The Draw Shot

Pangit

Pangit

Banned
I can't do it consistently, hard as I try. Shoot a little too hard, follow through a little too much, then it reverses me way out of shape. Shoot a little too soft, don't follow through so much and it's a stop shot and I'm snooked.

For the old hands, what are some good draw shot practice drills? The White ball's position is most important. And an "accurate" draw is something any pool player would love to have, I think.
 
Maybe I can help Mentally?

The draw stroke is the same stroke as the stop, follow stroke. The bridge hand changes the tip position, the back hand drives the cue stick home.

randyg
 
Set up a draw shot into the corner OB a diamond out CB a diamond away both in line with the second diamond. It is ~ 3diamonds to the side rail from the object ball. Shoot the cue ball with the same medium stroke same distance through the cue ball consistent follow through distance where tip ends on table. If you hit it center it will stop (10x) Lower with same stroke it will draw a diamond (10x) Even lower come back to a diamond from the rail (10x) Hit CB near the bottom to the rail (10x) At the very bottom to the rail and out a diamond (10x)

I do not know how good your stoke is or how fast the cloth or where u r in your development but the idea of the drill is use a single stroke and vary the tip position to get different results. If you are early in your development you should know that the entire reaction of the CB is caused by speed and tip location. In this drill alwaqys use the same medium stroke do not vary the stroke speed for more draw vary the tip position on the CB.

Most players do not hit the CB where they think they do. So to do this when you practice do not use the CB (it is slightly heavier anyway) use a stripe, set the strip up vertically lined up with your shot, clean it with a a towel first. Chalk well, you should have a radiused tip nickel to dime size to your preference definite radiused tip is critical. Now chalk liberally. When you draw have the location on that stripe in mind, it should be below center that you intend to hit maybe at bottom of the number something so you can check it. After you shoot look at the stripe where is the blue dot, clean and repeat. I bet you get better results when that dot is where you intend. They make training balls but the stripe works well.


Another training drill with a stripe is put all balls down but stripes. Shoot with the stripe up and down but turned 90 deg to the shot so the stripe is at 12, 3, 6 and 9 on the clock face you are shooting into the white part of the stripe. Wit the stripe on the head string oriented as mentioned shoot directly into a far corner pocket with low draw smooth stroke you should easily be able to see the stripe is spinning backwards all the way to the pocket. If the draw dies on the way to the pocket you will see a dead ball sliding into the pocket if it dies even earlier you will see it roll forward into the pocket. With a medium stroke very low draw shot full follow through the CB can easily be spinning backwards all the way to the pocket.

Drawing the ball is great learn it, you will win more games rolling the balls or stopping the balls but draw control is definitely critical

FYI that Randy G guy in the post above is a a world class instructor. So pay attention to what he says....
 
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A. Set up a simple straight-in shot with the CB and OB 1 diamond apart.
B. Make the shot and draw the CB back one diamond (to it's starting position).
C. When you can do that consistently, draw the CB back 2 diamonds, then 3, etc.
D. Repeat B and C with the balls 2 diamonds apart, then 3, etc.

This is called a progressive drill. You can easily make one up for any shot that you need to work on (follow shots, stop shots, etc.). You can find instructions for many kinds of progressive drills, with diagrams you can download for free, at Bob Jewett's excellent SF Billiards Academy (http://www.sfbilliards.com/basics.pdf).

pj
chgo
 
Patrick Johnson said:
A. Set up a simple straight-in shot with the CB and OB 1 diamond apart.
B. Make the shot and draw the CB back one diamond (to it's starting position).
C. When you can do that consistently, draw the CB back 2 diamonds, then 3, etc.
D. Repeat B and C with the balls 2 diamonds apart, then 3, etc.

This is called a progressive drill. You can easily make one up for any shot that you need to work on (follow shots, stop shots, etc.). You can find instructions for many kinds of progressive drills, with diagrams you can download for free, at Bob Jewett's excellent SF Billiards Academy (http://www.sfbilliards.com/basics.pdf).

pj
chgo
Click to expand...

I second that. Progressive drills are the way to go.
 
Pangit said:
I can't do it consistently, hard as I try. Shoot a little too hard, follow through a little too much, then it reverses me way out of shape. Shoot a little too soft, don't follow through so much and it's a stop shot and I'm snooked.

For the old hands, what are some good draw shot practice drills? The White ball's position is most important. And an "accurate" draw is something any pool player would love to have, I think.
Click to expand...
FYI, lots of advice, drills, and video demonstrations to help with the draw shot can be found here:

Good luck,
Dave
 
Pangit said:
I can't do it consistently, hard as I try. Shoot a little too hard, follow through a little too much, then it reverses me way out of shape. Shoot a little too soft, don't follow through so much and it's a stop shot and I'm snooked.

For the old hands, what are some good draw shot practice drills? The White ball's position is most important. And an "accurate" draw is something any pool player would love to have, I think.
Click to expand...

It's real simple. You do a draw shot wrong, set up until you get it right.

Doing drills is useless unless you first understand what makes a draw shot draw.

Its like trying to go fast on a road course, but you don't understand how the suspension settings affect the handling of the car/bike. You can turn laps, but you ain't gonna improve your lap times.
 
I think that you must have a very straight stroke with a light touch.

When setting up for the shot aim the tip of your cue stick 9 inches the other side of the cue ball touching the cloth. When you stroke your emphasis should be on a straight smooth stroke and having the tip stop at that 9” mark past the cue ball.

Later you can alter your technique to suit you but first you need to be confident that it will draw back as intended. Most (not all) of the draw shots are executed in this way. The distance it returns depends on your touch and that is learned with experience.
 
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First of all, in order to draw long straight in shots you must have good fundamentals. If you are not fundamentally sound, then you must see an instructor to fix you up.

Assuming you have proper balance, stroke etc. there are a couple of drills I would suggest.

Watch the draw drill. Try to move the OB a diamond further once you have become better at this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ew4cXh6alJU

The control of the draw shot is much more important though, so here is a wicked drill which is very difficult but can help you a LOT. See these 6 spots on the table marked with a cross?
2qlz6nk.jpg


I know I didn't mark them up good, but I think you will understand where these 6 spots really are on the table. These 6 spots represent an imaginary rectangle. Now, take 6 balls, the 1-ball the 2-ball...all of them through the 6-ball. And place each one of them to each spot in a completely random order. Now, you have to run the table in rotation. The rules are simple: The cue ball must never go outside the rectangle, and each OB must be pocketed to its nearest pocket. (each pocket will receive one ball) This drill will teach you to stun and draw the CB with great control, because if you go outside the rectangle, well, you lose :p. Tip: think 3 shots ahead always, like you do in 9-ball.

Be patient with these drills, it takes time to learn how to do them properly.
 
???

Some people will never "figure" the draw shot....like myself. I hardly ever try the draw because I'll get all embarrassed if I goof it up. Very interesting topic. I wonder what could be learned in this thread. Since I'm not a draw shot expert, I'll stay out of this thread for fear of sounding.....like an idiot. But, if I did know what I'm talking about, I would start with what it is not. Anyone with the heart to help this helpless girl on such an overwhelming topic please pm your knowledge, your expertise will be GREATLY appreciated.

(copy and pasted with minor changes...no plagiarizzy)

"you're a tree until you can see the forest"---some silly homosapien
 
C.Milian said:
Some people will never "figure" the draw shot....like myself. I hardly ever try the draw because I'll get all embarrassed if I goof it up. Very interesting topic. I wonder what could be learned in this thread. Since I'm not a draw shot expert, I'll stay out of this thread for fear of sounding.....like an idiot. But, if I did know what I'm talking about, I would start with what it is not. Anyone with the heart to help this helpless girl on such an overwhelming topic please pm your knowledge, your expertise will be GREATLY appreciated.

(copy and pasted with minor changes...no plagiarizzy)

"you're a tree until you can see the forest"---some silly homosapien
Click to expand...
Draw doesn't take any figuring - like all of pool it's really simple to know what to do, just difficult to actually do it well.

What to do: hit the cue ball below center. That's really all there is to it. Problem is that's harder to do than you think. One reason is that your mind "flinches" at the possibility of scooping the ball and looking like a doofus, so it "steers" your stroke higher without you knowing it. That's why you can line up with your tip below center and inexplicably hit a stop shot.

Here's a coupla suggestions:

- Use a striped ball as the cue ball with the stripe horizontal. Use the stripe as a visible guide for how far you can hit from centerball without miscueing. On most kinds of balls the stripe is half as wide as the ball, and it so happens that the miscue limit is right about halfway from centerball to the ball's edge.

-Try to hit the striped cue ball a little above the bottom edge of the stripe - not right on the edge at first. Don't try to hit lower to get more draw; hit the same spot with more speed. When you're better at it you can experiment with hitting higher and lower, harder and softer for different results.

- When practicing draw look at the cue ball last to help you be sure you're hitting it where you intend to (and your subconscious isn't getting in the way). Don't worry about making the shot; that can come later - concentrate on hitting the cue ball accurately.

- Check the striped cue ball after each shot to see if the chalk mark from your cue tip is where you intended to hit.

- Don't think about any of the voodoo stroke stuff you might hear about ("accelerating through the ball", etc.) - just try to stroke straight and true with good followthrough (just to keep your stroke straight) and hit the cue ball where you intend to.

- Only after you think you're hitting the cue ball fairly accurately, then use the progressive drill to improve control and track your progress. Keep using the striped cue ball and checking your chalk marks.

Hope this helps,

pj
chgo
 
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JimmyWhite said:
First of all, in order to draw long straight in shots you must have good fundamentals. If you are not fundamentally sound, then you must see an instructor to fix you up.

Assuming you have proper balance, stroke etc. there are a couple of drills I would suggest.

Watch the draw drill. Try to move the OB a diamond further once you have become better at this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ew4cXh6alJU

The control of the draw shot is much more important though, so here is a wicked drill which is very difficult but can help you a LOT. See these 6 spots on the table marked with a cross?
2qlz6nk.jpg


I know I didn't mark them up good, but I think you will understand where these 6 spots really are on the table. These 6 spots represent an imaginary rectangle. Now, take 6 balls, the 1-ball the 2-ball...all of them through the 6-ball. And place each one of them to each spot in a completely random order. Now, you have to run the table in rotation. The rules are simple: The cue ball must never go outside the rectangle, and each OB must be pocketed to its nearest pocket. (each pocket will receive one ball) This drill will teach you to stun and draw the CB with great control, because if you go outside the rectangle, well, you lose :p. Tip: think 3 shots ahead always, like you do in 9-ball.

Be patient with these drills, it takes time to learn how to do them properly.
Click to expand...

The appropriate username makes the post! :thumbup:
 
Pangit said:
I can't do it consistently, hard as I try. Shoot a little too hard, follow through a little too much, then it reverses me way out of shape. Shoot a little too soft, don't follow through so much and it's a stop shot and I'm snooked.

For the old hands, what are some good draw shot practice drills? The White ball's position is most important. And an "accurate" draw is something any pool player would love to have, I think.
Click to expand...

You hit below center with a slightly downward angle. Don't believe these low and level instructors, especially if you hate miscueing. Follow through as you would with any other shot - this is VERY important.

I like the progressive drills also.

The key, IMHO, of learning to draw consistently, is to IMAGINE the spin on the cueball after it has made contact. Once you can visualize that, drawing is a piece of cake compared to your old ways.

Good luck. WW
 
Learning is the key to a good stroke. How do you learn how to hit the cueball low and get the maximum from your stroke? Miscue a lot, each time you do it your body will learn the perameters of where it can and can't go. Don't miscue on purpose, but you should be pusing those limits, so miscues are inevitable.
 
Patrick Johnson said:
Draw doesn't take any figuring - like all of pool it's really simple to know what to do, just difficult to actually do it well.

What to do: hit the cue ball below center. That's really all there is to it. Problem is that's harder to do than you think. One reason is that your mind "flinches" at the possibility of scooping the ball and looking like a doofus, so it "steers" your stroke higher without you knowing it. That's why you can line up with your tip below center and inexplicably hit a stop shot.

Here's a coupla suggestions:

- Use a striped ball as the cue ball with the stripe horizontal. Use the stripe as a visible guide for how far you can hit from centerball without miscueing. On most kinds of balls the stripe is half as wide as the ball, and it so happens that the miscue limit is right about halfway from centerball to the ball's edge.

-Try to hit the striped cue ball a little above the bottom edge of the stripe - not right on the edge at first. Don't try to hit lower to get more draw; hit the same spot with more speed. When you're better at it you can experiment with hitting higher and lower, harder and softer for different results.

- When practicing draw look at the cue ball last to help you be sure you're hitting it where you intend to (and your subconscious isn't getting in the way). Don't worry about making the shot; that can come later - concentrate on hitting the cue ball accurately.

- Check the striped cue ball after each shot to see if the chalk mark from your cue tip is where you intended to hit.

- Don't think about any of the voodoo stroke stuff you might hear about ("accelerating through the ball", etc.) - just try to stroke straight and true with good followthrough (just to keep your stroke straight) and hit the cue ball where you intend to.

- Only after you think you're hitting the cue ball fairly accurately, then use the progressive drill to improve control and track your progress. Keep using the striped cue ball and checking your chalk marks.

Hope this helps,

pj
chgo
Click to expand...

Thanks. And thanks to all the PMs.
 
Pangit...Just FYI, how FAR you followthrough has NO bearing on how well, or how far, you can draw the CB. It doesn't matter if you followthrough 1/4" or 4 feet...if you have a good stroke, you can draw the ball...period. Your problems are related to an inconsistent stroke. Seek to cure that first...just drills (without the stroke knowledge) will not do it. Get some quality instruction. It's available...even in the Phillipines! :rolleyes:

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

Pangit said:
I can't do it consistently, hard as I try. Shoot a little too hard, follow through a little too much, then it reverses me way out of shape. Shoot a little too soft, don't follow through so much and it's a stop shot and I'm snooked.

For the old hands, what are some good draw shot practice drills? The White ball's position is most important. And an "accurate" draw is something any pool player would love to have, I think.
Click to expand...
 
PJ...Lots of good posts in this thread, and I like your quite well too! :thumbup:

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

Patrick Johnson said:
Draw doesn't take any figuring - like all of pool it's really simple to know what to do, just difficult to actually do it well.

What to do: hit the cue ball below center. That's really all there is to it. Problem is that's harder to do than you think. One reason is that your mind "flinches" at the possibility of scooping the ball and looking like a doofus, so it "steers" your stroke higher without you knowing it. That's why you can line up with your tip below center and inexplicably hit a stop shot.

Here's a coupla suggestions:

- Use a striped ball as the cue ball with the stripe horizontal. Use the stripe as a visible guide for how far you can hit from centerball without miscueing. On most kinds of balls the stripe is half as wide as the ball, and it so happens that the miscue limit is right about halfway from centerball to the ball's edge.

-Try to hit the striped cue ball a little above the bottom edge of the stripe - not right on the edge at first. Don't try to hit lower to get more draw; hit the same spot with more speed. When you're better at it you can experiment with hitting higher and lower, harder and softer for different results.

- When practicing draw look at the cue ball last to help you be sure you're hitting it where you intend to (and your subconscious isn't getting in the way). Don't worry about making the shot; that can come later - concentrate on hitting the cue ball accurately.

- Check the striped cue ball after each shot to see if the chalk mark from your cue tip is where you intended to hit.

- Don't think about any of the voodoo stroke stuff you might hear about ("accelerating through the ball", etc.) - just try to stroke straight and true with good followthrough (just to keep your stroke straight) and hit the cue ball where you intend to.

- Only after you think you're hitting the cue ball fairly accurately, then use the progressive drill to improve control and track your progress. Keep using the striped cue ball and checking your chalk marks.

Hope this helps,

pj
chgo
Click to expand...
 
Scott Lee said:
Pangit...Just FYI, how FAR you followthrough has NO bearing on how well, or how far, you can draw the CB. It doesn't matter if you followthrough 1/4" or 4 feet...if you have a good stroke, you can draw the ball...period. Your problems are related to an inconsistent stroke. Seek to cure that first...just drills (without the stroke knowledge) will not do it. Get some quality instruction. It's available...even in the Phillipines! :rolleyes:

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
Click to expand...

If you are talking about exaggerated follow thru being pointless, I agree. But if you are talking about follow thru itself, IMO it's absolutely paramount to a good stroke!
 
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