How to develop an A player's stroke.

[SmoothStroke]

After your arm falls off

You can have flawless fundamentals, game play IQ of 200, Without stroke you may as well take up video games.
Example: Full table draw stroke. If a player is learning on their own it's like hitting a home run, you never felt the ball hit the bat and it left the park.You can tell when you have delivered a good stroke. Now they must remember how they delivered the stroke and try to repeat it. Practice until your arm falls off, glue your arm back on and practice.
Muscle memory, there is no substitute.

If a player is taking lessons they better get an instructor that can deliver all the strokes (ALL THE STROKES AND ALL VARIATIONS OF EACH STROKE) If a player is learning a stroke the instructor has to be able to perform it and perform it well as visualization is very important to a student. If the instructor cannot perform it I suggest to find one who can, otherwise it will take forever to master a stroke. If you have an instructor who can perform and also give you the book knowledge then you have something.

There are world class players that have horrible fundamentals and worse preliminary stroke routine, but the final delivery stroke is there.
The bottom line is taking lessons or not is to remember when you hit the stroke perfecty to remember that feel and practice it until mastered.

Pool is very simple and easy to understand.With all the knowledge out there today I think it is making this game too complicated for beginners. This aiming system, that one, physics lessons, this book, that book, schools,etc.
Some good info and lots of useless info.

Pool is learned on a pool table, the more a players arm is in motion the better chance at getting better. The myth of playing better players only goes so far. C players playing shortstops is great. His muscle memory will be unstoppable when it comes to racking

Simple to understand.
Fundamentals, Stroke, Game Play, add some book knowledge and keep it simple.

Without STROKE everything else is useless. You can walk around and say I know this and I know that
!! BUT !! I wish I had a stroke to perform it

 

[Majic]

I always tell people if they can smoothly draw the cueball a long way in a straight line then thats all the stroke they need. There is a lot to that, too much to type out. Most people grip the cue too tightly and hit the ball far too hard, RELAX. I think them getting that down is a great starting point for really getting the required spin with the least effort for every other stroke shot they need. oh and I have been playing a little straight pool and it seems to have improved my stroke, more to come on this later when I figure out why haha, odd.

I once asked a friend the same question about developing a stroke and he told me what Earl had told him years earlier. He told me to place the cue ball and object ball a couple inches from the rail. The cue ball and object ball at the second diamond (opposite ends ). Pocket the ball and draw the cue back as far you can.
I find there is nothing better for working on your setup and stroke and when you use 4 inch pockets the results are even better.

 

[grindz]

Great advice from all you world beaters here!!!

My .02. Get on a snooker table ..... place OB 1/8" off long rail middle diamond, place CB 1/8" off long rail middle diamond on other side of side pocket...shoot into corner pocket until you no longer miss....move OB closer to CB by 1 diamond....shoot until you no longer miss...keep moving OB backward from pocket and toward CB each time.....when you find the spot where you are on the edge of missing/making shot that is where you are learning the most. Stay there for hours if needed. Vary speed as progress occurs.

Now go play a bar box tourney.

td

P.S. Straight draw shot pocketing OB in side pocket and OB in opposite side is very useful also.