Style of the greatest players?

Boxcar said:
As with most things in life, there are no absolutes.

The best lesson comes from the game of Golf, "The scorecard doesn't ask how, just how many."

Another man's game can't help you when you're out the next month's rent. Be yourself! Everybody else is already taken.
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I'm really diggin that last statement .. so true
 
pt109 said:
You can’t sight ‘down the barrel’….the rest of your face is below your eyes.
and how does ’near’ rifle sight aiming help when you’re spinning whitey?
Many snooker players say ‘chin on cue’ and ‘cue on chest’ is to make their stance solid.
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It's just a way of saying.
I'd rather be ''down right'' than ''Upright'' :) when shooting tough shots.
 
Island Drive said:
It's just a way of saying.
I'd rather be ''down right'' than ''Upright'' :) when shooting tough shots.
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I’m six feet….I go chin on cue anytime I feel a need to….if I was your height, I’d rather play like Jimmy Moore.
 
A big thing here, is that while the styles of the top players may vary quite a bit, the more average players will struggle when using a non-standard form and will take longer to get good when using just whatever thing they want or following a player they like. The way I put it to people is "you want to play good because of your fundamentals not despite of them". Or "sure that player is a pro shooting this way, but you are not, so clearly this style is not working for you as well".
 
All this about standing up or having the cue on your chin is about the shot your shooting. One of the greatest shot makers I ever saw , when he was in gear , Bill Lawson from NC. When the object ball and the cue ball were with in an inch or so and he had to make a cut shot of any type , he was just about over the top of the shot looking at the angle for the cut from up high, instead of down low. Picked that up rather quickly I did. He was about half way down on most other shots and it took an increadable player to keep him in his chair.
 
Tennesseejoe said:
Yes, I agree, but that is the vertical location. The horizontal location seems very important to me.
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The horizontal is aligning the cue stick with your personal "vision center" which is related to but more ptecise than simply aligning the cue under your dominant eye.

Check out these clips of Joe Davis, the first great Snooker champion who was cross-dominant meaning left-eye dominant and right-handed.

I have a feeling that a player's vision center also changes based on how low to the cue or how high they stand over the cue, but have never heard anyone address this before. Perhaps it's related to peripheral vision somehow or maybe astigmatism.


 
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no doubt sighting down low gives you a better look at the shot for most shots.

but play enough and when you get older you will maybe have big back problems from that. and then wont think you were so smart shooting that way.
 
Bustamante, reyes, archer all played about above the cue. Today's players have gone a stage further, most with the chin on the cue. I don't think it matters. It's ether how your tought, or how grew up playing. I miss the days, when you would see guys on TV, with the big Strokes, making the big shots!
 
maha said:
no doubt sighting down low gives you a better look at the shot for most shots.

but play enough and when you get older you will maybe have big back problems from that. and then wont think you were so smart shooting that way.
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I think your probably right. What age will that be, when you would start to notice the effects?
 
ricky9ball said:
You cannot fail to see if you watch old pool videos, as I do. That many of the greatest players of all time, rarely get fully down on their shots. The older players that names are often spoken in hushed tones, have their heads way off the cue, but still play at the highest level. So does it really matter, or is it what your most use to and how you have been taught? Ricky9ball.
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Watching F. Gorst today...I got the impression that with his stroke and mechanics it would be hard for him to miss .
 
pt109 said:
You can’t sight ‘down the barrel’….the rest of your face is below your eyes.
and how does ’near’ rifle sight aiming help when you’re spinning whitey?
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If you are low enough on the cue, you can watch the CB arc as it rolls down table. It may only be 1mm (or so) but arc it does nonetheless. If you head is 1 foot above the cue, you probably can't see this level of detail as the physics transpires on the bed of the table.
 
Don’t forget that you are talking about pros who played all day every day and did not have a job - at some point that amount of play can overcome imperfect technique - that is just a fact - it does not mean that constant play will make you pro caliber - but constant play with superior talent overcomes a lot of obstacles related to technical correctness.
 
measureman said:
The longer the shot is the lower I stand.
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When CB and OB are close together, can it be beneficial for a higher stance?

For example, I’ve heard it recommended that you need to aim a slight over-cut in these situations, but perhaps a different vantage point will provide a truer picture.
 
I tried to switch to a higher vantage point further up off the cue so I could play in glasses rather than in contacts as well as take pressure off an injured back. Couldn't do it. It was more of a perception thing than a mechanics thing. For close shots, I could see them just fine, but a shot down table, say 6feet away was really difficult for me to see my shot line. How guys back in the day played shots with some distance to them from up high off the cue amazes me. When sighting low you can see how it all lines up, but up off it, it is really difficult. No wonder some of the top guys back then got lower on long shots and just played high up around the pack in 14.1 where the higher view of angles is actually an advantage.
 
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