Do any of the instuctors, or anyone else for that matter have any pointers or special techniques they would like to share? I usually do pretty fair with these shots but have recently modified my grip a little which seems to have decreased my accuracy on these shots.
Shots with Cue Ball Froze to the Rail
- Thread starter lstevedus
- Start date
I'm wondering why your grip change would decrease your shot-making accuracy on those shots. What modifications did you make to your grip?
Why did you modify your grip? Modifying it CAN cause you to steer the cue instead of delivering it straight, maybe that is your problem. ?? Basically impossible to tell without seeing you. Maybe you are even using a "proper" grip now, but it has thrown something else off in your delivery?? First thing to check, is if your cue is going straight or not.
If you changed up the grip and you previously controlled the stick motion entirely thru the grip with the bridge doing little to assist you it may not be the grip that is the problem....
Anytime the cueball is on the rail the bridge needs more attention and needs to be as solid as it can be......
I say this because the stroke accuracy should not really diminish on the rail because of the stroke arm it is usually more to do with what happens up front when we have less room to get a good bridge down.....
The extra elevation required multiplies any flaw in the stroke to be accurate... So it could be a stroke error but you would see inconsistency across the board and not just elevated if it is really your grip......
Just food for thought,
Chris
Anytime the cueball is on the rail the bridge needs more attention and needs to be as solid as it can be......
I say this because the stroke accuracy should not really diminish on the rail because of the stroke arm it is usually more to do with what happens up front when we have less room to get a good bridge down.....
The extra elevation required multiplies any flaw in the stroke to be accurate... So it could be a stroke error but you would see inconsistency across the board and not just elevated if it is really your grip......
Just food for thought,
Chris
What type of bridge are you using? Is you're cue as level as possible?
I shortened my grip. I used to play with my grip a lot at the end of the butt. Its still not short, but I have a lot better cue ball control.
Open bridge, and yes, I really focus on keeping my cue as level as possible.
Your thoughts?
I have been playing pool for over fifty years with a slip stroke. I did ok for a guy who worked a 40 hr a week factory job plus overtime. I learned to play on slow cloth and dead rails compared to what I play on now. I also had a compound fracture of my grip hand. Whether that made any difference, I don't know. I did a lot of work with my hands. Sometimes I have a problem with gripping things too tight, so maybe it did.
I retired a year and a half ago and decided to improve my pool skills. I did away with the slip stroke, and what seems to work best for me now is to set my grip with all 4 fingers touching the cue, and when I get down to shoot use only the index and middle finger plus thumb of course. When I shoot off handed (left handed for me). I use 3 fingers and thumb, but that hand was never broke. The kicker is when I break and shoot a jump shot I use 3 fingers and thumb, and that seems to work best for me, but only for breaking and jumping. Again all of this may be because of the bad break I had of the bone just behind the knuckle of the index finger. I hope this helps explain. Any ideas would be apreciated.
I have been playing pool for over fifty years with a slip stroke. I did ok for a guy who worked a 40 hr a week factory job plus overtime. I learned to play on slow cloth and dead rails compared to what I play on now. I also had a compound fracture of my grip hand. Whether that made any difference, I don't know. I did a lot of work with my hands. Sometimes I have a problem with gripping things too tight, so maybe it did.
I retired a year and a half ago and decided to improve my pool skills. I did away with the slip stroke, and what seems to work best for me now is to set my grip with all 4 fingers touching the cue, and when I get down to shoot use only the index and middle finger plus thumb of course. When I shoot off handed (left handed for me). I use 3 fingers and thumb, but that hand was never broke. The kicker is when I break and shoot a jump shot I use 3 fingers and thumb, and that seems to work best for me, but only for breaking and jumping. Again all of this may be because of the bad break I had of the bone just behind the knuckle of the index finger. I hope this helps explain. Any ideas would be apreciated.
I have been playing for 46 years & my hands are pretty busted up from playing other sports but no major breaks.
When you say 'slip stroke', do you mean slip back & then grip the cue or do you mean letting the cue slip forward when delivered?
I have found that just connecting to the cue from the top with just two(2) real contact points works best for me & does not cause any discomfort in my hand. I just lightly hold the cue between a point at the base of my index finger & the base of the thumb. This allows the cue to move as though a pin, rod, or axle is running through the cue between those two(2) points.
I hope this helps & you find your solution.
Regards,
When you say 'slip stroke', do you mean slip back & then grip the cue or do you mean letting the cue slip forward when delivered?
I have found that just connecting to the cue from the top with just two(2) real contact points works best for me & does not cause any discomfort in my hand. I just lightly hold the cue between a point at the base of my index finger & the base of the thumb. This allows the cue to move as though a pin, rod, or axle is running through the cue between those two(2) points.
I hope this helps & you find your solution.
Regards,
OK. Try tightening your grip a bit on those shots and shorten your backstroke considerably. Focus on the forward motion of the cue. Depending on the shot, I sometimes take a backstroke that is so small, it looks barely to be moving.
I use a tip from Jimmy Reid. He said to keep your cue moving and don't pause on your last stroke. It builds up a small amount of tension and could ruin the shot.
When I'm down stroking the ball, I just continue stroking until I actually hit the cue ball. No stopping. Just continuous motion. Simple efficiency.
Best,
Mike
When I'm down stroking the ball, I just continue stroking until I actually hit the cue ball. No stopping. Just continuous motion. Simple efficiency.
Best,
Mike
slip back and then grip - that's it, sometimes mutiple times on one shot till I was comfortable with my grip which usually ended up at the end of the cue. I think I played this way to get more power to get the cue ball around the table with the old slow, fuzzy cloth. I also get low in my stance, chin beside cue
this is what I have figured out works best for me over the years with the cue ball frozen to the rail, I guess I just needed to hear it from someone else - Thanks Fran ( I use the " trial and error " system
)I played in a bar box 8 ball tournament Saturday night and did very well, thank you. Your advice about the " small backstroke " was in my head every time a shot with the cb froze or almost on a rail came up. It worked really well.