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Good medicine for those needing to know stuff, or rank BANGERS.
Good medicine for those needing to know stuff, or rank BANGERS.
Starting again after 20 years - where to start, please?
- Thread starter Gloor
- Start date
billiards_watch
Well-known member
I just read the "beginner friendly" part. When you say 20 years, I assume you were an active player. If you were a beginner and you haven't played in 20 years then you start from scratch.
Since you have a pretty damn good cue then you can skip 'deflection aiming' and just go to 'aiming and firing' method. Things have changed a lot since 20 years. Your cue is evidence of that.
For a draw shot go with the beginner way of keeping your cue as parallel to the table as possible. Nice, low and parallel. Shoot through the cue ball. You may even get away with your "force stop" stroke.
As for bank shots, I don't know how to explain it to you because I guess on those shots. I look, get down and fire. I've done it so many times that its become instinctual. I don't count diamonds. When people want to teach me diamond system, I tell them I can visualize the table and I don't need to learn it and I can explain it though.
Since you have a pretty damn good cue then you can skip 'deflection aiming' and just go to 'aiming and firing' method. Things have changed a lot since 20 years. Your cue is evidence of that.
For a draw shot go with the beginner way of keeping your cue as parallel to the table as possible. Nice, low and parallel. Shoot through the cue ball. You may even get away with your "force stop" stroke.
As for bank shots, I don't know how to explain it to you because I guess on those shots. I look, get down and fire. I've done it so many times that its become instinctual. I don't count diamonds. When people want to teach me diamond system, I tell them I can visualize the table and I don't need to learn it and I can explain it though.
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There it is>>>>>>The Arrow
You need to fix your fundamentals before you groove your bad habits. Are there any instructors in your area?
An alternative that works sometimes is to video record yourself and look for problems, but it may be hard for you to recognize the problems. It's also hard to figure out how to fix some of them.
The first time I did that....the first thing I noticed was rushing and not holding the backswing. Video is a great tool
This is all you need to know!
Cup of coffee on the rail??! NOOOO!!!
#1 : Either you need to video yourself, or you need to hire an instructor to watch/video your stroke and give you advice.
#2: If you'd rather go the self taught route, get the book "Play Great Pool" by Mark Wilson. You will read about his recommendations for every aspect of your stroke: the step in, the stance, the bridge, the backswing, the pause, the forward swing, your eye movement during your practice strokes, etc. It is a great book to relearn the fundamentals of the game AND make yourself aware of the various components of the fundamentals, so that you can speak pool intelligently. You must video yourself while reading through the book so that you will know if you are doing things correctly.
drdavepoolinfo.com
I would also recommend that you get the dvd's "A pool lesson with Jerry Briesath". Jerry Briesath is one of the foremost pool instructors of our time, and the section on banking alone is worth the price of the dvd set. With banking, you must learn what happens when an object ball slides into the rail v. rolls into the rail. The dvd's are chock full of other useful stuff. Here is a sample of what you will see on the dvd's (you can also pay to download the lessons):
#2: If you'd rather go the self taught route, get the book "Play Great Pool" by Mark Wilson. You will read about his recommendations for every aspect of your stroke: the step in, the stance, the bridge, the backswing, the pause, the forward swing, your eye movement during your practice strokes, etc. It is a great book to relearn the fundamentals of the game AND make yourself aware of the various components of the fundamentals, so that you can speak pool intelligently. You must video yourself while reading through the book so that you will know if you are doing things correctly.
Twice-Plus-Tenths Banking System - Dr. Dave Pool Info
What is a good system for aiming fast-speed bank shots? The twice-plus-tenths bank shot aiming system illustrated and demonstrated below works well for sliding banks resulting from fast speed or the OB being close to the rail. It works well for banks of any speed if the OB is close to the...
drdavepoolinfo.com
I would also recommend that you get the dvd's "A pool lesson with Jerry Briesath". Jerry Briesath is one of the foremost pool instructors of our time, and the section on banking alone is worth the price of the dvd set. With banking, you must learn what happens when an object ball slides into the rail v. rolls into the rail. The dvd's are chock full of other useful stuff. Here is a sample of what you will see on the dvd's (you can also pay to download the lessons):
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Throw the balls out and shoot 'em in.
Here's my complete answer.
Practice practice practice
Practice practice practice
My first endeavor to communicate knowledge-based no , uh no experiment based conclusions.
Experiments in looking at the cueball while delivering the stroke
of course my on going Ships Log is uh on going in Practice what I Preach
Experiments in looking at the cueball while delivering the stroke
of course my on going Ships Log is uh on going in Practice what I Preach
I got back into the game three years ago after a 30-year absence. I became a good potter in my youth since we had a table in my house, but I knew too little of fundamentals. I didn't know what I didn't know, in other words and I was unfamiliar with all the growing expertise on Youtube.
So I had to learn.
Early on I stumbled onto a series of very short training videos from DrCue. They were very helpful when I was on training wheels.
What I would recommend most, though, is buying Tor Lowry's videos on Center Ball Training ($20) and Zero X Kicking and Banking ($20).
The second vid on kicking and banking also includes "Secrets 2 Pattern Play," an all-encompassing training tool. There has since been a Secrets 3 and Lowry is working on Secrets 4.
Those videos gave me a great grounding.
More rudimentary but still helpful is Bullseye Billiards. For higher-level drills, check out Neils "The Terminator" Feijin.
So I had to learn.
Early on I stumbled onto a series of very short training videos from DrCue. They were very helpful when I was on training wheels.
What I would recommend most, though, is buying Tor Lowry's videos on Center Ball Training ($20) and Zero X Kicking and Banking ($20).
The second vid on kicking and banking also includes "Secrets 2 Pattern Play," an all-encompassing training tool. There has since been a Secrets 3 and Lowry is working on Secrets 4.
Those videos gave me a great grounding.
More rudimentary but still helpful is Bullseye Billiards. For higher-level drills, check out Neils "The Terminator" Feijin.
I couldn't agree more strongly with the 'fix your fundamentals' advice.
I, too, started over after a prolonged absence. I thought I had been a pretty good player, but quickly discovered that I wasn't improving no matter how much time I spent at the table. Long story short, I found a good, solid instructor (avoid the glitz). He watched me shoot and started with the basics; approach, stance, stroke, follow through, etc. It seemed wasteful to me at the time, but I realized that I had developed some very bad habits.
5 years later, I'm shooting the best pool of my life, at an advance age.
Agreed. But if the OP does not hire an instructor, Tor Lowry covers the fundamentals. Feijin also does in a series of "Back to Basics" videos.
The first year I started playing again, I didn't know how much improvement my fundamentals required. I was good enough as a shotmaker not to realize it.
'I didn't know how much improvement my fundamentals required.' I agree, I found myself in the same situation. In my way of thinking, this is the primary reason to spend time with a good instructor. That instructor will point out to you where your flaws are, and how seriously they are affecting your game. Without that 'resetting' of your mental state, no amount of self instruction, drill or online video are likely to make an impact.
I hate to say age is a factor, but we all know it is, as well as some indication of what level of player you were before your layoff? If you are in your 50s or younger after your 20 year layoff, you have a chance to get your game back as good or better than before. But if you are now in your 60s or older coming back from a 20 year layoff, your goals and expectations will need to be more tempered and realistic. Just start playing, concentrate on your fundamentals and see how it goes.
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billiards_watch
Well-known member
20 years is a long layoff for a seasoned player and I can only imagine a beginner.
A stroke is a stroke is a stroke. Fine tune where needed.
In my case, my pool game suffered a great deal after a long layoff. But at least I was accustomed to the sights, smells, etiquette and bullshit which goes along with a pool hall. Half the battle!
