That shot only works in the Southern Hemisphere where balls spin in the opposite direction.
Speed Control: The Secret Ingredient
- Thread starter ktrepal85
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That shot only works in the Southern Hemisphere where balls spin in the opposite direction.
Practicing straight pool yesterday, there were several times I had to open the rack up more than what the break shot did.
To do this, I would send the CB into the rack after pocketing a ball. In this case, position was secondary to opening the rack up.
In straight pool, speed of the OB's are just as important as the speed of the CB.
Same with safeties, the speed of the CB and OB are critical.
This is why I like straight pool........requires skills that other games do not.
To do this, I would send the CB into the rack after pocketing a ball. In this case, position was secondary to opening the rack up.
In straight pool, speed of the OB's are just as important as the speed of the CB.
Same with safeties, the speed of the CB and OB are critical.
This is why I like straight pool........requires skills that other games do not.
It's definitely the "final frontier" in my opinion, and the mastery (or lack thereof) of it is what separates A players, shortstops, and champions.
As others have said, you don't need to have millimeter precision to become a solid player and playing zones is what all good and great players do most of the time, but from my experience, the primary difference between an A player and an Open level player is the ability to run more tough racks where zone play won't work and you need to be within inches or less.
Most A players can keep up with pros in the shotmaking department, it's speed control that typically differentiates the two (also safety play, which is related to speed control).
Speed control is also the first thing to fail you under pressure. For shotmaking, you can step back, take a breath, and ground yourself in whatever aiming and alignment systems you use. "Ok, I'm nervous as hell. This 9 ball is for the match. Relax. It's just a half ball hit with a touch of outside English. You've practiced this shot a million times. If I hit that point, I know I should make it."
You can't do that with speed control. You can generalize a soft/medium/hard hit, but you can never quantify it in your mind by falling back on a system of some kind. It's all feel and intuition gained from thousands of hours of experience, and under pressure, we don't like to rely on "feel." We like systems that can guide us. No such thing exists for speed control.
Think about how many times you've botched shape on the game ball or a key ball.
As others have said, you don't need to have millimeter precision to become a solid player and playing zones is what all good and great players do most of the time, but from my experience, the primary difference between an A player and an Open level player is the ability to run more tough racks where zone play won't work and you need to be within inches or less.
Most A players can keep up with pros in the shotmaking department, it's speed control that typically differentiates the two (also safety play, which is related to speed control).
Speed control is also the first thing to fail you under pressure. For shotmaking, you can step back, take a breath, and ground yourself in whatever aiming and alignment systems you use. "Ok, I'm nervous as hell. This 9 ball is for the match. Relax. It's just a half ball hit with a touch of outside English. You've practiced this shot a million times. If I hit that point, I know I should make it."
You can't do that with speed control. You can generalize a soft/medium/hard hit, but you can never quantify it in your mind by falling back on a system of some kind. It's all feel and intuition gained from thousands of hours of experience, and under pressure, we don't like to rely on "feel." We like systems that can guide us. No such thing exists for speed control.
Think about how many times you've botched shape on the game ball or a key ball.
No thanks. That would take me well into next year.
RE: Aiming vs. speed, IMHO aiming takes primary importance...speed is important, but secondary to aiming. If you don't pocket the ball it doesn't make any difference how great your speed/position is -- you're now watching your opponent shoot. I know this from vast experience.
I don't think the feel needed for speed control is that much different from the feel needed for aiming - both are gained through lots of practice and experience. Systems for aiming seem easier because they're based on visual cues, but the final crucial "measurement" is always done by feel (despite what some system salesmen may tell you).
And systems also exist for speed control - Randy G, Scott Lee and company teach one, for instance.
pj
chgo
Of course. But once you get to a certain level, your ball pocketing consistency doesn't suffer as much as your positional consistency, and speed control indeed becomes the "final frontier" as far as getting you over your next plateau.
I'm sure this is relative to the player's own abilities, but I blow more runs and see more runs blown at the B+/A levels due to suspect speed control than missed shots (which are typically the result of leaving yourself a tough shot from missing your position zone).
Aiming isn't "easier" in a vacuum, it's just that it's easier to build yourself a fundamental foundation (since it's more "empirical". You can verify aim points and such, but you can never tell your body to hit this ball 6 mph) that is repeatable and that you can fall back on via your pre-shot and sighting routine. To get good at speed control, you pretty much have to hit a million and more balls and just let your subconscious and muscle memory do the work, which is easier said than done when under pressure.
Like I said, you can tell yourself to hit this ball here and it should go in, but you can't tell yourself to hit a ball 15 mph.
Yes, exactly. I don't think aiming systems are infallible by any means, but we can "comfort" ourselves with those visual cues, and know, consciously, that we have a good chance of making the ball if we can align ourselves to and hit that visual cue (for me, I visualize a half ball hit as the edge of the object ball splitting my cue tip).
With speed control, I have no "cue," for a soft-soft hit, as soft-medium hit, a medium soft hit, a medium-medium hit, and so on. Just have to let my body do the work, which anyone who plays this game (or any game/sport) "hates" doing under pressure. You want certainty during those pressure moments.
I believe that's another thing that separates good and great players. The ability to get into the "zone." Even Parica said too many players think too much.
I would go 3 rails to get to position A
The reality is that speed is crucial but not necessarily in order to get up close. Pros maintain angles for their patterns before anything else. Speed is tough when it comes to playing gaps. Most pros will play for good position to a zone in order to get the perfect angle.
The really problem here is that I left myself here in the first place for this diagram! Being that I am on the wrong side of the 8 implies my speed or angle was off. This is what matters.
To answer though in order to get A id use some inside to make sure I didn't have a lot of angle on the 9.
The really problem here is that I left myself here in the first place for this diagram! Being that I am on the wrong side of the 8 implies my speed or angle was off. This is what matters.
To answer though in order to get A id use some inside to make sure I didn't have a lot of angle on the 9.