it's an aggressive move, like cocking a Winchester lever rifle. Silly any way you look at it!
What does pumping the cue over and over up in the air before their shot do for the pros?
- Thread starter Bobkitty
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Flakeandrun
Well-known member
Some (who am I kidding, ALL) do have pre-shot rituals... they are simply different, and more personalised. Probably unnoticeable to some who aren't looking. Some are incredibly obvious. Normally aligning body parts, focussing etc relative to the person and their technique.
Flakeandrun
Well-known member
Due to the cloth, size of the table, size of the balls. Contact points, spin, slide etc are beyond simply being different from 'table to table' - angles was perhaps the wrong word to have used - positionally, you can find yourself forced to take on heavy cuts, or shots you would never consider playing in snooker. It's been quite a challenge to me (especially with regard to safety game). I haven't cottoned onto, or have the foggiest, about some of the abbreviations or slang thrown around here lol
Flakeandrun
Well-known member
I mean, people should sit the F down, and remove themselves from eye line during another persons shot. Regardless of the game being played (only in a crowded bar, during a chilled game can you kind of let that slide). The pre-shot routine is simply something prior to getting down on your shot that encourages the correct technique/action. Snooker players have their own too. My pre-shot routines for snooker are entirely different and relevant to what I've been taught or coached. What I've learned about the game. It's quite interesting coming into playing on American tables as a newbie. It is a fast paced game that a lot of people can come to think they are 'good' at. Makes for fascinating people watching. A lot of things can be put into practice, tried or imitated.
Flakeandrun
Well-known member
Definitely agree. The whole ethos of the game, what has become the accepted 'norm' also naturally has an effect.
Just realised I posted four times in here.... Sorry for the lack of chill all... coffee break
am i the only one doing the tom cruise cue swirl before every shot? i do the pirouette prance too but only after the shot
you're not alone.
Yes it’s just the 3 times chalk 6air pumps to get down them up and repeat ones that are ridiculous and unnecessary
Me too.
I would say Tom Cruise was in a probably a drama with The Color of Money. The funny thing is, I turned it into a comedy. Because I'm fat and old, my pants fall down when I do the twirl!
did the dramatic air stroke start with mika? sigel did it occasionally but not as frequent as his lint picking
lint picking is atleast less silly looking than stopping mid pump with the cue held right up in the air for 5 seconds
snookered_again
Well-known member
Sometimes people get so caught up in stress that I remind them that they do this for fun. Smiling as often as you chalk makes for a better game for all. I know I play better if I leave my grumpy pants at home anyway. Like smiles, frowns can be contagious. fretting over your last shot is like crying over spilled milk. That doesn't mean your current shot shouldn't be important to you.
when I see someone on a good run they usually are wearing a smile, but on their last shot it's easy to turn it upside down. I'm trying to distract myself from the negativity and instead, try to focus a bit on why I missed that last shot because I find that I can also just turn away , curse, and fail to analyze that moment of impact and why it failed.
I think If I get in the habit of trying to learn why I failed each time that I may see patterns to correct but If I immediately turn away and gripe then I loose that very short moment where I can learn. I think that the learning pattern can be disrupted. How do I become a better shot if I only register the positive moments? maybe part of that is recognizing and registering in my brain what I did wrong. sure some is stroke and stance and mental preparation.
missing a shot, is like hitting your finger hammering a nail as one learns how to hammer long thin nails without bending them over or messing up. with practice you get better at it, it isn't really something you analyze much upon each strike.
Somehow our brain ties the reward and the error to very minor muscular changes. Maybe that registers in the brain somehow within microseconds somehow and we subconsciously learn.
I think that any distraction can disrupt that tiny, incremental learning process that actually happens upon every shot.
In a teaching course I came upon a point that when bad things happen, like for example you slip a wrench and bash your hand or get a shock , that this triggers a different memory pattern. Because it's a danger to you, you store that memory in a different part of your brain. some may say "at the front of their brain" In some instances learning is instilled quickly and more permanently by way of this sort of negative or fear related - excited reaction.
I'm not entirely clear on how we learn all this but I just think that personally , maybe making a conscious effort to register those reactions may improve learning. There is of course no real" physical danger" in a missed shot but I think we look at it with the same human tendencies as missing the nail and bashing a finger..
Some play in a more excited state than others, perhaps intentionally ?
Pumping in the air might be just mental preparation, maybe they are taking time to reason their shot. I sometimes wonder if the pro's have the ball cleaned just to give themselves a bit more time to reason.
while the guy is pumping is cue which seems aimless he is also reasoning how hard, what spin, if there is a better shot, his stance, the weight balance of his cue, probably a lot is on a subconscius level too. there is a lot more going on there that you can not physically see than aimlessly poking his cue at the air..
maybe a comparison is just the realization that a person gathers their next thoughts while he is speaking. An observer sees him talking, not thinking. If someone is stressed during an argument their thoughts become less thorough.
Pool is actually much more analytical than it first appears. Its easier to analyze the physical than the mental part of the game but to be a good player you need to be a bit analytical. Some take a bit more time to edit their thoughts before speaking but that does not mean they are dumb. That may be because they are more analytical then reactive? Taking a shot before thinking things through is comparable to speaking without thinking first. a person lost in thought may appear to be doing something completely unrelated, like picking fluff.
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Perhaps a video? You could do singing commentary as you demonstrate the proper technique.
I'm particularly interested in #5. I wasn't aware that your body needed to be perpendicular to the shot line.
Only if you want to have an absolute frame of reference for measuring the shot angle. Players who stand with their vision center over the shot line often are inconsistent in feet placement, etc. leading to inconsistent head rotation/head distance from the OB, etc.--therefore inconsistent sighting.
What, pray tell, does any of that have to do with air stroking helping the body be perpendicular to the shot line.
Not to mention, why would anyone want their body 90 degrees to the shot line.
Players consider the upcoming shot while air stroking.
Two kinds of pool players start their aim process standing 90 degrees to the line of centers, not the shot line as I wrote. I see I did write aim line/shot like in error above, and I was thinking about the line of centers when I wrote, but the aim principle is the same.
Beginners told nothing about aim naturally stand square/face on/the heels of their feet perpendicular to . . . the line of centers between the CB and OB--the shortest line between the two balls--that's the natural place to begin aim. In the same way, basketball foul shooters, baseball and tennis players, rifle shooters, etc. square to their target before placing a foot ahead/changing their stance, since the move on the ground can turn the torso, head and eyes.
The other group of players who square to the line of centers before shots are pros. Of course, for most shots, pros stand a foot forward to begin since they've hit a million balls, but even greats like Efren will start their aim process standing square to the CB and OB for difficult shots or big money shots.
Likewise, I stand this way before a challenging shot and it helps aim and confidence quite a bit.
Isn't that how the best snooker players do it?
George the Greek
Well-known member
I wasn't the best either wise I'd be rich lol. I put the cue in line with the cueball and slid my hand under the cue and got into my stance. It was in a natural looking movement and effective for aiming