Pivot Point

Jaden said:
The REAL answer to that question is, 'it depends'. How seriously do you play and how much do you want to improve or at least maintain your game?

I mean the qualifying questions necessary to answer that question fully and comprehensibly is extensive.

Do you play with BHE, FHE, do you play by feel, do you use an aiming system. Do you play one pocket?

I mean the appropriate answer to that question depends on whether you're an apa 5 who just wants to play for league and an occasional fargo capped local tourney, bang em around with buddies twice a month, or whether you are a serious player and gambler looking to improve your game to the point that you're a threat in any match you play whether it be a regional tourney or a $500 a game one hole match.

Why are you looking to get a LD shaft would be one question. I ask this because there are normal deflection carbon fiber shafts that will play pretty close to your wood shaft if you're just looking for the advantages of CF...
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Just to put this in perspective based on your questions. I am 83 and trying to maintain or better a 585 Fargo by playing in 2 eight ball leagues a week using a parallel aiming system. One pocket is my favorite game but I do not get a chance to play it much. My custom cue is Alex Brick/John Davis with an OB Classic shaft. Using a home table I practice several times a week trying to improve specific shots. I don't gamble except for chump change. Many years ago I ran over a 100 straight pool and 7 racks of 9 ball. So basically I'm trying to get a little better before 'gravitation' takes its final toll.
 
Matt_24 said:
Pivot points, bridge length, deflection, FHE, BHE, Parallel English….most people are dogging it because their stance is incorrect, they are off-line, and imbalanced, so they also move during their shot.

Jimmy Reid (the legend) taught me a drill decades ago to ensure I was balanced and in line. We never discussed pivot points, BHe or deflection. My game and pool IQ jumped 3 balls from that single lesson.
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A funny story about that. Most top players ensure they start off centered on the ball by starting with their tip placed at the base of the ball. For many years I did something similar but to make sure my tip started off, not only centered on the ball, but also the same distance from the ball everytime, I would line up over the top of the ball right in the center.

I've matched up and played with Scott Frost several times over the years and every time he would see me doing it, he would say "I know what you're doing there". lol
 
Tennesseejoe said:
Just to put this in perspective based on your questions. I am 83 and trying to maintain or better a 585 Fargo by playing in 2 eight ball leagues a week using a parallel aiming system. One pocket is my favorite game but I do not get a chance to play it much. My custom cue is Alex Brick/John Davis with an OB Classic shaft. Using a home table I practice several times a week trying to improve specific shots. I don't gamble except for chump change. Many years ago I ran over a 100 straight pool and 7 racks of 9 ball. So basically I'm trying to get a little better before 'gravitation' takes its final toll.
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Yeah, you know the old saying "you can't teach an old dog new tricks". The ob classic, while not an 18" pivot point, isn't high deflection either. I would suggest either sticking with that, or seeing if you can borrow this lower deflection shaft you're thinking about for a week or so and seeing how it affects your game. If you can adjust to it and you like how it plays, then get it. Otherwise, stick with what you know.
 
Jaden said:
Yeah, you know the old saying "you can't teach an old dog new tricks". The ob classic, while not an 18" pivot point, isn't high deflection either. I would suggest either sticking with that, or seeing if you can borrow this lower deflection shaft you're thinking about for a week or so and seeing how it affects your game. If you can adjust to it and you like how it plays, then get it. Otherwise, stick with what you know.
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You can't teach an old dog new tricks...but old dogs like young tricks.
 
Jaden said:
A funny story about that. Most top players ensure they start off centered on the ball by starting with their tip placed at the base of the ball. For many years I did something similar but to make sure my tip started off, not only centered on the ball, but also the same distance from the ball everytime, I would line up over the top of the ball right in the center.

I've matched up and played with Scott Frost several times over the years and every time he would see me doing it, he would say "I know what you're doing there". lol
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In order to keep your "shot perspective" the same on every shot, you should try to distance yourself from the cue ball the same every shot.

If the table layout allows you to do that, you can align your eyes over the cue at the same downward "angle" into the shaft and shot picture. It is kind of like the glide scope view of an aircraft landing, you are looking downward and forward at the same view angle to the runway. Every airport, like a pool table, may have a different layout, but the main concern is lining up the aircraft with the runway and hitting it at the proper spot and angle. In pool, your cue tip is the aircraft and the cue ball is the spot on the runway. Following through causes the cue ball to become the aircraft because it is only going to go in the direction you hit it. Try to keep every landing the same.

This allows your mind to "picture" each shot the same way.

It becomes kind of like seeing and shooting "the same shot, over and over".
 
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Tennesseejoe said:
Just to put this in perspective based on your questions. I am 83 and trying to maintain or better a 585 Fargo by playing in 2 eight ball leagues a week using a parallel aiming system. One pocket is my favorite game but I do not get a chance to play it much. My custom cue is Alex Brick/John Davis with an OB Classic shaft. Using a home table I practice several times a week trying to improve specific shots. I don't gamble except for chump change. Many years ago I ran over a 100 straight pool and 7 racks of 9 ball. So basically I'm trying to get a little better before 'gravitation' takes its final toll.
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If you've run 100 at any point in your life, you know the game inside and out. Full stop.
The OB Classic from what I recall is mildly low deflection, but not as low as the 314 series of Predators, or the current Predator Revo series.

Switching to a cue with a longer pivot point (which means less deflection), IDK if it will actually improve your game. But it's really easy to do, IMO, having done it myself. Your brain will re-adjust to the new aiming lines quite quickly.

On the other hand, and I'm contradicting myself here, I find it about impossible to adjust the other way, and go from a Predator cue to a normal house cue with high deflection.
 
iusedtoberich said:
If you've run 100 at any point in your life, you know the game inside and out. Full stop.
The OB Classic from what I recall is mildly low deflection, but not as low as the 314 series of Predators, or the current Predator Revo series.

Switching to a cue with a longer pivot point (which means less deflection), IDK if it will actually improve your game. But it's really easy to do, IMO, having done it myself. Your brain will re-adjust to the new aiming lines quite quickly.

On the other hand, and I'm contradicting myself here, I find it about impossible to adjust the other way, and go from a Predator cue to a normal house cue with high deflection.
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I agree with you.

I think more people have a problem going from low deflection to high deflection than vice versa.
 
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