There's NO ONE who has just picked up a cue and known everything about the game. Whether it's strategy or technique, everyone gets hints lessons or what have you from someone.
The people with the most natural talent are typically the ones that get the most help from the best players. I don't know what it is, it's like you see some of yourself in them or a natural talent that you want to help hone.
The truth is that everyone can make use of knowledge and the knowledge gained by others.
Shit even when I was a strong player at a young age I would draw and follow for everything. It had to be pointed out to me, why didn't you just come three rails here, here and then here instead of drawing the ball two table lengths? And I had to reply, I don't know, didn't see it I guess.
Natural talent is nothing more than good hand eye, muscle memory and interspatial relational ability. Knowledge is the key to playing excellent pool, the more you have the sooner you have it, the better a player you will become.
That whole axiom of "If I only knew what I know now, then" is the truest statement ever told.
Jaden
I agree to some degree with this, but not completely.
I've known plenty of knowledge-baskets that couldn't perform the things that they knew, but could explain it to others. I've also seen good shot-makers that didn't know how or when to break out if their life depended on it. There's much more to this game than just 'shooting'.
One must be able to execute a shot, while changing the very basics of the shot in many cases, all while playing a good strategy. Make the shot, get the leave and be able to leave your opponent bad. Lacking any of those things can ruin a game. I'm sure most people have spent time trying to show others how or why to do these things, and it just doesn't resonate.
My shot-making is not on a level that I like, but I've been able to hold my own in defensive battles and with creativity. I've learned some basics from the Pocket Billiards book, but I've learned more just by screwing around and also watching what happens on the table during other games. Great players may pull off something special once in a while, but it's mostly cut and dry. Try watching a couple of bad players and seeing what happens - it may not be very exciting, but there will be some strange things that make you think twice.
After reaching about a 6 in APA, I really had no regular stronger competition in the bar, so I had to spend my quarters screwing around and doing what I could. I took one small lesson(30-60min or something) from somebody, which ended up getting 'shared', and that was it. What I was taught was kicking into a safe to kill the CB and to avoid banking to play a safe (what's the chance I go along with that one.. heh).
I watched Joe T's racking secrets and that was good(actually, very useful), but I don't normally read racks any more unless it's for something more important than a league match. I've also got Beard's banking DVD, but my short attention span got the best of me after a little while (sorry, Freddy - but I do plan on getting the book!).
I've had a few people give me some 'pointers', but sometimes I question whether or not those helped me out or slowed me down. Fortunately, after 6 years, I can still spend hours at a table by myself just knocking them around. Lately, I've been spending more time on my banking. I have no system for banking.. I only line up the spot on the rail where I want to hit, then I begin making adjustments based on spin, power, leave, etc. Even though I've been changing my aiming for my own little 'system' lately, I know that all I am doing is making conscious adjustments for misalignment and will eventually right my sighting as I've done with other shots.
So all in all.. I'm going with the natural ability over lessons and systems. To me, lessons and systems are more like getting BCA Instructor lessons and CTE/Diamond/Etc systems. I've spent much more time in one week screwing around and learning things than I have in my entire time playing pool studying videos or getting lessons.
That's just my cent and a half.
If nobody votes I'll have to bump this beeeeotch !
