Real improvement in my game

[Gregg]

I've been focusing on basics, as I always do. I have found that my stroke was off, because I was not aligning my body to the shot. What I've been practicing (I'm focused on making the process automatic, not worried about the shot, really);

Get into my port arms stance ( a relaxed, standing pose above the shot), eye the contact point, any English, etc. Visualize the shot. From there, fall in line with the shot, so that I am shooting straight with the angle. Align my body to the angle, NOT to the object ball. If I adjust, or feel the need to, I get out of my preshot warm up shots, and restart. I want to be shooting "straight".

Having my body aligned, and having a clear cut visualization of the shot before crouching into my stance really has paid off. Everyone talks about doing it, but few seem to. Paying attention to other shooters, I can almost predict when they are going to miss even before they put thier hand down on the table. It may seem to take longer to go through the process, but the game actually goes faster, since I'm taking less shots per game and missing less balls!

 

[42NateBaller]

Good post. I've never heard of standing in "port arms" as it relates to pool. I guess I usually carry my pool case at "sling arms" then. I just had a boot camp flash back! Once a Marine, always a Marine.

 

[Gregg]

Good post. I've never heard of standing in "port arms" as it relates to pool. I guess I usually carry my pool case at "sling arms" then. I just had a boot camp flash back! Once a Marine, always a Marine.

Ewa Laurence speaks about "Port Arms" stance in her book I read about five years ago, "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Pool & Billiards"

Great book when you know nothing about the game, starting out, as I did. Very basic, but what I needed at the time.

 

[Terry Erdman]

Sounds like you watched the Jimmy Reid tapes and you are using his suggested pre shot routine. They were also very helpful to me and staying down on the shot has made great improvements in my shooting percentage! Thanks, Jimmy!

 

[thoffen]

Your alignment/stance is 90% about paying attention to the geometry of the shot.

The more you focus on your basics, routines, etc. etc. the less attention you pay to the most important things: the pocket, the balls, the speed, the stroke. There have been some top flight pros with horrible fundamentals by traditional standards, but they pay attention most to what's important.

NOTE: I'm not suggesting you abandon those things. They are very useful and quite necessary for most players. However, your focus and attention should be at the table first. You must strike a mental balance between being absorbed in the moment and being aware of the processes that are executing.

 

[FLICKit]

Your alignment/stance is 90% about paying attention to the geometry of the shot.

The more you focus on your basics, routines, etc. etc. the less attention you pay to the most important things: the pocket, the balls, the speed, the stroke. There have been some top flight pros with horrible fundamentals by traditional standards, but they pay attention most to what's important.

NOTE: I'm not suggesting you abandon those things. They are very useful and quite necessary for most players. However, your focus and attention should be at the table first. You must strike a mental balance between being absorbed in the moment and being aware of the processes that are executing.

The one thing that you overlook, is that by practicing paying attention to stance and alignment, then over time it becomes natural and ingrained. Then later, when you're competing, this allows you to focus on pocket, balls, speed, and stroke, and yet not have stance and alignment as a fatal flaw to the foundation.

If you're claim was to say, don't enter into a major competition and then start focusing on stance and alignment, then we'd both agree that could be foolhardy. A bit too late for that... Would likely be ineffective unless you've previously ingrained it into your natural routine.

 

[3kushn]

I ounce bet a friend (no money) that I could predict when he would miss an easy shot. I didn't want to influence him so I simply left a quarter on the table for him to see when he missed. Heads I loose tails he missed. After about 20 minutes he finally gave up and asked How do you know? It was simple. He put his foot in the bucket addressing the shot and or adjusted while down on the shot.

 

[Gregg]

The one thing that you overlook, is that by practicing paying attention to stance and alignment, then over time it becomes natural and ingrained. Then later, when you're competing, this allows you to focus on pocket, balls, speed, and stroke, and yet not have stance and alignment as a fatal flaw to the foundation.

If you're claim was to say, don't enter into a major competition and then start focusing on stance and alignment, then we'd both agree that could be foolhardy. A bit too late for that... Would likely be ineffective unless you've previously ingrained it into your natural routine.

Could not have said it better.

 

[StevenPWaldon]

So true. The last time I checked my fundamentals with a video cam, I was totally surprised how naturally I fell into my stance, stroke, etc.

When I first did a 100% overhaul of my fundamentals and stroke, it felt alien to me. Now anything else feels... wrong!

Could not have said it better.

 

[TheBook]

Good post. I've never heard of standing in "port arms" as it relates to pool. I guess I usually carry my pool case at "sling arms" then. I just had a boot camp flash back! Once a Marine, always a Marine.

Jimmy Reid talks about and uses this method (terminology) in his video.

 

[Caromsoft]

I've been focusing on basics, as I always do. I have found that my stroke was off, because I was not aligning my body to the shot. What I've been practicing (I'm focused on making the process automatic, not worried about the shot, really);

Get into my port arms stance ( a relaxed, standing pose above the shot), eye the contact point, any English, etc. Visualize the shot. From there, fall in line with the shot, so that I am shooting straight with the angle. Align my body to the angle, NOT to the object ball. If I adjust, or feel the need to, I get out of my preshot warm up shots, and restart. I want to be shooting "straight".

Having my body aligned, and having a clear cut visualization of the shot before crouching into my stance really has paid off. Everyone talks about doing it, but few seem to. Paying attention to other shooters, I can almost predict when they are going to miss even before they put thier hand down on the table. It may seem to take longer to go through the process, but the game actually goes faster, since I'm taking less shots per game and missing less balls!

I was practicing last week and did the stroke test of hitting the cue ball straight down the table and letting it come back to hit the tip of my cue. After the cue ball going to the left of my cue 20 or 30 times in a row I realized my stroke was really off. I spent all last week practicing a straight stroke (my elbow was too far out to the side) using a mirror and a bottle. It felt very strange at first, but I started to get used to it. Tonight I ran my first rack in 8 ball on a 7 foot table!

 

[Gregg]

I was practicing last week and did the stroke test of hitting the cue ball straight down the table and letting it come back to hit the tip of my cue. After the cue ball going to the left of my cue 20 or 30 times in a row I realized my stroke was really off. I spent all last week practicing a straight stroke (my elbow was too far out to the side) using a mirror and a bottle. It felt very strange at first, but I started to get used to it. Tonight I ran my first rack in 8 ball on a 7 foot table!

That's great! Don't get away from focusing on the basics!

 

[VIProfessor]

I was practicing last week and did the stroke test of hitting the cue ball straight down the table and letting it come back to hit the tip of my cue. After the cue ball going to the left of my cue 20 or 30 times in a row I realized my stroke was really off. I spent all last week practicing a straight stroke (my elbow was too far out to the side) using a mirror and a bottle. It felt very strange at first, but I started to get used to it. Tonight I ran my first rack in 8 ball on a 7 foot table!

Hitting the ball straight up and down the table is part of how I begin each and every pool day. Proper fundamentals are the foundation upon which your entire game is based. Drilling on the fundamentals will help you build your castle on rock instead of sand.

 

[thoffen]

The one thing that you overlook, is that by practicing paying attention to stance and alignment, then over time it becomes natural and ingrained. Then later, when you're competing, this allows you to focus on pocket, balls, speed, and stroke, and yet not have stance and alignment as a fatal flaw to the foundation.

If you're claim was to say, don't enter into a major competition and then start focusing on stance and alignment, then we'd both agree that could be foolhardy. A bit too late for that... Would likely be ineffective unless you've previously ingrained it into your natural routine.

I guess the problem that I'm getting to is when the fundamentals become natural and ingrained -- and by example, not necessarily the best fundamentals. What do you do then? It is absolutely not easy to just blank your mind and focus on the table. You have to practice this too! In fact, you have to practice this more! Once you have THAT down pat, then you can step back and reflect on your fundamentals, make improvements, and be better for it.

So let me practice with you for a while. You have all this knowledge of what to do with your fundamentals so that you can avoid those costly mistakes. Let me put down a quarter and see if I can tell when you're about to miss. Now why would that happen? You can go through and say "oh, I forgot to put my foot here or visualize this or that". All the while the problem was so simple. You spent so much time in your head instructing yourself what to do. You cared so much about the instructions that you forgot where the pocket was when you lined up!