Pausing at the cue ball vs pausing on the back stroke

C

cuetechasaurus

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Years ago I used to pause at the cue ball for a few seconds before taking my final stroke. It gave me great results. When Shane became famous, I noticed that he does this too.

I tried pausing at the back stroke like Buddy Hall, but I never really liked it. I even tried both at the same time, and got mixed results.

So which to you prefer? I think that pausing at the cue ball helps you visualize the shot better, and it lets you double check and make sure everything feels right before shooting.

I haven't been able to figure out the benefits from pausing at the back stroke. But if it worked for Buddy, there has got to be something to it.
 
I do both. When practice stroking I look only at the ob as I feel the angle and focus in on the ghost ball.

At the cue ball on the final stroke, I do my eye shift.. just to make sure I'm going to hit the portion of the cb I want to hit. I pause at the back of the last stroke in order to make the forward stroke a smooth and seperate transition, no jerking... like Buddy and Allison.
 
Pausing at the back stroke never worked for me. I pause at the cue ball but it is a very quick pause, less than a second.
 
Sometimes I pause at the QB on certain shots. I do it a lot when I can't use a good solid bridge or in an stretched out position. Johnnyt
 
Shane pauses at the back stroke too.

For me, when I can do it, the pause at the cue ball is an aiming thing. It lets me really settle on my aiming spot. The pause at the end of the back stroke is really an end to the back stroke so that the forward stroke can begin. For me, in order for my forward stroke to be accurate, smooth and controlled, it has to be independent from the back stroke. Which is why, when I am playing well, I have a distinct pause at the end of the back stroke.

For some, like Shane, the pause is less defined, but it's there. I don't think I have ever seen a top player without a pause. It may be slight, but it's there.

Royce Bunnell
www.obcues.com
 
Pausing at the back of the stroke was difficult for me to learn. My natural rhythm simply did not like it. However, RandyG teaches it at his pool school and I thought that if such a renowned teacher thought it was worth learning then I should put forth some effort. It took a few weeks and I never did “like” it. Then I found my answer. It seems that my stroke is naturally too long: I have a tendency to pull the stick off line at the end of a long stroke.

When I shortened my stroke and paused at the back of the stroke my accuracy was better. The improvement was dramatic and this lead me to think about what it is that the pause contributes. I think, but I am not sure, that there are two things going on. First, the pause allows my brain to get all of the fine motor coordination ready to fire in one continuous movement: It is a place from which to start that final stroke.

Two, the pause allows that little bit of extra time to sight the shot from the back hand. Sighting from the back hand is difficult to describe. It involves the ability to feel where the back of the cue stick is located and to know that it is on the correct line. It may be something like an archer holding the arrow on line and sighting down the shaft before releasing the arrow. Of course your eye is not in the same place but the feel is the same.

Pausing on the back stroke has changed my rhythm and it is similar to learning a new dance step, one which includes a hesitation. It has slowed down my shooting routine and now it not only feels comfortable it feels odd and my accuracy decreases when I do not take that extra step in the routine.

In my experience it is not an easy thing to incorporate but it was worth all the effort in terms of the improved accuracy.
 
I "pause" three times in my stroke (whether I want to or not).....SPF=randyg

PS: Before this thread gets too far someone should look up the meaning of the word "pause".
 
I do not have any particular length of time in mind when I pause. The body chooses its own time to let go and fire the stroke. It does seem to me that the amount of time varies. For some shots such as a simple straight in stop shot, the pause is momentary. At other times it requires a longer period of time to "know" the shot is on line. Mike Page (on Dr Dave's web site) says that pros slow down their back swing more so than non-pros. I think that this is part of the pause effect. That is, if you know you are going to pause you have a tendency to draw back slowly.
 
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cuetechasaurus said:
Years ago I used to pause at the cue ball for a few seconds before taking my final stroke. It gave me great results. When Shane became famous, I noticed that he does this too.

I tried pausing at the back stroke like Buddy Hall, but I never really liked it. I even tried both at the same time, and got mixed results.

So which to you prefer? I think that pausing at the cue ball helps you visualize the shot better, and it lets you double check and make sure everything feels right before shooting.

I haven't been able to figure out the benefits from pausing at the back stroke. But if it worked for Buddy, there has got to be something to it.
Click to expand...

Most pros pause at the cueball before the final stroke.

Pausing on the final stroke:

(1) slows me down - I don't rush anymore
(2) gets me thinking of the final FORWARD stroke at the top of the backswing, which I have time to visualize even more at the pause. At the top of this pause, my 'feel' gear becomes reality and I just stroke just as I had predetermined in my pre-shot routine.
(3) helps straighten out my crooked stroke on the backswing. Once I get to the top of the backswing, I can follow through straight as an arrow.
(4) my eyes now follow the shaft out of the 'corner of my eye' on the way back - to keep it as straight as possible, and just before I pause, my eyes lock back onto the ghost ball. Note here that there are zillions of pros who don't have a straight backswing either, Shane being an exception.
 
cuetechasaurus said:
Years ago I used to pause at the cue ball for a few seconds before taking my final stroke. It gave me great results. When Shane became famous, I noticed that he does this too.

I tried pausing at the back stroke like Buddy Hall, but I never really liked it. I even tried both at the same time, and got mixed results.

So which to you prefer? I think that pausing at the cue ball helps you visualize the shot better, and it lets you double check and make sure everything feels right before shooting.

I haven't been able to figure out the benefits from pausing at the back stroke. But if it worked for Buddy, there has got to be something to it.
Click to expand...
I tried pausing at the cue ball after I got to watch Shane do it so well at the US Open. Shane is a master and his stroke is a pool players dream stroke. It worked well for me on some shots, but I struggled on other shots. I think if I worked on it for a while I might get the hang of it, but Shane has it down pat. His stroke is so powerful that he moves the cue ball effortlessly. He's my pick to win the US Open again this year......

James
 
randyg said:
dr_dave said:
Randy,

Here's what I wrote up after we had a huge debate about this many years ago:

I now like to use "distinct pause" or "deliberate pause" to avoid confusion.
Click to expand...
Yes Dave, I like that....well done as always.
Pause:
1. Temporary inactivity:
2.A time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
Click to expand...
Thanks Randy. Do you remember that ridiculously long debate about the "pause" on BD-CCB many years ago?

Thank you for helping to teach me and much of the pool world the value of the "set" and "end-of-backstroke" pauses.

Regards,
Dave
 
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