New 9ball Video of me on my new Gold Crown

[christopheradam]

Check the new video I posted at
http://www.christopheradams.com/videos.htm

I uploaded to 2 different hosts and found one to be very speedy. Please let me know how you like the video and how the download speeds are. I kept video quality down for faster download speeds, although the video quaility isn't too bad compared to other videos I've seen on the net but I can produce much better quality and if these new video host web sites prove to be reliable, I will post some better quality vids in the future. I am also experimenting with the use of google video upload, but the uploading isn't instant which is a draw back.

 

[Hal]

I watched it. It was decent at best. I'd play him.

 

[Opie]

I'm not trying to offend you but I'd say you were VERY lucky to get out that rack the way you played it. When you caromed off the 1 ball into the hanging ball I think you got lucky to even see the 1 let alone get a shot at it. You also ended up with pretty poor shape on the 9 ball.

 

[Splinterhands]

Absolutely amazing!

 

[Tim-n-NM]

Nice table. Keep after it!

 

[christopheradam]

I'm not trying to offend you but I'd say you were VERY lucky to get out that rack the way you played it. When you caromed off the 1 ball into the hanging ball I think you got lucky to even see the 1 let alone get a shot at it. You also ended up with pretty poor shape on the 9 ball.

No kidding I was lucky to get a shot on the one. But I would have had to be really unlucky not to at least get some type of shot on the one or a good safe shot. And what alternative did I have besides caroming off the one, thats what I had off the break. I would be interested to hear some alternatives to my shot selections.

Did you see where the 8 and 9 were positioned? They were almost frozen. I did not see any alternative to getting better shape than I did on the 9ball and knew I was going to have a tough shot. The 8ball would only go in that side pocket. I could have used right english on the 8 to get better on the 9 but then I would have risked missig the 8ball.

I did make a positional mistake from the 1ball to 4ball. I got frozen to the rail and had to slow roll the 4ball in. And If I didn't have to slow roll the 4 in I could have had more angle on the 5ball to make it easier to come around for the 6ball without having to power it so much.

Thanks for the comments.

 

[Splinterhands]

I did notice one thing about the way you played. You never once went around the table to check angles. You went directly to every shot and looked at the table from that vantage point. Although, maybe the pressure of the camera kept you from playing your "real game". Good chalking sounds. Nice table.

 

[christopheradam]

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If AZ billiards can be down for a day, just imagine the nightmares when your working with a free web host
I just tested it and its up now.

 

[christopheradam]

I did notice one thing about the way you played. You never once went around the table to check angles. You could do yourself a big favor by making this routine. Although, maybe the pressure of the camera kept you from playing your "real game". Good luck.

I like a faster pace of play. I only check angles when I am unsure about the angle, or if I am practicing a certain area that requires me to study the angle.

I know what you are saying though and going around and checking the angle can be helpful at times.

 

[Opie]

No kidding I was lucky to get a shot on the one. But I would have had to be really unlucky not to at least get some type of shot on the one or a good safe shot. And what alternative did I have besides caroming off the one, thats what I had off the break. I would be interested to hear some alternatives to my shot selections.

Did you see where the 8 and 9 were positioned? They were almost frozen. I did not see any alternative to getting better shape than I did on the 9ball and knew I was going to have a tough shot. The 8ball would only go in that side pocket. I could have used right english on the 8 to get better on the 9 but then I would have risked missig the 8ball.

I did make a positional mistake from the 1ball to 4ball. I got frozen to the rail and had to slow roll the 4ball in. And If I didn't have to slow roll the 4 in I could have had more angle on the 5ball to make it easier to come around for the 6ball without having to power it so much.

Thanks for the comments.

Could you not have banked the 1 in the side? It looked like you shot the 7 too hard and came down too far on the 8. If you would have shot a little softer and had less of an angle it looks like you could have followed the 8 a little bit and played the 9 in the bottom right corner. But even though you ended up with the shot you had on the 8, you could have shot it harder with the same english you used and brought the cue ball down farther and shot the 9 in the bottom left corner. It's hard to see all the angles from that one camera angle, but that's the way I would have played it. Just personal opinions. Good luck!

 

[hemicudas]

I'm In.

I watched it. It was decent at best. I'd play him.

Call me collect, Vonn31. I'm in, LOL.

 

[Billiard Architect]

I would be interested to hear some alternatives to my shot selections.

You had more than enough room to do a cross side bank on the one. Slamming it that hard was certainly not a finesse shot. Coming off the one on the cross side for the two in the lh far corner.

Nice position play on the 3-4. And the 6 to the 8 (i am assuming on the balls here cuz I cant tell from the video). You seemed very timid on the 8 ball which I believe is why you ended up so far away from the 9. With a little more follow on the 8 and a little harder you would have been straight in on the 9 in the rh far corner.

Nice run out though

JV

 

[mjantti]

Hey Christopher, nice vid ! Apparently you are a good shooter and you made a couple of nice shots there. Anyway, I hope you don't mind if I point out a things what you might do to become even a better shooter.

-The first shot was a little bit too risky. To me it looked like you had the natural angle to miss the middle bag and to take the cb behind the 89 cluster for a good safety. There is no point of playing a difficult carom shot only to have only an 50-50 change of having a shot next, especially when you needed to shoot with elevation. Also, you usually don't play carom shots if you might leave the cueball far away from the object ball. You were lucky to get your cueball away from the far end of the table. You could've also hit the ball full in the face and scratched or left the cueball near the corner for a long shot for the 1-ball. Never to play difficult shot, if you don't have a good shot on the next ball if you can play safe in the first place. It's about playing the percentages...

-The 2-ball which you made from the rail, you seemed to have quite a lot of unnecessary elevation. If you're stuck near the rail, you'd need to shoot with as flat cue as possible. Now that you had elevation, your follow through was very short and you "poked" the 2-ball in. Try concentrating shooting without the elevation near the rail.

-Apparently you're not comfortable using inside english, in the 8-ball, you should've used right english to bring a better shot on the 9-ball. Often in 9-ball the most important shot is not the 9-ball, it's the shot on the 8-ball because you can win the game with that shot if you play excellent position for the 9. To me it seemed, you could've also killed the cueball near the right middle pocket to shoot the 9 into the corner, but that requires a good touch and sharp stroke. Also, on the 8-ball, you jumped right up after shooting and didn't stay down on the shot. It's very important to stay down on the shot, even if you're feeling you might've missed the ball.

With these points I'm not trying to bash your shooting, far from it. There's always room for improvement and I'm trying to guide you the right way. I know there are a lot of shooters who get offended if you point out their weaknesses and try to teach them. I hope you're having an open mind about these comments.

Nice run-out, good position around the table for the 6-ball ! Just keep on posting more vids !

 

[Opie]

good position around the table for the 6 ball

That was the best shot of the run.

 

[christopheradam]

You had more than enough room to do a cross side bank on the one. Slamming it that hard was certainly not a finesse shot. Coming off the one on the cross side for the two in the lh far corner.

Nice position play on the 3-4. And the 6 to the 8 (i am assuming on the balls here cuz I cant tell from the video). You seemed very timid on the 8 ball which I believe is why you ended up so far away from the 9. With a little more follow on the 8 and a little harder you would have been straight in on the 9 in the rh far corner.

Nice run out though

JV

The 4 and the 6 ball(2 balls in middle of table) where in the way to cross side the one ball.

I don't like to hit balls into the side pocket that are at an angle with to much speed. And I had a funny angle on it. But the way the 8 and the 9 were setup I got perfect on the 8. Thats exactly where I was trying to get to.

 

[christopheradam]

Hey Christopher, nice vid ! Apparently you are a good shooter and you made a couple of nice shots there. Anyway, I hope you don't mind if I point out a things what you might do to become even a better shooter.

-The first shot was a little bit too risky. To me it looked like you had the natural angle to miss the middle bag and to take the cb behind the 89 cluster for a good safety. There is no point of playing a difficult carom shot only to have only an 50-50 change of having a shot next, especially when you needed to shoot with elevation. Also, you usually don't play carom shots if you might leave the cueball far away from the object ball. You were lucky to get your cueball away from the far end of the table. You could've also hit the ball full in the face and scratched or left the cueball near the corner for a long shot for the 1-ball. Never to play difficult shot, if you don't have a good shot on the next ball if you can play safe in the first place. It's about playing the percentages...

-The 2-ball which you made from the rail, you seemed to have quite a lot of unnecessary elevation. If you're stuck near the rail, you'd need to shoot with as flat cue as possible. Now that you had elevation, your follow through was very short and you "poked" the 2-ball in. Try concentrating shooting without the elevation near the rail.

-Apparently you're not comfortable using inside english, in the 8-ball, you should've used right english to bring a better shot on the 9-ball. Often in 9-ball the most important shot is not the 9-ball, it's the shot on the 8-ball because you can win the game with that shot if you play excellent position for the 9. To me it seemed, you could've also killed the cueball near the right middle pocket to shoot the 9 into the corner, but that requires a good touch and sharp stroke. Also, on the 8-ball, you jumped right up after shooting and didn't stay down on the shot. It's very important to stay down on the shot, even if you're feeling you might've missed the ball.

With these points I'm not trying to bash your shooting, far from it. There's always room for improvement and I'm trying to guide you the right way. I know there are a lot of shooters who get offended if you point out their weaknesses and try to teach them. I hope you're having an open mind about these comments.

Nice run-out, good position around the table for the 6-ball ! Just keep on posting more vids !

Thanks for the comments. I reviewed the poke stroke on the 4ball (The 2ball your refering to is actually the 4ball) and I agree, the stroke was too elevated and thats something I can work on. I do know that I have practiced shots against the rail and have found I have a better shot making percentage when I don't follow through as much on just that type of shot.

The first shot was risky. I was trying to run out, not practicing safes. I said in one of my post I would have been unlucky not to come up with a good shot or a safe but I didn't say I would have shot the safe. I was playing a modified version of playing the ghost. I break and run without taking ball in hand. If I absolutely don't see any shot, then I play safe and rerack the balls. I kick at the safe I play on myself if I think it will be educational
This game is really powering up my break. I've been following through more to the table and been getting a lot more into the break.

I am comfortable using Right english on the 8ball but then I would have had to compensate for throw on the 8ball and much prefer either using outside english or no english on this shot.

 

[christopheradam]

Also, on the 8-ball, you jumped right up after shooting and didn't stay down on the shot. It's very important to stay down on the shot, even if you're feeling you might've missed the ball.

I double checked that shot on the video and I did jump up, but the ball was long on its way. And I didn't think I missed the shot. I knew it was in the hole . When I am practicing I do concentrate on that aspect of my game but when Playing a 9ball rack I let it all go and just play naturally. My way of learning has stemmed a lot from my golf playing, I practice the mechanics at the driving range until they become automatic when I hit the golf course. The games are pretty similiar in that respect. And I was a single digit Handicapper a few years ago.

If I'm thinking of staying down on the shot, I am not thinking about what I should be thinking about, which is making the shot, and at the right speed for the correct position on the next ball. As long as I am not jumping up while I am taking the shot, I think its not so bad. Gonna put in some more hours though in my practice sessions on staying down on the shot though .
Thanks for the comments.

 

[mjantti]

If I'm thinking of staying down on the shot, I am not thinking about what I should be thinking about, which is making the shot, and at the right speed for the correct position on the next ball. As long as I am not jumping up while I am taking the shot, I think its not so bad. Gonna put in some more hours though in my practice sessions on staying down on the shot though .
Thanks for the comments.

Yep, you have a point there. Jumping up after the shot doesn't make much difference. But still, jumping up in shots may change into a bad habit. It's not necessarily the jump itself, it's your body anticipating the jump on certain pressure shots and you might make some unnecessary movements during the shot when changing into "jump mode". That's why most of the instructors tell you to stay down as long as possible. During the shot, your body should anticipate only staying down over the shot. Not preparing to make some movements after the shot.

And as you said, by practising mechanics you get them to work automatic, without conscious thinking effort. That's why I think you should practise staying down on the shot until it becomes automatic for you and you don't have to think about it anymore, eh ? But, practising mechanics are done best by thinking about one thing at a time. I suggest you play a couple of practice sessions where you concentrate on staying down on shots.

If you get sloppy in certain areas, they might come haunting you after some time. Don't play practice sessions ignoring a fundamental area just to focus on something else. While it's true that your body is able to adapt one thing at a time, it's important to keep the previous learnt things in an order.