Noticed This Concept Last Night........

D

DrCue'sProtege

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
last night as you's already know i threw my temper tantrum and smashed the light all over my table by slamming the cue ball hard onto the table. so, i got the mess cleaned up........then i grilled me a new york strip steak, had some corn OTC, some strawberries for dessert, and a cigar - all of this out on my deck.

anyway, as i was sitting there smoking the cigar, i had calmed down and asked myself why i didnt take this calm approach to the table. so afterwards i went back down to the table and was going to play some more. i rolled a couple of balls out onto the table, and decided to shoot the 2-Ball into the pocket since it ended up straight in.

i noticed when i got ready to shoot that i had stepped perfectly into position, and was seemingly perfectly aligned, needing no movement to get myself and the cue aligned. i fired the 2-Ball in, and the light bulb went off. Rossman had told me once the initial setup was so important, and pointed out that you dont ever see Allison worming and squirming around once she is down over the shot.

so, i started trying to align myself perfectly, step into the shot perfectly, bend over and address the ball perfectly, all without making adjustments as i go. the first 2-3 shots went right in the heart of the pocket. then i noticed i didnt quite have myself aligned, but i went and shot anyway - and i missed! so i reset the shot, went through the entire routine again, felt perfect over the shot - and fired it in.

is that a good concept posters? do you guys approach/align/shoot this way, completely trusting your mechanics without worming and squirming around to try and get it perfect?

DCP
 
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I think this is your ideal...

titusironwilliealansig2.jpg
 
Well if there is one thing that I have learned it is to make sure not to make a change while down on a shot. I had that habit at one time until and instructor who wasn't even working with me came over and asked what I was doing wrong. I told him "no clue". He then advised me that when I lined up with my shot he could see that I was changing my mind on what I wanted to do by watching the practice strokes. He told be if you ever feel like you might have changed the shot to stand up and look at it again. A change in shot or worming around before you shoot is a good way to miss balls. After that I never shoot a ball unless I'm lined up and know I have not changed my mind on what I was doing. If I have a second thought I will stand back up and look at it again.
 
Most

irregularities that occur in Pool is because of what is or is not within a Pool player. How can you control what happens in Pool if you can not control yourself?

A temper is just a show of built up frustration in a person. Learn how to deal with your frustration first. If you want to be better in Pool, make yourself better first. The next steps would be in finding out how you could do that. This takes analyzing yourself internally as a person, and seeing where there could be improvement.

It takes different forms for different people. For me, studying and reading about the 'proper' way to play Pool, participating in many athletics when young and as an adult, TM techniques, Martial Art training in 3 different martial arts, Navy training, exercising and keeping in shape, advice from older wiser people when younger, all these things helped me to become a better player in Pool.

How can you achieve excellence in Pool if you don't have all the necessary ingredients inside to begin with? Have you ever heard the outside is just a reflection of the inside?

Yeah, you can tell yourself to calm down a 1,000 times, but does that always work? What about all those players that choke? Do you think that happens because of what they are feeling inside at the time which probably effects what they do externally?

And nobody ever said it was going to be easy. Most players today want the 'easy' way out, to be excellent in Pool without putting the work into it, not just outside, but inside too.

It a little like trying to get to heaven without developing spiritually as a person? BTW, How far to Heaven is one of my favorite songs.
 
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i struggled with this whole thing myself for months until i developed a system that works for me......but yeah you got the right idea.....you find a way to line up off the shot some, then you step into the shot a certain way to make sure youre perfectly lined up. When i was working on it i tried to imagine the cue stick by itself in the air, in line with the shot, how it would have to swing to execute, then i try to just fashion my body around the cue in a way that lets that happen.
Couple of things that really helped me was putting your cue into youre bridge hand and while up in the air and swinging the whole thing down on to the table, you kind of have to get yourself out of the way to let this happen. I set the whole thing down in front of the cueball (when possible) a few inches from the cueball, then slide it all up into place. I also had to work on my footwork too, basically working all off my back foot and then pivoting and stepping into the shot with my left. Now that youre aware of it just keep working, youll get there.
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
last night as you's already know i threw my temper tantrum and smashed the light all over my table by slamming the cue ball hard onto the table. so, i got the mess cleaned up........then i grilled me a new york strip steak, had some corn OTC, some strawberries for dessert, and a cigar - all of this out on my deck.

anyway, as i was sitting there smoking the cigar, i had calmed down and asked myself why i didnt take this calm approach to the table. so afterwards i went back down to the table and was going to play some more. i rolled a couple of balls out onto the table, and decided to shoot the 2-Ball into the pocket since it ended up straight in.

i noticed when i got ready to shoot that i had stepped perfectly into position, and was seemingly perfectly aligned, needing no movement to get myself and the cue aligned. i fired the 2-Ball in, and the light bulb went off. Rossman had told me once the initial setup was so important, and pointed out that you dont ever see Allison worming and squirming around once she is down over the shot.

so, i started trying to align myself perfectly, step into the shot perfectly, bend over and address the ball perfectly, all without making adjustments as i go. the first 2-3 shots went right in the heart of the pocket. then i noticed i didnt quite have myself aligned, but i went and shot anyway - and i missed! so i reset the shot, went through the entire routine again, felt perfect over the shot - and fired it in.

is that a good concept posters? do you guys approach/align/shoot this way, completely trusting your mechanics without worming and squirming around to try and get it perfect?

DCP
Click to expand...
The hell with all that pool talk... more importantly, what cigar did you smoke?:rolleyes: :)
 
cigardave said:
The hell with all that pool talk... more importantly, what cigar did you smoke?:rolleyes: :)
Click to expand...

i wasnt in any mood to smoke one of my Macanudo's, or an Ashton, or an Avo, and definitely not one of my two Cubans i have left. so i pulled out one of the cheap Palma Real cigars i got from Mike's Cigars down in Miami.

DCP
 
DCP could you help me out with something here please...


You wanted to people to go through a screening process to play pool with you, no drugs, no drinking, no criminal history, etc. because of your government job, but you post on a public forum that you are in possession of Cuban cigars?
 
u12armresl said:
DCP could you help me out with something here please...


You wanted to people to go through a screening process to play pool with you, no drugs, no drinking, no criminal history, etc. because of your government job, but you post on a public forum that you are in possession of Cuban cigars?
Click to expand...

no, wait, uh, hmmm, you misunderstood. i meant one of the cigars that billionairre owner, Mark Cuban, gave me. yeah, thats what i mean, i didnt mean from Fidel, i meant from Mark.

and i dont recall wanting anyone to go through a screening process? dont think that was ever mentioned. some qualities were mentioned, but no screening process.

DCP
 
Just like every pro golfer has a pre-shot routine, so should the pool player. I learned this and my personal eye pattern among many other things while at Randy G's pool school. Once you establish your routine, you will eliminate a lot of guess work allowing you to focus on Angle, Speed and Spin. As Randy says..."cover you A.S.S.".:)
 
Roy Futternick in Sacramento, saw that I was struggling with approaching the CB before a shot, any shot, He asked If I would like some help-I didnt really know him personally but was thrilled that someone took interrest in me and was willing to help me, so I said"Please help". He said shoot straight in shots, this way its a stanardizied shot-awalys the same, He said step into the shot, if your not lined up get up and do it again until your lined up right and shoot it, I still do this practice drill to this day 20 something years later, it was perhaps the most valuable lession I ever had in pool, addressing the CB properly, if I got lazy then I start missing, i practiced it so much now I do it on auto pilot, once in a while I dont and I just get up walk away from the shot, and start over like i never saw the shot
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
last night as you's already know i threw my temper tantrum and smashed the light all over my table by slamming the cue ball hard onto the table. so, i got the mess cleaned up........then i grilled me a new york strip steak, had some corn OTC, some strawberries for dessert, and a cigar - all of this out on my deck.

anyway, as i was sitting there smoking the cigar, i had calmed down and asked myself why i didnt take this calm approach to the table. so afterwards i went back down to the table and was going to play some more. i rolled a couple of balls out onto the table, and decided to shoot the 2-Ball into the pocket since it ended up straight in.

i noticed when i got ready to shoot that i had stepped perfectly into position, and was seemingly perfectly aligned, needing no movement to get myself and the cue aligned. i fired the 2-Ball in, and the light bulb went off. Rossman had told me once the initial setup was so important, and pointed out that you dont ever see Allison worming and squirming around once she is down over the shot.

so, i started trying to align myself perfectly, step into the shot perfectly, bend over and address the ball perfectly, all without making adjustments as i go. the first 2-3 shots went right in the heart of the pocket. then i noticed i didnt quite have myself aligned, but i went and shot anyway - and i missed! so i reset the shot, went through the entire routine again, felt perfect over the shot - and fired it in.

is that a good concept posters? do you guys approach/align/shoot this way, completely trusting your mechanics without worming and squirming around to try and get it perfect?

DCP
Click to expand...

What I can't understand is how you took lessons from 3 top professional teachers and they evidently didn't tell you that you were doing this?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Or did they tell you and you just forgot?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Or even worse, did the instructors not even notice, because a good instructor will have you shoot and watch you a while to see your flaws. I am saying this because you act like this discovery was a revelation.

I admire your bulldogedness though. Be sure and do what I have been suggesing for years: get out a business card and write on the back all the basic things that you should be doing correctly, or incorrectly, like moving your head and figiting while down over a shot. When you practice, you should be concentrating mainly on fundaments, like the one you discovered above.

Good luck, WW
 
Heres my take on setting up a shot. First of all frustration and anger is a pool players worse enemy...I've beat alot of guys and won alot of $ off of them that were BETTER than me but when they'd miss a gimme shot or i'd win one or two in a row that they thought i shouldnt have won they got frustrated and mad which led to loss of concentration and there money...you cant get mad or frustrared in pool.

Now on setting up a shot for me is like playing the guitar....when i was teaching myself to play the guitar i would practice EVERY day for hours and one day i noticed my fingers were laying on the strings in correct position and changing chord positon without thinking...what was happening was my brain was learning this and telling my fingers what to do without me having to think about it....Pools the same way, I have been playing for years and once i decide on the shot i need to take and english etc. i get down in my stance and let my body do whats natural, what its been doing for years, make a smooth stroke and just make the ball...i dont even think about it, when i OVERTHINK a shot i miss most everytime. Just keep playing and practicing and one day it'll come together like clockwork. Just let your body take over.

My opinion might be retarded to some but it works for me.
 
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