Joe Tucker’s Third Eye Stroke Trainer

[Jimmy_Betmore]

Coming soon... Jimmy Betmore's Third Leg Stroke Trainer

 

[Patrick Johnson]

If I only have short strokes---feathering---that doesn't tell me if the cue is aligned to the shot line..

It also doesn’t tell you if a full stroke will go to the same place.

pj
chgo

 

[boogieman]

If I only have short strokes---feathering---that doesn't tell me if the cue is aligned to the shot line.

It does though... it's hard to explain without being on a table. When you feather if it wobbles, you're likely not aligned to the shot line, your bridge hand is off, you're gripping off, etc. It shows everything, and magnified. Again, hard to explain, try it when you get a chance. With the long practice stroke, it's easier to just not see the wobble/issue. I like to think of the long/traditional practice stroke as judging speed moreso than correct fundamentals. That little feather will show everything, and it's almost as if it's magnified because you do it near the cue ball, which is pretty much the apex of your stroke.

It's not really anything new, but I hadn't really heard about it, just kind of did it one day when I was struggling. Come to find out it's a known technique, just one of those things nobody talks about. I think it's more of a snooker thing but it instantly alerts you to being off line or some part of your alignment/fundamentals being off.

You still have to stroke the cue straight through with a good follow through, but this just makes it easier to detect when an error is occurring. Sometimes it can be tough to tell with a practice stroke. Think of it as calibration, like a cat shaking it's butt before it strikes. You can still do all your normal psr stuff after.

EDIT: I also forgot to mention, I like to use my ring finger as kind of a balance/anchor/trigger point. When you feather you want it to where you don't feel tension in your stroke. Being tension free and having a consistent balance point (whatever anchor you use) at the CB/apex of the stroke also confirms you are addressing the CB correctly. If you feel tension at this point in the feathering, you're likely going to introduce error at contact/follow through. Tension free means you aren't steering it with things like wrist twisting/muscle clenching/etc. Again, hard to explain without being at a table and just showing it, it's a very simple thing but takes more words to write it than to show/do it.

 

[straightline]

Technical point about the Tucker demo - and I've seen an ole timer or two do it in play; that compact test flurry can put a glitch right there where it's done.

 

[nataddrho]

It does though... it's hard to explain without being on a table. When you feather if it wobbles, you're likely not aligned to the shot line, your bridge hand is off, you're gripping off, etc. It shows everything, and magnified. Again, hard to explain, try it when you get a chance. With the long practice stroke, it's easier to just not see the wobble/issue. I like to think of the long/traditional practice stroke as judging speed moreso than correct fundamentals. That little feather will show everything, and it's almost as if it's magnified because you do it near the cue ball, which is pretty much the apex of your stroke.

It's not really anything new, but I hadn't really heard about it, just kind of did it one day when I was struggling. Come to find out it's a known technique, just one of those things nobody talks about. I think it's more of a snooker thing but it instantly alerts you to being off line or some part of your alignment/fundamentals being off.

You still have to stroke the cue straight through with a good follow through, but this just makes it easier to detect when an error is occurring. Sometimes it can be tough to tell with a practice stroke. Think of it as calibration, like a cat shaking it's butt before it strikes. You can still do all your normal psr stuff after.

EDIT: I also forgot to mention, I like to use my ring finger as kind of a balance/anchor/trigger point. When you feather you want it to where you don't feel tension in your stroke. Being tension free and having a consistent balance point (whatever anchor you use) at the CB/apex of the stroke also confirms you are addressing the CB correctly. If you feel tension at this point in the feathering, you're likely going to introduce error at contact/follow through. Tension free means you aren't steering it with things like wrist twisting/muscle clenching/etc. Again, hard to explain without being at a table and just showing it, it's a very simple thing but takes more words to write it than to show/do it.

Yeah I agree with this. For some reason it can take years of practice to figure out how to reduce tension in the gap between your set point and the ball, even if it is only 1/4” or less. That’s usually where all of the bad stuff can happen.