Please evaluate my stance/stroke!

[mindtriplx]

If I were to offer either of these as advice, I'd probably say 90° just because I think it's an easy visual. However, I'm not sure how this differs from your hand being directly under your elbow. If your forearm hung straight down at 90°, wouldn't your hand be right under your elbow? Your hand is at the end of your forearm so, if your forearm is hanging straight down from your elbow, then your hand, being at the end of your forearm, would have to be beneath your elbow, right? Sure, you could argue that the elbow joint is, technically, directly above your pinky-finger knuckle if your arm were at an exact 90° angle but, for one, that knuckle is still part of your hand and, secondly, which is the main point I'm trying to make here, it doesn't have to be exact down to the millimeter. Either advice is a guideline; something to give you a mental image while you're down on the ball since, after all, you can't see if your arm is 90° or if your hand is directly under your elbow while you're down on the ball anyway. It's just an image to keep in your head to help achieve your goal, if that's what it is that you're working on.

idk. i always thought of the 90 as your forearm and biceips. if i do that then my hand is not perpendicular with the floor (or under my elbow). to me these are 2 different things.

 

[Jimmy M.]

idk. i always thought of the 90 as your forearm and biceips. if i do that then my hand is not perpendicular with the floor (or under my elbow). to me these are 2 different things.

Well, you could start getting very detailed on this subject because you can take the curvature of your arm into account and then try to determine which part of your forearm is even supposed to be at 90°. However, if you go that far, you're starting to go off the deep end. Pool mechanics just aren't that complex. You have a pendulum. When the pendulum is hanging straight down, your tip should be addressing the cue ball. After that, the pendulum swings back and swings forward. Summarized, that is pretty much it for the mechanics of the stroke. It sounds like the "90° thing" is just a bad visual for you to use because your mind doesn't see it that way. In that case, for you, I would think that the "arm under the elbow" would be a better visual. You could also think of your forearm as being perpendicular to the floor.

 

[mindtriplx]

Well, you could start getting very detailed on this subject because you can take the curvature of your arm into account and then try to determine which part of your forearm is even supposed to be at 90°. However, if you go that far, you're starting to go off the deep end. Pool mechanics just aren't that complex. You have a pendulum. When the pendulum is hanging straight down, your tip should be addressing the cue ball. After that, the pendulum swings back and swings forward. Summarized, that is pretty much it for the mechanics of the stroke. It sounds like the "90° thing" is just a bad visual for you to use because your mind doesn't see it that way. In that case, for you, I would think that the "arm under the elbow" would be a better visual. You could also think of your forearm as being perpendicular to the floor.

haha i think you hit the nail on the head. i have been told to just shut up and play before.

 

[mattman]

Take a step or two back in between shots. Aim while standing, move slowing into your aim-line. Take 3 or 4 practice strokes.. pause. Stroke.. don't poke. Follow through and stay down until the ball falls in the hole and/or the cue ball stops rolling.

I worked on this, my stance, and trying to correct my chicken wing. I never thought I would get so many to respond...thanks again.

Matt