First Video up for critique. What kind of table is this?

Culinarytracker

Culinarytracker

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
http://youtu.be/HijVX693sXw

I was just playing around with a camera setup for recording my pool table. I threw out a random 15 balls and shot them off to test the camera, then realized that it was a decent example of my average shooting style. So I figured I'd throw it out there for critique. I missed a couple shots I normally wouldn't if I was in full concentration.

My table is in a corner so the patterns have to be chosen a little differently because I can only shoot from 2 sides of the table. If I want to shoot from the end at the wall, the cue ball has to be at least as far up table as the center string.

I bought this table about a year ago, never was sure exactly what it is. I was told AMC, but was never able to find out for sure.

Thanks,
Carl
 
One last bump. Just hoping to introduce myself and hoping to hear some comments about my stroke or whatever someone might have to say.
 
I'm a nobody but I thought your practice strokes were too fast. You even start swinging even before you're down.

I'm not sure having half a table to play on is better than no table. I'm thinking it might possibly promote odd patterns and shot selection since you essentially have to keep the cueball on the bottom half of the table.

I hope you actually spend more time at the poolhal or wherever shooting on an "open" table.
 
Your table looks a lot like a Brunswick to me, but hard to tell from the video. There are copy-type tables out there. It appears to be of good quality regardless.

I'm no professional, but know pool very well. I would guess that you are a C level player to a B minus, but that is difficult to tell due to your inadequate table setup and the non-rotation game you are playing which doesn't demonstrate qualities that I look for in a good player.

Your stroke and form are decent, and I would guess you have been playing a while. I do think your stroke needs additional work to allow you to advance your game. Notice the position of your hand at the completion of your stroke and make sure that you are not bringing it too close to your chest. Also, pay attention to the amount of force you are using to hit the ball. Hitting too hard will cause problems and often dilute the effect of intended English. Watch your video again, then watch a professional like Ralph Souquet or Allison Fisher. Focus on their stroke only. Then watch your video again. That is an excellent way to pick up on subtle things that will improve your stroke and your game.

As for your table issue. Try plugging the 3 pockets on one side with towels or whatever. Then just play the 3 pockets on your open side. This will allow you to increase banking and kicking skill along with position play without having to shoot from the blocked side.

Good luck, and thanks for posting your video and your interest in billiards.
 
Welcome to the forums Carl. Looks pretty good. I see a few things in your process that could use a little tweaking. I'd stop my cue at the CB, after your warmups...tip close, for at least 1/2 second. This lets your brain "decide" if you're really ready or not. Most of us tend to rush shooting, and that's where mistakes occur! I just watched a couple minutes, but it's 2am and I'm tired. I'll watch the rest tomorrow, and add anything else that I see! Not sure about what kind of table it is.

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com
 
Krypto said:
I'm no professional, but know pool very well. I would guess that you are a C level player to a B minus, but that is difficult to tell due to your inadequate table setup and the non-rotation game you are playing which doesn't demonstrate qualities that I look for in a good player.

Your stroke and form are decent, and I would guess you have been playing a while. I do think your stroke needs additional work to allow you to advance your game. Notice the position of your hand at the completion of your stroke and make sure that you are not bringing it too close to your chest. Also, pay attention to the amount of force you are using to hit the ball. Hitting too hard will cause problems and often dilute the effect of intended English. Watch your video again, then watch a professional like Ralph Souquet or Allison Fisher. Focus on their stroke only. Then watch your video again. That is an excellent way to pick up on subtle things that will improve your stroke and your game.

As for your table issue. Try plugging the 3 pockets on one side with towels or whatever. Then just play the 3 pockets on your open side. This will allow you to increase banking and kicking skill along with position play without having to shoot from the blocked side.

Good luck, and thanks for posting your video and your interest in billiards.
Click to expand...


Thanks for the comments.
I do work on kicking and banking quite a bit, that is a skill that has been forced on me by this table setup. I don't usually use this table for normal play or running racks. I usually just shoot lots and lots of drills that I can do from the two sides of the table I can use.

I have been playing seriously for 3 years. Due to the leagues available around me I play 8 ball almost exclusively. I do however try to get in some 9 ball whenever the opportunity arises, and I play a fair amount of straight pool too (high run 32). In 8 ball I probably break and run about 10-20% of the time. 20% would be a very good day for me.

I try to pay a lot of attention to my stroke and pre-shot routine. I definitely have my ups and downs. Sometimes I can clearly see and execute just about anything on the table all night. And other times I will routinely miss shots by a half a diamond. When I am in these slumps it almost always feels like something is going on during my stroke that shouldn't be there.
 
JohnPT said:
I'm a nobody but I thought your practice strokes were too fast. You even start swinging even before you're down.

I'm not sure having half a table to play on is better than no table. I'm thinking it might possibly promote odd patterns and shot selection since you essentially have to keep the cueball on the bottom half of the table.

I hope you actually spend more time at the poolhal or wherever shooting on an "open" table.
Click to expand...

I would have to say having any table is better than no table.... I normally only play drills and practice straight in shots and stroke drills on this table. Lots of kicking and banking as well. It's more of a novelty to try to run a whole rack on this table. I've only done that a handful of times.

And yes, it definitely brings up some unique patterns and shot selections as well. I figure it'll be a good thing when I find someone to play 1 pocket with. :)

I spend quite a bit of time on other tables... three league nights a week and a tournament here and there.
 
Scott Lee said:
Welcome to the forums Carl. Looks pretty good. I see a few things in your process that could use a little tweaking. I'd stop my cue at the CB, after your warmups...tip close, for at least 1/2 second. This lets your brain "decide" if you're really ready or not. Most of us tend to rush shooting, and that's where mistakes occur! I just watched a couple minutes, but it's 2am and I'm tired. I'll watch the rest tomorrow, and add anything else that I see! Not sure about what kind of table it is.

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com
Click to expand...

I think I normally do have a nice pause in the set position. It's my intent anyway.

I find that when I"m really shooting well, I always know for sure if I'm ready to pull the trigger. Thats when I start to rush my preshot routine. This usually is ok for the night while I"m feeling good, but comes back to hurt me the next day. Its like I stop being able to visualize the lines and angles clearly sometimes. Or I see them on the table, but they are just wrong. Then a week later I"m back on top and can't seem to make a mistake.

Thanks for your comments. I"ll have to record myself doing some drills with a little more focus and take a better look at my form. Like I said, this was just a casual rack of balls to test the camera setup.
 
Culinarytracker said:
I think I normally do have a nice pause in the set position. It's my intent anyway.

I find that when I"m really shooting well, I always know for sure if I'm ready to pull the trigger. Thats when I start to rush my preshot routine. This usually is ok for the night while I"m feeling good, but comes back to hurt me the next day. Its like I stop being able to visualize the lines and angles clearly sometimes. Or I see them on the table, but they are just wrong. Then a week later I"m back on top and can't seem to make a mistake.

Thanks for your comments. I"ll have to record myself doing some drills with a little more focus and take a better look at my form. Like I said, this was just a casual rack of balls to test the camera setup.
Click to expand...

A friend of mine by the name of Rich Geiler had a GC1 set up in his one car garage, pushed into the corner so that only one side and the foot of the table, because it was a ball return, the foot of the table was available. He practiced on his table all the time, and back then...he had a Pro ranking of 32'nd in the world by the BCA:D
 
realkingcobra said:
A friend of mine by the name of Rich Geiler had a GC1 set up in his one car garage, pushed into the corner so that only one side and the foot of the table, because it was a ball return, the foot of the table was available. He practiced on his table all the time, and back then...he had a Pro ranking of 32'nd in the world by the BCA:D
Click to expand...

Nice, I wish mine had a ball return. I tried to have one put in, but there were internal parts of the table that ended up making it impossible.
 
from the spots on the table I know you like to practice. And improve. So do I.
The 9 ft.table is clearly to big for your room but just the right size for you. When you see a youtube or accustats video of the pros, they are playing on a nine ft table, or just lately ten. Bigger is better so they say.
You have almost 3/4 of the table to shoot at and that is all you need.
It is easy to adjust to anything smaller.

Check out your stance at 2:27. Compare at 2:57.
You gotta be STABLE! I mean still. At 227 you had an easy shot but might have been off balance. you might get away with it 99 out of a 100 times....

Try to have the same foundation on all shots. Get your feet under you where they belong everytime.
good straight stroke from what I see.
don't let up after a miss.
thx for the video.
steven
 
I would recommend a cue called a Troubleshooter, it is shorter and will allow you to shoot in a confined space.
 
driven said:
from the spots on the table I know you like to practice. And improve. So do I.
The 9 ft.table is clearly to big for your room but just the right size for you. When you see a youtube or accustats video of the pros, they are playing on a nine ft table, or just lately ten. Bigger is better so they say.
You have almost 3/4 of the table to shoot at and that is all you need.
It is easy to adjust to anything smaller.

Check out your stance at 2:27. Compare at 2:57.
You gotta be STABLE! I mean still. At 227 you had an easy shot but might have been off balance. you might get away with it 99 out of a 100 times....

Try to have the same foundation on all shots. Get your feet under you where they belong everytime.
good straight stroke from what I see.
don't let up after a miss.
thx for the video.
steven
Click to expand...

The shot at 2:27 was around the corner of a wall and over a chair. And of course that is just an excuse. I could still have taken a moment to be a lot more solid.

Also, this is an oversize 8 foot table, not a 9. When I measured for a table the 9 footer was just a little too tight in the room even when shoved in a corner. I wanted to be able to squeeze in and walk around the whole table.

Thanks for the good comments.
 
alstl said:
I would recommend a cue called a Troubleshooter, it is shorter and will allow you to shoot in a confined space.
Click to expand...

The Troubleshooter is a great short cue. We use one regularly on my dad's table.

My intention is not to be able to play games on this table, just a table to shoot drills and practice on. It makes such a huge difference when I have a table 5 steps from my couch. Whenever I see something interesting on a dvd or a pro game, all I have to do is stand up and go try it. I think I use the table so much more because of that.
 
Culinarytracker said:
The shot at 2:27 was around the corner of a wall and over a chair. And of course that is just an excuse. I could still have taken a moment to be a lot more solid.

Also, this is an oversize 8 foot table, not a 9. When I measured for a table the 9 footer was just a little too tight in the room even when shoved in a corner. I wanted to be able to squeeze in and walk around the whole table.

Thanks for the good comments.
Click to expand...

did you say "around the corner of a wall and over a chair"
I love you man, keep at at.
steven
 
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