being on the IPT has given me a birds eye view of how the greatest players on earth play. all the little details are up close and personal. i take mental notes and try to copy, or at the very least incorporate these little important findings into my own playing. one of the many things i have noticed, which particularly stood out, was what i refer to as "pointing position" marlon manalo does this on almost every shot,here is what it is~~~~ before shooting his next shot, he points with his cue stick to the spot on the cloth he wants the cue ball to come to rest, then he burns that spot in his brain and proceeds to attempt to land right on the exact spot he previously pointed to. this gives him a exact visual refrence point,and not just some "gray area of anywhere" i found it enlightning,and it has helped my game, hope you incorporate in yours as well. Bernie Friend IPT player 2006.
Pointing Position
- Thread starter 8-ball bernie
- Start date
I saw Niels Fjien (sp) at the Viking Championship in Chicago, about a year and a half ago. Niels was doing just as you describe. He was also very accurate with it. He was giving a clinic, is how I would describe his match against Troy Frank.8-ball bernie said:
I was watching a guy once, he was on a roll. He played shape to his break spot, on every single 9 ball. It took me a while to reallize what he was doing. After I realized what he was doing, I watched and every single time his cue ball went to the exact spot.
Tracy
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I do this
when I was first learning to play as a teenager (early 60's) and trying to learn cue ball control, I cut out a 6" diameter circle of paper and carried it with me, and used it when I practiced. I would place the paper where I wanted the cue ball to be for the next shot I was to have. No, I missed the paper a lot at first, but gradually through trial and error and repeating shots, I was able to consistenly come real close or on the paper.
I still visually spot a particular point for following shots that I want the cue ball to be at. I feel that this early training aided me for playing positon. (and position play is considered one of strong suits by other players as I have been told).
I would like to extend this slightly to aiming. When first starting out, my point of aim was about a half dollar size, gradually it became about quarter size, then down to nickel, then dime size. In trying to shoot combinations better, I shrunk it down to pinhead size, which it has overflowed into regular shots. It has allowed me to be more consistent with combinations and regular shots, and assisted in making difficult shots a lot.
The point being that if you get things down to a finite preciseness whether playing position or aiming and work on it, your overall game will improve greatly. I have beat many a player simply because they were on the wrong side of a ball to get shape on the next shot and could not complete what otherwise would have been a runout. (not having the right angle on a shot).
when I was first learning to play as a teenager (early 60's) and trying to learn cue ball control, I cut out a 6" diameter circle of paper and carried it with me, and used it when I practiced. I would place the paper where I wanted the cue ball to be for the next shot I was to have. No, I missed the paper a lot at first, but gradually through trial and error and repeating shots, I was able to consistenly come real close or on the paper.
I still visually spot a particular point for following shots that I want the cue ball to be at. I feel that this early training aided me for playing positon. (and position play is considered one of strong suits by other players as I have been told).
I would like to extend this slightly to aiming. When first starting out, my point of aim was about a half dollar size, gradually it became about quarter size, then down to nickel, then dime size. In trying to shoot combinations better, I shrunk it down to pinhead size, which it has overflowed into regular shots. It has allowed me to be more consistent with combinations and regular shots, and assisted in making difficult shots a lot.
The point being that if you get things down to a finite preciseness whether playing position or aiming and work on it, your overall game will improve greatly. I have beat many a player simply because they were on the wrong side of a ball to get shape on the next shot and could not complete what otherwise would have been a runout. (not having the right angle on a shot).
if someone taps the table with the tip of their cue, as in pointing to where they want the cue ball to land, and they make a very small chalk mark on the table at that point - ISNT THAT AGAINST THE RULES???
DCP
DCP
DrCue'sProtege said:
Seems like I have read something about "marking the table" being a violation of the rules, but I have seen lots of players do this, even in tournaments, and I have never seen anyone actually get called on this rule. Probably best to check with Mr. TD when in doubt though.
someoneo mention'ed along time ago that they noticed the Pros shoot with a rifle like aiming on longer shots and centered on closer shots. Is it true?
mnShooter said:
that's my take on it too mn. I actually called a player on it once at a tourney. He was marking the rail with the chalk off his tip, so he could see where to hit the rail while kicking. I'm not really petty like that, but this same player tried more than one shark on me during that match. The TD actually said it was a foul, and loss of shot.....which I chose not to enforce. I just asked him to quit doing it.
Gerry
DrCue'sProtege said:
I think what they are doing when pointing to where they want the cue ball to go is "pointing in their mind", not marking the table in any way.
They are making a "visual image" in their mind of the area the cue ball should go to. When you "visualize" this, the mind can automatically make the calculations or whatever to shoot the ball just right to leave it in that location. This goes hand in hand with years of practice.
This is as opposed to "consciously thinking" about how hard to shoot, etc.
I guess the best way to demonstrate this is to shoot just the cue ball (not hitting any other balls) so it stops in the center of the table.
1st think about the shot while shooting - how to hit it with follow or center, how much to follow-through to get it to where you want - think about how hard you need to hit it to get it to stop there, etc. Then shoot several times doing this.
Next point with your cue to where you want the cue ball to stop and just "visualize" the cue ball stopping there. Then shoot without doing any "thinking". Just let your body automatically do it. Do this several times.
With myself, I can many times "visualize" where I want the cue ball to stop, and amazingly that is where it stops. The human body is an amazing thing.
This is how I learned to play position, my old coach/instructor/friend taught me this way.