Train my stroke to stay in the vertical plane.

technoid101

technoid101

"fades in, fades out"
So, I’ve been playing 8-ball in a bar league on coin-op bar box tables. I’m at that point where I see the shot I want, get into position and stroke. No real thinking just sort of natural and I hit more than I miss. Then I joined a 9-ball league as a way to keep my skills up between 8-ball seasons. They play on 9 foot tables with real good cloth and tight pockets. Now I’m missing like crazy. I don’t know if I just haven’t compensated for the distance change or, my stroke is out of whack and I just hadn’t noticed it as much on the bar tables. So I’m going back to the basics looking at everything. My question is: will a heavier cue help train my stroke to stay in the vertical plane?

Thanks for your advice.
 
Unless your current cue is less than 17 ounces, a heavier cue is unlikely to help. Video record yourself. You might see something horrifying.
 
I am not an instructor.

If you're just getting into 9' tables it may take a while. I believe my first time playing on a 9' took me about 3 hours of playing until I was consistently making balls. It was crazy. I'm sure the instructors can help but it kind of boils down to getting everything better/more pure because there's less room for error on a 9'. Once you get onto it, they are a ton of fun.

Any error has more distance to take effect. If you were 3 degrees off on a shot on a bar box, it might go in, whereas on a 9' you may only be able to be 1-2 degrees off.

If you were driving your car to the end of your driveway and were 1 degree off you might go into the grass. If you were driving across country you might be hundreds of miles off by the time you got to your destination.

I have faith you can do it but it will take a bit of work.
 
Whether or not a heavier cue will help depends on what's causing your problem. My guess is you've been short-stroking everything with little or no follow-through. Now your timing is all messed up since you need more speed. Try increasing your follow-through length. Even though that's after the fact, by striving for a longer follow-through, your stroke timing will improve.
 
Bob Jewett said:
Unless your current cue is less than 17 ounces, a heavier cue is unlikely to help. Video record yourself. You might see something horrifying.
Click to expand...
Years ago when I received my 15oz Dieckman, I showed it to Mark Wilson.
He said, ya, you'll be able to apply more English with a light cue, but a heavier cue will help with a repeatable delivery. Delivering the tip to within 1/2mm of your target.
 
3kushn said:
Years ago when I received my 15oz Dieckman, I showed it to Mark Wilson.
He said, ya, you'll be able to apply more English with a light cue, but a heavier cue will help with a repeatable delivery. Delivering the tip to within 1/2mm of your target.
Click to expand...
Did you actually play with a 15 oz cue? Were you successful with it if you did?
 
3kushn said:
3Cushion That's really all I play except once every 60 or so days I try to teach a guy some basics on a pool table.
Click to expand...
If you play on heated tables, would it be correct to say that the majority of time you wouldn't need to let your stroke out? I would think that your needs would be different than someone playing, for example: a rotation game on a non-heated pool table.
 
FranCrimi said:
If you play on heated tables, would it be correct to say that the majority of time you wouldn't need to let your stroke out? I would think that your needs would be different than someone playing, for example: a rotation game on a non-heated pool table.
Click to expand...
Well the goal I suppose is to end up with positions that only require a light touch. I'm not that good.
Shots similar to this one are fairly common as far a letting out the stroke.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=869894655005832
 
Last edited:
3kushn said:
Well the goal I suppose is to end up with positions that only require a light touch. I'm not that good.
Shots similar to this one are fairly common as far a letting out the stroke.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=869894655005832
Click to expand...
Yes, that's a pretty full stroke, and I think I would consider that medium speed. I inherited a Balabushka that was 17 oz. and I didn't like playing with it at all. The balance point on that cue was very high.
 
FranCrimi said:
Yes, that's a pretty full stroke, and I think I would consider that medium speed. I inherited a Balabushka that was 17 oz. and I didn't like playing with it at all. The balance point on that cue was very high.
Click to expand...
Mine balances at a typical 18" mark.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top