefeated) for a nice $700.
The guy's eyes got 3 times bigger, said "Nice F__ing shot" and about 20 people watching were hooting and hollering. I calmly said "Thanks" and held out my hand for more quarters (giving the illusion that I knew I would make it).
My only point is that systems help me out alot, especially since I can't get enough table time to go by feel alone, and I encourage others to use them.
Thanks Tom, learning your systems helped me out alot (although I have a question on one of them that I will post for comment in another post). BTW- I ended up winning the tourament (undefeated) for a nice $700.
