To shoot like a pro, look like a pro

T

thenaturalpoolplayer

Active member
It really is that simple. I have been studying Gorst, Shaw, and Filler. To me they represent the best of pool. Gorst for deliberate technique, Filler for sniper, and Shaw for natural. The secret to playing like these players is to actually look like these players when you are shooting. If you don't have the exact technique they have then you will never be able to shoot like them. We all know club players who have been batting the balls around the pool hall for decades and have not improved an inch. If you approach pool right you will reach novice to pro level in 3 years tops. If its been longer than 3 years then you simply have stopped improving.

My suggestion is forget everything you know. Watch these players and view yourself shooting ie in the window reflection or video and just try to mimick what they are doing. If you forced Gorst, Shaw, and Filler to shoot the exact way you do, then they would be as bad as you...so the opposite is true.
 
Ronnie O'Sullivan is the one to copy. I did hear him say that starting out he tried to copy Steve Davis, right down to the shoes he wore. Ronnie also said something to the effect that comparing pool to snooker was like putt putt compared to The Masters.
Ronnie, in his victory over Judd Trump in the Championship demonstrated absolute adherence to his routine. The chalk came out and touched his tip every shot. If he got up out of his stance to reassess, the chalk came out. Simply keeping with his dance steps. The chalk is serving as a marker more than anything.
 
thenaturalpoolplayer said:
It really is that simple. I have been studying Gorst, Shaw, and Filler. To me they represent the best of pool. Gorst for deliberate technique, Filler for sniper, and Shaw for natural. The secret to playing like these players is to actually look like these players when you are shooting. If you don't have the exact technique they have then you will never be able to shoot like them. We all know club players who have been batting the balls around the pool hall for decades and have not improved an inch. If you approach pool right you will reach novice to pro level in 3 years tops. If its been longer than 3 years then you simply have stopped improving.

My suggestion is forget everything you know. Watch these players and view yourself shooting ie in the window reflection or video and just try to mimick what they are doing. If you forced Gorst, Shaw, and Filler to shoot the exact way you do, then they would be as bad as you...so the opposite is true.
Click to expand...
Paragraphs makes the read easier and someone might read it
Just sayin
 
gregcantrall said:
Ronnie O'Sullivan is the one to copy. I did hear him say that starting out he tried to copy Steve Davis, right down to the shoes he wore. Ronnie also said something to the effect that comparing pool to snooker was like putt putt compared to The Masters.<<<<<<<<<
Ronnie, in his victory over Judd Trump in the Championship demonstrated absolute adherence to his routine. The chalk came out and touched his tip every shot. If he got up out of his stance to reassess, the chalk came out. Simply keeping with his dance steps. The chalk is serving as a marker more than anything.
Click to expand...
look at this
see how he made a space so its not run on sentences. see his post above
its easier to read then having so many sentences in a row with no spaces
the paragraphs dont necessarily have to be different subjects
think of it as a rest stop for old tired eyes like mine
thenaturalpoolplayer said:
That's two paragraphs? Each one with a different subject. ??
Click to expand...
 
It’s too broad a statement to say everyone should copy pros.

There are too many body types, tall, short, skinny, hefty, long arms, short arms, physical limitations (injuries, eyesight, eye dominance), etc., etc.

There are aspects to pro player’s’ performance such as approach, thought process, cadence, timing, mental and emotional control, we can and should mimic.

But to say we should mimic how pros look is taking it too far.

Open stance like snooker players or closed like Mark Wilson teaches?

Elbow behind the head <fill in respected pro name here; I can’t think of any> or perfectly aligned like Alison? Chin on the cue like snooker or more upright like Willie?

Piston stroke like Niels or fixed elbow? Circular motion like Bata and Busty? Drop elbow?

Agreed that we should take the best from various pros BUT apply them to our own limitations, body type, and mental and emotional intelligence.
 
A new paragraph should be indented. Also, 2 spaces after a period, 1 after a comma. I would explain semi colons but nobody here would get it. I am impressed that we are having a discussion on grammar on a pool forum lol.
 
dquarasr said:
It’s too broad a statement to say everyone should copy pros.

There are too many body types, tall, short, skinny, hefty, long arms, short arms, physical limitations (injuries, eyesight, eye dominance), etc., etc.

There are aspects to pro player’s’ performance such as approach, thought process, cadence, timing, mental and emotional control, we can and should mimic.

But to say we should mimic how pros look is taking it too far.

Open stance like snooker players or closed like Mark Wilson teaches?

Elbow behind the head <fill in respected pro name here; I can’t think of any> or perfectly aligned like Alison? Chin on the cue like snooker or more upright like Willie?

Piston stroke like Niels or fixed elbow? Circular motion like Bata and Busty? Drop elbow?

Agreed that we should take the best from various pros BUT apply them to our own limitations, body type, and mental and emotional intelligence.
Click to expand...
Look at 100 meter sprinters...they are basically all built the same...ditto with hurdlers, marathon runners, high jumpers, javelin throwers etc. Pool players also have a build and style. If you don't fit the mold you will never shoot at their level. Simple as that. The best players will be between 5'10, and 6'2, 175-220 lbs, and ages 25-55...although I think the main reason skill drops with age is older players are practicing less than the younger players...all things being equal I would expect you could continue on being very competitive well in to your 60's, 70's etc as long as you are healthy.
 
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thenaturalpoolplayer said:
It really is that simple. I have been studying Gorst, Shaw, and Filler. To me they represent the best of pool. Gorst for deliberate technique, Filler for sniper, and Shaw for natural. The secret to playing like these players is to actually look like these players when you are shooting. If you don't have the exact technique they have then you will never be able to shoot like them. We all know club players who have been batting the balls around the pool hall for decades and have not improved an inch. If you approach pool right you will reach novice to pro level in 3 years tops. If its been longer than 3 years then you simply have stopped improving.

My suggestion is forget everything you know. Watch these players and view yourself shooting ie in the window reflection or video and just try to mimick what they are doing. If you forced Gorst, Shaw, and Filler to shoot the exact way you do, then they would be as bad as you...so the opposite is true.
Click to expand...
How long until you are winning the next matchroom event? Shouldn't be long now right?
 
thenaturalpoolplayer said:
Look at 100 meter sprinters...they are basically all built the same...ditto with hurdlers, marathon runners etc. Pool players also have a build and style. If you don't fit the mold you will never shoot at their level. Simple as that. The best players will be between 5'10, and 6'2, 175-220 lbs, and ages 25-55...although I think the main reason skill drops with age is older players are practicing less than the younger players...all things being equal I would expect you could continue on being very competitive well in to your 60's, 70's etc as long as you are healthy.
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Yup. Except Efren is 5’8”. Orcollo is 5’5”. They shoot pretty well.
 
dquarasr said:
Yup. Except Efren is 5’8”. Orcollo is 5’5”. They shoot pretty well.
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Yeah but not by todays standards. They could have been even better imo. You could lower the 5'10 to 5'8 due to efren but he was the exception. This is only do to the table height as it is...if you change the height of the table then everything else will change...could start having weight (height) divisions I suppose. I'm currently 240 lbs and I will not be at optimum playing capacity unless I drop to about 220lbs maximum...probably 210 lbs best.
 
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dquarasr said:
Yup. Except Efren is 5’8”. Orcollo is 5’5”. They shoot pretty well.
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De Luna gets around the table OK too.

And let’s not forget this guy…

938660B2-5C48-450E-930D-A04FB8142161.jpeg
 
thenaturalpoolplayer said:
It really is that simple. I have been studying Gorst, Shaw, and Filler. To me they represent the best of pool. Gorst for deliberate technique, Filler for sniper, and Shaw for natural. The secret to playing like these players is to actually look like these players when you are shooting. If you don't have the exact technique they have then you will never be able to shoot like them. We all know club players who have been batting the balls around the pool hall for decades and have not improved an inch. If you approach pool right you will reach novice to pro level in 3 years tops. If its been longer than 3 years then you simply have stopped improving.

My suggestion is forget everything you know. Watch these players and view yourself shooting ie in the window reflection or video and just try to mimick what they are doing. If you forced Gorst, Shaw, and Filler to shoot the exact way you do, then they would be as bad as you...so the opposite is true.
Click to expand...

There are positives in studying and mimicking pro players, to a point.

You have to become yourself, through your own path. Everyone is wired differently eyesight, attention span, concentration, touch, mental strength are just a few things that no two people share in common.

When I started out, I wanted a stroke exactly like Buddy Hall. No matter how much I practiced it, it really was not for me.

Oh, and it really takes a special talent to go from novice to pro level in 3 years. 99.9 percent of us are not it.
 
I've been trying to copy Ron Jeremy for years but I keep coming up a little short.

As for pool players, unless they want to hide their speed you can almost always tell a player by their
movements, and some will fool you, that includes the stroke.
It's a dance, how smooth and fluid you dance matters, it carries over.
In my part of town I'm known as FreddySmoothStrokeAstaire.
 
SmoothStroke said:
I've been trying to copy Ron Jeremy for years but I keep coming up a little short.

As for pool players, unless they want to hide their speed you can almost always tell a player by their
movements, and some will fool you, that includes the stroke.
It's a dance, how smooth and fluid you dance matters, it carries over.
In my part of town I'm known as FreddySmoothStrokeAstaire.
Click to expand...
I am glad I didn't copy Mizerak. Could you see me at 5'6'' 380 pounds?

I would have been a bowling ball instead of a pool player.
 
I literally cannot believe you guys actually believe this. This is the blind leading the blind here…

No…there is no perfect style. Or height. Or weight. Or arm length.

Efren does a bunch of mechanics wrong. Earl cocks his wrist inward heavily on delivery. Filler has a punchy stroke that wobbles on contact (showing that even he isn’t delivering the cue perfectly straight), Alex P is 5 foot 2, Kaci is 6 foot 4. Max Eberly jabs at most balls, Stan Tarango jumps up on every shot, Mike Dechaine steers any shot with english.

Everyone has a different way of doing things and guess what? They all work.
 
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