What you do to get back in stroke

devindra

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
The name of the topic pretty much sums up what I have to ask. I have to play at least an hour a day to play good and if I don't play everyday I suck:o . What do you do to get back in stroke when you haven't played pool in a couple of days? Any advice? My shotmaking skills are usually there but my positioning is usually off.
 
Maniac said:
Problem with me is, I'm not sure that I've EVER been in stroke :o !!!

Maniac

lol good one.:)


for me I usually just have a beer or two. Get my mind outta my body's way and let muscle memory take over.
 
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getting in "stroke"

If it's been a while, what I will do is throw the 5-9 on the table in any random way take ball in hand and start running them. Usually when I'm having a problem it's more of a mental thing with the last few balls of a rack and I do this kind of like a confidence builder and after an hour of that I'm usually back where I should be. When I try to go off of the break sometimes the extra balls makes it a little overwhelming and I get frustrated just trying to get to the first ball. It may sound a bit silly but it seems to work for me. Hope this helps.
 
Play golf. Hear me out. Most people worry too much. Once you start thinking that you have to do something special, you are most likely out thinking yourself. Take a couple of days off, and get back the desire to just play. Once you want to just hit balls as much or more as you want to either improve or get back in stroke, your mind will get out of it's own way. 99% of the time people struggle, it is a small mechanical flaw, and trying to hard to practice can serve as cementing a bad habit. Sometimes it really is better to just take a day, and you would be surprised how easily muscle memory fixes a lot of problems, if you let it. But, that is jmo:smile:
 
devindra said:
The name of the topic pretty much sums up what I have to ask. I have to play at least an hour a day to play good and if I don't play everyday I suck:o . What do you do to get back in stroke when you haven't played pool in a couple of days? Any advice? My shotmaking skills are usually there but my positioning is usually off.

nothing. i've been out of stroke for a few months now and can't seem to fix it
 
muttley76 said:
Play golf. Hear me out. Most people worry too much. Once you start thinking that you have to do something special, you are most likely out thinking yourself. Take a couple of days off, and get back the desire to just play. Once you want to just hit balls as much or more as you want to either improve or get back in stroke, your mind will get out of it's own way. 99% of the time people struggle, it is a small mechanical flaw, and trying to hard to practice can serve as cementing a bad habit. Sometimes it really is better to just take a day, and you would be surprised how easily muscle memory fixes a lot of problems, if you let it. But, that is jmo:smile:


What if they're trying to get back in stroke after they've already taken enough time off to make them want to play again?
 
devindra said:
The name of the topic pretty much sums up what I have to ask. I have to play at least an hour a day to play good and if I don't play everyday I suck:o . What do you do to get back in stroke when you haven't played pool in a couple of days? Any advice? My shotmaking skills are usually there but my positioning is usually off.

Set up long straight in shots, cue ball either on the rail or just past. Shoot them until you've pocketed 40. By this point you should be as in stroke as you possibly can be for that day.

If your just having problems with position play, 14.1 should fix that.
 
poolplayer2093 said:
What if they're trying to get back in stroke after they've already taken enough time off to make them want to play again?


Then it is definitely time to try another tactic. Usually practice. Imo, there is no miracle cure. All the books, DVDs, lessons, drills, etc won't help if you aren't putting the hours in. I am a firm believer that only good practice helps, and most people are incapable of putting in the focus and intensity that real practice takes for long periods of time. I find that most people that I know benefit most from 30 minutes of hardcore practice, along with a lot more time spent purely playing. But, once again, just my philosophy.
 
This was in an article in the Billiards Digest in the Quick hits section(tips) by Tony Robles where he would scatter all 15 balls on the table,he would then do his normal shot routine and stayed down on the table through the whole shot,untill he made or missed the ball(not jumping up). This is what he did to get in stroke before his matchs,as he said,getting your mind and body as one. I tried this and still do it today and after a couple of racks,I'm in stroke or more so than when I walked in. Hope this helps.
 
The key to avoiding this is.....

I think that the key to avoid this happening is to practice every day...J.K...

No, what you need to do is take notes and establish a pre shot routine. Then when you come back if you're not shooting right, check your notes and use them to remember what your preshot routine is.

Most of the time, you'll probably be out of stroke because you're falling back oin bad habits....

Jaden
 
> The Kinister 60-minute workout,but the expanded version where it takes 3-4 hours for about a week,then tough action,either against a strong opponent playing even,or giving up enough weight I have to play close to perfect to win. Tommy D.
 
I do my Mother Drills.

Nothing better for your stroke than the Mother Drills.

Rufus

Proud member of the SPF family of BCA Instructors
 
play 2 or 3 times a day from 1-3 hours each time. not so much at once to burn out, i like to stop while i still in the mood 2 play, so going back to play is easy. i play a minimum of 3 hours a day and max of about 7 hours, this is a combination of drills, action and playing friends hard not social.
 
Maniac said:
Problem with me is, I'm not sure that I've EVER been in stroke :o !!!

Maniac

LOL! I was gonna comment but I know you'll throw the blind hog/ acorn thing at me again!:D Tony, if you're still thinking about showing up at our Wednesday league we only have one week left before the end of season tournie & trophy night. Come on up! You could sub a week & play in the tourney the next week. Sure would be good to see you again.

As for me getting back in stroke. Tonight was only the 2nd time I'd played since before Christmas & during warmup I was shooting like an octopus with the shakes! Really bad. It took me a good 90 minutes to get my stroke back to where it should be. I just slowed down some & paid attention to keeping my head down & ensuring I had a good follow-through on each shot.

It worked wonders for me. Until our league game started, then I felt I had no confidence during the games. I put up with that for about a rack & a half before deciding "To Hell with this! Go for It!" I stopped trickling the balls in & went back to burying them. I'm way happier that way, my stun, draw & follow work better for me than any slow rolling.

Did make me feel better. Now I'm all excited for tomorrow's league game. Got some goals I want to achieve this time round!!!!
 
devindra said:
The name of the topic pretty much sums up what I have to ask. I have to play at least an hour a day to play good and if I don't play everyday I suck:o . What do you do to get back in stroke when you haven't played pool in a couple of days? Any advice? My shotmaking skills are usually there but my positioning is usually off.

With me it is usually just the opposite. My positioning is almost always perfect, but I jaw the ball I was trying to make. :shrug:
If I could just get them together for more than a few minutes at a time, LOOKOUT!
 
devindra said:
The name of the topic pretty much sums up what I have to ask. I have to play at least an hour a day to play good and if I don't play everyday I suck:o . What do you do to get back in stroke when you haven't played pool in a couple of days? Any advice? My shotmaking skills are usually there but my positioning is usually off.

I am willing to bet $100 that you don't suck. Well, not completely anyways. I am also willing to bet a $100 bucks that you only feel like you suck because you ain't doing what you want on the pool table.

Life in general is about setting goals. You have to set achievable, long term goals, and achieve them slowly by setting short, achievable goals. Get your local BCA instructor to help you with these goals. It'll be the best money spent in your entire pool playing career. It will help mold your patters and practice hours spent so that you aren't practicing mistakes over and over.

Practice drills. Shoot balls down the rail. Follow, stop and draw. See if you can draw your ball back into the pocket. Practice all the shots, and especially your trouble shots, but get good at one game first. Master 9 ball. Master the stroke and master yourself. Get your ass in the pool hall, watch some dvd's, more importantly, get a lesson. Make no mistake, there is no big secret, what I'm telling you is it. There is no other way, I'm sorry to be the one to tell you.

Over the course of time, you will want to think of yourself as being in permanent dead gear, because your stroke is dead nuts accurate. That's part of the reason for my so seemingly arrogant name (deadgearplyr). Actually it's not arrogant, it's humble in the fact I also feel as though I must keep my game in dead gear to be able to play well, just like anyone else. That's the reason I have spent nearly every day sometimes 5-6 hours a day on the table either practicing, or matched up. I now have the confidence that when I have to roll in the money ball for the cash, I gonna watch that pocket swallow up that ball and not even think twice.

I practice in the same pool hall as some of the world's best players. Buddy Hall, Brian Jones, Shane McMinn, Richard Pierce, John Gabriel, and so on. Most any of these guys are probably on the table more often than not. They are probably so familiar with their cue that they've memorized how every inch of their cue feels and could describe it without even looking at it.

I'm telling you man, it's all built up over the years. There is no short cut. Anyone who can really play well will tell you the same thing. You must have passion for the game. An hour every two days or so ain't gonna cut it. In pool, just the same as in life, you must pay. Nothing is free.
 
There's a thousand reasons to get or be out of stroke, as mentioned, desire is among the most common IMO.

However, here is something to try quickly and easily to see if it doesn't instantly snap you out of it. If not, hey, its like chicken soup .. it can't hurt. :)

Pay no attention to my specific numbers here, but lets say you have a total stroke length of 20 inches.

Next, lets say that your stroke is 10" backstroke and 10" follow through. In other words, 10" behind your hip at rest, to 10" in front of your hip at follow through.

Try changing this to 5" of backstroke and 15" of follow through. Do this consciously and see if this exaggerated follow through doesn't snap you out of a slump.

These are soft, smooth, level, deliberate strokes, which btw you only get down on to take after you have specifically envisioned the entire shot while standing over it. This includes the path of both CB and OB.
 
I haven't read through the thread, so I am not sure if anyone touched on this. But if you're out of stroke, it might be more to do with a mechanical error than muscle memory/out of practice. Taking a couple days off will lead you with the desire to play, but you might have those fundamental errors still there. Have you changed your pre-shot routine? Are you taking your eye off the object ball after you hit whitey? No follow through on your stroke?

If I am in stroke, but just not playing well and it is more mental, I do exactly what one of the posters here does, and throw out 4-5 balls with the last one being the 9 and just run out and get the feeling that you are playing run out pool. Also, break ball in hand is really satisfying when the run out happens.

Christian
 
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