Shooting one handed

ssminn

Registered
I took a spill while jogging the other day and tore up my left hand and arm, my bridge arm not my stroking arm, now I'm in a sling for a few weeks and if I want to shoot any pool I will need to do it one handed. Would anybody care to share some tips and pointers to help me improve, right now I can barely hit the cue ball. I don't expect to run racks in two weeks but any help would be appreciated. I recall seeing a guy run a rack of 9 ball one handed a few years ago, very impressive.
 
I took a spill while jogging the other day and tore up my left hand and arm, my bridge arm not my stroking arm, now I'm in a sling for a few weeks and if I want to shoot any pool I will need to do it one handed. Would anybody care to share some tips and pointers to help me improve, right now I can barely hit the cue ball. I don't expect to run racks in two weeks but any help would be appreciated. I recall seeing a guy run a rack of 9 ball one handed a few years ago, very impressive.

question is...how u fall while jogging???
 
One of the best one handed shooters of all time was an old hustler called Miami Joe. He used to carry a case full of shafts that he would interchange depending on what he needed to do to make the shot and get position. Short shafts, long shafts, hard tips, soft tips etc etc etc. All of them had a purpose and he knew how to use them. :wink:
Chuck
 
i used to sin the same league with a guy that was paralyzed on his right side and shot great one handed. he would use the rail if the ball was close enough, if not he would put a one end of a barstick under the rail and lay the stick across and use that to shoot. probably illegal but we didn't care.
 
ssminn...You can play one-handed pretty easily by laying the cue on the rail, and just swinging through the CB. Try to leave your cueball within a foot of the rail on most shots, and you might even run some racks.

Scott Lee
www.pooknowledge.com

I took a spill while jogging the other day and tore up my left hand and arm, my bridge arm not my stroking arm, now I'm in a sling for a few weeks and if I want to shoot any pool I will need to do it one handed. Would anybody care to share some tips and pointers to help me improve, right now I can barely hit the cue ball. I don't expect to run racks in two weeks but any help would be appreciated. I recall seeing a guy run a rack of 9 ball one handed a few years ago, very impressive.
 
One Handed Off The Rail

Shooting one handed is recommended to eliminate abrupt elements of your stroke motion. Take a week or two to concentrate on one handed play. Many people learn this method after breaking their arm. Not recommended. You simply cannot stroke off the rail with an abrupt motion. Change a poor stroke to a smooth and professional one. This is also a way to develop an opposite arm stroke. Highly recommended for beginners.

Rest the cue shaft on the side rail with the cue ball a comfortable distance from the rail. Begin with the cue ball perpendicular to the rail at a comfortable distance with the rail simulating a bridge. Align the stick, hold the butt loosely and practice a stroke of 6 to 8 inches. Follow through as if you had a bridge. This may take 5 to 30 minutes.

Make contact center ball and watch a smoother delivery. You can’t help but have a much smoother stroke, if you are hitting the cue ball at all. Try shots that are on an angle with the rail. Notice that the shaft will slide down the rail unless you apply modest side pressure. Use the thumb and index finger of your stroking arm for the side stabilizing force. Again practice strokes with rail support and release as if you had a bridge hand holding the shaft. Within an hour you will be shooting somewhat accurately from the rail. Shoot some balls in from the rail, then try a 3 ball table and try to get out. If english is desired, incorporate it into your aim. Stroke smoothly forward and notice the elimination of side action.

By now you are playing rail shape. That is cue ball position less than a diamond from the rail. Preferably more perpendicular to the rail.

This is a useful and quite accurate stroke for normal play. You have confidence in the accuracy and it can be as soft as necessary. You have seen people do it in regular games because it is the best stroke for soft hit precise position situations. It is not a show off move. Your body is upright and you see the table from more of an overhead perspective.
 
Many years ago I hustled one handed in Bars against lesser speed players. At the time I had better nerves and played jack up as part of my hustle. IMHO you don't stroke the ball, You punch it. Now that punch stroke became a problem to me playing two handed. I still punched the ball instead of stroking it. Today I won't play one handed because it mess up my stroke.


In Edit

I would also like to add I watched the Cue Ball last and not my object ball when playing one handed. Breaking your fundamentals is not real good for your game either. I suggest if you are only in a sling for a couple of weeks you for go shooting one handed or use a kutch. Sometime a vacation from a sport can be a good mental thing when you come back.
 
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Take it as a chance to work on your shooting with a bridge...

Lay it down... pick up cue... aim... shoot.

The correct way to use a bridge is to not ever be holding it in the air, but rather pressing it down to hold it firmly in place... can you do that with your elbow of your messed up arm?
 
I knew a guy that shot real good one handed, he only had one arm. He used a moose head bridge with a 1 foot long shaft that he would set down infront of the cue ball for his bridge. Nobody said it was illegal or contested it. He played good.
 
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