What shot do you practice to test your stroke? Something that should have a high success rate. I was practicing with object ball center table and cue ball almost in the corner pocket. Pretty straight and long. Just not sure what the success rate should be, plus prefer to shoot with hand on the table and not the rail. Although I do like to practice off the rail shots. Just not sure if it's best to test a stroke. I know hitting the bottom rail and having the cue ball come back and hit the tip is one. Prefer to add an object ball but also prefer what's best.
Stroke test
- Thread starter jburkm002
- Start date
I do the same thing on a 9-foot table with the cueball far enough from the pocket so I can bridge properly on the table and the object ball half way to the opposite corner pocket. I set up the shot to be exactly straight in. When testing/developing your stroke, you don't want any cut angle judgement to get in the way. I use 3-hole reinforcement strips to easily place the balls in the correct positions over and over.
When I first started doing this years ago, I would do this drill daily. The first week I wasn't done until I made 10 in a row. The next week, I had to make 15 straight. I built myself up to 50 in a row. At that point, I could beat anyone in my area. Nowadays, I don't have the time. But if I did, this is the first drill I would start doing again.
Good luck.
When I first started doing this years ago, I would do this drill daily. The first week I wasn't done until I made 10 in a row. The next week, I had to make 15 straight. I built myself up to 50 in a row. At that point, I could beat anyone in my area. Nowadays, I don't have the time. But if I did, this is the first drill I would start doing again.
Good luck.
I like to make this shot easier by moving the cueball up a diamond and a half and the object ball a diamond closer to the pocket. Shoot a stop shot without ANY spin ( which is crazy hard) and try to run over one hundred without a miss. Helps my stroke, pre-shot routine, and focus.
The success rate can be where ever you want it to be, you can use three out of five, eight out of ten, its pretty much where ever you want to set it. when you start to exceed those rates you can set higher ones.
I use four out of five for the CB down the rail and back to the tip, but will take three out of five as good to go for me.
That method is pretty hard and can be an ass kicker, but i was able to get it down because i found out that with my stroke i find center CB a little different that the guy on the next table.
The test for a good stroke is a simple one. If you are consistently getting beat then your stroke probably sucks like a Hoover Deluxe.
To check and see if my stroke is reasonably straight I will usually step over to the table next to the one I'm playing on and take a few practice swings with my bridge hand directly centered over the line made by the rail where the wood (veneer) meets the cloth. As I stroke I watch and see if my cue tip follows that line, back and forth. It's more of a reminder than anything.
To check and see if my stroke is reasonably straight I will usually step over to the table next to the one I'm playing on and take a few practice swings with my bridge hand directly centered over the line made by the rail where the wood (veneer) meets the cloth. As I stroke I watch and see if my cue tip follows that line, back and forth. It's more of a reminder than anything.
I line up 10 balls across the table 5 diamonds away, shoot from the 1st diamond and use enough stroke to draw back to the 2nd diamond.
As I am down in the shot, I pay attention to the specific spot of the pocket I am hitting.
Sent from my iPhone using AzBilliards Forums mobile app
As I am down in the shot, I pay attention to the specific spot of the pocket I am hitting.
Sent from my iPhone using AzBilliards Forums mobile app
Before a match, one of the things I do is the corner to corner, straight in shot too...just to get straightened out and confidence that I'm shooting straight. I'll start by rolling it in, and then a stop shot...then draw it back a little...and then a little more, and then finally all the way back to the starting point. And then I'll shoot the same shot center ball with left and right english and different speeds. If I can get all of that to work, it's a good bet that I'm going to have a pretty good night, or at least that I'm not going to be missing shots because my stroke/setup is crooked somehow.
A friend showed me a good stroke test a few months back. Put the object ball on the center spot (this has to be exact, so measure it out and use a divider ring) and the cue ball 2 balls to the right or left of the foot spot (one ball on the spot, one ball frozen next to it, and the cue ball frozen to that, then take away the other two balls). Use inside english to make the ball and get the cue ball to directly hit the head rail. If you have a good stroke, you can hit the head rail. If you have a great stroke, you can hit the head rail and get the cue ball to come back down table 2 diamonds.
Are you talking about to train a "straight" stroke as in you hit the cueball where you want to and make the ball or a "good" stroke where you can get good action on the cueball with spin?
I use the corner to corner stop shot with the cueball near the jaws of a corner pocket and object ball near the middle of the table. Especially if you hit the shot with a bit of draw and place the cueball close to the rail it will show you if you move on the shot. Playing a stop shot there or drawing it back to the pocket (or near the pocket) will test your stroke for straightness and also for how well you can put the draw on the cueball.
Bert Kinister likes to train to shoot a ball down the rail using not a stop shot but a replacement shot where the cueball takes the place of the position of the object ball. He says that will dial your stroke in very well if you shoot that shot a lot. No cueball spin, hit it to a dead stop.
I use the corner to corner stop shot with the cueball near the jaws of a corner pocket and object ball near the middle of the table. Especially if you hit the shot with a bit of draw and place the cueball close to the rail it will show you if you move on the shot. Playing a stop shot there or drawing it back to the pocket (or near the pocket) will test your stroke for straightness and also for how well you can put the draw on the cueball.
Bert Kinister likes to train to shoot a ball down the rail using not a stop shot but a replacement shot where the cueball takes the place of the position of the object ball. He says that will dial your stroke in very well if you shoot that shot a lot. No cueball spin, hit it to a dead stop.
I practice the first few minutes just using striped balls and no cue ball (10 thru 15 object balls only). Set the object balls up so you have the stripes perpendicular to the table and practice stroking the object balls without any variation or wiggle to the roll of the stripe on the object ball. The balls should roll like a tire with the stripe remaining as steady and true as you can attain the roll of the object ball.
This is not a shooting drill, just a stroking drill. I pay close attention to the follow-thru of my cue stroke and the resultant roll produced on the striped object ball. I only play on 9' or 10' tables so there is plenty of cloth to observe the roll of the balls. I shoot the object balls into the pocket, off the rails, and use different stroke velocities rolling the object balls always paying attention to the roll of the stripe on the object ball. Obviously I am not shooting with English applications and the last few balls I actually shoot as spot shots (using only striped object balls) and I use the #11 object ball as my cue ball when I shoot the spot shots so I can observe the roll of the stripe of the 11 ball.
This entire warm-up routine takes about 5-7 minutes but it reinforces in my mind the importance of stroking the cue ball instead of pushing or poking at it. This allows me to form an opinion or judgement about how well I am able to deliver a smooth steady cue stroke and like I said, it only takes a few minutes to perform this routine. And when your stroke feels good, the object balls roll perfectly with minimal movement on the stripe, Again, you shoot these object balls as if they were the cue ball and pay close attention to the roll of the stripe...........any wiggling of the stripe on the object ball is verboten. Since I am not trying to pocket the striped balls when I start, my entire focus is on the roll of the stroked object balls and the feel & follow-thru of my cue stroke.
This is not a shooting drill, just a stroking drill. I pay close attention to the follow-thru of my cue stroke and the resultant roll produced on the striped object ball. I only play on 9' or 10' tables so there is plenty of cloth to observe the roll of the balls. I shoot the object balls into the pocket, off the rails, and use different stroke velocities rolling the object balls always paying attention to the roll of the stripe on the object ball. Obviously I am not shooting with English applications and the last few balls I actually shoot as spot shots (using only striped object balls) and I use the #11 object ball as my cue ball when I shoot the spot shots so I can observe the roll of the stripe of the 11 ball.
This entire warm-up routine takes about 5-7 minutes but it reinforces in my mind the importance of stroking the cue ball instead of pushing or poking at it. This allows me to form an opinion or judgement about how well I am able to deliver a smooth steady cue stroke and like I said, it only takes a few minutes to perform this routine. And when your stroke feels good, the object balls roll perfectly with minimal movement on the stripe, Again, you shoot these object balls as if they were the cue ball and pay close attention to the roll of the stripe...........any wiggling of the stripe on the object ball is verboten. Since I am not trying to pocket the striped balls when I start, my entire focus is on the roll of the stroked object balls and the feel & follow-thru of my cue stroke.
I use that line too.
Not sure i have ever seen it straight.
Not sure i have ever seen it straight.
The test for a good stroke is a simple one. If you are consistently getting beat then your stroke probably sucks like a Hoover Deluxe.
To check and see if my stroke is reasonably straight I will usually step over to the table next to the one I'm playing on and take a few practice swings with my bridge hand directly centered over the line made by the rail where the wood (veneer) meets the cloth. As I stroke I watch and see if my cue tip follows that line, back and forth. It's more of a reminder than anything.
Mathematically speaking the shot that requires the lowest margin of error is a straight in shoot with the cue ball the equal distance away from the object ball as the object ball is away from the corner pocket.
I practice that shoot as a stop shoot all the time and is the first thing I do for warm ups. I then try to follow the ball in with the cue ball and then try to draw it all the way back to the opposite corner.
As far as measuring goes, if I can't do 45 balls in a row of stop shoots then I'm not happy. Seems easy, but staying focused can be harder than you think. I try to do it without having any side at all on the CB but am fine with a little if I don't take the CB too far off line. Follow shoots im happy if I hit within the first diamond as that is still pretty good precision, but ultimately the goal is to follow perfectly. Draws, I would be happy if I could make the OB and draw it back into the pocket or even within 1 diamond 5 times in 50 tries. That shoot is my nemesis.
I practice that shoot as a stop shoot all the time and is the first thing I do for warm ups. I then try to follow the ball in with the cue ball and then try to draw it all the way back to the opposite corner.
As far as measuring goes, if I can't do 45 balls in a row of stop shoots then I'm not happy. Seems easy, but staying focused can be harder than you think. I try to do it without having any side at all on the CB but am fine with a little if I don't take the CB too far off line. Follow shoots im happy if I hit within the first diamond as that is still pretty good precision, but ultimately the goal is to follow perfectly. Draws, I would be happy if I could make the OB and draw it back into the pocket or even within 1 diamond 5 times in 50 tries. That shoot is my nemesis.
I dont find this to be any good because it limits the follow through. Rather a straight line like a table runner to follow. But to each their own.
That's an oldie, but goodie. One of the best for short shot position. Almost every 14.1 player used it back when 14.1 was the game of choice. Johnnyt
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8TLN7nnRa4
I warm up almost every single session with about 30 shots like this. It gives you good feedback about how your body is aligned, your aim, and where you're hitting the CB, as you can observe any side spin on the CB after contact if you're not hitting it square. Good shot for stroke practice.
Also this one from time tot ime (at 18:50) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4y196iqUUs
This is one of my favourite's. Everything needs to be working in order to execute this shot. All your fundamentals need to be in place. If you're not stroking well, you have a zero % chance of executing this shot.
I warm up almost every single session with about 30 shots like this. It gives you good feedback about how your body is aligned, your aim, and where you're hitting the CB, as you can observe any side spin on the CB after contact if you're not hitting it square. Good shot for stroke practice.
Also this one from time tot ime (at 18:50) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4y196iqUUs
This is one of my favourite's. Everything needs to be working in order to execute this shot. All your fundamentals need to be in place. If you're not stroking well, you have a zero % chance of executing this shot.
Last edited:
I do exactly the same thing on my GC except I have not tried 50 in a row. I just put the balls on the table and knock them in using stop, draw, and follow, usually a couple racks of each shot.