How important is stance?

[Hail Mary Shot]

I notice a lot of talk about stance... snooker stance ..pool stance ect...

but in actual practice stance depends on where the cue ball ends up... you missed shape... he left you tough.... something bumped the cue ball on the break...

I can never seem to shoot from my "perfect stance" more than 50% of the time... I can't seem to use my favorite bridge more than 60% of the time..

thats a lot of pool to shoot from unfamiliar positions.


I'd like some pro's or instructors to chime in on how you keep hitting the cueball in the right spot.. when you are NOT in your textbook stance..

stretched out over the table with one leg in the air trying to line up shooting with a chicken wing that would make Col. Sanders proud...

you gotta shoot like that sometimes...


how do you do it?

I think I finally understand what you are trying to ask. here is the thing, the best stance is the most comfortable stance you can come up with in a difficult situation (as situation calls for it). since table layout varies, the type of stance also varies as you try to avoid touching the other balls on the table. or say that you need to hold and necessarily hit the CB from the top angle, thereby abandoning your textbook normal stance. you can see pros switch from stretching out to using a bridge instead because it's the most logical and easiest choice for them. you must consider the logic of the stance and not the appearance. the secret here is to find comfort in the most logical and easiest stance that you can ever come up with (in a particular situation). surely you dont want to do fancy stance that is inappropriate or something that would put you in a very awkward position. consider the CAUSE and EFFECT of the stance.


NOTE: it takes a lot of practice to get to familiarize yourself with certain stances. as you encounter and take some certain shots from an awkward positions, the more it becomes a simple routine. at the end of the day, you'll be making balls without even breaking a sweat.

 

[Scott Lee]

Randy told me he spoke with you. Why you think he insulted you is beyond me. He never insults ANYBODY (unlike me! ...although he is helping me to 'change' ). However, with your post here, the ball is still in your court. If you're interested in learning how we use video...take a lesson, or attend a pool school! If not...that's okay too!

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

Ofcourse I did, High Quality Video of the stroke is a great idea, I wanted to see for myself, I have access to high quality equipment myself, I thought I might be able to learn from you on this alone, not nessasarily about pool.. as I know little about the equipment and software to do what I was thinking you are doing...

Ive tried to be nice to you and RandyG, I really have, I even added a link to my site for Randy for awhile, trying to be a nice guy when he basicaly insulted me from the start.

Im open to the idea to learn, I wish I knew everything there is to know about pool, if this is the case you yourself have strange methods to try to get someone to learn...

The reality is I dont know obviously what you and randy think you know, and if you want me to conceed and learn what you think I dont know, then you need to go about it in a differnt way, I will not be intimidated, and I thrive on competition, so your just playing my game.

I think nothing badly of the BCA or its instructors, without the BCA the billiards comunity would suffer, If given the chance I would do all I could to support the BCA, that I assure you, but you cant intimidate me, I grew up hard, and my values are set in stone. HOWEVER, I am a student of the game as well, and I am open to learning new things.. Leave my pride out of it, and I can get along with you.. thats a promise.

SPINDOKTOR

 

[cad1illac]

Stance is important, this is your foundation to deliver the cue to the cue ball.. but not only that, the stance has to be correct so that your line of aim is correct.. your right foot, (for right handed players) must be on the line of aim, snooker or pool, doesnt matter.. the left foot, well here you can play with it some, but be warned, it is better to be wide, than narrow with your feet. you'll need to play around with this until you find where your left foot needs to be so that you can deliver the cue in a straight line to the cue ball.... Video, or a helper is nessasary....

your head placement is also important, eye dominance, plays a role, as well as how you percieve shots, so again, on this I suggest a compotent instructor.


Once you have your stance figured out stick with it. on those long reach shots, use a bridge or an extension because if you dont, you will change your stance over time and your back to square one, your game will be on a never ending rollercoaster for no apparent reason...

Naturaly on some shots its impossible to have the perfect stance, in these situations you do the best you can to retain your form.


SPINDOKTOR

Hi......This post is very inciteful......get a good teacher to look at you, not one of your pool hall buddies. Stance/ alignement is EVERYTHING !!!!!!

 

[Andrew Manning]

I would argue that it's still possible to have a good stance under the conditions you listed. Laying on the table, for example, can be a very comfortable and stable stance that allows for accurate movement of the cue.

Which is exactly my point. If you've learned great fundamentals, and learned WHY each adjustment to any variable of the fundamentals is a good or bad thing, then you can look at a host where you have to lay across the table, and figure out where your hip should rest on the table, what angle your torso should be to the shot, whether you need to adjust your grip location, and whatever other variables you need to make that "stance" conducive to producing a mechanically sound stroke.

-Andrew