Shooting harder to improve accuracy - how many of you do it?
- Thread starter Push&Pool
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There is a former multi time national champion from Illinois I will keep nameless for his behalf, but most ppl will probably know who I'm talking about. Anyway before any match of importance he will throw 3-4 balls on table and fire them in with break shot speed, although he's pocketing them he's also shooting casually with not much regard to aiming. This goes on for 30mins or so. One time years ago I asked what he's doing and his response was: do some slow stretches turning, twisting, bending down, etc, then while standing slow roll a few balls in to opposite corners, then using cue ball start firing them in. He claims it loosened him up to play. Went on to say all the last minute practicing is now useless, you're not going to improve 30mins prior to the tournament so you might as well get comfortable and loose!
Who I'm I to question one of the best amateur careers? You ever hear of this???
Who I'm I to question one of the best amateur careers? You ever hear of this???
Well we all know the OP's history....
But I have to say there is some truth to what he says on this one. I'm from the room in Philly where Jimmy Caras was during the early 90's before he moved to Florida. (Unfortunately, I missed his time there). But I heard some of his pointers that were passed down.
Anyway, he would tell players to play a rack or 3 hitting every shot HARD, then a rack or 3 hitting them all BUNT speed. Then medium speed. Etc etc. The point was, you have to regularly practice shots at all speeds to get a feel for how the speed changes the shot.
But I have to say there is some truth to what he says on this one. I'm from the room in Philly where Jimmy Caras was during the early 90's before he moved to Florida. (Unfortunately, I missed his time there). But I heard some of his pointers that were passed down.
Anyway, he would tell players to play a rack or 3 hitting every shot HARD, then a rack or 3 hitting them all BUNT speed. Then medium speed. Etc etc. The point was, you have to regularly practice shots at all speeds to get a feel for how the speed changes the shot.
It's a useful skill, to be able to hit balls at warp speed.
But it doesn't automatically transfer to slower more controlled speeds, in my experience. I would use caution in any assumptions about this technique.
Lou Figueroa
I agree that one hole is a great game that calls mostly for soft to pocket speed shots.....seldom do you see a good one hole play shoot hard.
However, one hole can be a very expensive way to learn how to use pocket speed shots
Rake
I set up shots at certain angles and distances and shoot them several times each..........from what I call speed 1 through speed 10.
Speeds:
1 = cue ball travels ~ 1 diamond
2 = cue ball travels ~ 2 diamond
3 = cue ball travels ~ 1/2 table
4 = cue ball travels ~ from spot to end rail and back to head string
5 = lag from foot string to head rail to foot rail
For 6 thru 10 = (There is one diamond between cue ball and object ball with a stop shot)
6 = soft shot (object ball rolls one table length and stops)
7 = med shot (object ball rolls three long rails from spot to lag in corner)
8 = firm shot (object ball rolls four rails from spot to lag in corner)
9 = extra firm shot ( object ball rolls 5 rails from spot to lag in corner)
10 = hard shot (contacts ~7 long rails.....break speeds for me)
If I get a chance before I start playing on Sunday mornings, I always hit a rack, or so, of balls into the pockets at speeds way above what most players would. I just keep setting them up, one by one, on the spot end of the table and hammer them into the corner pockets.
That allows me to warm up my stroke and it also lets me know how the pockets are handling balls at high speeds.
I am not a spinner. I can spin with the best of them, but I prefer to "drive" the ball around the rails using no English. The table I play on doesn't have the fastest cloth, so you have to hit them at a pretty good pace in order to get the cue ball to travel three and four rails after hitting the object ball.
I prefer tables that play a little on the slower side. I don't like super fast cloth and rails that make me have to "baby" my stroke. Most of the people who play on the tables here with the super fast cloth get befuddled when they get on a table that you have to do more than "bunt" on.
That allows me to warm up my stroke and it also lets me know how the pockets are handling balls at high speeds.
I am not a spinner. I can spin with the best of them, but I prefer to "drive" the ball around the rails using no English. The table I play on doesn't have the fastest cloth, so you have to hit them at a pretty good pace in order to get the cue ball to travel three and four rails after hitting the object ball.
I prefer tables that play a little on the slower side. I don't like super fast cloth and rails that make me have to "baby" my stroke. Most of the people who play on the tables here with the super fast cloth get befuddled when they get on a table that you have to do more than "bunt" on.
If shooting harder creates increased accuracy, everyone would be shooting harder because it worked.....but, it don't, shooting harder increases the the risk of missing, or rattling balls in the pockets.
Mosconi was quite accomplished on the 5x10's and didn't do so bad on the 6'x12's.
He didn't have much familiarity with snooker, but with just two months practice at McGirr's, he took on a 17 day, six city match against Rex Williams, seven time world snooker champ, in the $20,000 "Black Velvet Challenge" sponsored by Smirnoff. They played alternate matches consisting of three games of snooker and one game of 14.1.
Mosconi won all the 14.1 matches and seven of the 18 snooker games to win the match 179-66 1/2. He said he was watching Williams and learning along the way and started winning more snooker games as the match went on. He also said that it was easier for him to adjust to snooker, with its 15 reds and just a few balls of rotation, than for Williams to adjust to the long runs required in straight pool. The size of the table and the pockets didn't seem to be much of a factor.
Lou Figueroa
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Table
For me, a lot depends on the table cloth... if you're playing on a sheet of glass, you can't let the stroke out, or whitey will roll into trouble. Slow cloth, you gotta punch a little to get position. Having said that, I never roll long table length shots, corner to corner, etc.,.. too much risk of it rolling off.
Now, One Pocket ?... I think it comes down to having all the strokes in your arsenal.
I've even seen Earl baby a safety shot perfectly !
For me, a lot depends on the table cloth... if you're playing on a sheet of glass, you can't let the stroke out, or whitey will roll into trouble. Slow cloth, you gotta punch a little to get position. Having said that, I never roll long table length shots, corner to corner, etc.,.. too much risk of it rolling off.
Now, One Pocket ?... I think it comes down to having all the strokes in your arsenal.
I've even seen Earl baby a safety shot perfectly !
I've always heard Mosconi played pretty damn good 9 ball when he chose to, just like anything else he tried. His One Pocket run outs busting Fats are legendary.
Wait Mosconi onepockt run outs on fatty? When did this happen, Mosconi Really hated one hole
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There is the oft told story of Fats coming into a Philly pool hall one night in the late 40's, with Baby Face Whitlow, and was mouthing off about how good he was. So someone told Willie to play him and shut him up, but Fats would only play 1pocket. So Willie played him for $50 a game, beat him five straight, and loaned him train fair to get back to NY.
I believe there is another story of a hustler coming through Philly and playing Mosconi 1pocket and after after losing something like nine games in a row calls his backer up for more dough saying: this guy knows nothing about 1pocket, he just keeps running out.
Lou Figueroa
Chalk Under a Microscope
...wrong thread...
...wrong thread...