What Are "Practice" Strokes For?

Patrick Johnson

Patrick Johnson

Fargo 1000 on VP4
Silver Member
What are you accomplishing with your "practice" strokes?

Here's what I'm doing (pretty much in chronological order):

1. Getting my stick swinging naturally and loosely in a straight line and in line with my natural line-of-sight (adjusting elbow position, grip, head/shoulder position, bridge position)

2. Getting my stick in line with the intended CB contact point and the intended initial CB path (compensated for squirve)

3. Checking the intended CB path for aiming accuracy

4. Rehearsing my stroke for the necessary spin and speed

In other words, I sort of work from my stick outward toward the OB, putting the pieces together and building the shot as I go. Of course, there's some going back and forth between some of these steps, but the above order is about right. Also, the adjustments I mention are very small, or I stand up and start over.

What are you up to down there?

pj
chgo
 
In addition to what you mention I have also found that stroking helps me to anticipate the last place the cue tip will be when the shot is completed. This anticipation, visualization, feel, helps me to stay on that all important cue stick line, which may or may not be the same as the cue ball line to the contact point.
 
good thread. Practice strokes are for people who dont want to use those few criticle seconds to focus on the contact point on the object ball. They think that this is a good time to swing their arm a bunch of times. They are also for people who whan to expel alot more energy while playing for alot of hours at a time. I think some people say that its to see if your cue is straight but if you dont know if your swinging straight then you should prolly go home and do the whole bottle thing. Practice strokes are for making the game alot more complicated and time consumming and make you more tired.
 
dorabelle said:
good thread. Practice strokes are for people who dont want to use those few criticle seconds to focus on the contact point on the object ball. They think that this is a good time to swing their arm a bunch of times. They are also for people who whan to expel alot more energy while playing for alot of hours at a time. I think some people say that its to see if your cue is straight but if you dont know if your swinging straight then you should prolly go home and do the whole bottle thing. Practice strokes are for making the game alot more complicated and time consumming and make you more tired.
Click to expand...

um... wow. okay... so... every professional player... ever, is doing it wrong. how did no one ever see this before? :eek:
 
Patrick Johnson said:
What are you accomplishing with your "practice" strokes?

Here's what I'm doing (pretty much in chronological order):

1. Getting my stick swinging naturally and loosely in a straight line and in line with my natural line-of-sight (adjusting elbow position, grip, head/shoulder position, bridge position)

2. Getting my stick in line with the intended CB contact point and the intended initial CB path (compensated for squirve)

3. Checking the intended CB path for aiming accuracy

4. Rehearsing my stroke for the necessary spin and speed

In other words, I sort of work from my stick outward toward the OB, putting the pieces together and building the shot as I go. Of course, there's some going back and forth between some of these steps, but the above order is about right. Also, the adjustments I mention are very small, or I stand up and start over.

What are you up to down there?

pj
chgo
Click to expand...

I think you've named all the important stuff practice swings can accomplish. I'll add one more based solely on my own play - wasting time before I have to shoot a shot I'm afraid of. :(
 
I would like to think that for me after playing for so many years that my mechanics are automatic. I use the practice strokes to aim the object ball into the pocket, but mostly I'm gaging the weight of the cue ball and concentrating on the speed of the cloth and rails so I can deliver the correct stroke, spin, and power to attain the required position for the next shot.
 
dorabelle said:
good thread. Practice strokes are for people who dont want to use those few criticle seconds to focus on the contact point on the object ball. They think that this is a good time to swing their arm a bunch of times. They are also for people who whan to expel alot more energy while playing for alot of hours at a time. I think some people say that its to see if your cue is straight but if you dont know if your swinging straight then you should prolly go home and do the whole bottle thing. Practice strokes are for making the game alot more complicated and time consumming and make you more tired.
Click to expand...

So, essentially, everybody in the game is doing it wrong (but you, of course). I guess the rest of us can go home now. Thanks for saving us all that time.

pj
chgo
 
Patrick Johnson said:
So, essentially, everybody in the game is doing it wrong (but you, of course). I guess the rest of us can go home now. Thanks for saving us all that time.

pj
chgo
Click to expand...

Hey i didnt say I dont have practice strokes. Why would you have to go home and your welcome for the saved time. Just kidding.
In all seriousness practice strokes are probably good for people. I think it comes down to pre shot routine and doing the same thing before every shot. And to see if your stroke is straight and keep your arm warmed up? I dont like practice strokes but I also suck. Maybe I will play around with them.
 
Patrick Johnson said:
What are you accomplishing with your "practice" strokes?

Here's what I'm doing (pretty much in chronological order):

1. Getting my stick swinging naturally and loosely in a straight line and in line with my natural line-of-sight (adjusting elbow position, grip, head/shoulder position, bridge position)

2. Getting my stick in line with the intended CB contact point and the intended initial CB path (compensated for squirve)

3. Checking the intended CB path for aiming accuracy

4. Rehearsing my stroke for the necessary spin and speed

In other words, I sort of work from my stick outward toward the OB, putting the pieces together and building the shot as I go. Of course, there's some going back and forth between some of these steps, but the above order is about right. Also, the adjustments I mention are very small, or I stand up and start over.

What are you up to down there?

pj
chgo
Click to expand...

This is a good list. I would add "to stay loose for the shot".

In any sport, starting from a completely static position is less desirable than maintaining some motion. Motion keeps the muscles from stiffening up and relieves tension. Golfers waggle and press. Batters take practice swings and move the bat around. Pool players stroke the cue.

Chris
 
Actually, dorabelle has a fairly valid point. The purpose of warm up strokes is to verify where the tip is going to contact the cue ball. It is usually a little easier to do that if you allow the tip to move a short distance back and forth, since our mind will project that movement forward to the actual contact point. But, if you are confident when you put the cue down that you are in the correct alignment, you don't really need them. For most of us, they are part of our pre-shot routine...the final thing before we actually shoot.
Personally, I like them since they also give me a feeling for how far my backstroke is going to be. But the bottom line is that at a bare minimum, all you really need is to get the cue into position, ease it back, and bring it forward.
Warm up strokes do have benefits, but they are not a requirement.
I wouldn't necessarily recommend dropping them from your routine, but they are not essential to shooting. They may be required for more accurate shooting.

Steve
 
Patrick Johnson said:
What are you accomplishing with your "practice" strokes?

Here's what I'm doing (pretty much in chronological order):

1. Getting my stick swinging naturally and loosely in a straight line and in line with my natural line-of-sight (adjusting elbow position, grip, head/shoulder position, bridge position)

2. Getting my stick in line with the intended CB contact point and the intended initial CB path (compensated for squirve)

3. Checking the intended CB path for aiming accuracy

4. Rehearsing my stroke for the necessary spin and speed

In other words, I sort of work from my stick outward toward the OB, putting the pieces together and building the shot as I go. Of course, there's some going back and forth between some of these steps, but the above order is about right. Also, the adjustments I mention are very small, or I stand up and start over.

What are you up to down there?

pj
chgo
Click to expand...


#1...could be accomplished in part before you ever get down on the shot, and without moving the cue back and forth after you get down on the shot.

#2...can be accomplished without moving the cue back and forth.

#3...No cue movement necessary for this

#4...do you really rehearse your speed with your warm up strokes? I suspect that would be a little awkward when you are getting ready to break. And your spin is a function of where the tip makes contact. You can verify the contact point without moving the cue once it is in position.

Steve
 
JoeW said:
In addition to what you mention I have also found that stroking helps me to anticipate the last place the cue tip will be when the shot is completed. This anticipation, visualization, feel, helps me to stay on that all important cue stick line, which may or may not be the same as the cue ball line to the contact point.
Click to expand...

As I've gotten older, this has become more my focus than anything. And it has paid dividends.

On a side note, I see many pros that will cue the ball extremely low, I believe they are focusing exactly their cue tip placement. This way they see the entire ball. For me, I have to place the cue tip at the point that I need to hit. One exception that I've seen is Basavich cueing up high on the whitey.
 
dorabelle said:
Hey i didnt say I dont have practice strokes. Why would you have to go home and your welcome for the saved time. Just kidding.
In all seriousness practice strokes are probably good for people. I think it comes down to pre shot routine and doing the same thing before every shot. And to see if your stroke is straight and keep your arm warmed up? I dont like practice strokes but I also suck. Maybe I will play around with them.
Click to expand...

seriously, try this:

toss the balls out onto the table... shoot every shot with NO practice strokes - and see how many shots it takes to clear the table.

toss them out again and take at least 3 practice strokes before hitting the cb - count the strokes.

i'm pretty sure the rack with the practice strokes will give you a lower number of shots to get out.

theoretically, you make sense. if you have a straight stroke and know the contact point, why take practice strokes... but we aren't robots and we have finer movement ability, so those pre-strokes actually get us in line - as opposed to just being in the area of the line.
 
pooltchr said:
#1...could be accomplished in part before you ever get down on the shot, and without moving the cue back and forth after you get down on the shot.

#2...can be accomplished without moving the cue back and forth.

#3...No cue movement necessary for this

#4...do you really rehearse your speed with your warm up strokes? I suspect that would be a little awkward when you are getting ready to break. And your spin is a function of where the tip makes contact. You can verify the contact point without moving the cue once it is in position.

Steve
Click to expand...

I personally find it a lot easier to tune up my alignment and tip placement with the tip being "delivered" in a warm up stroke, because I can visualize the complete path of the tip, especially on english shots. I can play from a static position, I just don't think I will be quite as accurate.

Chris
 
I honestly think practice strokes are the most over rated aspect of a persons game. I think its a waste of energy and takes away from your aiming. If you think it helps aiming then that would mean that you are taking your eyes off the object ball to look at the tip of your cue to see if its in the right place on every practrice stroke.
 
stljohnny said:
seriously, try this:

toss the balls out onto the table... shoot every shot with NO practice strokes - and see how many shots it takes to clear the table.

toss them out again and take at least 3 practice strokes before hitting the cb - count the strokes.

i'm pretty sure the rack with the practice strokes will give you a lower number of shots to get out.

theoretically, you make sense. if you have a straight stroke and know the contact point, why take practice strokes... but we aren't robots and we have finer movement ability, so those pre-strokes actually get us in line - as opposed to just being in the area of the line.
Click to expand...

I used to do the whole three practice strokes, pause, shoot thing. then i wanted to simplify my game and cut out all the crap and got rid of my practice strokes. huge difference. I spend that time on getting in line and aiming now. For me it was too much stuff to do and clutter for my brain. I hear what your saying and will try it as long as you promise to try it with out practice strokes and see what you think.
 
I think this relates to (1).

If your stance is not quite right, either too close to the stick or angled a bit one way or the other, I think it's possible you won't notice the problem in the set position. But once you start swinging your forearm you can feel it doesn't really WANT to swing right on the stick line.


Patrick Johnson said:
What are you accomplishing with your "practice" strokes?

Here's what I'm doing (pretty much in chronological order):

1. Getting my stick swinging naturally and loosely in a straight line and in line with my natural line-of-sight (adjusting elbow position, grip, head/shoulder position, bridge position)

2. Getting my stick in line with the intended CB contact point and the intended initial CB path (compensated for squirve)

3. Checking the intended CB path for aiming accuracy

4. Rehearsing my stroke for the necessary spin and speed

In other words, I sort of work from my stick outward toward the OB, putting the pieces together and building the shot as I go. Of course, there's some going back and forth between some of these steps, but the above order is about right. Also, the adjustments I mention are very small, or I stand up and start over.

What are you up to down there?

pj
chgo
Click to expand...
 
mikepage said:
I think this relates to (1).

If your stance is not quite right, either too close to the stick or angled a bit one way or the other, I think it's possible you won't notice the problem in the set position. But once you start swinging your forearm you can feel it doesn't really WANT to swing right on the stick line.
Click to expand...

True.........
 
Patrick Johnson said:
What are you accomplishing with your "practice" strokes?

Here's what I'm doing (pretty much in chronological order):

1. Getting my stick swinging naturally and loosely in a straight line and in line with my natural line-of-sight (adjusting elbow position, grip, head/shoulder position, bridge position)

2. Getting my stick in line with the intended CB contact point and the intended initial CB path (compensated for squirve)

3. Checking the intended CB path for aiming accuracy

4. Rehearsing my stroke for the necessary spin and speed

In other words, I sort of work from my stick outward toward the OB, putting the pieces together and building the shot as I go. Of course, there's some going back and forth between some of these steps, but the above order is about right. Also, the adjustments I mention are very small, or I stand up and start over.

What are you up to down there?

pj
chgo
Click to expand...

This is an interesting thread!

Here is how I approach (or address) my shot. As compare to you...

1- when i 1st begin, i pay attn to grip, stroke etc. basics. then i let it go to focus on the table and my shooting (i also start off slow)...i aim by standing behind the whitey looking where my contact point is and approach the whitey as i'm getting down. during this i'm paying particular attn to placing the cue down in correct direction(while i've already got it in my bridge--before touching the table.)

2-again, stick in line (in bridge before touching table) and bridge touches as i'm already aiming at whitey. I add a couple strokes, mainly to see exact cue tip to cue ball contact point....also, for different types of shots that require a different stroke (ex forced follow, draw, etc). ----i have already decided cue ball path before i got down.

3- as in 2 i have already decided that a certain shot will produce a cb path.

4-my focus is not rehearsing but both contact points--cue ball and object ball.


This isn't to say this is the best way, just my way. I'm sure everyone is different---but this works for me. ill keep reading and maybe someone will give me solid ideas and adjust mine.
 
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