Pool Myths Explained

JoeyA

JoeyA

Efren's Mini-Tourn BACKER
Silver Member
This is a thread where everyone can offer their idea of a POOL MYTH. You know, something that you have heard that supposedly helps you to do a certain something that otherwise, you have difficulty doing, but really doesn't do what you or they think it does.

There are many myths in pool. Some of them are simply the layman's way of dealing with something he doesn't understand completely but sometimes the myth gets the job done and sometimes it doesn't.

Please consider adding your pool myth in this thread.

Everyone has heard the term "accelerate through the cue ball". Well, it just can't be done, not with our traditional method of hitting a cue ball. As soon as the cue stick contacts the cue ball, it decelerates. However, I believe that the ATTEMPT to accelerate through the cue ball is simply another way to help retain the rate of speed intended for that particular shot. The unintentional slowing the speed of the cue ball can have results that aren't expected, especially when using side spin or a combination of side spin and draw or side spin and follow.

Pool is an interesting game. What's your pool myth contribution for this thread?

Does gambling at pool improve your pool game? Is that a myth? If so, why is it a myth?

Dr. David G. Alciatore, PE ("Dr. Dave"), has agreed to lend his expertise in cataloging these myths and providing explanations as well. This could be fun. Let's all offer our myths and see if they make the cut.

JoeyA
 
I think a common myth is one that I see commentators say all the time, "He missed because he jumped up on the shot". I think most advanced players jump up just after taking a shot, because they know they missed it, and not the other way around. It would be interesting to see some slow motion video of pros jumping up on missed shots to see exactly when they jump up and if it's before or after the actual shot takes place.
 
JoeyA said:
This is a thread where everyone can offer their idea of a POOL MYTH. You know, something that you have heard that supposedly helps you to do a certain something that otherwise, you have difficulty doing, but really doesn't do what you or they think it does.

There are many myths in pool. Some of them are simply the layman's way of dealing with something he doesn't understand completely but sometimes the myth gets the job done and sometimes it doesn't.

Please consider adding your pool myth in this thread.

Everyone has heard the term "accelerate through the cue ball". Well, it just can't be done, not with our traditional method of hitting a cue ball. As soon as the cue stick contacts the cue ball, it decelerates. However, I believe that the ATTEMPT to accelerate through the cue ball is simply another way to help retain the rate of speed intended for that particular shot. The unintentional slowing the speed of the cue ball can have results that aren't expected, especially when using side spin or a combination of side spin and draw or side spin and follow.

Pool is an interesting game. What's your pool myth contribution for this thread?

Does gambling at pool improve your pool game? Is that a myth? If so, why is it a myth?

Dr. David G. Alciatore, PE ("Dr. Dave"), has agreed to lend his expertise in cataloging these myths and providing explanations as well. This could be fun. Let's all offer our myths and see if they make the cut.

JoeyA
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Whilst the terminology might not be completely precise, it is STUPID to say accelerating through the CB is a myth.
 
Rolls...
In my opinion very few things happen in billiards by chance. Players will say, "I just got some bad rolls," or "he got all the rolls!"
well, I believe 99% (or more) of what happens on the pool table is a reaction to an action. You hooked yourself? It wasn't a bad roll, you hit it bad. The cue ball caromed off 2 balls and scratched in the side? Not a bad roll, that's the way you hit it. Your opponent slams into the 1 ball sending it and the cue ball multiple rails, caroming off multiple balls, eventually pocketing the 9 ball. Well, if you hadn't left the cue ball there he wouldn't have had that shot.
Yes, I believe rolls, for the most part, are a myth.
 
victorl said:
I think a common myth is one that I see commentators say all the time, "He missed because he jumped up on the shot". I think most advanced players jump up just after taking a shot, because they know they missed it, and not the other way around. It would be interesting to see some slow motion video of pros jumping up on missed shots to see exactly when they jump up and if it's before or after the actual shot takes place.
Click to expand...

I do the slomo replays for Accu-Stats and will try and get a miss up on screen if a commentator says that so you can see they are only right about half of the time...

The thing you notice on the replays is when a miss was caused by raising up they raised up crooked and puled their eyes off or across the line of the shot... Archer is very bad for this now that he is older.. I guess getting down straight is harder as we age so when you raise up you raise up pretty much on the line you went down on.. crooked down= crooked up.....


Chris
 
miscrewed89 said:
Rolls...
In my opinion very few things happen in billiards by chance. Players will say, "I just got some bad rolls," or "he got all the rolls!"
well, I believe 99% (or more) of what happens on the pool table is a reaction to an action. You hooked yourself? It wasn't a bad roll, you hit it bad. The cue ball caromed off 2 balls and scratched in the side? Not a bad roll, that's the way you hit it. Your opponent slams into the 1 ball sending it and the cue ball multiple rails, caroming off multiple balls, eventually pocketing the 9 ball. Well, if you hadn't left the cue ball there he wouldn't have had that shot.
Yes, I believe rolls, for the most part, are a myth.
Click to expand...

This. Exactly. Couldn't have said it better myself.
 
A new "myth" during the last years is the one of "demolishing myths", when in fact looking at things from a different perspective and drawing "absolute" conclusions it's all there is to it.... :)
 
First of all, hi JoeyA.

Ok the biggest myth of all time, and this is my opinion.

you keep hearing that you must stand in a specific position and hold your cue in a specific way to be good at the game, I think this is a myth, you can stand however you want, hold your cue however you want, align your cue under you however you want, as long as you feel comfortable, then once you established comfortability, then comes repetitiveness.

You repeat, and repeat, and repeat, every shot repeat that thousands of times until your muscle memory takes over, with a slight focus, you made the shot exact shot a thousand times in that stance, of how you are holding your cue, then you will become a good player no matter what, just keep repeating.

Which is why a player who plays 12 hrs a day will be better than a player who plays 3 hrs a week. Simple as that

SVB didn't become good because pool is in his nature, he practice for 10+ hours every day.

also this is another myth in my opinion, of having one person says "That guy is good because he is gifted and was born to play pool"
 
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JoeyA said:
Pool is an interesting game. What's your pool myth contribution for this thread?

Does gambling at pool improve your pool game? Is that a myth? If so, why is it a myth?
Click to expand...
Where to start???? We've actually done this before, but we'll do it again!.


1. Pros mostly hit vertical center unless absolutely necessary.

Well... unless that means 90 % of the time it's "absolutely necessary," this myth has been observed by the vast majority to be false. Those that say they "watch pros all the time," yet still believe this myth, should get their eyes checked. Pro use english often and more off center than amateurs.

2. Banks - The ball rebounds off the cushion at about the same angle as it comes in. Higher speed shortens the angle.

We can see why this myth is said, so it needs more clarity. I just wish more instructors instructed the reality as opposed to just hanging the myth out there. Reality is that without any spin (vertical or horizontal), the ball rebounds shorter at all speeds. Set up any shot that the object ball has no spin, and the rebound angle will be exactly the same shortened angle at any speed. This has been proven decades ago at this point (Jewett).

3. 99 Critical Shots - Shot 16: Single Ball Throw can throw the object ball several inches and hold the cueball. This one shot may have been revised in later editions, but when I first saw it, there was the implication you could hold the cueball pretty still and have the object throw.

I think this one misrepresentation held me back for years because I believed I could hold position and "throw the ball." I"m sure many of you still think that, but now might have to rethink it. Physics says that if the object ball is thrown to the right, then the cueball must go to the left. And since the shot is using outside, there's nothing that checks the cueball. Thanks to CJ's harping on TOI as well as watching a lot of pros (more than most), I see more touch-of-inside to check the cueball (not hold, but check it) in this situation, not outside.

4. 8-ball is more of a defensive game than 9-ball.

8-ball might have more strategic running out involved (that's more offensive, not defensive), but at low levels, it's a "last guy to miss on the 8-ball" game, and at the high level it's a "first one at the table" game. It's unlikely that you see an 8-ball game between two beginners or two experts playing a safety game in 8-ball. You certainly could play it like a defensive game, bunting and ducking, but that's a personal choice just like you could do it in 9-ball. And some games will end up a safety battle, just like some games in 9-ball do. You can duck when you're supposed to shoot, and still survive in 8-ball; you can do that in 9-ball, too. I guarantee that the last two guys standing at any decent 8-ball event aren't going to be ducking much.

5. Side-arm players play that way because they started when they were young and couldn't reach the table properly with a perpendicular arm

This seems so right, but it's wrong. There are oodles of players who started young that don't shoot side-arm; there are oodles of people who started out later and do shoot side-arm. Ergo... it's not when one started. Even if, say, Keith McCready says he shoots side-arm because he started young, that isn't the proof. Some people just have a tendency to get the wing to the inside and some tend to go to the outside. And some get it perpendicular.

I'm sure any one of you can find a person in their poolroom that shoots side-arm that didn't start playing until after they were nearly or at full height. My daughter, for example is one. She didn't start playing until she was teenager. One of my closest pool playing friends started playing at 16 and was shooting side-arm from the get go. A lot of women that I've seen who pick up cues for the first time tend to shoot side-arm (and with feet together). It's just a bio-mechanics thing. Left uncheck, it will become their norm.

I'm sure there's more, but that's enough for now

Freddie <~~~ "accelerating through the ball" is a myth
 
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My 2 cents worth. Side spin on the cue ball does not impart side spin to the object ball. The deflection of the cue ball caused by hitting it off center causes the cue ball to contact the object ball thicker of thinner (depending on inside or outside spin applied) . The resulting outcome makes the novice player believe the spin was transferred.
 
Seneca Steve said:
My 2 cents worth. Side spin on the cue ball does not impart side spin to the object ball. The deflection of the cue ball caused by hitting it off center causes the cue ball to contact the object ball thicker of thinner (depending on inside or outside spin applied) . The resulting outcome makes the novice player believe the spin was transferred.
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Well, no. Spin transfers. The myth, promoted by several ignorant authors, is that no spin is transferred. This has all been covered in detail recently along with lots of unambiguous demos. Anyone who plays bank pool or one pocket knows how to twist the object ball.
 
Bob Jewett said:
Well, no. Spin transfers. The myth, promoted by several ignorant authors, is that no spin is transferred. This has all been covered in detail recently along with lots of unambiguous demos. Anyone who plays bank pool or one pocket knows how to twist the object ball.
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yep :thumbup: !! . When it comes to side spin transfer, let's practice the carom small games : some balkline shots -to "keep the line"- show very well the side spin transfer.
 
Wow didnt take long to get the wolves out. But I do not agree with the experts on this. Guess I have never been able to figure it out in 51 years of trying. :wink:
 
The biggest myth is the notion that some players have "natural" talent. No where in nature are you faced with a perfectly level table and you shoot spheres into the pockets. Everyone must practice to get better. There are more efficient ways to practice and to improve faster than others, but it takes time at the table.
 
JeremiahGage said:
The biggest myth is the notion that some players have "natural" talent. No where in nature are you faced with a perfectly level table and you shoot spheres into the pockets. Everyone must practice to get better. There are more efficient ways to practice and to improve faster than others, but it takes time at the table.
Click to expand...

You may want to read the book "The Sports Gene". I'll bet you will edit your post.
 
JoeyA said:
This is a thread where everyone can offer their idea of a POOL MYTH. You know, something that you have heard that supposedly helps you to do a certain something that otherwise, you have difficulty doing, but really doesn't do what you or they think it does.

There are many myths in pool. Some of them are simply the layman's way of dealing with something he doesn't understand completely but sometimes the myth gets the job done and sometimes it doesn't.

Please consider adding your pool myth in this thread.

Everyone has heard the term "accelerate through the cue ball". Well, it just can't be done, not with our traditional method of hitting a cue ball. As soon as the cue stick contacts the cue ball, it decelerates. However, I believe that the ATTEMPT to accelerate through the cue ball is simply another way to help retain the rate of speed intended for that particular shot. The unintentional slowing the speed of the cue ball can have results that aren't expected, especially when using side spin or a combination of side spin and draw or side spin and follow.

Pool is an interesting game. What's your pool myth contribution for this thread?

Does gambling at pool improve your pool game? Is that a myth? If so, why is it a myth?

Dr. David G. Alciatore, PE ("Dr. Dave"), has agreed to lend his expertise in cataloging these myths and providing explanations as well. This could be fun. Let's all offer our myths and see if they make the cut.

JoeyA
Click to expand...

When I first started playing, the concept of "squirt" or deflection was not even known or discussed. I guess we all just thought that cue ball curve (now swerve) and throw (now spin induced throw) were all that were involved, and couldn't understand why, if we changed cues, we missed routine shots. Squirt was the missing link. Dave's slow motion video's clearly show these effects and many more.

Many players thought sidespin alone caused the cue ball to swerve, which is not exactly true.

Back hand English was being taught by instructors for cash as a "pool secret". I'm sure they didn't even understand why it might work, or why it didn't work in some cases. Again I thought it was a scam. Although I don't use it, Fred and Colin Colesco are the one's who got me to pay attention to it and realize there is something to this technique if understood and done properly. Watching Colin play with it clearly showed me it was a different technique entirely from what I was using.

I considered fractional aiming systems to be rubbish. Dave collected aiming system info which more or less legitimized the subject. There were enough advocates to make me recognize that these systems can and do help.

Cue ball cling (or just a lot of contact throw) was once considered a necessary evil and sometimes blamed on the stroke itself. Now we know that spin helps reduce or eliminate cling and gives us one more reason to practice playing with English.
 
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A few myths surround the question of alternate versus winner breaks.

Mathematically, they are the same. A race to 11 is best of 21, with the lag winner getting 11 breaks and the other guy 10. If someone gets to 11 first, the rest of the racks aren't played. Winner vs alternate breaks only changes the order that the racks are played. It's like the difference between 2-3-2 and 2-2-1-1-1 for home/away in a best-of-seven playoff series.

Which means that, despite what tv commentators say, neither format favors the better breaker, neither makes "holding serve" more important, and neither makes the lag more valuable.

The only differences are with respect to the mental game. Winner breaks probably favors the "momentum" player, while alternating favors the "even keel" player.
 
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The biggest myth:

"It's the Indian, not the arrow."

This can be scientifically tested and shown to be a myth. In fact, I'm surprised Dr. Dave hasn't gotten 20 Indians and split them into two groups: 10 Indians with straight arrows and 10 Indians with warped, out-of-balance arrows.

Put Barry Behrmann on a spot fifty paces from the foul line and see how many Indians from each group can put an arrow through BB's heart. I doubt Dr. Dave would even need to use the high-speed, slow-motion camera (although that would be cool).

The Indians with straight arrows will win and the Myth will be BUSTED!
 
I do believe in natural talent. Some people are just born with more hand eye coordination capability than others. Take skateboarding for example, some people just don't have the ability to jump down ten stairs while spinning their board 360 degrees and flipping it, you cant teach that. Some people just have the ability to push themselves farther. Back to pool myths, gambling has made me a better player. Learning to play under pressure, and that I seem to learn a lot quicker when its costing me money from my pocket. I seem to progress faster and learn more from steady gambling with people better than me than I do entering small tourneys.
 
bdorman said:
The biggest myth:

"It's the Indian, not the arrow."

This can be scientifically tested and shown to be a myth. In fact, I'm surprised Dr. Dave hasn't gotten 20 Indians and split them into two groups: 10 Indians with straight arrows and 10 Indians with warped, out-of-balance arrows.

Put Barry Behrmann on a spot fifty paces from the foul line and see how many Indians from each group can put an arrow through BB's heart. I doubt Dr. Dave would even need to use the high-speed, slow-motion camera (although that would be cool).

The Indians with straight arrows will win and the Myth will be BUSTED!
Click to expand...

While for the most part, equipment does play a part in a sport's excellence, where is the tipping point where the player's skill overrides the difference in equipment? That's a hard one to answer, but I think it can be universally recognized that a pro with so-so equipment will outperform an amateur with pro equipment. There's a tipping point in the middle, though, where the skillset-vs-equipment thing becomes equalized, and then the equipment does make a difference. That is, if instead of "pro" we put that same so-so equipment in the hands of a shortstop, or lesser player, the tipping point gets closer, and the amateur with pro equipment has more of a chance.

I still believe the Indian-vs-arrow adage. I've seen some incredible pool played with a handle unscrewed from a push-broom, and the opponent (an amateur) had no chance, even with great equipment.

So I don't think "It's the Indian, not the arrow" is a myth.

-Sean
 
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