What beginner pool tip do you wish you learned sooner?

[GoldCrown]

The object of the game isn't to make balls.

I must be master of the game. Whoever dogs the most wins.... Buy me a bone.

 

[DrCue'sProtege]

Not sure if this has been mentioned but here's my two:

1) You have to work at it
2) In 9-Ball you can play zone position as long as you are on the right side of the ball.

r/DCP

 

[The Old Jaybird]

basic tips....

keep a firm bridge hand
keep a loose butt/stroke hand
stay down on the shot

practice
sleep under the table
wake up, practice more
repeat the last 3 for about 70 years

 

[DeeDeeCues]

How would they know if their miss was caused by deflection or just a bad stroke?

I didn't say beginners should use no sidespin though, just that they shouldn't be relying it until they are proficient with the center axis of the ball.

We are close on our opinion, then. I only said that they should devote a decent amount of time learning it early.

 

[U-Turn]

Elk Master
choose 14mm and custom Tailor it.

There is an Elk Pro, brand new to the market
Haven tried it yet, but I will * *

 

[Lowell]

It’s a conundrum because beginners will remain beginners until they start using side spin. How could they possibly know when they’re past the beginner stage if they don’t use side spin?

I know beginners who think they need sidespin on every shot (even though they don't know what the spin does or how to apply it correctly), and much stronger players who only use it as needed.

Plus there's the whole debate of using sidespin for non-shape reasons.

 

[skogstokig]

elkmaster

 

[loggerhead12]

Try baseball, cards, bike riding, anything but pool or golf.

Or shuffleboard if you're too old for those.

 

[uk_9_ball_convert]

Learning the 'tangent line'.

I played for longer than I'd like to admit before I realised the tangent line is only relevant for stun/stop shots. Also when I was learning I wanted to develop a draw and follow shot, but never occurred to me a stop shot would be something I'd want to practice.

 

[loggerhead12]

I played for longer than I'd like to admit before I realised the tangent line is only relevant for stun/stop shots.

Isn't it really relevant on every shot? How you hit the cue ball makes it leave the tangent line or not, sooner or later, more or less, but the tangent line is always the reference.

 

[BlueRaider]

Eliminate wishful thinking. Focus and TRY, even when it means putting myself "out there" and risking failure despite my best efforts.

Good position isn't achieved by "hoping" I'll get good on the next ball. And having good tip accuracy isn't achieved by "hoping" my tip will strike the cue ball within around 1 mm of where I intend.

I still fall into these traps occasionally. The table layout will look challenging and nothing will jump out at me as a good option, so I'll just send the cue ball in the general direction without really committing to a route. Or I'll get down somewhat lazily on a difficult, crucial shot, knowing I'm not 100% aligned properly, and then I'll pull the trigger before I'm fully committed to the shot anyway, compounding the odds of a miss.

I think it goes beyond laziness and is some kind of ego protection. I must subconsciously think that if I don't fully commit to challenging situations, I won't fully expose my ego/lack of skill/lack of knowledge if I mess up. I'm getting much better at this but it still creeps up on me from time to time, especially under pressure.

 

[bpeacock]

I was just hitting balls around hoping good things would happen until I ran across Ralph Eckert's Structure video series. Following along a practicing his instruction including documenting progress was huge for me.

 

[Amaury]

I feel like the only thing ALL pros (except Tony Drago) are doing is aiming while standing, then walk straigth INTO the shot. If you don't feel the shot, then stand up again and repeat.