pulling the triger without warm up strokes

Ballbreaker

Ballbreaker

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Today while shooting I couldnt make anything. I put my third eye stroke trainer on my cue, it useally helps, and still couldnt get going. But I noticed the more practice strokes I took, the worse my stroke got, I dont know whether its fatigue or just bad form, so I lined up my shot, no practice strokes, and when I felt comfortable pulled the trigger, and started making balls. Ive been making 9 out of 10 on my drills for the last 2 hours. Has anyone else done anythinglike this, or any other method that worked?
 
Chicago's Chris Gentile plays that way; the late Gene Nagy used to. What's more significant is that, because you were having a lousy day, you tried a "quick fix". Just about any such reasonable change will generate short-term improvements. Stay with it; if it continues to work for you, do it. No rule says you MUST execute practice strokes. GF
 
Ballbreaker said:
Today while shooting I couldnt make anything. I put my third eye stroke trainer on my cue, it useally helps, and still couldnt get going. But I noticed the more practice strokes I took, the worse my stroke got, I dont know whether its fatigue or just bad form, so I lined up my shot, no practice strokes, and when I felt comfortable pulled the trigger, and started making balls. Ive been making 9 out of 10 on my drills for the last 2 hours. Has anyone else done anythinglike this, or any other method that worked?
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I think the time you give yourself to focus on the target is crucial. Taking too many warm up strokes can sort of lull you to sleep. You should get into a routine where you take the same # of warm up strokes. Try to keep them from 2 - 5. On your last stroke, give your eyes 2 full seconds to focus on the object ball before pulling the trigger, then freeze at the finish of your stroke and observe where the tip of your cue is. Work on this by setting up really easy shots down on the short rail so that you can shoot it over and over. Don't move on to playing until you are comfortable with it. Changing something in your methods in an effort to improve can often cause your game to take a step back. Don't let that discourage you. If you have never taken lessons, I recommend seeking out a BCA certified instructor. Check with Randy G or Scott Lee to see where the closest SPF teacher is nearest your location.
 
Bert Kinister recommends this as a training method in several videos. Watch Neils Feijen... he is the victim of Bert's crazy ideas and is very good at skipping the foreplay on his shots. He can make some beautifully controlled shots with 0 practice swings.

Outside of practice, he does a few rapid practice strokes to get his bearings, but notice very distinct pause after the final practice stroke, and also at the end of the backswing just before he pulls the trigger.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vu9lKoLQHEY
 
Ther is a guy at Hard Times in Bellflower that does that. He sets up and has one slow forward stroke to the cue ball slow backstroke and and "bingo" the ball goes in. He is from the Pa area and plays all games very well. Have never seen the likes of it before. Absolutely no wasted movement.
 
When I"m playing well I use almost no practice strokes. I just drop into the shot sight it and let it fly.....maybe it's something in the water here in PA? :)
 
I am a great believer in cutting down on the number of practice strokes. I would not recommend zero strokes in games, but as an exercise it can be quite beneficial.

For me the important thing is that if you are going to cut down your practice strokes, you should make sure that you are properly prepared before getting down to the shot. Good preparation + few strokes = good combination (imho).

The final pause is useful here too. If you are playing with only 2 or 3 practice strokes, there can be a tendency to start rushing shots. A pronounced final pause helps to counteract this.
 
Jimmy Reid recommends shooting a few racks of random balls without taking any stroke. His workout is to shoot a rack using center ball, then inside, then outside, and etc thru every possible combination without trying to get position on any ball.
 
Works for me

I began playing that way a year ago. Because I can't get my chin down as low as most players (just above the stick) I get a better perspective by staying a little high, just as Minnesota once did. Line up the shot, then pull the trigger. My game advanced significantly once I got familiar with this system.
 
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