Pause in Backstroke, Does It Help, How?

I picked this 'thought' up somewhere (probably from Jerry Brieseth) and found it helps to keep my stroke smooth without jerking at the pause ....

With a loose, cradle grip draw the cue back smooth, straight and slow. LET THE CUE STOP ITSELF at the end of the backstroke before transitioning into a smooth forward stroke.
 
Jaden said:
The pause makes it more likely that you will accelerate through the ball on the final stroke. One of the big problems that people have when they miss, same goes for pros when THEY miss, is that they are tentative in their stroke, they pull back and don't accelerate through the ball.

Many people refer to it as punch stroking. It's not necessarily good to consciously pause on the back stroke but when it develops naturally, it does help to promote acceleration through the ball.

Jaden
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This explains how it helped me.

Practice strokes stop before hitting the cueball. I find i am more likely to poke, or jerk back when doing a few practice strokes and not pausing, becuase my body remebers i stoped the previous strokes before the cueball. That pause helps me strike through the ball.

Since I started pausing, i stroke through the ball better. Years of never pausing still come back to bite me now and then.
 
Last edited:
look at other things. do the golfers do a pause at the top. no.
do tennis players stop their racket before going forward with it. no.
does a carpenter stop his hammer at the top for a pause. no.

all that matters is you drive forward and straight with your cue stick. and have control of the speed of it.
whatever it takes for you to do that is what works in your situation.
 
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There are two possible places for a pause:

1. At the cue ball just before you start the power stroke. You make sure everything looks right.

2. At the back of the power stroke. (the subject of this thread)

I think the first is a good idea for everyone.

The second is hard to put into your shot sequence if you didn't learn it early. However, for some beginners it can really help as mentioned above. I've had students who could do nice, smooth warmup strokes and then on the power stroke they would come back maybe two inches, no pause, and punch the ball. Adding a pause after the final backstroke can eliminate that punch and produces a much more efficient stroke.
 
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