The "Sike out" stroke.

Sore_Aintya

Sore_Aintya

Donating money since 1985
Silver Member
Going to do my best to explain this so bear with me.

I know a guy that, when he strokes, always aims extreme left on the cue ball. 3, 5, 12 practice swings and everyone is extreme left. Then on the actual stroke he hits low, high, center, left or right depending on the shot.

At first I thought he was trying to "sike" me out or make it look like he didn't know what he was doing. I mean he is so extremely out of line on his practice strokes that it looks like he would miss the object ball entirely!

I have watching him for many years and that's just how he strokes. The guy is no slouch either, usually the best stick in the house and is the blind pick 99% of the time in Calcutta.

Ive asked him about it many times but he says he don't understand what I am talking about (he is kinda hard to talk to about things like that as he is always looking for a money game and downs plays his ability ever chance he gets).

Does anybody else do this? Am I missing something here? What would be the benefit of aiming so out of line, then correcting yourself at the very last second of contact?
 
Sore_Aintya said:
I know a guy that, when he strokes, always aims extreme left on the cue ball. 3, 5, 12 practice swings and everyone is extreme left. Then on the actual stroke he hits low, high, center, left or right depending on the shot.
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Does your friend happen to be Bustamante?
 
A lot of filipinos address the cueball well below where they intend to hit it, almost on the cloth sometimes. I think someone said it helps them sight the shot better. Your friend might just be loosening his arm with his practice strokes and stroking on one side to aim without the cue interfering with his view.
 
I have seen this too- I wonder if these people are emulating some great of the past. Hoping Freddie or Grady chime in...
 
jsp said:
Does your friend happen to be Bustamante?
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lol nope.

First few times I played him back in the late 90's, it seemed he was throwing every ball in with such extreme side English. Only after watching him for weeks was I able to see this wasn't the case.

Cant see how it is a "sighting" issue either. He is one of those people that don't get down on the ball, kind of just leans over the table when he shoots. That's a whole other subject. I cant see how guys like that are able to see shots when they are pretty much just standing up while they shoot.:confused:
 
i do almost the same thing sometimes i swoop to hit center on my last stroke or whatever english i want to use or the point and pivot, to whatever english then from there i hit the cueball when my tip is. I once had someone ask me are you using right hand english when you are breaking as i do it there looks like i am putting right english on the cueball but swoop to the center the moment of impact.
 
I have two close friends, who both play JAM-UP, and have querks like this. One - he does exactly that, always looks like he's putting extreme left english on the QB. The other, winds his stroke-arm like he was peddling a bycicle... last stroke however is a smooth one.
I think this might be good for their mental game, gives them something to focus on (even if it is habbit by now) on a subconsious level. Overall I think it holds players back - especially when the pressure gets on... unless you've REALLY got it on lock, and can hit that QB flawlessly.
 
bud green said:
A lot of filipinos address the cueball well below where they intend to hit it, almost on the cloth sometimes.
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The few times I've watched Danny Basavich play, he seems to do the opposite... aim high on his practice strokes despite whatever aim he uses for the actual hit.

When I'm actually in stroke (which isn't very often), I noticed that I aim low on my practice strokes, with the tip hitting the cloth. I haven't figured out why it helps me, but for some reason it does.

Despite my being a white guy, I have also been told that I have a "Filipino stroke", with my back arm moving a lot, not very pendulum-like. I wonder if that has anything to do with my low-aim on practice strokes. Maybe when the tip hits the cloth, it gives me a reference point to keep my wild back arm calibrated. :confused:
 
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Cuebacca said:
The few times I've watched Danny Basavich play, he seems to do the opposite... aim high on his practice strokes despite whatever aim he uses for the actual hit.

When I'm actually in stroke (which isn't very often), I noticed that I aim low on my practice strokes, with the tip hitting the cloth. I haven't figured out why it helps me, but for some reason it does.

Despite my being a white guy, I have also been told that I have a "Filipino stroke", with my back arm moving a lot, not very pendulum-like. I wonder if that has anything to do with my low-aim on practice strokes. Maybe when the tip hits the cloth, it gives me a reference point to keep my wild back arm calibrated. :confused:
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Exactly, i seen him do the same thing aims very high then slowly moves down to the center of the cueball.
 
TheConArtist said:
Exactly, i seen him do the same thing aims very high then slowly moves down to the center of the cueball.
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I think the word you want is "Psych".

I've heard the theory to always aim low on the cue ball for all shots, on the basis that this keeps as much of the cue tip out of the way for aiming as possible.
 
AuntyDan said:
I think the word you want is "Psych".

I've heard the theory to always aim low on the cue ball for all shots, on the basis that this keeps as much of the cue tip out of the way for aiming as possible.
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I heard or read somewhere this is why Francisco aims really low on the cueball somewhat pointing at the cloth, so he can see everything. The reason i do it is i am aiming contact point to contact point sorta gives me the correct alignment where the ghostball should be
 
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