TheThaiger
Banned
To be fair, he is a scouser, who everybody has difficulty understanding...
Anyway, anyone care to answer the question - What advantage will holding the cue in a V shaped wedge give me?
"The Secret Art of Pool" - Lee Brett's NEW Book!
- Thread starter levartze
- Start date
To be fair, he is a scouser, who everybody has difficulty understanding...
Anyway, anyone care to answer the question - What advantage will holding the cue in a V shaped wedge give me?
Yes, it helps to prevent wrist movement..
I've been using a V shaped wedge for many years, not sure if it's the same thing Lee is talking about though.
If you hold your fingers together with your thumb so that it makes a "V" it does TWO things.
1) It aids in preventing unnecessary wrist movement
2) It helps to prevent trying to force the cue through the CB, It helps you to let the cue do the work.
In order to get the benefit though, the "V" has to point towards the ground during the stroke.
Jaden
I've been using a V shaped wedge for many years, not sure if it's the same thing Lee is talking about though.
If you hold your fingers together with your thumb so that it makes a "V" it does TWO things.
1) It aids in preventing unnecessary wrist movement
2) It helps to prevent trying to force the cue through the CB, It helps you to let the cue do the work.
In order to get the benefit though, the "V" has to point towards the ground during the stroke.
Jaden
Haven't read his book yet...
I find that it's helpful to pinch the thumb between the middle and fore fingers to give the illusion of a tight grip, It allows you to feel secure while holding the cue loosely and letting it do the work for you.
Jaden
I find that it's helpful to pinch the thumb between the middle and fore fingers to give the illusion of a tight grip, It allows you to feel secure while holding the cue loosely and letting it do the work for you.
Jaden
i just bought the book and i still don't get exactly the V grip. also the pressure applied from index to thumb can vary, which makes the grip and feel totally different.
I'm also more of a visual person.
I definitely need to see a video on the grip. when is it coming out?
I'm also more of a visual person.
I definitely need to see a video on the grip. when is it coming out?
The DVD is almost complete, Mark will post on here once its available.. hopefully next couple of weeks.
Thanks Lee
Borrowed the book "au gratis" on my Kindle fire.
I have been playing for over twenty years....but took about a 15 year break in the middle.
Now older, wiser, wider, bald, a dad, and a mortgage in tow...I find myself with the time and desire to play again. Back in the 80's and early 90's there was no real way to improve other than to put time in. No internet means you have no idea (based on reviews) of which books are better or worse. As such, we all just played. I was never that great, just enjoyed playing.
Jump to the past October when I started playing again. Now with all this information at my fingertips (amazon with book reviews, AZB with advice...and a new awareness of what cues really cost at the high end) I decided to improve my game. Winning a tournament would be a blast, but for now...if I can just be better than everyone else I play with...well that'll be all right.
I took 3 lessons with a BCA instructor...Each one was about a month apart. After each lesson I was so noticeably better is was crazy. But after a week of the lesson, without any actual natural talent, I would fall back into old habits. I couldn't remember what fundamentals I needed to improve on. I told the instructor I wanted to bring a notebook as I realize what was missing was a hard adherence to fundamentals (pre shot routine, stance, grip, stroke, aiming...).
The best video to date I have seen on these fundamentals was Mike Sigel's Perfect Pool set. It really sounded like the lesson. But was a bit fluffy with banter. That guy with Mike was like a circus monkey dancing around tirelessly and interrupting Mike every two minutes. I don't think Mike Sigel could have done it on his own as the other guy helped keep the video on a specific track, but he could have toned it down a bit. I thought he was gonna punch his fist into the pool table and try to sell me the Slap Chop.
So...this book by Lee Brett is near perfect in my opinion. I think it makes some basic assumptions about your game. But it's well done. The way it's written is, to me, very clean, clear, and concise. It might be missing a few things, but that can always be expanded upon at a later edition.
My review for this book is simple. I borrowed it for free on my Kindle, and then paid 30.00 for the actual book. I'm a pretty cheap guy, so wanting to actually buy this book says a lot.
Lee? Well done. I think the book is indeed a bit short for the 30.00 price tag...maybe a 20.00 price tag might actually sell more copies. But one could argue that the book is just as informative as a 300 page book, just doesn't have all the banter and stories that other books have. It's like a plate of vegetables...it might not be as good as a nice cheeseburger...but it has everything you need and nothing you don't.
I'm eagerly awaiting the DVD. If it's as good as the book it will be the best thing to come along that I am aware of. But with many instructional DVDs the editing is so poorly done that it sometimes detracts from the actual content. Let's keep our fingers crossed.
So...the book? Just get it. Borrow it for free if you can. $29.99 is a lot of money for a small book. Oh...if I had one complaint? ...Even books from 200 years ago have page numbers. I know it seems irrelevant, but I would like to see page numbers.
Other than that, fantastic. Wish you lived close and gave cheap lessons. lol
I have been playing for over twenty years....but took about a 15 year break in the middle.
Now older, wiser, wider, bald, a dad, and a mortgage in tow...I find myself with the time and desire to play again. Back in the 80's and early 90's there was no real way to improve other than to put time in. No internet means you have no idea (based on reviews) of which books are better or worse. As such, we all just played. I was never that great, just enjoyed playing.Jump to the past October when I started playing again. Now with all this information at my fingertips (amazon with book reviews, AZB with advice...and a new awareness of what cues really cost at the high end) I decided to improve my game. Winning a tournament would be a blast, but for now...if I can just be better than everyone else I play with...well that'll be all right.
I took 3 lessons with a BCA instructor...Each one was about a month apart. After each lesson I was so noticeably better is was crazy. But after a week of the lesson, without any actual natural talent, I would fall back into old habits. I couldn't remember what fundamentals I needed to improve on. I told the instructor I wanted to bring a notebook as I realize what was missing was a hard adherence to fundamentals (pre shot routine, stance, grip, stroke, aiming...).
The best video to date I have seen on these fundamentals was Mike Sigel's Perfect Pool set. It really sounded like the lesson. But was a bit fluffy with banter. That guy with Mike was like a circus monkey dancing around tirelessly and interrupting Mike every two minutes. I don't think Mike Sigel could have done it on his own as the other guy helped keep the video on a specific track, but he could have toned it down a bit. I thought he was gonna punch his fist into the pool table and try to sell me the Slap Chop.
So...this book by Lee Brett is near perfect in my opinion. I think it makes some basic assumptions about your game. But it's well done. The way it's written is, to me, very clean, clear, and concise. It might be missing a few things, but that can always be expanded upon at a later edition.
My review for this book is simple. I borrowed it for free on my Kindle, and then paid 30.00 for the actual book. I'm a pretty cheap guy, so wanting to actually buy this book says a lot.
Lee? Well done. I think the book is indeed a bit short for the 30.00 price tag...maybe a 20.00 price tag might actually sell more copies. But one could argue that the book is just as informative as a 300 page book, just doesn't have all the banter and stories that other books have. It's like a plate of vegetables...it might not be as good as a nice cheeseburger...but it has everything you need and nothing you don't.
I'm eagerly awaiting the DVD. If it's as good as the book it will be the best thing to come along that I am aware of. But with many instructional DVDs the editing is so poorly done that it sometimes detracts from the actual content. Let's keep our fingers crossed.
So...the book? Just get it. Borrow it for free if you can. $29.99 is a lot of money for a small book. Oh...if I had one complaint? ...Even books from 200 years ago have page numbers. I know it seems irrelevant, but I would like to see page numbers.
Other than that, fantastic. Wish you lived close and gave cheap lessons. lol
Borrowed the book "au gratis" on my Kindle fire.
I have been playing for over twenty years....but took about a 15 year break in the middle.
Jump to the past October when I started playing again. Now with all this information at my fingertips (amazon with book reviews, AZB with advice...and a new awareness of what cues really cost at the high end) I decided to improve my game. Winning a tournament would be a blast, but for now...if I can just be better than everyone else I play with...well that'll be all right.
I took 3 lessons with a BCA instructor...Each one was about a month apart. After each lesson I was so noticeably better is was crazy. But after a week of the lesson, without any actual natural talent, I would fall back into old habits. I couldn't remember what fundamentals I needed to improve on. I told the instructor I wanted to bring a notebook as I realize what was missing was a hard adherence to fundamentals (pre shot routine, stance, grip, stroke, aiming...).
The best video to date I have seen on these fundamentals was Mike Sigel's Perfect Pool set. It really sounded like the lesson. But was a bit fluffy with banter. That guy with Mike was like a circus monkey dancing around tirelessly and interrupting Mike every two minutes. I don't think Mike Sigel could have done it on his own as the other guy helped keep the video on a specific track, but he could have toned it down a bit. I thought he was gonna punch his fist into the pool table and try to sell me the Slap Chop.
So...this book by Lee Brett is near perfect in my opinion. I think it makes some basic assumptions about your game. But it's well done. The way it's written is, to me, very clean, clear, and concise. It might be missing a few things, but that can always be expanded upon at a later edition.
My review for this book is simple. I borrowed it for free on my Kindle, and then paid 30.00 for the actual book. I'm a pretty cheap guy, so wanting to actually buy this book says a lot.
Lee? Well done. I think the book is indeed a bit short for the 30.00 price tag...maybe a 20.00 price tag might actually sell more copies. But one could argue that the book is just as informative as a 300 page book, just doesn't have all the banter and stories that other books have. It's like a plate of vegetables...it might not be as good as a nice cheeseburger...but it has everything you need and nothing you don't.
I'm eagerly awaiting the DVD. If it's as good as the book it will be the best thing to come along that I am aware of. But with many instructional DVDs the editing is so poorly done that it sometimes detracts from the actual content. Let's keep our fingers crossed.
So...the book? Just get it. Borrow it for free if you can. $29.99 is a lot of money for a small book. Oh...if I had one complaint? ...Even books from 200 years ago have page numbers. I know it seems irrelevant, but I would like to see page numbers.
Other than that, fantastic. Wish you lived close and gave cheap lessons. lol
I like your post quite a bit. Mainly because I have always thought that when I teach that the information that the student learns is soon forgotten. I make it a practice after even a short lesson to go over the main deficiencies and tell the student to concentrate on making those instructions a habit which takes approximately a month to develop.
Nice, positive and candid remarks about Coach Lee Brett's new book. Yes, he could add page numbers.
I like your post quite a bit. Mainly because I have always thought that when I teach that the information that the student learns is soon forgotten. I make it a practice after even a short lesson to go over the main deficiencies and tell the student to concentrate on making those instructions a habit which takes approximately a month to develop.
Nice, positive and candid remarks about Coach Lee Brett's new book. Yes, he could add page numbers.
I learned a long, long time ago that an ability to excel at anything doesn't immediately mean you can teach. I can play guitar fairly well, but I had to defer my son to an actual instructor as I don't have what it takes to convey what I know into an understandable format. Likewise, Reyes might be the "magician" when it comes to playing, but maybe not so good a teacher.
So it can be said, with a think a degree of certainty, that the best players rarely make the best teachers. I think the ability to teach another person anything at all is in itself a skill. I have been around many great players (lost to most of them), and have had them show me a thing or two. But they tend to be so far advanced in their game that they are unaware of simple fundamentals that they take for granted and/or perform naturally that someone like myself does not. Because of this, they might show me where to hit the cue ball for a specific draw...but will miss the fact that my grip, stance, and stroke might be so fundamentally broken that I could NEVER make the shot they are showing me due to problems that are almost too basic for them to see.
To specifically address a point you made JoeyA regarding lessons. It's not so much that I forget, I remember my stroke was wrong, my grip was too tight, and my head wasn't over the cue...but trying to coordinate all of that based soley on memory...forget about it. lol So having this book with me...I don't know, it just sticks. Like learning the multiplication tables. After a while you don't think about it...you just learn it. Now...having the words doesn't mean I get anything right. But I now am forming a mental checklist in my head. And I try to use it for each shot. it seems so laborious, slow, tedious, unnecessary, ...almost punishingly redundant. But then...I generally have a 6 or 7 ball run on a night of 8 ball as my greatest accomplishment. So..obviously I'm missing something.
When I spend all the time doing all the things that I feel are tediuous...it pays off. Not over the long haul, but we're talking immediate dividends. And when I deviate from that tedious routine, the results are immediate and in the other direction. I am sure with time and patience it won't be a tedious checklist, but rather a habit. A non-thinking procedure. And I'll get there eventually.
When I took my first lessons I thought I needed work with understanding english and draw and when to use it. And once I grasped those advanced concepts my game would send me to a new level. I had NO IDEA that something as simple as where I put my head, how tight I hold the cue, or staying down after the shot would change my game so much so quickly. And honestly...when I play by Lee's book...I am twice as good as ever. And that's just forcing myself to adhere to the fundamentals.
I think, in a nutshell, this is why I felt compelled to endorse and give praise to this book. There are LOTS of books on getting better. Everyone probably has a dozen or so. And there are the classics 99 Critical Shots, Byrne's, etc. But I strongly feel that Lee Brett's book not only deserves to be in that same category as classic must-read pool instruction literature, but that a book like this is LONG overdue. Moreover, that you should read this very book before any other book.
One problem may be that a lot of people think they are better than they really are. One guy I play with has the wierdest form. he pokes down at the ball...never heard of english, things draw and follow are stupid, and that a safety is a *expletive deleted* way to play. Yet, in spite of all these shortcomings in his knowledge and especially in his fundamentals, he can sometimes run 5 or 6 balls in 8 ball. I often wonder how good he would be if he just read Lee Brett's book with an open mind. ...But since he's not on my team...screw him. hehe ,,,My point here is, I would bet a C note that this guy thinks he knows more than this book has to offer. he's bamboolzed himself!
Well that was a mindless ramble.
Get Lee's book. And JoeyA? I wish you lived near Cape Cod so I could take lessons from ya.
Glen
Borrowed the book "au gratis" on my Kindle fire.
I have been playing for over twenty years....but took about a 15 year break in the middle.
Jump to the past October when I started playing again. Now with all this information at my fingertips (amazon with book reviews, AZB with advice...and a new awareness of what cues really cost at the high end) I decided to improve my game. Winning a tournament would be a blast, but for now...if I can just be better than everyone else I play with...well that'll be all right.
I took 3 lessons with a BCA instructor...Each one was about a month apart. After each lesson I was so noticeably better is was crazy. But after a week of the lesson, without any actual natural talent, I would fall back into old habits. I couldn't remember what fundamentals I needed to improve on. I told the instructor I wanted to bring a notebook as I realize what was missing was a hard adherence to fundamentals (pre shot routine, stance, grip, stroke, aiming...).
The best video to date I have seen on these fundamentals was Mike Sigel's Perfect Pool set. It really sounded like the lesson. But was a bit fluffy with banter. That guy with Mike was like a circus monkey dancing around tirelessly and interrupting Mike every two minutes. I don't think Mike Sigel could have done it on his own as the other guy helped keep the video on a specific track, but he could have toned it down a bit. I thought he was gonna punch his fist into the pool table and try to sell me the Slap Chop.
So...this book by Lee Brett is near perfect in my opinion. I think it makes some basic assumptions about your game. But it's well done. The way it's written is, to me, very clean, clear, and concise. It might be missing a few things, but that can always be expanded upon at a later edition.
My review for this book is simple. I borrowed it for free on my Kindle, and then paid 30.00 for the actual book. I'm a pretty cheap guy, so wanting to actually buy this book says a lot.
Lee? Well done. I think the book is indeed a bit short for the 30.00 price tag...maybe a 20.00 price tag might actually sell more copies. But one could argue that the book is just as informative as a 300 page book, just doesn't have all the banter and stories that other books have. It's like a plate of vegetables...it might not be as good as a nice cheeseburger...but it has everything you need and nothing you don't.
I'm eagerly awaiting the DVD. If it's as good as the book it will be the best thing to come along that I am aware of. But with many instructional DVDs the editing is so poorly done that it sometimes detracts from the actual content. Let's keep our fingers crossed.
So...the book? Just get it. Borrow it for free if you can. $29.99 is a lot of money for a small book. Oh...if I had one complaint? ...Even books from 200 years ago have page numbers. I know it seems irrelevant, but I would like to see page numbers.
Other than that, fantastic. Wish you lived close and gave cheap lessons. lol
i agree, i'm trying to make the book a lot cheaper for everyone to learn from and help with their game. 2nd edition will be advanced version with all the fluff
I like your post quite a bit. Mainly because I have always thought that when I teach that the information that the student learns is soon forgotten. I make it a practice after even a short lesson to go over the main deficiencies and tell the student to concentrate on making those instructions a habit which takes approximately a month to develop.
Nice, positive and candid remarks about Coach Lee Brett's new book. Yes, he could add page numbers.
Joey i can't count
Glen
you are my number 1 fan,
and if its ok to place your quotes on my new website.. Some amazing comments and i thank you for that.. makes me feel special, but all i am is trying to help others and pass my gift on, and teach people what i was born with, but have the worse temperament in the world, so i teach DVD will be available very soon.
regards Lee
Man, I really want to go to Cape Cod. Is there a good pool scene there?
Yes, also a Nook for the computer. But it would be much easier/convenient for me on the Nook as I actually have a Nook basic bought for me as a Christmas present
And, I might add, It's the NUTS!
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Bfdlad - Cape Cod Pool Scene? Not much of one at all. I think there are two places on the cape to play. One is over in Yarmouth, but I think it's more a bar from what I am told. Maybe not. Over in Wareham there is place that has really nice and clean 9 foot tables, a league, and tournaments. But for the most part the pool scene down here is fairly small.
Lee, by all means please take whatever I said and use it as you wish. It would be my pleasure to help you out since your book has helped me out.
Lee, by all means please take whatever I said and use it as you wish. It would be my pleasure to help you out since your book has helped me out.