Yes! using a bridge is another shot where CB last is often very helpful...especially if your hitting off center!
Shot / stroke problem
- Thread starter teddosan
- Start date
Yes! using a bridge is another shot where CB last is often very helpful...especially if your hitting off center!
Using the bridge on a pool table means you were never more than a foot away from the ball anyway, you could prolly shoot that with your eyes closed.
Weeeellllll, in my case, when I was looking at the contact point on the OB I tended to dog even the easiest close up cut shots off the bridge. CB last really works for me on those shots, and I tend to control the CB a little better too.
Below is a suggestion I made for a similar problem over in the "Ask the Instructor" forum. In your case, make the shot straight. (Your problem likely stems from your head being in the wrong position so you don't see the shot accurately, but it could be due to other issues.)
As for which ball you should be looking at last, I recommend the object ball especially for beginnerrs. I think you need the immediate feedback when you hit it wrong. If you are looking at the cue ball during your forward stroke, either that feedback is delayed or your eyes will be suddenly shifting at the instant of contact.
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... First mark the center of the pocket with a white donut (paper reinforcement). For this purpose the "center of the pocket" is described in this article: http://www.sfbilliards.com/articles/1997-04.pdf
Put a coin on the table about two diamonds from the pocket. (The angle from the pocket -- straight out, along the cushion, something in between -- is up to you.) Put the cue ball by the coin. Put an object ball half way between the cue ball and the pocket. You can put it so it's straight in or with a small angle.
Shoot the shot. Make sure you send the object ball over the white donut. Sliding into the side of the pocket is not good enough -- you need to be pretty much over the donut. When you do three good shots in a row, move the coin six inches back and start a new series.
Notice which side you favor. Use cuts to both the left and right. If there is a "bad side" spend more time on it.
When you get to a distance that you can't do three in a row even in 15 shots, take the coin back to the start and vary something. You can vary the angle, speed, spin, etc. Stay relatively consistent within each run.
Always, always, always strive to drive the object ball directly over the donut.
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Well after some serious soul searching and agonizing I wish to retract any advice I have given in this thread in which a person came to a pool forum of all places seeking help.
It seems apparent that you are going to get way more bad advice than good and seeing as you are a novice you will not have the tools to sift through the rubbish and grasp the elements of good technique, so my new advice is for you to seek out a qualified instructor.
It seems apparent that you are going to get way more bad advice than good and seeing as you are a novice you will not have the tools to sift through the rubbish and grasp the elements of good technique, so my new advice is for you to seek out a qualified instructor.
You needed to fix your technique using the rest not your sighting.
I guess i should qualify my post a little better since I have a different way of shooting. And since i don't know really anything about your above examples I don't think i could comfortably compare them to pool.
I look at both balls back and forth while I'm aiming and concentrate on the cue ball during my final back swing and then i look at the object ball when I'm positive that my tip is going to contact the exact point on the cue ball that I am aiming for. The only time I pull the trigger is when I am sure everything is lined up. Again I'm not saying it's going to work for everyone, but it is what works best for me.
thanks for taking the time to read my post
Yeah ... and I think that's a lot different than looking at the CB last
I look at the cue ball up until the instant my tip contacts it and in that same instance i shift my vision to the contact point on the object ball I don't know if that would be considered looking at the cue ball last, the object ball last, or something in between. I also don't know if there are many other people that have this same quirk. All i know is that when I'm shooting my best game the only thing on my mind is controlling my stroke and keeping it as straight as possible while also keeping shape in mind. I might be looking at the cue ball last or i might even be looking at the object ball last, but i honestly wouldn't know.
Excellent advice. One modification I've used is to "narrow" the pocket (instead of using the white donut) by putting small nails with heads...so they'll stand up on the heads.
That way, you will knock one of the nails over if you don't roll into the middle of the "available pocket."
Using the nails makes it so you don't have to watch the OB roll into the pocket when...instead...you might want to focus on your finish...i.e. the length of your follow through...where your butt hand finishes in relation to your chest...whether you are full in balance after the shot or "leaning off" etc.
Those are all things that you could subconsciously change AFTER the ball rolls in the pocket.
Just another technique.
(-:
EagleMan
Why are you such a negative person. Is it because your post's were not well received? I see people asking questions and although you are correct in saying it could be MANY (NOT 575 BUT MANY ) different things it is not your place to discourage this young man from seeking advice.
Grow up and get over your hurt feelings it is not that serious!!
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It can be done either way, although I think it's safe to say that the majority of good players look at the OB last for most shots. Here's something I posted in the past about this that may be of interest:
For one large set of sports actions, let's call it Category I, the competitor is holding or is attached to a piece of equipment and desires to direct that piece of equipment elsewhere:
For another large set of sports actions, let's call it Category II, the competitor holds one piece of equipment and desires to hit another piece of equipment and direct that second piece of equipment to a desired target or with a certain degree of accuracy:
So how about pool/billiards? Isn't it logically a Category II action? We hold one piece of equipment (the cue stick), desiring to strike a second piece of equipment (the cue ball), and send that second piece of equipment to a desired target (a proper hit on the object ball or rail). We are throwing the cue stick in an underhand motion at the cue ball. So "cue ball last" is appropriate, right?
But I am quite sure that the majority (but by no means all) of the top pool players look at the object ball last. If my analogies above are correct, why does "OB last" work so well for so many players? I believe it is because the cue ball is at rest and we can place our cue stick and bridge hand precisely behind it and thereby treat the combination of cue stick and cue ball as almost one piece of equipment instead of two. Then the cuing action becomes similar to a Category I action -- we are throwing the cue stick/ball at the object ball. So "object ball last" works just fine if the cue stick is always precisely delivered to the cue ball.
So either way -- CB last or OB last -- can work well in pool. I believe analogies with other sports argue more closely for CB last (my Category II above), but just a slightly different way of viewing what's happening can create a good Category I argument.
- Throwing a baseball;
- Throwing a football;
- Throwing/shooting a basketball;
- Throwing a dart;
- Rolling a bowling ball;
- Shooting an arrow;
- Shooting a gun;
- Driving a race car;
- Riding a race horse.
For another large set of sports actions, let's call it Category II, the competitor holds one piece of equipment and desires to hit another piece of equipment and direct that second piece of equipment to a desired target or with a certain degree of accuracy:
- Hitting a baseball;
- Kicking a football;
- Hitting a tennis ball;
- Hitting a golf ball;
- Hitting a ping pong ball;
- Hitting a badminton shuttlecock;
- Striking a volley ball.
So how about pool/billiards? Isn't it logically a Category II action? We hold one piece of equipment (the cue stick), desiring to strike a second piece of equipment (the cue ball), and send that second piece of equipment to a desired target (a proper hit on the object ball or rail). We are throwing the cue stick in an underhand motion at the cue ball. So "cue ball last" is appropriate, right?
But I am quite sure that the majority (but by no means all) of the top pool players look at the object ball last. If my analogies above are correct, why does "OB last" work so well for so many players? I believe it is because the cue ball is at rest and we can place our cue stick and bridge hand precisely behind it and thereby treat the combination of cue stick and cue ball as almost one piece of equipment instead of two. Then the cuing action becomes similar to a Category I action -- we are throwing the cue stick/ball at the object ball. So "object ball last" works just fine if the cue stick is always precisely delivered to the cue ball.
So either way -- CB last or OB last -- can work well in pool. I believe analogies with other sports argue more closely for CB last (my Category II above), but just a slightly different way of viewing what's happening can create a good Category I argument.
The difference is in category 1 the target is relatively tiny and in category II it is relatively enormous.
IMO ... no scratch that .... There's no way to play portions of a pocket that are appox. 4 1/2 inches big, while missing semi-interfering balls when shooting an OB into a pocket if you're looking at the CB last rather than the target ball. (with a very very small exceptions of shots)
This is your best answer, and as someone else posted, get a camera and record yourself. Not just shooting a striped ball by itself into a pocket but also shooting an object ball into a pocket, you will need both, and will give great feedback on what is going on during you PSR and delivery.
I will also suggest setting the camera up to record yourself head on and from behind also.
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rjtolly
Registered
I also just started trying to get better at pool after many years of just banging balls around. It was interesting to see your post because It's exactly where I'm at too - trying to master a good stroke. Here's what has worked for me so far: I first got inspired watching Max Eberle's head cam videos. It helped me imprint in my mind what a good stroke should look like - nice and straight with good follow through. Then I tried a drill where you set up a string of balls across the table from side pocket to side pocket about 2" apart. Take BIH and set up a straight in shot to a corner pocket- I started 2 diamonds back. I figured this would be a piece of cake - wrong! I really was struggling with this so I decided to make a video of myself from front and side. Side looked good but straight on looked horrible! I was ending up with my cue off to the left every time. Even though I had practiced stroking straight (plastic bottle, along the rail, etc.) when it came down to hitting a ball I was way off. So I focused on following through straight and also not hitting so hard (and pretending I'm Max). This has made a world of difference for me with those straight in shots.
No, it's not that clean cut. I imagine you could think of many counterexamples.
3andstop said:
Yet some people do so quite successfully.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkU0eSWkZhI
A new youtube poster today - so far, he has posted about 60 instructional videos
http://www.youtube.com/user/BilliardsShow
A new youtube poster today - so far, he has posted about 60 instructional videos
http://www.youtube.com/user/BilliardsShow
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Sorry i missed this thread.........
This is the glitch that perfect Aim fixes. This is a glitch that everyone has when they cut to the way of their non dominant eye.
No player is immune to it no matter what level.
Knowing how to fix this is priceless.
I want to thank the person that PMed Ted to call me.
His fix to the problem was pretty simple. It's called Perfect aim.
Thanks again gene
This is the glitch that perfect Aim fixes. This is a glitch that everyone has when they cut to the way of their non dominant eye.
No player is immune to it no matter what level.
Knowing how to fix this is priceless.
I want to thank the person that PMed Ted to call me.
His fix to the problem was pretty simple. It's called Perfect aim.
Thanks again gene
