Learning to play with the opposite hand?

[Ratta]

Practicing 5-10 minutes a day *opposite handed* will make it easier and easier. The start will be hard for many players. Many feel totally uncomfortable. But it will be better and better.
My opinion is, that you have to practice both- to play with the rest and also with opposite hand.

 

[flash5153]

I'm a right hand-er,,,but have taken time, here and there, to practice on my home table left handed. Not allot,,,but enough to know,, and start to feel the stick conformably.
It took a long time to feel comfortable and even then was not real confident. Like holding a football bat!!!!!! LMAO!!!

I have enough confidence now that I will shoot left handed ,, ,,in a major tournament,,,rather than bridge or long reach. No problem,,English and all.

It's not all bad,,,shoot for an hour,,opposite handed and you will learn allot!!!! Do it a few times and you will have confidence. Or will at least know better than to try. !! lol

For me,,,I remember,,at first,,it's a terrible feeling holding the stick,,,the stroke is terrible,,,awkward and sometimes cant hit the ball. It's gets better quickly!!!

 

[Goldcues]

Either hand

I went through this years ago and remember how difficult it was. But I really wanted to learn it so stuck with it. I stated throwing darts, a football, and even got a lefty glove and played catch with a baseball, just to help get over the unnatural feeling of it.
One major thing to keep in mind is that your opposite handed shot is not a complete mirror image of your natural handed shot. Most of it is, but the cue still lines up under the same eye, not the opposite eye. You still want to line up under your dominate eye no matter which hand you are shooting with. If you try to line up under the opposite eye you will never get there.
I find that being able to switch hands when I need to helps me to keep my natural tempo going. A good thing if it's not necessarily a hard shot but I just can't reach it with my natural hand.
Good luck.

 

[StrokeofLuck]

Actually, I got a different impression. Create a closed-loop bridge in your opposite hand, but normally where you'd have the middle, ring, and pinkie outstretched into a tripod, instead "fist them" (close them inwards into a fist).

In the initial stages of learning to play opposite-handed, this may prove helpful and ease you into shooting opposite-handed, but don't let it become an Achilles Heel (i.e. don't let your opposite-handed style cement reliance upon this malformation of the bridge). Instead, gradually try to form a correct bridge with that opposite hand. In the long run, after it becomes comfortable to you, you'll reap the same benefits as that bridge on your normal bridge hand.

-Sean

You're exactly right describing what it is, and I agree that if your desire is to shoot really well opposite handed this isn't the way to go for the long haul. For me, it just helps me reach shots I couldn't otherwise reach and I can even draw the cue ball shooting like that.

 

[predator]

I know some guys can do nearly full range of shots with their opposite hand. Ronnie O'Sullivan as the most famous cueist today comes to mind. Some months ago I read an article somewhere where he stated that he started to practice with his left hand very early like 17 years old or so. I imagine he must have practiced his ass off to get his left handed ability somewhat close to his right handed. And he still uses the rest a lot, even on shots he could reach with his left hand.
Personally I have nothing against playing with opposite hand occasionally, at least for fun, but think that learning to play with the rest is far more useful. Even if you could play perfect pool opposite handed you still could not avoid using it!

 

[whitewolf]

Because I hate playing with the rest.

Is there anybody here who has done that and has any useful tips on what I should focus on - apart from "just doing it"? How long does it take to get comfortable with the opposite hand?

Get a 'stroke trainer' and stroke a little bit every day. You will get the hang of it.

 

[rburgoyne]

I can play lefty although I am right handed. I use to hate the bridge and decided I would just use my left hand instead. It was awkward at first, but with practice and concentrating on my stroke I got pretty good at it. Even ran a 9 ball rack one time lefty.

So ok, my practice was about 30 minutes, which was about one or two days a week back then. I would never do it at the beginning or end of my practice. Always in the middle, so I was warmed up with my right hand and didn't leave discouraged from bad shooting with my left.

As far as stroke, I mainly concentrated on the pivot of my arm. If you have ever worked out its like doing certain tricep exercises. When you do them you are mainly concentrating on keeping your upper arm straight, and only bending at the elbow. That was one of my main thoughts while stroking. I would also do quite a few practice strokes until I felt the cue was moving back and forth smooth and straight before I would even think about hitting the ball.

Within a couple months I was shooting pretty good lefty. I don't practice it much anymore, but can usually switch over when needed and do a pretty decent shot. Yeah, I am limited with power stroke shots and stuff, but I can do 80% of the shots I can do right handed.

With all that said, I still have to use the bridge for certain shots. Don't hate it and refuse to use it as I once tried. Eventually you will be forced to use it and you better have some experience with it or you will fail.

 

[PickPocket]

Forever... and ever...

I can use the bridge, every player should get comfortable with it. But I like shooting opposite handed, the more times I practice, the better I get.. WOW IMAGINE THAT! but never done learning... I will say its pretty fun to switch hands without hesitation, and make shots others expect you to miss! I get a little kick out of it... :thumbup:

 

[Chopdoc]

why would you do that???

The same reason you might do it in pool. If you can't reach or it is awkward to do so and the other hand is just as good it can make the situation easier if you can more easily reach with the other hand.

I am 100% ambidextrous with hand ties and instrument ties as well as suturing in general. I can pick up a needle driver and forceps right or left handed and it is completely comfortable either way.

I consider full ambidexterity an advantage in surgical skills as well as in pool.

 

[onepocketron]

I will say that all players should really learn to be proficient with a bridge/rest.....even the pros use them. They are but another tool in the arsenal.

With that said.....years ago my ex and myself went out to play and decided to play completely opposite handed all night. The hardest thing is to make sure the cue is close to your body as it would shooting normally. Most struggle with a really bad chicken wing. By the end of the night, I was proficient enough to play with either hand...and do, on mostly closer in shots. However, when the distance is greater, I will still reach for a bridge/rest every time....I make far far more shots with the bridge/rest than I miss.

With either...it's really just all about practice.

Yep, I agree. There will be shots where you have to use the rest, especially if you are playing on 9 footers. Best to be good using the opposite hand as well as the bridge/rest.

 

[Rod]

Practicing 5-10 minutes a day *opposite handed* will make it easier and easier. The start will be hard for many players. Many feel totally uncomfortable. But it will be better and better.
My opinion is, that you have to practice both- to play with the rest and also with opposite hand.

That's what I did, 10 to 15 min tops; still do once in a while. The bridge is usually the hard part. I practiced the closed bridge by putting my hand on any flat surface. Hold a pencil if you like, it speeds up the process. Of course your friends might give you a puzzled look; but they probably do that anyway!

Rod

 

[The Renfro]

Because I hate playing with the rest.

Is there anybody here who has done that and has any useful tips on what I should focus on - apart from "just doing it"? How long does it take to get comfortable with the opposite hand?

You cannot just flip and mirror your PSR because you may or may not have a dominant eye issue..... Some people argue dominance over vision center but that's a mute point here..... Establish where your cue is under your chin or eye or wherever you have it shooting normal handed... When you flip or mirror your psr make sure the cue position in relation to your eyes doesn't swap as well.... At least that way you are just learning to stroke properly opposite handed.......

 

[OUSooner]

Buddy Hall told me the exact same thing. He said teach yourself to play opposite handed so you don't have to use the bridge as often. Luther Lassiter did the same thing and had a very unique left handed "fist bridge" that he shot pretty well with. Whoever mentioned short stroke was right on target. When I tried to really start learning the game a couple of years ago, one of the better players that was helping me with fundamentals immediately told me to shorten my stroke until I learned to pocket balls better. Its the same with a left handed shot. Start with baby steps. Just hitting a short straight stroke and getting a comfortable bridge. When you can pocket balls proficiently, then start moving on. It's really like learning to play all over again.

 

[Donny Lutz]

Ambidextrous

Because I hate playing with the rest.

Is there anybody here who has done that and has any useful tips on what I should focus on - apart from "just doing it"? How long does it take to get comfortable with the opposite hand?

Had a good friend and teammate named Gene Larsen from 1968 to 1980 who played ALL sports with either hand!! What an advantage he had!
I was an idiot for not learning to do the same (although I could bowl with either hand).
But here's the rub: If you don't learn to use both hands at an early age, it becomes more difficult as you grow older. The reason being that the muscles and tendons grow differently in the opposite arm, and re-training them later on is more difficult. It has a lot to do with mobility at the joints. Fortunately, pool does not require the range of motion as does throwing a baseball for instance, so it is much easier.

Donny L
PBIA/ACS Instructor

 

[sfleinen]

You cannot just flip and mirror your PSR because you may or may not have a dominant eye issue..... Some people argue dominance over vision center but that's a mute point here..... Establish where your cue is under your chin or eye or wherever you have it shooting normal handed... When you flip or mirror your psr make sure the cue position in relation to your eyes doesn't swap as well.... At least that way you are just learning to stroke properly opposite handed.......

Very true! I guess I'm lucky in that my vision center is just that -- truly center. When my chin is down on the cue, my nose is right over the cue. So flipping my PSR has no effect on my vision center -- my head/eye alignment over the cue is the same, no matter which hand I'm using.

If one's vision center is not truly "physically center" (e.g. dominant eye issue), it's important to replicate that exactly to the opposite hand alignment, not mirror it, as The Renfro describes above.

Very good post,
-Sean

 

[JC]

When I played HS basketball our coach would make all of us ball handling players operate opposite handed in all situations where it was optional. Bringing the ball up the court and such. He claimed that the dominate hand will never let the other get ahead of it but it will allow it to lag behind. I believed him and wonder now if that applies to other hand eye skills like pool?

Maybe all practice should be opposite handed at all times?