9-Ball
Topic: What if...

After 8 years you still slurp at playing pool?



I don't think I'm seeing a straight line when I'm down on the shot anymore and I'm certainly not stroking along it.

If you could take a young player who's never picked up a cue before and build a perfect game from scratch what would you have him practice technique wise?

I'm right-eye dominant and play with the left hand. I'm 6'3 and have pretty long arms and a bit of a bad back so how should I build the right stance for that? I feel like I'm on a rocking boat when I'm down on the shot.



#ohtheembarassment

I've PM'd you pal

Start playing darts !

I suggested that yesterday but you wouldn't have it.

LOL...

I'm even worse at Darts! The things I mentioned struggling with are even more important there it seems! Guess it's back to Tekken...

Update:

Who decided on the height of tables being so low? If I play with the ideal Snooker stance and keep the back leg straight and stay balanced and not lean into the shot it feels like my hamstring is going to explode. This isn't a fitness issue... I run up stairs at the gym for a straight hour 5 times a week and I don't have issues...

you have issues Phil !!!

Being tall is a disadvantage in cue sports. It may be an advantage to reach shots and avoid the rest sometimes but the bad certainly outweighs the good...

#fact

Yes it many top level players at any cue sport over 6' 2" I can think of

Actually, I found that playing pool regularly really strengthened the muscles in my back - and if you have back issues, that's good news... Don't rest a bad back, exercise it, and maintain good posture afterwards when cooling down.

Many of the tall players that I have seen DON'T use the classic, straight back leg posture adopted by snooker players, and if you are struggling with any sciatic pain that stance can aggravate it - I avoided the snooker stance for that reason too.

Dieter Johns stands with both of his legs bowed outward slightly, but he gets the job done, and that was the stance that I adopted too - I'm 6'6'' and I found using a wider stance helped to get me lower and more stable too.

Conversely Michael Valentine stands with his legs bowed quite dramatically inwards which looks quite ungainly and pretty unstable, but it obviously works for him, and that's what counts.

Don't panic though, because the benefits of being able to comfortably reach more shots far outweigh any small disadvantage you may feel from being tall.

It sounds like you could do with a knowledgeable coach if you feel you would like to re-establish your fundamental stance and approach?

Whatever you do, don't stop playing... Playing increasing amounts of pool strengthens your back!

Good luck.

Cheers...

I had a good session today and really experimented with a lot of things, the stance being one of them. I did my homework and watched some YouTube coaching focused on Snooker and I tried almost everything and nothing worked for me.

I've accepted that a lot of the Snooker coaching (like most things) is aimed at improving the average Joe (if such a person truly exists) and won't work for my build.

Changes I started to make today were...

1 - Chin off of the cue by an inch (Improved my cue action massively)

2 - Relaxing my legs and bending both to spread the weight (Not happy with just yet as it's still uncomfortable)

3 - Going down to the shot slower to make sure I keep my head in line to the shot...

I saw a lot better play coming in and hopefully it will carry on.