to precise realy

[Popeye31]

So I was told today I was being to precise on my shots. Really is there such a thing . I asked what's wrong with being Precise . he said nothing if you want to be a pro. Au dude I would love to be a pro. Im normally a 5 tonight I was on top my game .id say a 50. Playing 9 ball, I made a combo with a carom combo won the game and called it. ya right calling a shot in 9 ball well I did. the winnings didn't stop. it was 10 games before I lost. and it wasn't small time wins a few break and runs and a few runs that left me saying did I just do that . I was on point tonight . when they say You played the best game of your life well I think I spent it on a no money fun games. sucks because if it was last Friday Id be a rich man.

 

[Corwyn_8]

You have proven to yourself that you can play at that level. Just keep it up. Enjoy.

Thank you kindly.

 

[Bob Jewett]

I'm not sure what the guy meant by "precise" but if you never try for precision shots you will have less chance of making them when you have to. Lots of players never get past "put the cue ball in that general vicinity" when they need to work on "park it right between the five and six." On the other hand, you also need to figure out the easy, sure way to run a rack that maybe benefits from exact shots but doesn't require them.

 

[Popeye31]

After talking with the guy, Nice guy by the way hope to see and play him again. He said Im trying to be to perfect on the next shot ,he said wile grabbing the closest ash tray it looks like you are aiming for a 6" spot the size of this and you have a 3 foot spot you could be in . That im closing my window of error if I miss. Now this isn't the first time ive had some one tell me this.

 

[TATE]

After talking with the guy, Nice guy by the way hope to see and play him again. He said Im trying to be to perfect on the next shot ,he said wile grabbing the closest ash tray it looks like you are aiming for a 6" spot the size of this and you have a 3 foot spot you could be in . That im closing my window of error if I miss. Now this isn't the first time ive had some one tell me this.

The first part of being precise is simply knowing exactly where you want to be. That is often the most overlooked part of position play. Pool is a three dimensional game and our eyes just give us one camera angle. See pros point their tip at a spot and walk around the table looking at it? They are playing to a precise line or line and distance, but first they are finding it. If you play like that, to a precision line or spot, you will develop better cue ball control in the long run, because that effort gives your brain the feedback it needs to be able to repeat the shot in the future. When I started playing to exact lines or spots instead of general areas, my cue ball quickly improved. I think this is critical to improving. Playing precise cue ball also improves your shotmaking, for a variety of reasons.

 

[philly]

Aside from finding the correct spot on the table, I also think it is important to find the correct spot on the rail that you want to hit which helps you get to the correct spot on the table. When you start making this a priority you will find that you scratch less often.

 

[Popeye31]

O and he also said I don't use English . like it was a bad thing

 

[john coloccia]

After talking with the guy, Nice guy by the way hope to see and play him again. He said Im trying to be to perfect on the next shot ,he said wile grabbing the closest ash tray it looks like you are aiming for a 6" spot the size of this and you have a 3 foot spot you could be in . That im closing my window of error if I miss. Now this isn't the first time ive had some one tell me this.

I do this too and costs me a lot of runs. I think it's one of the natural plateaus we have to work through. I've started playing again after about 15 years off. I took one lesson (first lesson in my life) to get my fundamentals straight again...I didn't want to spend 6 months figuring out all the garbage that's crept into my stroke from neglect. In a month when I'm solid again, the next thing I want to work on is exactly this. When I stopped playing, I was just starting to make more intelligent shot selection and aiming for larger target zones. The game is about a million times easier like that. Doing it the way I'm doing it now, practically every shot requires way more cue ball action that it should, and way more precision than I'm capable of. I sorta' get there sometimes but I make a real mess out of very simple layouts!

I've mostly been playing 14.1, whereas before I played mostly 9-ball. I had to joke around a bit with my opponent a couple of weeks ago: "How come it still feels like I'm playing 9 ball??" I have to wiz my cue ball around the table WAY too much and I'm completely butchering simple layouts, and what else could I possibly expect? I'm constantly aiming for position where if I'm off by an inch, I'm out of line. I doom my shots to failure long before my first practice stroke.

With ball in hand from the break, I can still run out a 9-ball rack about 1/3 or 1/2 of the time but only because it's easier to see the big picture and I'm used to it a bit more. 14.1 is completely kicking my butt. It's depressing to run a few balls, have 11 balls left on the table, the option to shoot any damn shot you want, and I STILL have absolutely nothing to shoot it. It's devilishly hard trying to play it the way I currently do it.

 

[cueenvy]

Glad you had a taste of shooting in dead stroke. ..it's why we play the game.

It takes a lot of play and work to be good at the game. Keep your focus on staying in line and playing at least 3 balls ahead.

I like what the one player said about rail targets for the cue ball after the shot is made. In my mind ---speed plus direction/angle = position. If you can see the line in your mind's eye as you are planning the shoot and how to cut the ball, it's just becomes about executing the shot and speed control. I really think controlling the speed the cueball is struck is tremendously underappreciated skill. Guys that can do it well have a much higher potential for improvement imo.

You gotta play and practice to the point you shoot without alot of conscious thought. Just execution of what you know.