How close is your bridge hand from the cue ball when shooting?

[8-Ball Player]

hrm, I think enzo's pointing out something a lot of people don't notice or admit... that even straight shooters have a slight angle in the line of approach.

What he's saying is that people naturally start out with the line of their cue pointing very slightly away from the line they want, then as their stroke comes forward they subconsciously correct it by moving the back hand inward a bit.

With a short bridge, this correction has to happen pretty quickly, before the cue can travel more than 4ish inches. With a long bridge, it can be much more gradual and happen over the course of 11ish inches.

I've definitely noticed this, but I'm not sure if most players have this or just the ones with bad fundamentals. Knowing the answer might help me a lot. I do know that a handful of pros have this and seem to do ok with it.

Here's a video of Francisco Bustamante's stroke that shows what I mean. You can see from the line of his stick is and the twitch at the end that he's got an 'adjustment' in his stroke (it helps to view fullscreen and it's sorta subtle). But maybe Busty is just the exception to the rule and most players truly keep it very straight.

I think that for a cue to be truly 100% straight pointing down the line of the shot, a player's body must be rotated sideways (or his neck must be turned) a bit more than most people realize. Maybe more than is comfortable. So they learn to make this inward 'dip' movement without realizing it so that they don't have to turn too drastically.

Yep, its crooked alright, but dang he is GOOD!

 

[enzo]

i'm kinda trying to figure out what you're saying(i'm better off with diagrams), but i think i understand you.

first off, i think your assumption is wrong, that a person goes off line when he draws back. i think you're talking about bad to average players who's stroke is all over the place. a good player draws straight back.

but let's assume we're only talking to the average player who DOES draw back off-line. NOW you are assuming he will get back in line if you give him enough length...that is not a given. if he's crooked on his drawback, he can be equally crooked on his stroke, so there's no guarantee of correcting himself. a player who has a shorter stroke will draw back shorter and therefore will be LESS off line,,,and when he strokes forward there is less to correct.

a bigger motion(in this case, a longer drawback) creates bigger errors since movement is magnified.

i think this is not necessarilly so either. if there is a jerk in the stroke, it is not always from the shortness of it, but rather the tendency to simply poke at the ball or jerk the cue back in the first place. players with average or long strokes jab at the cb as well.

this is a nice post but it is wrong i must say. the only way i know of to prove it is to watch the cue of the best player you know very closely, it will come back to one side or the other (slightly) invariably. watch nick varners stroke if you want an extreme example. or, put a laser on the end of efren's (or anybodys) cue and i will personally bet you that as you watch the red dot on the wall there will be slight lateral movement.

remember though too, you dont necesarily have to draw back further if you have a longer bridge. anyway, i usually charge people to work on this stuff with them, haha, but i hope that helps whoever it was that was looking for help.

 

[enzo]

I think everyone strokes crooked to some degree. Efren, Busta, and even Strickland (who looks laser-straight when you stand behind him). When you watch all of the very top players play on video and watch very closely, nearly all of them have a slight adjustment in their stroke. Archer actually twists/cocks his wrist mid-stroke to adjust.

The very best players learn to adjust and "play" it. Many swivel or use BHE on some shots, and Colin's video on that subject clearly shows how bridge length affects the CB's path w/ a cue not parallel to your aim line.

I hate using golf for analogies... but the two sports are so close. Nicklaus, when interviewed about his swing said he never, ever tried to swing the club straight, because the odds of doing so were so slim. That's why he almost always played a fade, so he could intentionally swing crooked and still stick it tight.

If anyone here thinks they can stroke truly straight 5 shots in a row, let's setup an over-head camera and review it slow motion.

Im reading through here more and there are some really nice, intelligent posts. I personally think that a player needs to hit balls, play tournaments, and ideally gamble for at least five years. when you hit a big plateau (cant get better for a long time), LOOK INTO THIS STROKE STUFF. Straitening out your stoke a bit or simplifying it can really help you jump to the next level. its hard work, and you may need a lot of video and a friend who really knows what hes talking about to help you, but ive found it to be well worth the effort. those accurate cueball hits are just everything in pool.