Some people hate my preshot routine, what should I do?

birdy said:
You should see the line of aim before you get down on the shot , otherwise you can't align your body correct for every shot . Your method sounds to me like a banger style , if you are moving left-right when you are down on the shot is so wrong ! :eek:
Click to expand...

My bet is that the OP does see the line of aim before, and makes barely perceptible changes while down. I think it is impossible to do otherwise and shoot well.
 
catscradle said:
My bet is that the OP does see the line of aim before, and makes barely perceptible changes while down. I think it is impossible to do otherwise and shoot well.
Click to expand...

Shooting well is relative. Five years ago i thought that i was a good player , now after a lot of practice and a lot of improvement I think I'm just a decent player .
 
housecue said:
There are some guys at the pool hall that don't like my preshot routine. they told me I should not take more than 3 practice stroke. I responded to them that my preshot routine helps me loosing my muscles and gives me time to look for my aiming point since I aim by feel.

Here is how my preshot routine goes. I bend down and I would do a few quick strokes to warm up the arm, then I pause to look for the aiming point, then I pump the warm up strokes one more time, then I do one practice stroke then fire away.

I heard that if someone takes too long to shoot it's a form of sharking, but I am not trying to shark anyone. It's just how I shoot.

What should I do? Should I try and modify my preshot routine or should I keep it the way it is and hell with what others think?

Edit: btw, my preshot routine doesn't take more than 15 seconds.
Click to expand...
\

Feed em fish heads...... ;)
 
housecue said:
There are some guys at the pool hall that don't like my preshot routine. (snip)
Edit: btw, my preshot routine doesn't take more than 15 seconds.
Click to expand...

Then the problem is theirs, not yours.

Jeff Livingston
 
Do you have to go through all of that even for the most simplistic shots? Would you have to take the whole 15 seconds for a short distance, stop shot for example? I could see where that might get irritating to an opponent, but I agree with most everyone else that 15 seconds is not that long of a time.

You really need to be able to ignore what your opponent is doing other then keeping an eye out for fouls and new table layouts. I'm just starting to learn how to do this, but it gets harder when I'm not shooting well.

I find the length of time people take to make decisions more of a distraction then how long they spend actually making the shot.

It's funny, one of my league partners shoots very slowly while I shoot very quickly. If I like what I'm looking at, I will usually run out an 8 ball rack in less then 2 minutes with the clock starting at the break. My partner on the other hand is an older gentleman who rarely tries to run out from the break or his first time at the table, he prefers a more strategic game. We have actually been accused (jokingly I think) of cooking up this style between us. I shoot fast and force my opponent to sit for long periods of time while my partner finishes his game and then we follow that up by forcing him to play a much slower opponent. :D
 
housecue said:
... What should I do? ...
Click to expand...
You could consider playing like Walter Lindrum and Willie Mosconi. (Check out their biographies for details.)

While 15 seconds -- if in fact that's how long you take per shot -- is not near what players get in clocked matches, if it is a lot longer than everyone else in the pool hall takes then people will not want to play against you. It is their right to refuse to play with you. If it is not fun for them, why should they put up with the grief or what they consider grief?

If you have a short, straight-in shot to the side, and all you have to do for perfect position is stop the cue ball, and you take 15 seconds to shoot the ball, I wouldn't want to play against you either.

So, it comes down to a social choice. If you want to irritate all your opponents while perfecting your game, continue on your current path. It is your right to do so.
 
I think as long as it works (you pocket balls, feel confident at the table, don't feel rushed, don't feel like you're taking too much time) then stick with it.

There are guys whose stroke makes me wonder how they can pocket a ball. There are guys who take so long with their pre-shot routine that I'm sure they'd make you look like Luc Salvas. But it works for them, and I'd never suggest for them to change. Just because it doesn't suit my tempo or style doesn't mean they should accommodate *my* preferences.
 
Bob Jewett said:
If you have a short, straight-in shot to the side, and all you have to do for perfect position is stop the cue ball, and you take 15 seconds to shoot the ball, I wouldn't want to play against you either.

So, it comes down to a social choice. If you want to irritate all your opponents while perfecting your game, continue on your current path. It is your right to do so.
Click to expand...

Exactly. I play straight pool mostly, and if there was a 15 second pre-shot routine for every single little 6 inch shot, I wouldn't play you again, no offense. But if it helps you play, keep it the same I guess.
 
There was a guy named Thai Bob that used to go to Hollywood Billiards back when it was underground, he took 28 practice strokes before each shot no matter how easy it was. And you were lucky if he didn't change his mind after practice stroke 23-27, otherwise he would get up and walk around the table and choose a different shot then take 28 more practice strokes.

The guy played decently though and he swore he wasn't doing it to throw people from their games, just imagine how many complaints he would get playing a tournament.

It's your game and it doesn't sound like you are slowing down matches, I think it's rude that they are telling you something in the first place. Let me guess, they are close to your speed but you keep beating them?
 
Guys, I'm sure he doesn't mean he takes fifteen seconds on simple shots. Personally, as I said before, I'm a slow player, but when it's an easy shot, I'm not going to analyze and evaluate it like I do with the more difficult ones.
 
15 seconds isn't long to shoot... it's moderate. I've seen a lot longer. If 15 secs was long, the tv shot clock would be 10.

Not everyone goes from shot to shot in 5 seconds. I wish they did, but you can't complain at 15.

From the sound of the original poster's message... if he plays well that way, I wouldn't change it. The other guy had a good recommendation for very short aim strokes and then longer prior to striking the CB. I think once this guy starts making a lot more, his setup will dramatically reduce in time.
 
Last edited:
gobrian77 said:
Yeahhhhhhh... but try imagining watching your opponent at the table and count backwards from 15- now imagine him doing it several times in a row (if he's any good:p )- that would get real old REAL quick.

Time is relative- there's putting your hand on the thigh of a beautiful woman for five seconds vs. putting your hand on a hot stove for the same amount of time- which will seem longer?:cool:
Click to expand...



A pool player has every right in the world to take 15 seconds per shot. We all can't shoot quickly like Earl. Speaking of which don't the pros have 30 second shot clock. With that said how can you expect somebody to shoot twice as fast as the alloted time given to someone who plays pool for a living. Silly!:D
 
I have discovered that there is no shortage of free advice in pool halls, and no shortage of complaining from people when they are losing.

I take into consideration the free advice but only if I think it will help my game. Everything else is just noise.
 
TheNewSharkster said:
A pool player has every right in the world to take 15 seconds per shot. ...
Click to expand...
Ah, but we don't know how long he actually takes for each shot. If he spends 15 seconds down on the shot, maybe he takes another 20 seconds looking at the lines, and future shots. What we can be pretty sure of is that the people he plays with are bothered enough by his slowness that they have complained to him.

It could be that if the OP tried a different PSR, one that was speedier on average, it might actually improve his game. That would make everybody happier. So I'll propose it directly:

Housecue, if you care at all about the feelings of those you play against, try this: If you need to loosen your arm, do it while you are approaching the shot -- take "air strokes." Make sure you come down perfectly on-line with the shot completely visualized before you come down. If you are on-line when paused at the cue ball, take no more warm-up strokes -- just back and through. If your line requires adjustment, then adjust and take a couple of warm-ups, but when the line is right, SHOOT!
 
Good grief!!! 15 seconds ain't long. I used to play with a guy back in NY we called Cobweb. He would take between 30 seconds and a full minute to shoot the 5 ball straight in the side with the cue ball 6 inches away, also straight. No lie!!
Irish, have you seen this guy???? Name's Herb.
 
We had a guy in our corporate 8-ball lead that we called "the piston"... he'd pump so many times we thought that he was gonna strike oil.
 
Last edited:
Bob Jewett said:
Ah, but we don't know how long he actually takes for each shot. If he spends 15 seconds down on the shot, maybe he takes another 20 seconds looking at the lines, and future shots. What we can be pretty sure of is that the people he plays with are bothered enough by his slowness that they have complained to him.
Click to expand...




When he said 15 second I assumed that was the total time he took to shoot. I have a feeling you might be right though. If people are complaining he might be taking longer than he is leading us to believe.

In pool league I duck the slow shooters. One advantage of being the captain :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top