What's a good book/DVD for English?

C

Cmbeers

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hi, I just started shooting again after 17 years off and I an having quite a bit of trouble with my english. First, I am having alot of trouble drawing the cue ball. Second, I am having a hard time visualizing which type of english to use to obtain correct position. ( I get it right about half the time.)

What is a good book or video that would help me out. I am limited on funds, so I am looking for a good all around book/video.

I practice about 2 hours per day, but seeing what patterns/english to use would be a great help.

Thanks,
Chris
 
I use very little or no english at all playing rotation games like 9 ball or 10 ball. Stay on the vertical axis, high center, low and you can do everything you need to do or close to it. I've been doing this for over twenty years. There are no books or DVDs on english, as far as I know.
If you're having trouble drawing the ball, you need to strike the cue ball lower.
 
I can get by pretty well with little english, but I would like to get better positioning. I guess I just need to see some patterns using english.

As for the draw, I have tried hitting lower and end up jumping the ball. I follow trough, caulk up, and I am still having trouble.
 
Cmbeers said:
Hi, I just started shooting again after 17 years off and I an having quite a bit of trouble with my english. First, I am having alot of trouble drawing the cue ball. Second, I am having a hard time visualizing which type of english to use to obtain correct position. ( I get it right about half the time.)

What is a good book or video that would help me out. I am limited on funds, so I am looking for a good all around book/video.

I practice about 2 hours per day, but seeing what patterns/english to use would be a great help.

Thanks,
Chris
Click to expand...

I am a beginner, so I don't know if you'd be interested in my opinion, but I have found the books "Play Your Best Pool" by Phill Capelle and "99 Critical Shots of Pool" by Ray Martin to be extremely helpful. Neither of them focus solely on english ofcourse but they do cover the subject. Capelle's book has a section dedicated specifically to position routes and another on fine points of position. Both are excellent books.
 
Cmbeers said:
I can get by pretty well with little english, but I would like to get better positioning. I guess I just need to see some patterns using english.

As for the draw, I have tried hitting lower and end up jumping the ball. I follow trough, caulk up, and I am still having trouble.
Click to expand...

You need to get lower and at the same time level your cue. You're masseing the cue ball by striking down into it and not keeping your cue level in regard to hitting it lower. I do it myself sometimes if I'm not careful:o
Also, as said above, you could try getting Little Joe's DVD. I've seen it and it's pretty good.
One more thing, when a high level road player showed me he could run a rack of 9 Ball at will using no english, my jaw literally hit the floor.
 
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Cmbeers said:
I can get by pretty well with little english, but I would like to get better positioning. I guess I just need to see some patterns using english.

As for the draw, I have tried hitting lower and end up jumping the ball. I follow trough, caulk up, and I am still having trouble.
Click to expand...


I'm a beginner player, but may be able to help with the draw. When my friend was trying to teach me to draw, I was also jumping the ball. It took awhile but he figured out I was dropping my elbow when I was shooting the ball. Once I stopped doing this, my draw was better - not perfect, but I jumped the ball less.
 
Thanks for all the input. I will look up Joe Villapando's dvd.

pmata814, maebelle, I will take any advice that I can get. Maybe I am dropping my elbow. It's driving me crazy. I try to shoot level,etc,etc, but just cannot get it yet. I think I will try to video myself and see if I am dropping my elbow.

Thanks,
Chris
 
Cmbeers said:
Thanks for all the input. I will look up Joe Villapando's dvd.

pmata814, maebelle, I will take any advice that I can get. Maybe I am dropping my elbow. It's driving me crazy. I try to shoot level,etc,etc, but just cannot get it yet. I think I will try to video myself and see if I am dropping my elbow.

Thanks,
Chris
Click to expand...

Videoing yourself could really help. If you've laid off a few years {or more} there may be a bunch of things you need to see in order to become aware of what to work on.
 
Cmbeers said:
Thanks for all the input. I will look up Joe Villapando's dvd.

pmata814, maebelle, I will take any advice that I can get. Maybe I am dropping my elbow. It's driving me crazy. I try to shoot level,etc,etc, but just cannot get it yet. I think I will try to video myself and see if I am dropping my elbow.

Thanks,
Chris
Click to expand...

Instead of using a cue ball use a striped ball. Set it on the table with the stripe perfectly horizontal. Chalk up your cue and try to make your tip hit as low as possible on that stripe. After your shot find the chalk mark and see if it's where you were aiming.

When I did this I found that my tip was actually hitting almost center ball instead of bottom of the stripe. I adjusted by aiming for the lowest part of the cueball (i mean almost at the cloth) and within 10 minutes I was drawing the full length of the table. I taped myself and found that I was indeed dropping my elbow. I haven't corrected it though. I just continue to aim lower :)
 
Phill capelle's play your best pool has lots of drills to have you get the feel for your stoke and cue and much more information like stoke keys to keep you focused and such

good luck in your search.
 
The 99 critical shots in pool is a great book and explains english in a pretty straightforward simple way.

For draw in particular, there is a dead simple drill you can do to teach yourself.

1. Get a striped ball (the 9) wipe it off, and chalk the hell out of your stick (you're chalking like crazy anyway right? It's important for draw). Set it up about center table. Place another ball between the 9 and the side pocket.

2. Rotate the 9 ball so that the number faces the rail, and the stripe is parallel to the table. The ring around the 9 ball will be about halfway between the center of the ball and the bottom edge where it touches the cloth.

3. Using the 9 as the cue ball, sink the other ball into the side. Aim for that halfway point, or at the bottom of the stripe. Do a smooth, firm, and level stroke through that point. Follow through a long distance. Only your arm should move, avoid jumping up and don't try to pound it.

4. Pick up your striped cue ball and look for the chalk mark your stick left. You will probably be surprised to see it's higher than you were aiming, even after 5 or 10 tries. Most people jump up at the end of the stroke a little. They could be scared of miscuing or scooping the ball, they might be scared of hurting the cloth. Overcome that fear and force yourself to hit where you're aiming. You can go lower than you'd expect, especially with all that chalk.

5. When you finally get even close to the halfway point 'sweet spot' you'll see the draw you were expecting. It's literally impossible to NOT draw if you hit low and have any decent amount of force in the stroke. Even a quarter inch below center will draw all the way back to the other side pocket.

Once you can consistently draw to that side pocket, try shooting it into the corner and drawing to the opposite corner. It's tough both because of the draw involved, and the accuracy needed. To follow that ball into the same corner is a cinch, but to draw into the opposite corner is tough and it shows why adding force and draw will make playing precise position harder.
 
Pushout said:
I use very little or no english at all playing rotation games like 9 ball or 10 ball. Stay on the vertical axis, high center, low and you can do everything you need to do or close to it. I've been doing this for over twenty years. There are no books or DVDs on english, as far as I know.
If you're having trouble drawing the ball, you need to strike the cue ball lower.
Click to expand...

Vertical axis is simpler but not the entire palette. There's many shots that you just NEED to use side spin, the key is to know when and how.
 
One thing that helped me was Joe Tucker's 3 part video series on applying spin. He has graciously shared his knowledge at no charge on his website at http://joetucker.net/side_spin_workouts.htm. Before watching these videos I had no idea about parallel, back hand, and front hand english. This was the first time I had ever heard it explained.

Another good source of information is the Illustrated Principles Of Pool and Billiards by AZer Dr. Dave Alciatore. I found all kinds of good info in there on not just english, but other things as well. Also check out his website at http://billiards.colostate.edu/

Good luck with your game. About 5 months ago I returned to the game after a 10 year break so I know just how you feel.
 
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