Pool Made Simple – STANCE and STROKE – Finding What is Best for You

[Mensabum]

FYI, I just posted a new video that discusses and demonstrates how to find your personal best stance, allowing you to deliver a straight and consistent stroke. Check it out:

Contents:
0:00 - Intro
0:25 - Cue Pointing Trick
2:00 - Stance Fundamentals
2:47 - Testing Your Stance and Stroke
4:24 - Natural Stroking Plane
5:10 - Personal Best Stance
6:32 - Large Belly or Chest
7:34 - Shoulder Position
8:44 - Vertical Forearm
10:02 - More Info

As always, I look forward to your feedback, comments, questions, complaints, and requests.

Enjoy!

Excellent video Dave!!
I'm glad you addressed the 'what's best for you', as too many coaches and many players have that 'my way or the highway' attitude about stance. The freedom to choose gets lost in the shuffle. Take what you can use and leave the rest.
Thank you for showing newbies it's ok to 'deviate from the norm.'

 

[Mensabum]

Instead of putting the airbags in my chest area I put them in the back of my pants to give me more ass when I break

Seriously though .. great vid as always!

I like Big Butts and I cannot lie!!

 

[dr_dave]

Excellent video Dave!!

Thanks!

I'm glad you addressed the 'what's best for you', as too many coaches and many players have that 'my way or the highway' attitude about stance. The freedom to choose gets lost in the shuffle. Take what you can use and leave the rest.
Thank you for showing newbies it's ok to 'deviate from the norm.'

Sometimes, you need to change what you think is best for you because it really isn’t best. For example, if your stroke is not straight with your current stance, it might help to do something different like get your forearm vertical. And if you can’t aim straight, it might help to get your head closer to your vision center position. But if you can aim accurately and stroke straight, there is no need to force yourself into a awkward stance.

 

[dr_dave]

I like Big Butts and I cannot lie!!

I heard the same song in my head when I read his post.

 

[SKILLZELITE]

@dr_dave this is by far your wildest video to date.

My wife came in the living room right as you were stuffing the packaging near your chest & said ..
"Wtf is this guy doing,
& a even better quetion is ,
why the hell are you watching it,
is there something you want to tell me ? "

 

[Patrick Johnson]

This forum making pool more complicated than

…you can understand.

Sorry.

pj
chgo

 

[dr_dave]

@dr_dave this is by far your wildest video to date.

My wife came in the living room right as you were stuffing the packaging near your chest & said ..
"Wtf is this guy doing,
& a even better quetion is ,
why the hell are you watching it,
is there something you want to tell me ? "

Thanks for sharing that. I'm glad my video gave you and your wife some entertainment together.

 

[Mensabum]

Thanks for sharing that. I'm glad my video gave you and your wife some entertainment together.

 

[Mensabum]

You coulda of.....

I drove to Kearney NE to get THIS boat when my 1st of 3 CO grandkids was borne.

I've always said this growin' up on water....
Your chances of keeping your first wife, are much greater than Keeping your first boat.

Got the boat specifically for the kids since I grew up ''on a lake''.
Dad was Navy... lake shore property.... pier, boats and raced wooden C scow competitions for yrs.

Below Starcraft.....
170 lb boat/150 lb motor.... with a speed prop, would do 38 mph on a 14' 10'' deep V hull.
Normal prop, kids popped outta the water skis QUICK.
Sad when I sold it last march.

bm

Nice little rig.
My brother would say, "if I bought a boat the river'd run dry!!"

 

[BRKNRUN]

As always, I look forward to your feedback, comments, questions, complaints, and requests.

Enjoy!

Another great video.....RE: The cue pointing method....I suspect that method will work better for players that align the cue under the dominant eye (on the same side as the grip hand)

Here is a similar but slight variation to that method I did not see in the video you might evaluate.........If you start with the hanging natural angle of the cue accross the body....keeping that angle and while standing up right reach out and grab the cue with your bridge hand and make semi exaggerated practice strokes while standing....(your comfortable natural angle of stroke accross your body).........With an exaggerated stroke you can feel the butt cap of the cue hit your forearm as your arm folds up.....(or you can stop at the follow through and hold the butt cap against your fore arm)....now position your body so that the cue is pointing through the CB.

I tend to take practice strokes while standing upright and turning into alignment....(and visualizing my shot)...subconscously (at this point) I am hitting my forearm with the buttcapp while I position myself in a comfortable stance....then just drop the cue on the shot line.

Obviously this won't work for people the have a McCready (sidearm) stroke or are opposite side eye dominant that have to fold the arm inward....

 

[Mensabum]

Another great video.....RE: The cue pointing method....I suspect that method will work better for players that align the cue under the dominant eye (on the same side as the grip hand)

Here is a similar but slight variation to that method I did not see in the video you might evaluate.........If you start with the hanging natural angle of the cue accross the body....keeping that angle and while standing up right reach out and grab the cue with your bridge hand and make semi exaggerated practice strokes while standing....(your comfortable natural angle of stroke accross your body).........With an exaggerated stroke you can feel the butt cap of the cue hit your forearm as your arm folds up.....(or you can stop at the follow through and hold the butt cap against your fore arm)....now position your body so that the cue is pointing through the CB.

I tend to take practice strokes while standing upright and turning into alignment....(and visualizing my shot)...subconscously (at this point) I am hitting my forearm with the buttcapp while I position myself in a comfortable stance....then just drop the cue on the shot line.

Obviously this won't work for people the have a McCready (sidearm) stroke or are opposite side eye dominant that have to fold the arm inward....

I've seen many players do this. Those angled strokes across the body, them drop down on the shot. I always thot it was an OCD kinda thing that helped them evaluate the shot prior to sending whitey. Thanks for explaining the whys and how it works for you.
I do know the guys I've seen do this were not newbies by any stretch of the imagination.
What works best for me is to eliminate any movement I consider unnecessary in my PSR, as I have a tendency to allow quirks to get in there.
Hard to remove once set.

 

[BRKNRUN]

I've seen many players do this. Those angled strokes across the body, them drop down on the shot. I always thot it was an OCD kinda thing that helped them evaluate the shot prior to sending whitey. Thanks for explaining the whys and how it works for you.
I do know the guys I've seen do this were not newbies by any stretch of the imagination.
What works best for me is to eliminate any movement I consider unnecessary in my PSR, as I have a tendency to allow quirks to get in there.
Hard to remove once set.

I am not sure anyone actually does and exaggerated stroke to where the but cap hits the fore arm (while standing) except my goofy arse.........I suspect in most cases the practice strokes while standing is more a getting a feel for how hard to hit the shot.

What I notice is that pretty much ALL good players will have both the grip hand and bridge on the cue as they turn to get down on the shot......very rarely do I see a cue go down with one hand and then a reach for the bridge hand......I have to wonder if having both hands on the cue as you turn down into the shot helps keep the shoulders square.

I know SVB takes strokes while standing quite often.....

I just do it (butt cap hitting the forearm) to make sure the cue is folding up on the fore arm and not jutting off into space (which would be a side arm stroke).

After a while the natural flow is that you don't need to exaggerate...you find your routine and flow....For me it is just a check I guess.

A "practice" way of doing it is to take your natural strokes while standing (cue accross the body) starting with the natural hang hand as shown in the video....and then with the butt cap folding all the way up on the arm....then hold it in the folded position (grip hand will most likely be against the inside and underside of your peck. Now keeping the butt cap on the forearm...grip hand at peck......position your feet comfortably so that the cue is pointing toward the CB...(bridge hand extended down the shaft)......It will look quite silly honestly.....but now your shoulders should naturally be square to that finish position.....drop down on the stance and everything should remain squre and IMO theoretically natural and comforatable.

Just my goofy modified way of doing it I guess.....but it helps me find that "comfortable natural stroke" set up.....based from the point the cue "hanging grip hand" method shown in the video.

 

[Mensabum]

I am not sure anyone actually does and exaggerated stroke to where the but cap hits the fore arm (while standing) except my goofy arse.........I suspect in most cases the practice strokes while standing is more a getting a feel for how hard to hit the shot.

What I notice is that pretty much ALL good players will have both the grip hand and bridge on the cue as they turn to get down on the shot......very rarely do I see a cue go down with one hand and then a reach for the bridge hand......I have to wonder if having both hands on the cue as you turn down into the shot helps keep the shoulders square.

I know SVB takes strokes while standing quite often.....

I just do it (butt cap hitting the forearm) to make sure the cue is folding up on the fore arm and not jutting off into space (which would be a side arm stroke).

After a while the natural flow is that you don't need to exaggerate...you find your routine and flow....For me it is just a check I guess.

A "practice" way of doing it is to take your natural strokes while standing (cue accross the body) starting with the natural hang hand as shown in the video....and then with the butt cap folding all the way up on the arm....then hold it in the folded position (grip hand will most likely be against the inside and underside of your peck. Now keeping the butt cap on the forearm...grip hand at peck......position your feet comfortably so that the cue is pointing toward the CB...(bridge hand extended down the shaft)......It will look quite silly honestly.....but now your shoulders should naturally be square to that finish position.....drop down on the stance and everything should remain squre and IMO theoretically natural and comforatable.

Just my goofy modified way of doing it I guess.....but it helps me find that "comfortable natural stroke" set up.....based from the point the cue "hanging grip hand" method shown in the video.

You're correct and I should have mentioned that. My only thot was those I've seen run the cue thru their bridge hands across their chest B4 going down on a shot is something many higher level players do. Going as far as you do however is a rarity. Thanks for pointing that out.