Starting over from a newbie

[Guppy]

Just wanted to introduce myself and discuss ways that I can better my game. Hope some of you have advice, techniques, and routines that you'd share.

I have enjoyed the game since I was about 12, I'm 30 now. Growing up I always would go to some of the rough neck bars with my uncle, he'd give me a handful of quarters to play pool with while he played a table or two down from me.

For the past two years I have been focusing on bettering my game. I am fairly decent at cueball control, sometimes I try to over-work the cueball. My shot making abilties are fair if I had to put a percentage on it I would be making about 65% of my shots. I am a sself taught player who has only had videos off the internet to go by. Currently I play in the APA as a strong 4 to a weak 5.

I just recently decided to break my game down and start from scratch. I am pretty sure my stance is incorrect, it feels different and unstable from shot to shot. I get confused because I see where people say one foot should point along the line that you aim down and the other at 45 degrees(45 degrees of what?). I wish I had the money for school but just can't afford it right now. I did recently purchase a stroke trainer, I am anxious to get into it.

I am glad to finally be a member here.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Thanks
William

 

[cycopath]

As soon as possible I would seek professional instruction. After a group session and an individual session with Scott Lee it made a world of difference in my game.

Also, depending on your favorite game, there are some really good instructional books out there to study.

 

[td873]

Just wanted to introduce myself and discuss ways that I can better my game. Hope some of you have advice, techniques, and routines that you'd share.

Welcome! Enjoy the site and the people. We have all kinds!

There's plenty of advice, gossip, discussion and arguments. Take everything with a grain of salt and you'll be fine. It also helps to have thick skin, as this is the internet and all.

Again welcome to the gang,

-td

 

[mapman72]

Welcome...

As well as the instruction recommended by others, I will recommend playing in: Tournaments, tournaments, tournaments...Find and enter as many tournaments as possible. Not sure about where you are, but in the DC area there are handicapped tournaments every night of the week where players of your level can develop their skills. The pressure and competitiveness of a tournament can do great things for your game, as opposed to league play. I recommended this regiment for a friend recently who is SL6 in APA. I took him with me to an open 9 ball tournament nearby, where it is not uncommon to see 3 or 4 pros competing. He went 2 and out his first three weeks, but now he is winning matches against some pretty tough players and his confidence is soaring. Now I'm not saying you should enter open tournaments, but find some decent handicap tournaments and try your hardest to win each and every match. You will be amazed at how fast you improve. Just my 2 cents...

 

[BigDogatLarge]

He lives east of hotlanta...

Hey Bud welcome to the zoo. It's nice here and there is a lot of people that love pool and are willing to play and teach you what you want to know. This forum and the people in will help you to be better at all cuesports. You live real close to one of the best areas to play pool. Try Mr. Cues II on Chamblee Tucker and talk to a guy by the name of Andy, he is a great teacher and solid player. I think Vic over at the Marietta Billiards Club will put you on some people that can give you some pointers. They also have a great Sunday afternoon tournament. I am sure that many of the others here know more about Atlanta than I do. Just wait, you will have people wanting to play.

Good Luck and again, welcome,

Dwight

 

[Hail Mary Shot]

you could try these tips out while you are waiting for someone to teach you personally.

if your stance is the problem, I will give you some basic advice. get down at an angle where you are most comfortable with and where you could see the CB and OB in your line of sight. now it's quite obvious that your stance will adjust to some specific shots, but most often times (more than 85%) you will be shooting in a regular stance. stance is also dependent on one's height.

the problem with some tall people is to get down on every shots. the common mistakes that some tall people commit is raising the butt of the cue everytime. don't get me wrong, some people are good at it and could pocket balls with ease, but the risk of unneccessary spin is high (which could lead to an unwanted throw and not pocketing the OB) and problems on CB control.

now, to solve this problem, tall people must bend their knees and legs and adjust their body. their upper body part leans toward the table while their lower body lags behind as if he is preparing to run in a 100m dash race, lol.

on my part, since I'm left-handed, I put my right foot at front while my left foot is at a distance between and behind my right foot, where I could line my cue just right and tuck my wing (shooting arm) close to my body to secure the cue. the reason I do this is to make sure that my line of sight or perception is correct and to eliminate the awkwardness of shooting in a position where both of you feet is at parallel of each other and bending in a way that makes you look like someone who's taking a dump.

 

[pooltchr]

William,
I regularly hold classes in Charlotte, NC, and sometimes travel to Athens, GA to hold our pool school there. PM me if you are interested and I will fill you in. We have a pretty solid success rate in helping players improve their consistency and skill level.

Steve

 

[Siz]

I am pretty sure my stance is incorrect, it feels different and unstable from shot to shot. I get confused because I see where people say one foot should point along the line that you aim down and the other at 45 degrees(45 degrees of what?).

William,

Welcome! :wave3:

From what you have described, it could be that you are not getting down to each shot in a consistent way.

Try standing back from the table a little while you are deciding what shot to play & how to play it. Then, once you have made up your mind, get down to the shot but always from a position directly behind the line of the shot. In other words, if you imagine drawing a line along where your cue will be pointing when you shoot, step into your shooting position by moving along that line. Try to never move sideways into the shot.

This should help you get down into the same stance every time (ignoring shots where you have to jack up etc). If you then do not feel right, pay attention to how your weight is distributed between each foot and your bridge hand. Shuffle around until you are comfortable and take some practice strokes with this stance. It shouldn't be too long before you get this nailed.

Siz

 

[JMD in VA]

A Welcome From The Mayor!

Glad to have you with us here! You will enjoy the forum as long as you remember 2 things:

1) Ask plenty questions, Look for reliable info and be on your toes.

2) Take all the BS with a grain of salt. There's tons of it around.

As far as improving your game, these 3 come to mind:

Steve (pooltchr)
Scott Lee
Randy G.

If you can get an individual lesson with any of them or if you want to bite the bullet and take the pool school you will have the pleasure of learning from a combination of Randy and either Scott or Steve. If you get a chance to learn from the "Trifecta" don't pass it up.

Once again, welcome to the AZ Community and enjoy yourself.

 

[Snapshot9]

To answer your questions

Just wanted to introduce myself and discuss ways that I can better my game. Hope some of you have advice, techniques, and routines that you'd share.

I have enjoyed the game since I was about 12, I'm 30 now. Growing up I always would go to some of the rough neck bars with my uncle, he'd give me a handful of quarters to play pool with while he played a table or two down from me.

For the past two years I have been focusing on bettering my game. I am fairly decent at cueball control, sometimes I try to over-work the cueball. My shot making abilties are fair if I had to put a percentage on it I would be making about 65% of my shots. I am a sself taught player who has only had videos off the internet to go by. Currently I play in the APA as a strong 4 to a weak 5.

I just recently decided to break my game down and start from scratch. I am pretty sure my stance is incorrect, it feels different and unstable from shot to shot. I get confused because I see where people say one foot should point along the line that you aim down and the other at 45 degrees(45 degrees of what?). I wish I had the money for school but just can't afford it right now. I did recently purchase a stroke trainer, I am anxious to get into it.

I am glad to finally be a member here.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Thanks
William

Your body is at a 45 degree angle to your cue. /l (slash is your body, L is the cue). Your back foot should be at 45 degree angle to cue, your front foot turned slightly forward towards tip of cue at about a 22.5 angle to your cue.

 

[halhoule]

Pool

Your body is at a 45 degree angle to your cue. /l (slash is your body, L is the cue). Your back foot should be at 45 degree angle to cue, your front foot turned slightly forward towards tip of cue at about a 22.5 angle to your cue.

THAT IS TOTAL GARBAGE. WHERE DO YOU RESIDE. I TEACH PEOPLE AN AIMING SYSTEM..CALL ME AT 484 623 4144.
HAL HOULE

 

[tpdtom]

I agree with all the comments regarding professional instruction, but I heard you when you said that it wasn't in your budget right now. I urge you to make it a priority, and I think that Stan Shuffett will give you the best deal on the best instruction anywhere, and he's not far from you. http://www.justcueit.com/index.html

In the meantime, back in the day all we had to get started was Mosconi's little book. Now there are many books, DVDs etc. Probably the simplest and most correct is the video/DVD made for the BCA by Jerry Breisath, the father of American pool instructors and the individual who has been recognized for decades as the Dean of Master Instructors. The DVD is called "How to play pool right" and costs $25. It will guide you to a correct foundation and the fundamentals you need like stance etc. While this is no substitute for professional instruction you will find it affordable. Here's the link below...Tom

http://poollessons.com/videos.html

 

[SCCues]

As soon as possible I would seek professional instruction. After a group session and an individual session with Scott Lee it made a world of difference in my game.

Also, depending on your favorite game, there are some really good instructional books out there to study.

Get some help from someone who knows what he or she is doing and start out learning the correct way. I wasn't fortunate enough to have anyone to help me when I started and I wasted a lot of time doing things the wrong way before I learned the way you are supposed to play.

James

 

[jasonlaus]

LESSONS LESSONS LESSONS!!!! video tape yourself if this is possible. Stay down on every shot until the object ball goes in the hole, you'd be surprised how mant shots you miss by jumping up. keep a loose grip hand & DO NOT tighten up when you hit a shot hard.

 

[jasonlaus]

Do not take advice from someone just because they "have been playin this game for thirty years" Get lessons from some of the people mentioned above. Not saying they are wrong but if they are still playing bar room pool after thirty years...

 

[Guppy]

Thank you for all the responses.

I appreciate all the advice already and yes I understand that there is going to be people with negative post (I know how to scroll).

I only play one day out of the week which is my sunday league at Cues II. I plan to start playing more through the week to build consistancy. I have thought about finding someone local to get lessons from. do yall think that I should find someone that has the same playing style and build as I do or do you think that it don't matter. Ideally I'd like to go to Stans school. No offense to the other schools but, with Stans teaching background I feel I'd be able to understand what he was talking about better.

I play with a slow but firm stroke. This may sound odd but I am right handed but shoot left handed. I found that I can get my right hand to bridge better than my left hand.

Thanks again for the responses so far
William

 

[Pushout]

I see that you're from Georgia and you mentioned Mr Cues ll. If that's the case, look up Stevie Moore when he's in town. A friend of mine in Spartanburg, SC took a lesson from Stevie when Stevie was in town visiting his mom. My friend is an old friend of Stevie. He said it wasn't too expensive, {probably less than everyone mentioned in this thread} and was well worth it.

 

[pooltchr]

Steve (pooltchr)
Scott Lee
Randy G.

If you can get an individual lesson with any of them or if you want to bite the bullet and take the pool school you will have the pleasure of learning from a combination of Randy and either Scott or Steve. If you get a chance to learn from the "Trifecta" don't pass it up.

Once again, welcome to the AZ Community and enjoy yourself.

Thank you for the kind words, Mr Mayor!
I don't know if we will have a "trifecta", but I know we will at least have a "twofer" in September when Randy comes to Charlotte for our annual fall pool school.

Steve

 

[wahcheck]

if you seek professional instruction

Just thought I'd put my 2 cents in there......

It's really important who you learn from...Don't make the mistake I did....I got "lessons" from some pro-level shooters who were really not good teachers...all it did was cost me money with very little gain in my abilities...I believe the recommendations from the prior posters are good....Remember, just because a person can shoot at a high level doesn't mean he can teach properly or well........