Why CTE is silly

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Now you've done the formal quote, it is clear that it is Breaknrun's post you were reveling in. You still earn a small patooie for enjoying his post and referring to it.

By referring to his post in the manner you did, it seems at least to the casual observer, that you agree with its content.

Bringing anyone's religion, race, ethnicity or belittling someone in these discussions is poor posting etiquette. That's what NPR is for.

The bigger patooie goes to Breaknrun.

Oh yeah, thanks for making it clear with the last post about who you were quoting. The traditional quote method works great for me. I just by-passed your reference in your original post.


First...I apologize if I offended you....It was never my intentions to "offend" anyone....However I will not apologize for the parody....To me...laughter is great medicine....The day I am no longer allowed laughter is the day I throw myself in front of a bus.

Second...I did not bring Religion into the thread...If you follow the thread....It was brought in before my post.....My post was actually an attempt (failed obviously) to make fun of the fact that Religion was brought into the thread....Since I did not "quote" the prior post(s) where Religion was brought in...I an see how you may have "missed" the connection...(agian...sorry about that)

Third....If someone made a "parody" of me being Moses....I would NOT be offended....I felt like the Parody actually honored Hal (and Stan for his modified CTE Pro-1 system)

I did not think for a second that anyone would take that post as anything other than a complete joke. Religious jokes are made each and every day....Heck isnt't there a running joke that "Even God gets the 8-ball from Efren"???

I would advise that you NOT go watch the movie "Year 1" you won't like it.:wink: ....(actually it was not a real good movie regardless)

I don't know if you are a Seinfeld fan or not (obviously I am).......but...."for the record".....I am NOT an "Anti-Dentite" either.....:wink:
 
Patrick,
I know you aren't very religious and that's fine with me. I think you've mentioned this before in other posts? My apologies if I'm wrong. I don't have any problem with anyone's lack of religious convictions. That's your business, your private business. I won't ridicule you for your beliefs or lack of beliefs. In fact, I don't even want to discuss yours or mine.
Seems to me you just did. And that's the first time in this thread that anybody's personal beliefs have been discussed. I don't mind that, but I think maybe you're the culprit you're looking for. :)

If you or Dr. Dave don't see how the "joke" was designed to make fun of Stan and other people of faith, then I can't help you or him.
Moses and the Commandments is probably the most-parodied Bible story there is. How is it suddenly religion-bashing in this context? I thought it was good-humored, and I bet I'd think that if I was religious too.

Thanks for those valuable contributions.
Thanks. Same to you.


pj
chgo
 
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There was a guy in my area selling one of Hal Houle's aiming systems. He called it "Sacred Geometry." :grin:
 
There was a guy in my area selling one of Hal Houle's aiming systems. He called it "Sacred Geometry." :grin:
Hal's own descriptions of his "systems" sound like he dropped acid during geometry class. I think he considered them some kind of voodoo magic. They're not "secular" geometry.

pj
chgo
 
Hal's own descriptions of his "systems" sound like he dropped acid during geometry class. I think he considered them some kind of voodoo magic. They're not "secular" geometry.

pj
chgo

Hal is EXTREMELY smart. I could get into the details of his background, but he doesn't need me to defend him. His approach and tact could be questioned at times (I'll admit to that), but his knowledge runs deep.

Just because the regulars here at AZB can't deduce every single aspect of how his system works doesn't make it ok for you to knock him and say he dropped acid while coming up with this system. According to his wife, he spent years working on it (hardly an acid drop, PJ).

There's no one living who knows more about what we're discussing than Hal - and that's a fact. Not me, not Stan, not PJ, not Getmethere, not anyone. You can duct-tape all of us together and you STILL don't have his knowledge.

It's EASY to think of him as a nut because we don't understand him when in reality, he's light-years ahead of us... all of us.
 
Hal's own descriptions of his "systems" sound like he dropped acid during geometry class. I think he considered them some kind of voodoo magic. They're not "secular" geometry.

pj
chgo

Now you're insinuating Hal may have been a drug abuser.

Have you no shame?
 
Hal is EXTREMELY smart. I could get into the details of his background, but he doesn't need me to defend him. His approach and tact could be questioned at times (I'll admit to that), but his knowledge runs deep.

Just because the regulars here at AZB can't deduce every single aspect of how his system works doesn't make it ok for you to knock him and say he dropped acid while coming up with this system. According to his wife, he spent years working on it (hardly an acid drop, PJ).

There's no one living who knows more about what we're discussing than Hal - and that's a fact. Not me, not Stan, not PJ, not Getmethere, not anyone. You can duct-tape all of us together and you STILL don't have his knowledge.

It's EASY to think of him as a nut because we don't understand him when in reality, he's light-years ahead of us... all of us.


Look, I know this is politically incorrect around here. But Hal Houle is not some kind of aiming guru or something. He's a nice guy who liked to collect little aiming "systems" and dole them out to folks in teaser increments.

Again, he's a nice guy and he knows a lot of stuff. But there are several people on this forum alone who could give him the seven ball when it comes to actually understanding principles of aiming.

Hal appears smart when he controls the conversation. When you get him off his script and actually probe a bit, he's... well... pretty normal...

It irritates me to see people pumping up the LEGEND OF HAL and then painting themselves as one of the few conduits to this nearly lost fountain of knowledge and wisdom. Give us a break for crying out loud.

Might you find some interesting things from him? Yes.

Is he some sort of brilliant sage who holds the keys to the kingdom of pool knowledge? Hardly.

The romance is fun, but wake up people and splash some water on your faces...
 
It's EASY to think of him as a nut because we don't understand him when in reality, he's light-years ahead of us... all of us.
Speak for yourself. It's easy to think of him as a nut because he sounds like one:

My name is Hal Houle. Started playing in 1934. Began instructing pool in
1945. Still doing it. Teach professionals, very advanced players, and
road money players.

3 angles for all shots, on any size pool table, including snooker & bar
tables. Includes; pocketing, caroms, single rail banks, double rail
banks, 2, 3, and 4 rail banks, and double kiss banks.

All tables have a 2 to 1 ratio; 3 1/2 x 7, 4 x 8, 4 ½ x 9, 5 x 10, 6 x
12. Always twice as long as it is wide. Table corners are 90 degree
angles. Laying a cue from side pocket to corner pocket forms a 45
degree angle. Laying a cue from side pocket to middle diamond on same
end rail, forms a 30 degree angle. Laying a cue from side pocket to
first diamond on the same end rail forms a 45 degree angle. 3 angles
total 90 degrees, the same angles formed by table corners.

CB relation, to OB relation, to POCKET relation is always 15, 30, or 45
degrees. Simple solution.

...

Any questions, call me. Regards, Hal Houle
If that sounds to you like the piercing geometric insights of a pool aiming genius, then you must think numerologists and astrologers are all "light years ahead of us" too.

pj
chgo
 
...According to his wife, he spent years working on it...

A little hobby of mine is looking at videos of "free energy" devices on youtube. There seem to be an ENDLESS supply--all with the same idea: configure a bunch of magnets on a spinning wheel in such a way that they only PUSH the wheel around, but don't pull on it at unfortunate points :) The entire idea is based on a misunderstanding of the difference between FORCE and WORK regarding energy--the devices can NEVER work, and not just because some ivory-tower guys insist that you can't get energy for free.**

Among them are a couple of older guys that your heart just breaks to see. They are obviously extremely NICE guys, with the intention of doing something USEFUL for everyone, who have probably used significant portions of their Social Security checks each month to buy expensive rare-earth magnets and having metal parts machined for each new and improved machine version. They've made beautiful and sometimes ingenious machines which spin around a couple of turns, slow and stop, and then start again with a little push of the hand (I'm ignoring the many videos that appear to work because they are FAKED).

Just because you're earnest, a nice guy, and are (or appear) smart in many ways, doesn't mean you can't get a WRONG IDEA in your head and spend many years totally wasted on it.

The fact is simple: OBs MUST be hit (geometrically speaking) at the point where a GB would contact them. There are only a limited number of approaches one could consider in how to end up pointing such that the CB would head to that spot. THERE IS NO WAY that would be mysterious and unfathomable to any normally intelligent person who went to high school math class and got a "C" or better.


** An interesting side note is that none other than Leonardo Da Vinci once thought he could make such a machine using levers, etc., (i.e., using gravity instead of magnets as his "force") and soon realized--LONG before the actual physics knowledge was available--that it could NEVER work. A VERY clever guy for figuring that out purely on his own.
 
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I've come to believe that those claiming the benefits of CTE never really spend anytime time at the table.

By time, I mean 2-3 hours a day every other day for years, not just once in awhile or only on league night. Only taking breaks to refresh and let what you've been doing soak in.

They want to rely on a system instead of practice. The system takes place of practice in other words.

It don't work that way.

You may get to a certain level using CTE, but you will not go any further do to the limitations of CTE.

I know the Arrow is of value because way back when, Hal Houle told me it was worthless in some PM's on CCB.

The Arrow training device designed by Babe Cranfield, a true champion of the sport, a Hall of Famer, unconfirmed high run of over 700 balls is worthless.

This kind of statement just shows Hal Houle's ignorance and arrogance.

You need go no further than the Arrow on improving your game. You can actually make the arrow and use it in conjuction with CTE and you will find that the Arrow will be all you need. Using CTE just complicates things needlessly.

FWIW
 
I've seen the quote from Hal that PJ references, but could someone reconcile for me the sentence:
Hal Houle said:
Laying a cue from side pocket to first diamond on the same end rail forms a 45 degree angle.

?

Jus' curious.

- s.west
 
swest:
I've seen the quote from Hal that PJ references, but could someone reconcile for me the sentence:
Originally Posted by Hal Houle
Laying a cue from side pocket to first diamond on the same end rail forms a 45 degree angle.
It's an error - who knows whether or not he really meant it that way?

That's not the only error - this is also wrong (by 3.5 degrees):

Laying a cue from side pocket to middle diamond on same
end rail, forms a 30 degree angle.

pj
chgo
 
^ Yeah. I've read both of those in trying to figure out this story. They're both INSANE NONSENSE--the first is like numerology for conspiracy theorists. If those are good representations of Hal, then....
 
I've seen the quote from Hal that PJ references, but could someone reconcile for me the sentence:
Laying a cue from side pocket to first diamond on the same end rail forms a 45 degree angle.

It's a misprint that's supposed to be 15 degrees instead of 45, as you can deduce from the numerology in later sentence "3 angles total 90 degrees, the same angles formed by table corners." He apparently found special meaning in the fact that 15+30+45=90.

As has been pointed out many times over the years, those 15 and 30 values are only approximations of the actual angles, and they don't sum to 90 when added to 45. From the side to the first diamond (the diagonal of a 1x4 rectangle) is ATAN(1/4) = 14.036 degrees, to 2nd is ATAN(2/4) = 26.565 degrees, and to the third diamond (which he conveniently skips in his 'analysis') is ATAN(3/4) = 36.870 degrees. 14.036 + 26.565 + 45 = 85.601, which isn't quite as catchy and doesn't match the "same angle formed by table corners" idea.

I keep seeing claims by Hal and his fans that his methods can be used for caroms as well as banks and cutting balls, but I've never seen anyone describe how they would be applied to a game like 3-cushion. Does anyone have any references where carom game applications have been discussed using techniques like the 3-angle variants or CTE-style constructions?

Robert
 
It's a misprint that's supposed to be 15 degrees instead of 45, as you can deduce from the numerology in later sentence "3 angles total 90 degrees, the same angles formed by table corners." He apparently found special meaning in the fact that 15+30+45=90.

As has been pointed out many times over the years, those 15 and 30 values are only approximations of the actual angles, and they don't sum to 90 when added to 45. From the side to the first diamond (the diagonal of a 1x4 rectangle) is ATAN(1/4) = 14.036 degrees, to 2nd is ATAN(2/4) = 26.565 degrees, and to the third diamond (which he conveniently skips in his 'analysis') is ATAN(3/4) = 36.870 degrees. 14.036 + 26.565 + 45 = 85.601, which isn't quite as catchy and doesn't match the "same angle formed by table corners" idea.

I keep seeing claims by Hal and his fans that his methods can be used for caroms as well as banks and cutting balls, but I've never seen anyone describe how they would be applied to a game like 3-cushion. Does anyone have any references where carom game applications have been discussed using techniques like the 3-angle variants or CTE-style constructions?

Robert
Robert

Your last question is one I have had for quite a while. I personally asked Hal about this and he did not have a solution. So if you've read claims of this from Hal I'd say not unless he's come up with something recently.
 

I'll just speak for the first link right now. Many of you either don't want to learn, just criticize, or you have trouble with reading comprehension. What's one of the first things Hal said? You must read it at least ten times to truly understand it. If you just look at the numbers, it will be nonsense.

All you naysayers are stuck on the numbers. Just like he said you would be. You fail to see the forest for the trees. The system DOES work, and it works great. Keep on believing that it doesn't, it gives the rest of us an edge over you.:grin:
 
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