What is the one thing you did that improved your pool game a lot?
- Thread starter Lock N Load
- Start date
I spend time watching and analyzing everyone else in my league. I watch the lower-skilled players because I have to coach them (poor bastards) and I watch the higher-skilled players because they're better than me, so I want to see what they're doing differently.
Helping lower-skilled players helps a lot because I find that explaining ideas and concepts helps to solidify them in my own head. Also, I sometimes have to present things differently to get my point across and this also helps my own understanding of the game.
Getting a table at home and actually using it.
several things
I'm going to quickly touch on a few things before focusing on the main thing.
One thing was hitting the road with a good bit better player for a total of about six months. I can't remember him teaching me anything but just the pressure of carrying my end of the load made me bear down all the time. I'd say we were neck to neck by the time we ended the pool safari for health reasons, Bobby was gonna get us both shot!
Practicing a couple hours a day on a snooker table before starting to play pool. Obviously it improves aim. What isn't as obvious is that it improves stroke, use of english, and position play. One note about position play, don't get too close to your work! Most of the time I want to be one to two feet away from the object ball. I had a bad habit of jamming up against it. Pick a spot the size of a coffee cup in that one to two foot range and play shape for that spot. If the last thing you focus on is your next object ball that is where you are going to play shape to, or that is what happened to me. Consider which angle gives the most room for error approaching the spot you want to play shape to but also consider if it is worth hitting multiple rails when simple stun and tangent will accomplish the same goal.
The #1 thing that improved my game was making friends with Whitey. You don't pound on your friend when a gentle touch will accomplish the same goal. You don't make him run laps around the table when he can just walk a few inches or a foot.
I focused relentlessly on improving cue ball control for several years. 75 to 90% of the effort in most of my shots was related to cue ball control after the hit. The object ball had to go in the pocket but that was a minor part of the shot. It was a given that if I accomplished my other goals with the shot the object ball had to fall. When you have developed cue ball control it is almost impossible to blow half a shot. If the cue ball does what you want it to for the rest of the shot the object ball has to fall.
Once I realized the game was about cue ball, cue ball, and cue ball my game soared. My cash winnings soared too because now I could win while leaving people less than sure that I didn't just get lucky. Own the cue ball and you own the object balls and the table.
Unfortunately a twenty year layoff can undo all of this learning and it is a long climb back!
Hu
I'm going to quickly touch on a few things before focusing on the main thing.
One thing was hitting the road with a good bit better player for a total of about six months. I can't remember him teaching me anything but just the pressure of carrying my end of the load made me bear down all the time. I'd say we were neck to neck by the time we ended the pool safari for health reasons, Bobby was gonna get us both shot!
Practicing a couple hours a day on a snooker table before starting to play pool. Obviously it improves aim. What isn't as obvious is that it improves stroke, use of english, and position play. One note about position play, don't get too close to your work! Most of the time I want to be one to two feet away from the object ball. I had a bad habit of jamming up against it. Pick a spot the size of a coffee cup in that one to two foot range and play shape for that spot. If the last thing you focus on is your next object ball that is where you are going to play shape to, or that is what happened to me. Consider which angle gives the most room for error approaching the spot you want to play shape to but also consider if it is worth hitting multiple rails when simple stun and tangent will accomplish the same goal.
The #1 thing that improved my game was making friends with Whitey. You don't pound on your friend when a gentle touch will accomplish the same goal. You don't make him run laps around the table when he can just walk a few inches or a foot.
I focused relentlessly on improving cue ball control for several years. 75 to 90% of the effort in most of my shots was related to cue ball control after the hit. The object ball had to go in the pocket but that was a minor part of the shot. It was a given that if I accomplished my other goals with the shot the object ball had to fall. When you have developed cue ball control it is almost impossible to blow half a shot. If the cue ball does what you want it to for the rest of the shot the object ball has to fall.
Once I realized the game was about cue ball, cue ball, and cue ball my game soared. My cash winnings soared too because now I could win while leaving people less than sure that I didn't just get lucky. Own the cue ball and you own the object balls and the table.
Unfortunately a twenty year layoff can undo all of this learning and it is a long climb back!
Hu
Hey Hu,
I met Whitey the other day in the super market where I shop. He seemed to be doing OK. I did not know that you knew him as well!!! Hu, you get around.
Many Regards,
Lock N Load.
have you made it to his bar/pool hall?
Whitey's isn't the place to gamble big and the tables aren't great the last time I was in there but it is an old time place near Buff's that I like to pass through now and then just to enjoy an old school bar with tables.
Hu
Whitey's isn't the place to gamble big and the tables aren't great the last time I was in there but it is an old time place near Buff's that I like to pass through now and then just to enjoy an old school bar with tables.
Hu
Both!
Whitey is the cue ball but Whitey's is a great old blue collar bar near Buffalo's! It's where men are men and smell like horses!
Hu
Whitey's
3764 Derbigny St (504) 833-9122
Whitey is the cue ball but Whitey's is a great old blue collar bar near Buffalo's! It's where men are men and smell like horses!
Hu
Whitey's
3764 Derbigny St (504) 833-9122
Hu, You have to let me get back at you like you do me and PT109! Hu, did anyone say they wanted to play me today?
Many Regards,
Lock N Load.
Somebody was looking for you
There was a guy from out of town looking for you. Said he would give you the six ball but it was a tonight only special. Ask Buff, he knows about it.
Hu
There was a guy from out of town looking for you. Said he would give you the six ball but it was a tonight only special. Ask Buff, he knows about it.
Hu
I give up all the weight! Who would give me weight? I am calling Buffalo as I type this.
Thanks.
Many Regards,
Lock N Load.
- Books, starting with the 99 critical shots. Then accu-stats, then the internet.
- Years ago, when I first started: I was impressed with the concept of perfect position and I made a vow to always try for good position, even if I risk missing the ball. I still play this way today.
- What dave said about actively aiming and trying on every shot. Going 'unconscious' sounds great, and players think after shooting a while they just get in a rhythm and wish the balls in. But shooting strong pool consistently requires thinking, planning, and most importantly... caring. You can't autopilot your way to top notch pool.
- Practicing the stuff I suck at. There are a lot of guys out there who can run racks but are about 10% to make a dead bank. There are also guys who can make thin cuts all day but miss even the easiest of kicks.
- The most recent major jump came from The Pause... something a few instructors recommend. Pause at the end of your backswing on a tough shot (test it out on a long straight-in). Come to a dead stop and hold it for a second. The first thing you'll figure out is it's hard to train your arm to truly stop dead (vs. a "rolling stop"). The next thing you'll figure out is you probably steer your stroke on some or all shots. The pause helps you spot when you're about to steer and forces you to send the cue in a straight line.
- Years ago, when I first started: I was impressed with the concept of perfect position and I made a vow to always try for good position, even if I risk missing the ball. I still play this way today.
- What dave said about actively aiming and trying on every shot. Going 'unconscious' sounds great, and players think after shooting a while they just get in a rhythm and wish the balls in. But shooting strong pool consistently requires thinking, planning, and most importantly... caring. You can't autopilot your way to top notch pool.
- Practicing the stuff I suck at. There are a lot of guys out there who can run racks but are about 10% to make a dead bank. There are also guys who can make thin cuts all day but miss even the easiest of kicks.
- The most recent major jump came from The Pause... something a few instructors recommend. Pause at the end of your backswing on a tough shot (test it out on a long straight-in). Come to a dead stop and hold it for a second. The first thing you'll figure out is it's hard to train your arm to truly stop dead (vs. a "rolling stop"). The next thing you'll figure out is you probably steer your stroke on some or all shots. The pause helps you spot when you're about to steer and forces you to send the cue in a straight line.
Generally all things that make my stroke straight, this is the first big group of things that helped. To this group belong: position of legs (angle to body), position of head (deep enough so that the backarm is "blocked"), a relaxed and natural stance in general ("pinguin" position), a relaxed griphand, slow backswing, harmonic front swing, bridge length not too long, not standing up while stroking, only my body's forearm moves while stroking
A second group is mentally: being relaxed as much as possible, watching the balls from different angels, seeing the objektball exactly in the line to the hole, imagine clearly how the whiteball shall go and where it shall go to, and very important: practice, practice, practice those shots that behave not like you imagine.
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Could you elaborate on "(deep enough so that the backarm is "blocked")" and "harmonic front swing?" Not questioning, genuinely interested, but those are new phrases to me and I don't quite understand them. Thanks.
First of all I wanna excuse my bad english, i'm trying to improve! ;-)
What do I mean with "blocked backarm": If you get down with your upper body more and more (in extreme manner until your chin contacts the cue's butt), you will more and more disable your upper arm to be able to move. In other words: The higher the position of your upper body the more can your upper arm participate in moving the cuestick forwards into the direction of the cueball. A participation of your upper arm while stroking is a big error source in having an unequal and inconsistent stroke. Especially at high power strokes people tend to use the upper arm more and more, best example is the break where most of players automatically "stand up" and use their upper arm to have more powerful acceleration. The more you learn to do high power strokes without using your upper arm the less you will misplay. Anatomy of the body makes this automatically.
The "harmonic front swing" (oh what a bad english!!!), what do I mean by this: While aiming most players move the cuestick several times back and forewards without hitting the cueball. Right before the stroke you should first of all slow down your movement backwards. And also very important is not to accelerate the cuestick abruptly after passing the reversal point. It is much better to accelerate softly in the first few inches of the cuestick's movement into the direction of the cueball. This also helps to have a consistent and reliable stroke to be able to hit the cueball exactly where you want to!
I hope it is now better to understand!
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Haha wow, I used to have a ton of upper arm movement as well and a guy suggested that I should sit lower on my shot to see if I could naturally eliminate the windmilling and it worked like a charm! :thumbup::thumbup:
Your English isn't bad at all. From your original post I had no idea you weren't a native English speaker. In fact, it sounded pretty sophisticated. Thanks very much for the explanation. Great advice.
Why Playing Straight Pool Is PARAMOUNT
About 15 years ago a great friend of mine told me that playing straight pool would really improve my game. He told me, it would teach me "the cue ball".
Quietly, I remember thinking at the time, "What the hell? I know that if I hit the cue ball low, it will come back, and if I hit it high, it will go forward."
What I did not realize is that I had no clue where it would go, or where the object ball would go if I hit the cue ball with a tip of low and a tip of right. When I started playing straight pool and I had to move my cue to an exact location, suddenly I started missing super easy shots. Sometimes being able to accurately bump balls is way more powerful than a table length draw shot or force-follow shot.
Straight pool teaches its players all the shots with EVERY spin combination---this is extremely powerful, and the learning goes on forever, so it is fun as well. If you are not a straight pool player, try starting to play straight pool the right way, and watch the missing and learning ensue!
kollegedave
About 15 years ago a great friend of mine told me that playing straight pool would really improve my game. He told me, it would teach me "the cue ball".
Quietly, I remember thinking at the time, "What the hell? I know that if I hit the cue ball low, it will come back, and if I hit it high, it will go forward."
What I did not realize is that I had no clue where it would go, or where the object ball would go if I hit the cue ball with a tip of low and a tip of right. When I started playing straight pool and I had to move my cue to an exact location, suddenly I started missing super easy shots. Sometimes being able to accurately bump balls is way more powerful than a table length draw shot or force-follow shot.
Straight pool teaches its players all the shots with EVERY spin combination---this is extremely powerful, and the learning goes on forever, so it is fun as well. If you are not a straight pool player, try starting to play straight pool the right way, and watch the missing and learning ensue!
kollegedave