All four of them shoot extremely well, but they all have different styles of stroke. Earl has a very long bridge, with the cue more under his right ear than his eye, and he twists his hand on every shot. Efren uses a somewhat faster stroke, but how he strokes seems to be adapted to what type of shot he has. Bustamante has a very long bridge, with a very loose wrist and has a very wavy Filipino style stroke, and on his practice strokes when he brings his tip near the CB, his tip looks like it's about 2 inches away from the CB. Allison is a fine example of textbook mechanics, she shoots very straight and has perfect alignment. What I am wondering is how all of these styles can work so well for each player. They all shoot extremely well, and Earl, Efren, and Francisco dont have very straight strokes. When you watch them shooting while they are facing you, you will notice their cue does not go straight forward and backward in their stroke, it goes either inwards or outwards. Allison is perfectly straight. How important is it to have a straight stroke then, if all of these styles can be used to play at the champion level? Is there one thing that all of these players (mechanics-wise) have in common? Does good mechanics necessarily mean a perfectly straight stroke? If so, how come many professional players play so well, and when you watch them, their strokes don't seem very straight?
Earl, Efren, Francisco, and Allison
- Thread starter LastTwo
- Start date
Purdman
Banned
This is why they say the game is 90% mental. You will also note, they are consistant no matter how they stroke. You add in their natural ability and commitment, you got a champion. I love this game, however, if I tried to play 7 to 10 hours a day, I would lose interest fast. Couple that with being on the road all the time, hotels, no loved ones around, and crapy food, you have a pretty miserable life for most of us. I think they love it. Mika usually takes his gal with him, seen them running across the street with a box of corn flakes and a quart of milk one morning at a tournament. That just ain't for me. JMHO
Don P.
Don P.
LastTwo said:
what you are forgeting is that these players are the tops in their profession. they were born with it and they are creative artists on the table and they have superior talent.........us common folk don't. . us common folk need better mechanics to overcome our deficiencies.
and don't forget that every one of us are different in subtle and not so subtle ways.
and while those pros might all vary in styles and approaches, i think you'll see they all go through the CB pretty darn straight. just watch the end of their cue from their bridge to their follow-through.j
The three greats mentioned have straight strokes.
There is no way they'd get this far if their stroke is crooked.
I think the bottom line in their stroke is when the tip hits the cueball, that tip goes on a straight line until it stops.
There is no way they'd get this far if their stroke is crooked.
I think the bottom line in their stroke is when the tip hits the cueball, that tip goes on a straight line until it stops.
I would say Allison has a textbook Snooker stroke, or a textbook Snooker-turned-Pool stroke. In any case, she's an awesome player, and it obviously worked for her game.
Efren, Busta, and Earl are all closer to my notion of a pool player's stroke: long, fluid, 3-4-rail position strokes. The older Filipinos (Efren Busta) developed the extra-loose delivery to move that cueball around nappy cloth and humid conditions, as it is year-round in Philipines (with no A/C, at least not when they started playing!). Some of the younger players have less of that, ie Lee Van Corteza or Alex.
I think of all the women, Ga Young Kim has the "most" stroke, and I would wager that she can go further with her style of play than Allison or Karen ever could. If she continues to practice with the top Taiwanese (men's) pros, there's no stopping this young talent.
jmho.
Roger
Efren, Busta, and Earl are all closer to my notion of a pool player's stroke: long, fluid, 3-4-rail position strokes. The older Filipinos (Efren Busta) developed the extra-loose delivery to move that cueball around nappy cloth and humid conditions, as it is year-round in Philipines (with no A/C, at least not when they started playing!). Some of the younger players have less of that, ie Lee Van Corteza or Alex.
I think of all the women, Ga Young Kim has the "most" stroke, and I would wager that she can go further with her style of play than Allison or Karen ever could. If she continues to practice with the top Taiwanese (men's) pros, there's no stopping this young talent.
jmho.
Roger
Allison's snooker style stroke is just not the ultimate stroke when it comes to pool. Take a look at John Horsefall, he has a pure snooker style stroke that is as nice as Allison's at least but he is not near the level of 9-ball play of any of the men you mentioned. While there is a huge amount of accuracy and consistency in a snooker style stroke for 9-ball it lacks the power required by the game at times. That is what all 3 male players you talked about have in common, they all have powerful strokes and work the cueball like no snooker player dreams possible. The movement you might see in their strokes is not a faulty non-straight stroke but you are seeing some of the small moves they do to get maximum power out of their stroke. Allison normally does not need the power because she lacks the competition that the top men have to deal with, her only main cometition is more snooker style strokes with the same lack of power.
L
locki
Guest
if you watch efren, earl, especially busty, (some of the world pros i have seen play in person) you would really notice that their practice-strokes are not perfectly straight, however, their follow-through is actually spot on, straight, and does not jerk or deflect most of the time.
remember, the action of the cb is the extension of the last action of your stroking arm. meaning, whatever happens to the cb, it is because of your last stroke, or your follow-through. your practice strokes does not determine the action of the cb.
however, being a filipino that i am, i do not follow efren nor busty's style of strokes, i play by how i learned to play 4 yrs ago. short bridge (5-7 in away from the tip), i play a fast pace, meaning i dont do too many practice strokes, i notice that 3-4 practice strokes would do. cue directly below my chin, in the middle of my two eyes, the distance of my chin and the cue depends on the length of the shot, very low on long shots, and about a foot high on shots where cb and ob are very near to each other.
oh well, it all comes down to one line, each player has his own style, once you start imitating one's style, you would find it hard to find your own. i dont say imitating is wrong, ex. i may have the same style with mika, but it doesnt necessarily mean i imitated his style.
and yeah, its very humid here, ive learned to move the cb around bald, very slow (poor) tables...
remember, the action of the cb is the extension of the last action of your stroking arm. meaning, whatever happens to the cb, it is because of your last stroke, or your follow-through. your practice strokes does not determine the action of the cb.
however, being a filipino that i am, i do not follow efren nor busty's style of strokes, i play by how i learned to play 4 yrs ago. short bridge (5-7 in away from the tip), i play a fast pace, meaning i dont do too many practice strokes, i notice that 3-4 practice strokes would do. cue directly below my chin, in the middle of my two eyes, the distance of my chin and the cue depends on the length of the shot, very low on long shots, and about a foot high on shots where cb and ob are very near to each other.
oh well, it all comes down to one line, each player has his own style, once you start imitating one's style, you would find it hard to find your own. i dont say imitating is wrong, ex. i may have the same style with mika, but it doesnt necessarily mean i imitated his style.
and yeah, its very humid here, ive learned to move the cb around bald, very slow (poor) tables...