How often do you hit the balls soft?

a champion player would exploit that weakness very quickly and decisively.

vapoolplayer said:
Correct me if I'm wrong CJ, but I see many top players hitting the balls more firmly and cue much lower to achieve a forward roll instead of hitting very high on the cue like a lot of amateurs.

I implemented this into my game years ago, achieved "follow" while still hitting below center ball. Just use a firm enough stroke to keep the cue from rolling off. It help immensely with shots I previously wanted to hit more softly.

A lot of times while spectating, a player will make a comment like "how does he hit follow shots so well?" When I give the answer "because he knows how to follow hitting below center," they give me this look like I'm crazy as hell.
Click to expand...

When you develop a way to play pool that will hold up under pressure it will usually have the quality that "the more you accelerate, the more accurate you will be," and if you didn't a champion player would exploit that weakness very quickly and decisively.

You just don't see the best players slow rolling balls unless the conditions are "soft" and fast, like some of the tournaments these days. This wouldn't be a good example though because in most pool rooms the tables aren't fast and easy.

When you really watch the champion players cue speed you'll see that they will go out of their way to keep it consistent. This means they will cue the ball lower to "stun" the ball rather than change their stoke speed and "slow roll balls".
 
Mosconi quote

Charlie Hustle said:
Forgot the pro who said it, but it goes a little something like this, "There are 2 ways to hit the balls, soft and softer" :wink:
Click to expand...

It was a guy named William Mosconi, who could play a little...

He really didn't mean that you should never hit a ball crisply or even fairly hard. He was making the point that most players hit many shots way too hard.

To the person that mentioned "pocket speed"...there are two definitions of "pocket speed" that are quite important to know...
 
Playing 9-ball, 10-ball or banks, I don't hit the balls soft often. Playing straight pool and one pocket, I hit balls soft quite frequently. It's all about what (I believe) the shot requires.
 
On the tables I play on, slow rolling them is an adventure... anything longer than half the table has a big chance of roll-off.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top