The single idea that will most improve your game - Voting Poll

Which of these ideas do you believe is the MOST USEFUL?

  • BE STILL – with the exceptions, of course, of your eyes and shooting arm.

    Votes: 12 8.9%

  • STAY DOWN –This one is similar to #1, but deserves a slot to itself.

    Votes: 29 21.5%

  • Treat EVERY SHOT with the same respect.

    Votes: 18 13.3%

  • Have a PRE-SHOT ROUTINE and follow it!

    Votes: 28 20.7%

  • Decide on the shot (speed, English), then make a COMMITMENT to the shot. Have a plan for every shot.

    Votes: 25 18.5%

  • Do the highest percentage thing that YOU KNOW HOW to do (not what Efren would do).

    Votes: 9 6.7%

  • Don’t let DISTRACTIONS cause you to lose focus. Stand up and go through your pre-shot routine agai

    Votes: 4 3.0%

  • HAVE FUN! – Remind yourself as a non-pro that you are playing pool primarily to have fun.

    Votes: 10 7.4%
  • Total voters
    135
BillPorter

BillPorter

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
After studying all the suggestions so graciously provided by my fellow AZBers, I eliminated those which included more than a single idea and those which were, to me, unclear. I also combined two or more suggestions where possible and removed the sources of the suggestions. I take full responsibility for all of these editing changes. Here are the 8 suggestions.
 
BillPorter said:
After studying all the suggestions so graciously provided by my fellow AZBers, I eliminated those which included more than a single idea and those which were, to me, unclear. I also combined two or more suggestions where possible and removed the sources of the suggestions. I take full responsibility for all of these editing changes. Here are the 8 suggestions.
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This is like what comes first, the chicken or the egg.

For example, you can have the best preshoot routine ever, and if move your head you are doomed.

Has anyone really considered why this is the case?

The inner ear has that fluid that maintains balance and if your head is moving even minutely during the shot, the chances or your success are greatly diminished. Keeping your head still helps build consistency in your stroke, eye movements, and everything else.

And oops, did I mention for that 8Ball character we have that keeping your head still will aid that quite eye. :D

It would be akin to trying to shoot clay pigeons from a moving train vs. standing still.

IMHO, this is step number one and everything else follows.

Mark Wilson had a great article is last month's Billiards Digest - about trying something new:

He said to not worry about making balls and just shoot. I call this Zen pool. I turn on some music, keep my head still, and just pocket balls with not one single thought except keeping my head still. Trust me, everything will follow. Of course with this I integrate my 15 ball drills: shoot with all top english for the first 15 balls and work your way around the cueball.

I am a ball banger and have tried everything, but this works best for me if I want to get into some sort of stroke :D
 
What if you don't have a clue....

...seriously, I have no clue as to what I do. I don't think I have a pre-shot routine, but if I do, I have been doing it so long that I couldn't tell you what it was. It is like sighting...I don't really consciously do anything. I just look at the balls, hit the cue and the object ball goes somewhere...every now and then, it goes in the hole.
Joe
 
buns

catscradle said:
You now have 51. I pulled your buns out of the fire. :)
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My buns are indeed grateful! Yep, with 50+ votes, I believe we can come to some conclusions about the most important things to keep in mind when playing pool. Thanks for your vote!
 
What helps me may not help the next guy but........

I shoot my best when I remember, once I am down on the ball (in position), I count to three in my head before I shoot.

I have a bad tendency (habit) to shoot too quick once down
 
me too

Jeff said:
What helps me may not help the next guy but........

I shoot my best when I remember, once I am down on the ball (in position), I count to three in my head before I shoot.

I have a bad tendency (habit) to shoot too quick once down
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I sometimes shoot so quickly that I am led to say, "It went off in my hand." In my local pool hall there is a guy who I'll call Sammy. He is notorious for shoot WAY too fast, often with no warm up storkes at all. So when one of us shoots way too quickly, we say he pulled a Sammy.:)
 
CaptainHook said:
I Voted Stay Down.
And my Wife Loves me for it.:D :D :D
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I voted for Stay Down because my league teammates always tell me AFTER I miss a shot I shouldn't have, that I jumped up as soon as I stroked the cueball.

BTW CaptainHook, your avatar makes my shaft feel funny in my hands ;) !!

Maniac
 
With 64 votes having been cast, can we conclude that...

I think we can conclude that FOUR suggestions have survived from the 30+ original suggestions. First, having and following a good pre-shot routine received substantial and well-deserved support. It would be hard to think of any top player that doesn't go through a consistent pre-shot routine. Second, the poll highlighted the importance of staying down on the shot, including overall body stillness. Third is the suggestion that we should make a commitment to shoot the shot the way we decided to shoot it while standing at the table. A lack of commitment, or indecision, is the cause of many a miss, often due to a last second twist of the wrist or other movement as we try to steer the cue instead of delivering a smooth, quality stroke. Fourth, the poll suggests that we should respect every shot, even the apparently easy ones. As Luther Lassiter once pointed out, there are no easy shots. Just two nights ago my opponent in an 8-ball tournament missed a ball-in-hand shot and let me run out for the win. I repeat, he missed a ball-in-hand shot, and this was after having run a rack in the prior game.

My thanks to all of you who contributed suggestions in this endeavor. I think it was a worthwhile exercise and may well help someone out there with their pool game. And isn't that part of the reason this forum exists?:)
 
It's not on the list, but for me it is being around good players, there is an osmoses effect of some kind getting around top players, you just pick it up and don't even realize it is happening. I remember being the best player where I played and then began going to a really good room a few town over. After a year hanging around there my game was through the roof. It would never have happened just practicing in a mediocre environment no matter what I did. there is no substitute for it.
 
macguy said:
It's not on the list, but for me it is being around good players, there is an osmoses effect of some kind getting around top players, you just pick it up and don't even realize it is happening. I remember being the best player where I played and then began going to a really good room a few town over. After a year hanging around there my game was through the roof. It would never have happened just practicing in a mediocre environment no matter what I did. there is no substitute for it.
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Very impressive notion. I'll keep that in mind. I also think very good players have a different attitude to them than the mediocre show offs, and that will motivate ya to improve.
 
Great thread. I think the time horizon for improvement is the key here. Improvement of one's fundamentals cannot happen overnight. I think the right choices have been made in the poll if long-term immprovement is what is sought.

Contrastingly, if somebody asked me what is the best chance they have of improving their play in the very short-term, I think my advice would be closest to the choice:

Do the highest percentage thing that YOU KNOW HOW to do (not what Efren would do).

Doing a better job of personalizing and sticking to the percentages is an adjustment that can be made very quickly, and it pays instant and significant dividends. Just a thought.

Again, though, for long-term imporvement, I'm aligned with what others have suggested in the poll.
 
be more aware of speed control. imo it's the key to playing the best game you can.
 
lewdo26 said:
Very impressive notion. I'll keep that in mind. I also think very good players have a different attitude to them than the mediocre show offs, and that will motivate ya to improve.
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I remember reading a sports psychology book years ago and they talked about the super heavyweight lifter Vasily Alexeev the first man to lift 500 lb. He didn't think he could do it until his trainer tricked him and put 500 on the bar without him knowing it. Once the mental barrier was removed he went on to lift 560 lbs. Also once the 500 lb barrier was broken every super heavyweight did it.


Success breeds success and it is the same with what ever you do I don't care if you are a salesman or what ever. Being around losers will keep you down, in this case just bad players that may not take the game seriously. I remember reading Jack Nicholas saying he never hit a shot where he didn't try. You just have to be in a more serious atmosphere if you want to reach your best potential. In my opinion anyway.
 
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