There is one good reason many players have, to hold long and that is to see better. Head, cue ball, and object ball form a longer line and alignment issues are easier to spot.
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How often do you see your local players with a really good, and solid Pre shot routine?
- Thread starter vintagecollectibles831
- Start date
If i have a long straight-in I will bend forward at the waist(not sideways like playing pool) it makes the shot almost unmissable
I had a guy show me that when I was around 20, just fall on the shot and 1 stroke it, if you were lining up correctly the balls would go in, if they didn't, you needed to make an adjustment before falling on the shot. After a few of those shots going in, you could start adding your extra strokes
Almost never. All stick-and-ball sports require a proper stance, placing stick and body in optimal positions.
BlueRaider
Registered
The strongest players in my area pretty much all have somewhat poor PSRs and mechanics, at least in comparison to what's textbook. They also play very fast and hit the balls too hard with somewhat spastic strokes. But they're (mostly) accurate, and I suspect that trying to slow down or change their stances/strokes would actually hurt their games because they've been playing like that for so long.
Meanwhile, I have pretty good mechanics, good PSR--everything looks fairly textbook--but I'm not on their level because I simply don't have nearly as many hours invested in the game as them.
I think that no matter how good your setup is, it takes a ton of hours, and likely a full period of your life with near 100% immersion in pool, to obtain the confidence required to play at a high level consistently. Where even the somewhat difficult shots are assumed to be pocketed, regardless of the pressure. Because you've done it enough times that your brain can relax a bit and just the motion happen without subtle interference caused by the fear of missing.
Meanwhile, I have pretty good mechanics, good PSR--everything looks fairly textbook--but I'm not on their level because I simply don't have nearly as many hours invested in the game as them.
I think that no matter how good your setup is, it takes a ton of hours, and likely a full period of your life with near 100% immersion in pool, to obtain the confidence required to play at a high level consistently. Where even the somewhat difficult shots are assumed to be pocketed, regardless of the pressure. Because you've done it enough times that your brain can relax a bit and just the motion happen without subtle interference caused by the fear of missing.
I am seeing more and more players using a deliberate method to shoot, even the not good players. The internet, YouTube, etc... has caused a lot of people to get easy access to online instruction and more players are trying to learn to play the "correct" way. I have visited several new pool halls in the last month and was very impressed with the average skill of the players there. Many players were running out very well with good mechanics. Even the ones who missed a lot, quite a few were approaching the table in a good way and getting down decently on the shot, they just need a few 100 hours of practice to get past the unsteadiness or lessons on how to shoot better since they look to be lining up on the wrong line to begin with. Although getting down on that incorrect aiming line well LOL
An almost universally accepted school of thought is that a person's grip should be where their arm is perfectly perpendicular when the cue would be impacting the cue ball. For most people 5'10" or above, that will be quite far back on the cue.
Indeed. The idea is that doing things the "textbook" way will make your journey to being a strong player faster and easier, not that it will happen overnight. If you continue how you are and put in dedicated practice, maybe you get to their level after say (just throwing numbers out here) 3000 hours of play rather than the 12,000 it took some of them.
vintagecollectibles831
Active member
I will have to give it a try one day. I honestly never even thought to try it. I just always gripped the handle in the most natural way that felt right, which has always been in the middle of the wrap, I think.
Now that I think about it, maybe that is one reason why I tend to run into my rib cage, on follow through, lol, when ever I am really rusty, and my stroke is not straight.
Maybe if I gripped the cue further back, then I would never run into my rib cage on follow through, lol. I believe that is just due to my stroke not being straight though, for the most part.
In any case, I think I just really need a good lesson from a Pro, on my mechanics.
vintagecollectibles831
Active member
Okay, maybe that is why I tend to run into my rib cage on follow through. Not gripping the cue far enough back. I do not know though.
I never had that issue as a kid though, and I was always approximately 6 foot tall, from around the time I 1st started playing.
I can speak from experience here: have you put on any weight?
Also, I promise your mechanics can drift over time, even if you don't notice it. (Also, can speak from experience.)
I recently rebuilt my stroke for the second time in four years, at the direction of Mark Wilson. I was worse for a little bit while I adapted and had to relearn many aspects of the game from my new vantage point and new delivery method. But now I'm better than I've ever been, and more confident. I highly recommend being willing to throw out everything you know and start from scratch.
the best grip is near the balance point as that is the easiest way to get a straight stroke. and less or no up and down motion.
taller players tend to hold farther back which may give them a similar result. but it all just matters to what works for you individually to get your cue to go straight.
better to get some up and down motion you correct for than side to side which will ruin your game.
taller players tend to hold farther back which may give them a similar result. but it all just matters to what works for you individually to get your cue to go straight.
better to get some up and down motion you correct for than side to side which will ruin your game.
1, maybe 2 at most, players out of 10. The rest are just air gyrations and inconsistencies that are conspicuously bad.
I am one of the ten earlier referred to. I chalk every other shot (TAOM chalk), 3 practice strokes increasing in speed, get lower down on the shot than most players will, always check my body alignment and chin position, and just reset if I do not complete my stroke within 7-8 seconds of forming my cue bridge (75% closed bridge/25% open bridge shots).
I am one of the ten earlier referred to. I chalk every other shot (TAOM chalk), 3 practice strokes increasing in speed, get lower down on the shot than most players will, always check my body alignment and chin position, and just reset if I do not complete my stroke within 7-8 seconds of forming my cue bridge (75% closed bridge/25% open bridge shots).
Paul_#_
Well-known member
This one isn't on stances so much as the grip. ShortStop admits he had more of a death grip during his career but argues for a better grip that will be less subject to timing and unconscious corrections.
dquarasr
Registered
Many bangers hold the cue too far back where the arm angle is not perpendicular to the cue.
Also, many bangers even with the arm perpendicular to the cue hold it too far back because they are watching too many videos of pros, and have ridiculously long bridge lengths.
Non-pros (myself included) would benefit from keeping their bridge length 6-8”, possibly 10-12” if using side spin with CF LD shafts needing loooonnnggg pivot points.
I don't agree with that analogy, the rifle is passive, you push the button, the bullet travels down the barrel on its own, you have no control over the bullet speed or the accuracy past holding it still. If you use a clamp on the rifle with a button to set it off, the rifle will still do the job with the same power and distance and even more accuracy than if shot by hand. The reasons a short barrel gun with a lower power projectile is less accurate is for very different reasons some cues are more "accurate". The cue is a very simple machine, the length of it does not really affect how accurate it is on its own, you control the stoke and power 100%, it needs outside guidance to work.
Have you ever shot either?
Very well said, One of the best posts, I've read on here, In a long time.
only if it fits you naturally. otherwise under pressure you will revert to your natural stoke or temp or whatever and likely miss.
there is no textbook way of doing things unless you can repeat it naturally or without thinking every time like a machine or robot.
that is why all the good players have different strokes routines and techniques. as they got to be good by using their natural instincts and repeatable functions. mostly the same in all sports and endeavors.
there is no textbook way of doing things unless you can repeat it naturally or without thinking every time like a machine or robot.
that is why all the good players have different strokes routines and techniques. as they got to be good by using their natural instincts and repeatable functions. mostly the same in all sports and endeavors.
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