Pre Shot Routine

Thepoolroomchef

Thepoolroomchef

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Just curious if anyone else out there uses a consistent pre shot routine?
In the past 2-3months when i get down on the shot first i stroke a couple times the get the feel of where my hand placement should be. When it feels right I stroke 3 times then 2 times then fire, and i found out that its helped me in my shot making abilities. I think that i used to miss alot of shots because i would fire at a shot without being ready for it and now i know when im going to let go...and if im not ready i stand up and redo the whole thing till i get it right..
Anyone out there have any thoughts on the subject?
 
That's fine

when there is a difficult shot involved, but these guys
going through 45 seconds of pre-shot routine before they
shoot a simple shot just starts becoming ridiculous... It's
called 'Overkill', especially when they are a good player to
begin with. Ever seen Dick Lane from Dallas shoot?
 
Snapshot9 said:
when there is a difficult shot involved, but these guys
going through 45 seconds of pre-shot routine before they
shoot a simple shot just starts becoming ridiculous... It's
called 'Overkill', especially when they are a good player to
begin with. Ever seen Dick Lane from Dallas shoot?
Click to expand...



No I haven't but it what im talking about doesn't really take a long time. TO do 1,2,3 1,2 fire. goes pretty fast espically when your in rythem.
and the pros when treir shooting don't really miss much and i thunk that is because the fell totally comfortable when they take the shot
 
Thepoolroomchef said:
Just curious if anyone else out there uses a consistent pre shot routine?
In the past 2-3months when i get down on the shot first i stroke a couple times the get the feel of where my hand placement should be. When it feels right I stroke 3 times then 2 times then fire, and i found out that its helped me in my shot making abilities. I think that i used to miss alot of shots because i would fire at a shot without being ready for it and now i know when im going to let go...and if im not ready i stand up and redo the whole thing till i get it right..
Anyone out there have any thoughts on the subject?
Click to expand...

It is important to have a preshot routine so you can get into a rhyhm. Slow, fast, in between doesn't matter as long as you can maintain it consistantly. IMO, more important than what # of strokes you take each time is how you approach the table. Your preshot routine should begin standing up to align yourself properly each time. Many failures to pocket balls happen because people "slide" into there next shot as opposed to standing & aligning themselves properly. Alison Fischer is a great example of this. She does the same thing each time. Also, Nick Varner is agreat example, he takes the same amount of time with each shot whether its difficult or easy. But in both cases, they do their thinking standing up.

Dave
 
Thepoolroomchef said:
Just curious if anyone else out there uses a consistent pre shot routine?
In the past 2-3months when i get down on the shot first i stroke a couple times the get the feel of where my hand placement should be. When it feels right I stroke 3 times then 2 times then fire, and i found out that its helped me in my shot making abilities. I think that i used to miss alot of shots because i would fire at a shot without being ready for it and now i know when im going to let go...and if im not ready i stand up and redo the whole thing till i get it right..
Anyone out there have any thoughts on the subject?
Click to expand...
I was just watching a snooker match between Ronnie O'Sullivan and Steven Hendry, two of the most accurate cueists ever to pick up a stick.

What impresses me about their alignment is that they slide into it so easily. They must see very close to the line quickly after standing behind the shot and naturally and quickly get their stance position. Then the lean forward smoothly and slide the bridge hand into place, never seeming to veer left or right during this action.

After this they may make small adjustments but it is not enough to be visible. They are just VERY VERY good at seeing the line they need and putting their bridge hand in the right place.

Fact is they are lined up better after first placing their bridge hand than most systems users are after they shuffle through their alignment procedure.

Watch Ronnie making a 147 break here:
http://www.engr.colostate.edu/~dga/pool/normal_videos/new/NVA-19_rocket147_1997_bb.ram

You may have to insert it into Real Player by copying and pasting.
 
That;s pretty much what I do.

Colin Colenso said:
I was just watching a snooker match between Ronnie O'Sullivan and Steven Hendry, two of the most accurate cueists ever to pick up a stick.

What impresses me about their alignment is that they slide into it so easily. They must see very close to the line quickly after standing behind the shot and naturally and quickly get their stance position. Then the lean forward smoothly and slide the bridge hand into place, never seeming to veer left or right during this action.

After this they may make small adjustments but it is not enough to be visible. They are just VERY VERY good at seeing the line they need and putting their bridge hand in the right place.

Fact is they are lined up better after first placing their bridge hand than most systems users are after they shuffle through their alignment procedure.

Watch Ronnie making a 147 break here:
http://www.engr.colostate.edu/~dga/pool/normal_videos/new/NVA-19_rocket147_1997_bb.ram

You may have to insert it into Real Player by copying and pasting.
Click to expand...


I can pretty much close my eyes once I set my bridge hand and make the shot with shape, when I'm going to make it in the first place. Imake sure my line isREALLY close to correct before I ever place my bridge hand on the table and I follow the line with my cue. In fact what I'll do is while standing up, I stroke the cue along the line a few times really quick to make sure the line looks right and then I just set my bridge down on that line.
 
Jaden said:
I can pretty much close my eyes once I set my bridge hand and make the shot with shape, when I'm going to make it in the first place. Imake sure my line isREALLY close to correct before I ever place my bridge hand on the table and I follow the line with my cue. In fact what I'll do is while standing up, I stroke the cue along the line a few times really quick to make sure the line looks right and then I just set my bridge down on that line.
Click to expand...
Out of curiosity, what are you lining up to ?
 
12squared said:
It is important to have a preshot routine so you can get into a rhyhm. Slow, fast, in between doesn't matter as long as you can maintain it consistantly. IMO, more important than what # of strokes you take each time is how you approach the table. Your preshot routine should begin standing up to align yourself properly each time. Many failures to pocket balls happen because people "slide" into there next shot as opposed to standing & aligning themselves properly. Alison Fischer is a great example of this. She does the same thing each time. Also, Nick Varner is agreat example, he takes the same amount of time with each shot whether its difficult or easy. But in both cases, they do their thinking standing up.

Dave
Click to expand...

You hit the nail on the head 12squared. We had a guy who would routinely runout racks, and with the last 2 to 3 balls dog a shot. He wasn't out of line at all. The pre-shot routine he had for the beginning of the rack didn't exist at all on those last 2 to 3 balls. He shot with a quick pace to begin with and got even faster with the last 2 to 3 balls in that he omitted his preshot routine. He had no clue that he did this and solicited our opinion. We pointed this out to him and he started running them out...
 
I am really focused on my preshot routine, as to standing straight behind the shot then moving behind the cueball, then in my head i figure out what spin i want where the contact points are and make shure i can see the whole shot, as looking at the objectball i can see the cueball and the pocket in one view then i get down over the shot, do one practice shot looking at the contact point, then look at the cueball if my cue landed where i want it then i good. i do the same strokes over and over again with the same amount of strokes each time. If the shot looks off then i stand back up and correct my alignment then get down again, most of the time when i stand up and get down again the shot always goes in. Also one of my practices to teach myself to stay down on each shot is to after the shot i stay in my stance and stroke once more even if i miss the shot this really helped my game alot. Cole
 
How can anyone expect to get the same result (making a shot) every time, unless they do the same things the same way every time? Consistency comes from routine.
Would you be comfortable flying in an airplane if the pilot decided he wanted to skip going over his checklist before your flight, and just go ahead and take off? Your pre-shot routine is your checklist for making the shot. Why wouldn't you use it for every shot?
Steve
 
pooltchr said:
How can anyone expect to get the same result (making a shot) every time, unless they do the same things the same way every time? Consistency comes from routine.
Would you be comfortable flying in an airplane if the pilot decided he wanted to skip going over his checklist before your flight, and just go ahead and take off? Your pre-shot routine is your checklist for making the shot. Why wouldn't you use it for every shot?
Steve
Click to expand...

Period, nycely put pooltchr.
 
Thepoolroomchef said:
Just curious if anyone else out there uses a consistent pre shot routine?
Click to expand...

I recently made some changes to my routine over the last few months that I believe have improved my game at least 20%.

Once I know the shot I am going to make and how I am going to move the cue ball I stand directly behind the shot and make sure that I am standing behind it correctly. The most important thing I have found about this is that if I stand so that the tip of my cue is directly over the cue ball all I have to do is move my back leg directly away from the shot and drop into position and I feel incredibly balanced and aligned to the shot. I have found that this step has dramatically improved my control of the cue on rail shots because it helps me overcome my tendency to stand too close to the rail which results in not hitting the cue with a straight hit on my intended contact point.

Once I am down I will immediately check to see that the cue is striking the correct part of the cue ball and the begin my warmup strokes. The amount of time I spend down on the stance depends on the degree of difficulty. Sometimes I will realize after getting down on the shot that I should switch bridge style, adjust the english I am applying, get the voice in my head telling me there is a better alternative based on the feel I am getting or that I just don't have the feel for the shot and get back up, make the adjustment and then drop back into the shot.

Once I practiced this routine enough that it is now second nature, I find that my errors in all aspects of the result have decreased dramatically.
 
Some private fun ...

If you want to have some private fun just to yourself,
watch how some players play, their preshot routines,
and delivery .... then transfer that process to be like
they way that they screw ... It will bring a lot of smiles
to your face ... lol
 
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