Table/shooting speed/rythym ........ consistancy.

IA8baller

IA8baller

Family man.
Silver Member
One thind I've worked on diligintly lately is my table/shooting speed and trying to keep it fairly consistant and I can see some benefits and improvement in my play and thought process while at the table.

It's something I don't see talked about a lot but wanted to throw it out there for discussion.

Some guys/gals play fairly quickly while others seem to take forever on each shot and I'd say I'm right in the middle and trying to keep the same pre-shot routine and rythym going and when doing this I feel much more comfortable at the table, even when I'm presented with particularly tough shots.

Is this something a lot of you consciously think about and try to do?

Just wondering.
 
IA8baller said:
One thind I've worked on diligintly lately is my table/shooting speed and trying to keep it fairly consistant and I can see some benefits and improvement in my play and thought process while at the table.

It's something I don't see talked about a lot but wanted to throw it out there for discussion.

Some guys/gals play fairly quickly while others seem to take forever on each shot and I'd say I'm right in the middle and trying to keep the same pre-shot routine and rythym going and when doing this I feel much more comfortable at the table, even when I'm presented with particularly tough shots.

Is this something a lot of you consciously think about and try to do?

Just wondering.
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I try to keep my shots under 30 seconds. When you're stumped, it's okay to take a time out.

When I first started playing, I took a long time on each shot. But that's because I was still learning.
When I realized that leagues and tournaments have shot clocks, I decided to speed things up.

My goal is 10 seconds looking at the layout, and 10 seconds with the pre-shot/shot execution.
 
I work on Speed Control 3 times a week. Our system is the nuts and once we find our "Stroke" speed every thing else is easy......SPF=randyg
 
I have trouble arguing with it when I see known good instructors like randy saying it's important... but I just don't buy into the idea of rhythm or pace or whatever.

You should shoot the shot as soon as you are comfortable with everything, period... never before that point. That will lead to dogging a lot more shots and blowing shape. And as for people taking too long.. I'm not even sure it's possible to be shooting slower than you're comfortable with. Nobody would voluntarily sit there and wait even after everything's lined up and they've made up their mind. If they are waiting for something even after they've consciously prepared as much as possible, that just means there's something subconscious that they're uncomfortable with, and they're waiting to see if it resolves itself.

You'll hear commentary on videos about the player's pace picking up when they're shooting well. They have cause and effect confused there. When you're shooting well, you are playing shape as simply as possible, the cue ball ends up where you predicted, and there are no unexpected events to ponder. So when the time comes to line up and pick your english and speed, there's nothing to think about. You can do it quickly because you already had it planned ahead of time and so far nothing has happened to change those plans. Once you're really in line you can stay in line more easily, and the result will be more shots per minute.

I would advise people to not shoot until they feel like it. Never artificially try to alter it. People will say a guy can overthink a shot, but I disagree. The more subtle little things you try to account for, the better your position will be. It's only when people lack understanding of what's possible and what's not that they can seem to be too slow, because they are trying to figure out something. They may not even be aware that they don't 'get it'. They just know something's not right with their initial plan and this causes them to hesitate.

That can be corrected by giving them the knowledge that they're lacking, rather than adjusing their shooting speed. Once they know what they're doing in a larger sense, the pacing will come automatically.
 
IA8baller said:
One thind I've worked on diligintly lately is my table/shooting speed and trying to keep it fairly consistant and I can see some benefits and improvement in my play and thought process while at the table.
Click to expand...

Good move. Finding a speed / rhythm that suits you and then repeating it every shot is important IMO.

You can take varying amounts of time working out what to do, depending on the complexity of the shot or the table layout. But this should be before you go into your pre shot routine. It should be very helpful if you can make sure that the time between (a) your getting down to the shot and (b) the Finish is the same every shot.

Occasionally when I have got down to a shot, I find that I am taking longer than normal on the stroke. When this happens, it is normally because before getting down I have not prepared sufficiently (ie visualised the shot). In these cases, sometimes I will get up and re-set; other times, I miss. :o
 
IA8baller said:
One thind I've worked on diligintly lately is my table/shooting speed and trying to keep it fairly consistant and I can see some benefits and improvement in my play and thought process while at the table.

It's something I don't see talked about a lot but wanted to throw it out there for discussion.

Some guys/gals play fairly quickly while others seem to take forever on each shot and I'd say I'm right in the middle and trying to keep the same pre-shot routine and rythym going and when doing this I feel much more comfortable at the table, even when I'm presented with particularly tough shots.

Is this something a lot of you consciously think about and try to do?

Just wondering.
Click to expand...

"Shooting pool is just like dancing" - the late Papa George.

Rhythm is one of the most important aspects of shooting well.
 
Some good points/thoughts CreeDo.

My shot assesment time may vary but once I have commited to a shot that's when I try to keep a fairly steady pace, the actual pre-shot routine. Granted it's not absolute because some shots are just plain easier than others therefore I get to that "comfortable" feeling before actually pulling the trigger in a little less time on some shots, a little more on others and when you can string together several shots in a row due to good cue ball control that give you a string of fairly easy shots I do tend to speed up just a little simply due to the fact that there are no real "tough" shots to deal with.
 
Don't before you know what you want to do and maintain a consistent pre-shot routine. This should dictate your pace.

A lot of people who shoot fast, shouldn't. They rush shots and make positional errors by simply playing for the wrong position.

Ronnie O'Sullivan slowed his game down and he is now far and away the best snooker player in the world.
 
Rhythm is a strange thing. While we all may have a different one, you can vary your speed of play and still find a rhythm that is comfortable to you. Best example I can give is a local speed pool champ can break and take down 15 balls in well under a minute. True, his normal rhythm is fairly quick, but he can speed it up for those competitions. I play a bit on the quick side, but when faced with a couple break outs or a tough pattern I rely on the pre-shot routine to "restart" my rhythm...looking forward to everyones answers on this one....
 
CreeDo said:
I have trouble arguing with it when I see known good instructors like randy saying it's important... but I just don't buy into the idea of rhythm or pace or whatever.

You should shoot the shot as soon as you are comfortable with everything, period... never before that point. That will lead to dogging a lot more shots and blowing shape. And as for people taking too long.. I'm not even sure it's possible to be shooting slower than you're comfortable with. Nobody would voluntarily sit there and wait even after everything's lined up and they've made up their mind. If they are waiting for something even after they've consciously prepared as much as possible, that just means there's something subconscious that they're uncomfortable with, and they're waiting to see if it resolves itself.

You'll hear commentary on videos about the player's pace picking up when they're shooting well. They have cause and effect confused there. When you're shooting well, you are playing shape as simply as possible, the cue ball ends up where you predicted, and there are no unexpected events to ponder. So when the time comes to line up and pick your english and speed, there's nothing to think about. You can do it quickly because you already had it planned ahead of time and so far nothing has happened to change those plans. Once you're really in line you can stay in line more easily, and the result will be more shots per minute.

I would advise people to not shoot until they feel like it. Never artificially try to alter it. People will say a guy can overthink a shot, but I disagree. The more subtle little things you try to account for, the better your position will be. It's only when people lack understanding of what's possible and what's not that they can seem to be too slow, because they are trying to figure out something. They may not even be aware that they don't 'get it'. They just know something's not right with their initial plan and this causes them to hesitate.

That can be corrected by giving them the knowledge that they're lacking, rather than adjusing their shooting speed. Once they know what they're doing in a larger sense, the pacing will come automatically.
Click to expand...


I agree 100%....SPF=randyg
 
The dancing analogy can be taken one step further.

When you dance you walk to the floor -- analyze the table in pool.

You know what you are going to do but you have to wait for the down beat on the dance floor -- Your body has its own down beat too and you need to wait for it.

Once the dancing begins your body is controlled by the drum -- once you start to shoot your body's rhythm should be in control.

When the dance is over you walk off the floor. Playing pool is a little different; sometimes the same rhythm is used to continue to the next shot (the zone) at other times you have to walk to the floor again.

Playing pool is a lot like dancing.:thumbup:
 
You know looking around the table at the layout and determining each shot from first to last isnt part of the pre shot routine imo. Don't start your run out until you have a plan of what to do at the very least for the next three balls. Then your pre shot routine comes into effect. For some it may be 2 or 3 deep breathes and get down on it... others may be stroking the stick several times (see alot of players do this). Whatever works for you is the key. But imo should only take 5 to 10 seconds for the routine to shot. Anything longer could make you think about the shot and the outcome too much which could be a negative in some cases. But that being said everyone is different and its really up to you what makes you feel comfortable, what you can handle, what you think about, ect ect.

lol That being said, yes its important to have some sort of routine. A good question is "What is everybody's pre shot routine here?" That would be interesting to hear.:thumbup:
 
ShootingRazbone said:
You know looking around the table at the layout and determining each shot from first to last isnt part of the pre shot routine imo. Don't start your run out until you have a plan of what to do at the very least for the next three balls. Then your pre shot routine comes into effect. For some it may be 2 or 3 deep breathes and get down on it... others may be stroking the stick several times (see alot of players do this). Whatever works for you is the key. But imo should only take 5 to 10 seconds for the routine to shot. Anything longer could make you think about the shot and the outcome too much which could be a negative in some cases. But that being said everyone is different and its really up to you what makes you feel comfortable, what you can handle, what you think about, ect ect.

lol That being said, yes its important to have some sort of routine. A good question is "What is everybody's pre shot routine here?" That would be interesting to hear.:thumbup:
Click to expand...


I'm figure that you mean "pre-shot routine(s)" We teach the three that are fundamental to playing. Bob Henning says there might be four, I might agree....SPF=randyg
 
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