Slip Stroke - Do any players have a slip stroke today?

1

1000BallRunner

Member
Title is pretty self explanatory - do any top players utilize this today? Reading on some of the older players - it appears that this is a lost art utilized by some of the legendary figures of this game - Conrbread red, alton whitlow, dallas west, etc.

I am struggling to find actual match footage of this stroke in action. I found this video which provides an overview but is there any match footage of this?


Pool Lessons - Slip Stroke & Jab Stroke​

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YouTube · Zero-X Billiards
412.9K+ views · 11 years ago
 
Rusty in Montana

Rusty in Montana

Well-known member
I was fortunate enough to get to play Cowboy Jimmy Moore in a exhibition match after we played a few practice racks and his " Slip Stroke " was legendary to say the least , I've not seen anything like it before or since . I also felt he was a very pleasant person to visit with and still played at a very high level even at his advanced age at that time .
 
G

garczar

AzB Silver Member
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Just my $.02 here but i think today's 'snookerized' pockets require more precision than the old slip-stroke allows. Fine for older slow cloth and big targets but not so much on tight tables and slick cloth. I haven't seen even a decent player 'slipping 'em in' in years.
 
ShootingArts

ShootingArts

Smorg is giving St Peter the 7!
Silver Member
I don't think any of the top ten are using it any for several reasons. One is that they are pretty much in sync with each other. Educational material and instructors have done a lot to kill individualism. Incidentally, you can add Willie Mosconi to those that used a slip stroke sometimes.

Some had bigger slips some smaller. I don't think the smaller slips would be any handicap to speed control or accuracy. I try to practice one most sessions just because it is an art that shouldn't be lost. In addition, there are a few shots it comes in very handy on. How do you use a full stroke jammed on the rail? The slip stroke!

Hu
 
boogieman

boogieman

It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that ping.
garczar said:
Just my $.02 here but i think today's 'snookerized' pockets require more precision than the old slip-stroke allows. Fine for older slow cloth and big targets but not so much on tight tables and slick cloth. I haven't seen even a decent player 'slipping 'em in' in years.
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I occasionally see a couple people do this in some of the bar table tournaments. They are decent players too.

I've no doubt you can get great with this stroke, really let your stroke out and freewheel but I think you're exactly right, this stroke just don't hold up to tighter pockets and the level of play you see today.

I've experimented with a slip stroke on the break shot... you can generate a lot of power but I lose some accuracy. To me, it's a neat stroke to have and you can get some nice action off the cue ball, but anytime there is more moving parts there is a potential for additional errors. It looks cool though, pretty neat to watch.
 
Korsakoff

Korsakoff

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I only remember seeing one guy use a slip stroke. I moved away from Nashville Dec ‘79. On one of my return visits in the early ’80s, my (at the time) brother-in-law took me to a pool hall that was relatively new. He wanted to show off with his new Joss.

He pointed out a guy shooting that had an unusual stroke. Guy was shooting very well. He said that it was “Little John”, and he was a top player in the area.

I messed around with the stroke when I got back home, but it did not feel right to me.
 
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Rusty in Montana

Rusty in Montana

Well-known member
Frank McGown and I talked about Jimmy Moore's slip stroke and he flat out said that I shouldn't try to emulate it , because he felt it would put me back to square one and starting all over again or something to that effect .

However Jimmy had the cue ball on a string on those Corner Pocket 4 1/2 ' x 9' tables it was pure magic to watch . I just wish I could of recorded it so I could watch it again later .
 
RickLafayette

RickLafayette

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A slip stroke is something that is developed over time, mostly because of improper technique. It certainly isn't something that should be taught or practiced. There is no advantage to it. My father had a slip stroke years ago that he somehow developed while playing slop pool back in coal country. I tried to shoot like him and saw nothing to gain from it. There are some great shooters who shoot like this, someone mentioned Josh Roberts, but I'm sure they didn't intentionally train this way. Just my two cents.
 
ShootingArts

ShootingArts

Smorg is giving St Peter the 7!
Silver Member
It seems most of the people hammering the slip stroke have little experience with it and some don't even know what it is. The classic slip stroke of in the neighborhood of two inches has little or no release, just a bit of slide.

By having the slip stroke slightly longer than the distance from tip to cue ball when you address the cue ball, you hit the cue ball in the same range as your practice stroke. If you chose you can even use a stroke identical to your practice stroke other than the slight release. It seems like your cue stick got a few inches longer on the final stroke. Far from being inaccurate, I find the slip stroke to work very well when a lot of feel or finesse is needed.

Like many of the players of that era, Willie Mosconi had multiple strokes in his bag of tricks. Watching video of him warming up before a match I noticed him use a slip stroke on a wide open table. Obviously not needed for that shot, he was practicing the slip stroke just to practice it.

A shortstop came up while I was playing around with a slip stroke. Cue ball frozen or an inch or less off the head rail, the object ball about an inch from the foot rail and a diamond out of the pocket on a nine foot table. He practiced the slip stroke a little then started trying the shot. It dropped time after time. "You can't miss shooting it like this!" Seemed like he couldn't anyway!

The slip stroke can be no more than a motion in the wrist. Used properly it has it's place as do the full arm strokes and even the pendulum.

Hu
 
B

bbb

AzB Gold Member
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Black-Balled said:
Clear as mud...to some of we's that talk American as our lingua prima.
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for the we's as opposed to the youse that talk american as our lingua prima.
lets see if i can clear up the mud
slip stroke..........the hand SLIPS back ....you catch the cue stick .....and STROKE the cue stick forward
stroke slip....... you STROKE the cue stick forward ...loosen your grip to let the the cue stick SLIP thru your hand ....and then catch it after the cue stick makes contact with the cue ball
hope this helps
bbb=good samaritan..... always trying to help.....😂
 
M

maha

from way back when
Silver Member
yes most dont know what a slip stroke is or what it does.
and it does allow for great accuracy.
it keeps the hand and mostly importantly the stick in motion rather than a stop and possible jerk on the forward stroke which many advocate nowadays. as a stop on the backswing only works if you can now go forward perfectly straight and smoothly.

mosconi used it for most of his time. ed kelly used it. jimmy used it as said. as many others. had nothing to do with slow cloth.
 
A

AtLarge

AzB Gold Member
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bbb said:
for the we's as opposed to the youse that talk american as our lingua prima.
lets see if i can clear up the mud
slip stroke..........the hand SLIPS back ....you catch the cue stick .....and STROKE the cue stick forward
stroke slip....... you STROKE the cue stick forward ...loosen your grip to let the the cue stick SLIP thru your hand ....and then catch it after the cue stick makes contact with the cue ball
hope this helps
bbb=good samaritan..... always trying to help.....😂
Click to expand...
Correct.

A couple other terms for the stroke slip are a “throw” or a “release and catch."
 
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