Get on a Billiard table and learn the cue ball. Every spot on the cue ball and every stroke with all the variables known to mankind are as common as sand on a beach. You will learn every dot on the cue ball and how to use it.
Throw in the knowledge of using the rails, angles, diamonds, shorten and lenghten the angles, reversing, delaying, thick/thin hits, etc. and you have a pool player in the making.
I can go on forever about the importance of the cue ball and stroke technique.
I don't know the percentage but I would guess that billiards will cut your learning time in half, probably higher.
If you just spent time on a table trying to pocket balls and hit an inside out stroke loaded with juice around the table 3 or 4 rails for shape you may never get it, while it's common stroke on a billiard table.
Yes its important to have all the planets in alignment, basic fundamentals are just that, basic.
Many people out there feel the need to complicate the game of pool, all cue sports, when it's a simple concept.
Maybe they want to sound knowledgeable and complicate things that are very simple to learn.
Information overload and dissecting every little movement to a fault may not be the best thing.
I'm extreme OCD, I've been told a walking barrel of useless information.
As OCD as I am I do believe over analysis could be harmful, and I'm a guy that numbers his socks.
About 7 years ago I witnessed a very well known instructor filming a guys elbow all day long. They were constantly looking back at the video for hours on end. When I heard how much he paid for that lesson I peed myself.
To this day that student is a C-player, low B at best and advertises as a registered instructor. To this day he constantly looks back at his swingarm when pre-stroking, I cringe, it's difficult to watch.
If you talk to him about pool he complicates it, I zip my lip and just listen to the confusion.
Get your fundamentals in order. The stance, eyes, body, head, bridges, grips, approach, rhythm, etc, are simple to learn. It takes work and conscious thought to maintain it, it's not complicated.
I've been around players that can't spell their name and have it down to a science, they just don't know it.
The big test is cue ball knowledge, the strokes and all the variables of the strokes.
On any given shot you can strike the cue ball many different ways. If you don't have cue ball and
stroke knowledge you may as well play checkers, but you have great fundamentals.
I don't care how beautiful you stand or your pool IQ, it's useless with out the above.
Keep it simple,,, Fundamentals, Cue Ball, Stroke Technique and timing of the stroke.
Patterns, game play, rhythms, all come along for the ride when you have the above.
It's a very difficult game, I love it.
Stop Effin complicating everything.