Tips for beginners?

thefreethinker3 said:
Hello guys, I've just come to love billiards 3 months ago. I've been playing every weekend ever since but can't seem to take my level a notch higher. Any tips for beginners like me?

Thank you very much :)
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Several people have recommended my online resources (billiards.colostate.edu) and my instructional products (dr-dave-billiards.com).

If you want to know a good place to start as a novice player, I would recommend the following:

Also, as others have suggested, a lesson with a qualified and experienced instructor can make a big difference.

Good luck,
Dave
 
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Here's a tip not just for beginners, but for everybody;

Build a simple, reliable stroke and let the wrist release on every normal shot.

It took me many, many years to come to that conclusion. The only thing that should change on regular shots is the speed of your stroke and tip position. Use every tip position imaginable because after years of practice you will need to know them all.

This is not the case with very slow shots, like push outs, or shots without follow through. For these shots just draw the cue back an inch and push through.
 
naji said:
Hello, i highlighted your text above, it sounds like you are new to the game and still listen to what people say. You say fundamentals, do you know that every shot has its own fundamentals, sure there are a lot of shots that use same fundamentals
My friend, there is at least 4000 possibilities of shots on table, if one does not know how to shoot them all by learning how, there is no way in hell the balls will be pocketed, sure after a while you get used to applying the check list to each shot quickly, like an airplane pilot before he flys an airplane he goes into written check list to make sure all ok, if he depends on his memory or subconscious yes he might get lucky and land safely, other wise ...
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I'm not really new to the game, I just kinda... trained myself. I don't regret it and I wouldn't change the fact I created my own style and strategies myself for anything. Anyway, sounds like we could learn a lot from each other.

I wouldn't compare pool and piloting. A cannon in the middle of a battlefield would be a much better example. If the artillery crew is trained well enough, it can hit almost any target despite the range, weather, conditions etc. If they lack experience and skill, they'll miss many targets, especially in the situations I mentioned. However, those missed shots must land somewhere. Sometimes they'll land in the middle of nowhere, sometimes they'll hit friendly soldiers, sometimes they'll hit another enemy. In quite a few situations they can hit some enemy targets the army didn't even know they' were there and could never hit them intentionally. A crucial hit like that can deal a finishing blow to the enemy forces and bring you an unexpected yet great victory. I hope you understand the metaphor...
 
Patrick Johnson said:
Do you mean:

- keep it relaxed?
- move it forward to add speed/touch?
- something else?

pj
chgo
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To relax the wrist to allow it to hinge forward on the follow through.

My habit was clutching the cue and keeping the wrist immobile, more of a stabbing motion than a stroking motion. I felt like it gave me better control. I still played pretty good that way, but I play better by allowing a relaxed release. I think this lack of movement was holding me back a bit, more like I was steering the tip instead of aiming the tip.

I've noticed some players can play pretty well with that stabbing motion - think Tang Hoa and Morro Paez. Shane and Ronnie Alcano are pretty good examples of a relaxed wrist.

For me, with a relaxed wrist, he results are more predictible. I get more action with less effort. I have fewer miscues and the nerves are steadier.

I still occassionally stab at the cue ball but it's getting to be less and less.
 
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Patrick Johnson said:
As soon as you're convinced it's not a passing phase but a full blown addiction, get a "fundamentals" lesson: stance, stroke, grip, bridge. Trying to figure out what needs fixing by yourself is like trying to cut your own hair without a mirror. You need other, knowledgable eyes - not just some guy who shoots good, but a coach/instructor. Then you'll know what to practice for the next 20 years.

pj
chgo
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This is not based on facts but just your personal opinion. Many good players have never taken one lesson. They might learn some things from other players, which is a big help but no one needs to pay for instructions to become a good player, and thats based on facts. I will agree you will become a better player faster with the right help though. I never had a lesson from anyone and was a good player within three years.
 
backplaying said:
This is not based on facts but just your personal opinion. Many good players have never taken one lesson. They might learn some things from other players, which is a big help but no one needs to pay for instructions to become a good player, and thats based on facts. I will agree you will become a better player faster with the right help though. I never had a lesson from anyone and was a good player within three years.
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Why did it take you so long?;)

randyg
 
randyg said:
Why did it take you so long?;)

randyg
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I've been playing seriously for six years now (forty years before that as an every-once-in-a-while player), have had the three day class taught by you, watched countless hours of video, read many books/magazine articles on pool, et cetera, et cetera, and am STILL not what I would call a good pool player.

Some people just cannot "get there" no matter what they do or how hard they work at it.

Maniac (knows HIS place in the pool food chain :embarrassed2:)
 
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Patrick Johnson said:
As soon as you're convinced it's not a passing phase but a full blown addiction, get a "fundamentals" lesson: stance, stroke, grip, bridge. Trying to figure out what needs fixing by yourself is like trying to cut your own hair without a mirror. You need other, knowledgable eyes - not just some guy who shoots good, but a coach/instructor. Then you'll know what to practice for the next 20 years.

pj
chgo
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Couldn't agree more. This is the best way to decrease the learning curve, and it will help you avoid developing bad habits that will be hard to break later.
 
Maniac said:
I've been playing seriously for six years now (forty years before that as an every-once-in-a-while player), have had the three day class taught by you, watched countless hours of video, read many books/magazine articles on pool, et cetera, et cetera, and am STILL not what I would call a good pool player.

Some people just cannot "get there" no matter what they do or how hard they work at it.

Maniac (knows HIS place in the pool food chain :embarrassed2:)
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This is also true and based on facts.
 
Patrick Johnson said:
LOL. So what exactly do you disagree with?
pj
chgo
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Almost everything you stated. It does not take a instructor to make a good player. I would bet the majority of top players for the last 100 years never paid for one lesson. Take both of us, I would bet a large amount that if we had two people of egual natural talent that played at a B level, I could teach mine to play better than you could yours, based on the fact that I most likely play much better than you.
 
Me:
...what exactly do you disagree with?
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backplaying:
Almost everything you stated. It does not take a instructor to make a good player.
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Then that's a bad start, since I didn't state that.

I most likely play much better than you.
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Congratulations, I guess. Unfortunately that doesn't seem to always correlate with knowing much.

pj
chgo
 
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Maniac said:
I've been playing seriously for six years now (forty years before that as an every-once-in-a-while player), have had the three day class taught by you, watched countless hours of video, read many books/magazine articles on pool, et cetera, et cetera, and am STILL not what I would call a good pool player.

Some people just cannot "get there" no matter what they do or how hard they work at it.

Maniac (knows HIS place in the pool food chain :embarrassed2:)
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I highlighted your words in RED, you are dead wrong, i was like you thinking the same for 25 years, brought the table at home about 7 years ago, did not have much time to practice when i bought it, but last 2 years i made a commitment to get deep into pool, finally discovered how much pool knowledge i was missing, a lot.
Unfortunately, my time does not allow me to compete in tournaments, but on local level money games, it shows how much better i got.
Pat is 100% correct, seek an instructor help who tells you stuff you never knew lots of secrets to this game. Best of luck.
 
backplaying said:
Almost everything you stated. It does not take a instructor to make a good player. I would bet the majority of top players for the last 100 years never paid for one lesson. Take both of us, I would bet a large amount that if we had two people of egual natural talent that played at a B level, I could teach mine to play better than you could yours, based on the fact that I most likely play much better than you.
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My definition of good player is not based on winning games of pool, it is based on pocketing ability. That is how you compare two players knowledge. Mainly due to luck factor.

In pool there is about 4000 different possibilities of shots that one has to master the systematic way of making them; if a player been working without a good knowledgeable instructor, he or she will lack some consistency in areas where it demands good feed back.

I watched Fu, Che-Wei play Denis Orcollo yesterday in Japan open, my God what pocketing skill Che-Wei has, watch the game, good to know what shots other players shy away from!
 
backplaying said:
This is not based on facts but just your personal opinion. Many good players have never taken one lesson. They might learn some things from other players, which is a big help but no one needs to pay for instructions to become a good player, and thats based on facts. I will agree you will become a better player faster with the right help though. I never had a lesson from anyone and was a good player within three years.
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I agree completely. If you develop as a player all by yourself you might "miss" some knowledge you'd acquire if you were taught by an instructor, but at the same time you learn unique skills and tricks other players could never teach you. You adapt the game of pool to your own capabilities, way of thinking, shooting etc. You become aware of your strenghts and weaknesses and your experience in development allows you to instinctively notice "flaws" in your opponent's game. One more thing: players who were taught by instructors mostly play by well-known and predictable patterns. With time, you'll learn to recognize those patterns and counter them. On the other hand, your playstyle is unique and your opponents will know nothing about it, no matter how good they are. They won't be able to predict your next move, know what shots you're more likely to hit, and they won't have a clue about your way of thinking and planning. They'll be unsure about what to play next and what they should be afraid of, which inevitably leads to un unstable defense. When you combine all of that, you can deliver a big surprise in every match which will utterly shock your opponent and leave them on the back foot from the start.

naji said:
My definition of good player is not based on winning games of pool, it is based on pocketing ability. That is how you compare two players knowledge. Mainly due to luck factor.

In pool there is about 4000 different possibilities of shots that one has to master the systematic way of making them; if a player been working without a good knowledgeable instructor, he or she will lack some consistency in areas where it demands good feed back.

I watched Fu, Che-Wei play Denis Orcollo yesterday in Japan open, my God what pocketing skill Che-Wei has, watch the game, good to know what shots other players shy away from!
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I wouldn't define a better player by pocketing ability. Their precision in CB control and pocketing is only their technical skill. However, there is also a strategic aspect of the game, and the ability to "abuse" laws of probability. All those aspects are responsible for your win/loss ratio. That would lead to the conclusion that the better player is the one with more victories in matches.
 
naji:
...lots of secrets to this game.
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I don't believe there are any "secrets". Everything you need to know is simple, straightforward and makes common sense. Most of the "secrets" we hear about are misunderstood and for sale.

pj
chgo
 
thefreethinker3 said:
Hello guys, I've just come to love billiards 3 months ago. I've been playing every weekend ever since but can't seem to take my level a notch higher. Any tips for beginners like me?

Thank you very much :)
Click to expand...

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