I recently have been trying to practice and play a bit more - not a lot necessarily, and not like I used to, but more nonetheless.  Maybe 8 - 10 hours a week instead of 3 - 5.  While I've been shooting and feeling okay, especially in comfortable settings and situations, when under stress to perform I wasn't playing very well.  I guess I spent so long just dabbling at the game while sick, or playing in Masters league which is pretty comfortable for me, that I forgot how to relax and perform while under pressure or in new situations.  I second guessed my decisions, felt like I was trying to guide the cue ball into position, worried too much about missing the ball, and overall was just trying to be too precise and perfect.

I played a weekly tournament recently - my first of the year, and only 2nd tournament all year - and after my second loss I had a conversation with a very good player about my frustration.  He said a few things that helped clear my head and refocus my efforts, and since it helped (along with a few other things) I thought I would share.

My main takeaway from our conversation - rhythm.  Not stroke, aiming, hyper-focusing on fundamentals, doing drills, or even nerves - just rhythm.  He mentioned several things during the conversation that I inherently knew, and teach to others, yet it's difficult to self-diagnose at times.  Sort of like the crazy psychiatrist...  :)

So what about rhythm is so important?  I realized that I wasn't in any sort of rhythm at all, and that probably came from the lack of true competitive play.  I thought I was, and had a nice preshot routine, yet my approach into my PSR was too varied.  I would get down too quickly on simple shots, even get down too quickly on more difficult shots, and sometimes spend too much extra time during the routine before shooting on difficult shots as well.  This was probably affecting me during my limited practice as well, yet there is no penalty for missing in practice, you set up the shot again, or worse just swipe it into the pocket thinking "I would normally make that shot".  Another reason for practicing with a purpose or some sort of objective scoring, but that's a topic for another article.

I'm a very analytical person, just my nature, hardwired that way.  Words like "feeling" and "visualization" don't compute.  Yet I knew what he was talking about, so I watched some matches with my favorite players (lately the Ko brothers) and really watched how they moved around the table from shot to shot.  I started standing behind the shot for a few extra seconds when needed, air stroking my cue and really trying to feel a connection to the shot, feeling the angle and speed needed, and then once down on the shot trusting in my pre-calculated alignment and just focusing solely on cue ball speed and spin and making a smooth stroke.  I tried not to shoot until I felt truly ready for the shot, and tried as well to get up and go through my routine again if anything felt off once down.

I also did some other things along with this new focus on rhythm.  A few drills to work on smoothness and straightness.  15 - 30 reps on a few specific types of shots that always come up to improve consistency.  My favorite rail shot drill.  Spent maybe 60 - 90 minutes total, not much, but enough to make a difference.

All of the sudden - I felt it.  I was in rhythm, moving around the table effortlessly, confidence back.  That night I won my match 7-0, and that weekend I won the US Amateur qualifier after losing my first match and staying focused after a 3 hour wait and 7 more matches, winning all of them while never giving up more than 3 games, and most were 0 or 1.  I wasn't in dead stroke, at no point was I feeling the zone, but I focused on the shots and my cue ball speed and tried to "feel" the shots.  I made good decisions, I missed very few balls, allowing me to play a solid safe (most of the time) if out of position, and maintained control of the table.

I found that I can't tackle every issue by analyzing a shot or trying to fix a technical flaw, sometimes you just need to relax and feel the rhythm and let your confidence build.  If any of this resonates with you, I hope it helps you to refocus your efforts as well.

Been about a year since my last post.  I guess I'm not a very good blogger...  :)  Below is a summary of the past year, just to catch up to the present.

Since my last post, unfortunately, health issues continued.  Ended up having more tests, an intestinal infection, liver and kidney issues resulting from that, 2 rounds of antibiotics, continued issues, 2 hernias, adhesions, surgery, etc, etc.  Been a fun 18 months...  Some issues remain, but better than I was so I guess it's moving in the right direction.

On the plus side, through all of this I managed to win the second session of American Rotation, and this time I was able to make it to the national tournament at the Derby City Classic in Louisville, KY.  I finished 11th out of 22, not too bad, amidst a field of top players from around the country including Johnny Archer, Mike Davis, and Kevin West.  The latter two faced each other in the finals, you can watch the entire match here - tvmike.net/topic6907.html - scroll down toward the bottom to find the match.  You should especially check out the last few racks, a truly epic finish and well played by both players.

​I also played in the bank pool and 9 ball events at Derby.  Surprisingly I cashed in the Bank Pool division, finishing 77th - 124th out of 400+ players.  I say surprisingly because I never played bank pool before!  I learned the rules and strategies of the game along the way and should have actually gone one round further, but finally lost to Shannon Daulton, a former champion at the event, that loss was NOT a surprise...  :)  

I did well in the 9 ball event, finishing one out of the money.  I beat a few good players, and lost to Kevin West (same guy mentioned above) and then Keith Bennett, both very good and seasoned players.  Really my only disappointment of the tournament was the last loss to Keith.  I just wasn't completely focused in the match but was outplaying him for most of the match, and then just made several very silly mistakes after running out some tough racks or playing very good safes.  I learned from the loss and he was a great competitor.

Following the Derby, our Masters team went on to win our league against a tough team, somewhat of an upset.  I had the anchor spot and it felt good to run out the last rack to put it away.

Finally, recently I attended the qualifier for the US Amateur Championships.  I've tried to qualify two times before, making it to the finals the first year and last year just playing mediocre.  Well, this year I finally made it and am heading to the national finals!  I lost my first match, but came through the rest of the field with some very convincing scores - 7-0, 7-0, 7-2, 7-3, 7-2, and 11-1.  Since I rarely play tournaments, I was quite happy that I stayed focused through a very long day and came back after the first loss.  The national finals are held in the beginning of November, I will cover that tournament in a few weeks.

That's about it, back to the present and all caught up...  My next article will discuss some of the things I focused on during the week leading up to the qualifier, hopefully some of those same concepts will help you in your next league match or tournament as well.

I haven't posted here in a while - life just getting in the way, and I tend to focus on work and family and sprinkle in a little pool here and there.  Although I'm still very active with playing and giving lessons and enjoying it quite a bit.  But I read an article by Phil Capelle this morning and felt compelled to write down my thoughts on the subject as well.  So I'll make up for my absence with a nice long post...  :)

I've had some health issues recently - really for the past 6 months or so - and spent way too much time sitting at home and in bed.  Through all of this I still managed to go undefeated and win my American Rotation league (great game by the way!), earning me a spot in Vegas for the national finals.  Only 25 or so people were invited, and a number of professional players were included.  Would have been a great experience, unfortunately I had to miss it.  I couldn't really put in the required practice time, and I didn't want to get out there and end up feeling bad and not play my best or worse not be able to play at all.  Hopefully I'll feel better soon and be able to pull out a victory in one of the next sessions and make it to the national finals again and can report on that.

But on to the point of this post.  I played in a regional tournament a month or so ago, only the second for me this year.  They typically draw many of the top players in Florida and surrounding areas, and I was actually feeling pretty good that day so no excuses.  I played horrible!  I warmed up okay and had been playing well leading up to it.  My first match was against a tough seasoned top player, but I was winning in the early part of the match.  Then I made a mistake, and another, and it's like my concentration just left me.  After losing and not playing to my potential at all, I was toast the next match as well and out of the tourney.  Very rare for me to go two and out, but of course it has to happen to a quarter of the field and with a tough board sometimes you play two very good players back to back.  

I don't mind losing, especially to a better player, just prefer to not give them so much help through my own poor play and excessive mistakes.  I left thinking I just "played bad".  I didn't feel nervous, I wasn't tired, I wasn't hungry, I wasn't distracted.  Yet I didn't feel like I was fully present.

This past month, I happened upon some recorded streams from previous larger events here in Florida.  I've heard the names before, and see them on top of the charts often, but because I don't play in a lot of regional events I hadn't seen many of these players play in person.  While watching the matches, I noticed something, and sort of had a "ah-hah" moment.  What was it?  The answer below...  




As I watched, I saw that most of these top amateur players had flaws in their game.  Especially as an instructor, I tend to notice these things.  Sure there are some notable pros that also have some very unique strokes, but a majority of the pros have great fundamentals.  I saw crooked alignments, pumping arms, twisting, swerving, jumping up, excessive use of spin or speed, and the list goes on.  Many things that I have tried to eliminate from my own game.  Yet I also saw that they were intensely focused on putting the ball in the hole and gaining position for the next shot.  I know this sounds simple, yet there was something intriguing about it to me.

I've been playing 25+ years, and I am still "tinkering" with my stroke.  I belong in TA - Tinkerers Anonymous.  I've done it with bowling, tennis, golf, and definitely pool.  Just 2 years ago I revamped my game - different grip, changed my stance, changed to mostly using an open bridge, altered my preshot routine, fixed a slight swerve I had in my stroke, etc.  All in the name of improvement, trying to hit that next level of consistency.  And while my fundamentals and knowledge are better, and everything looks pretty decent on camera, I haven't been able to go deep in one of these larger events.  Sure I win local tournaments when I play, even in consecutive weeks when I've been able to do that.  But stepping into the regional or national events increases the level of competition, and your game has to be on for long periods of time against guys (and gals) that will really make you pay for your mistakes.  Part of this is lack of playing time - I might play 10 hours a week and attend 10 tournaments a year, many of these guys are in constant action and play 10 or more tournaments in a month.  Yet many people have told me that I play as well as these guys, enough now to where I actually might start to believe it myself.

The difference that I think I discovered, aside from the obvious experience in big tournaments - is this.  I'm still "practicing" while I'm competing, and they are just competing.  I'm thinking about some change I recently made, making sure my stroke is straight, transitions are smooth, etc. - they are 100% focused on putting the ball in the hole.  I'm mechanical and studious in my approach - they are free flowing, confident in their approach, and intent on running out.  I actually start to feel bad and let up a little if beating someone badly - they crush their opponents.  I start to get worn out and tired as the night drags on - they grind it out and keep going.

I think some of this is mental toughness or experience for sure, but I think a big component for me is the practice vs. play idea.  I just haven't taken the time to finally be happy with my fundamentals and just focus on the table when competing, to be able to switch from practice to play.  Probably due in part to my ratio of practice to play, which is 95/5 right now, probably the complete opposite of my fellow competitors.


So....  When is enough enough?  When should you be satisfied with your fundamentals and just get out there and play?  When should you take a good honest look at your game, or invest in your game by seeing an instructor, and make those necessary changes that could mean weeks or months of struggle, yet emerge on the other side a better player?  It's easy for me to see this in my students, harder to see it in myself.  For me, I think enough may be enough, I just need to get out and play as life permits and learn to switch gears from practice to play.  For many players though, the answer is to make some changes and increase their knowledge in order to hit the next level.  For my students, I only try to radically change what they are doing if their fundamentals really need changing to improve, and if they have the time to devote to the change.  Usually I'm able to make small tweaks that offer the biggest improvement quickly, and then focus on other critical areas such as stroke speed consistency, shot selection and position play.  But many players are in denial about their own shortcomings, and try to improve their game by buying new equipment or just playing more, which only reinforces the bad habits that are holding them back.

Hopefully I feel better soon and am able to hit the practice table and work on letting loose a bit more, then hit some upcoming tournaments and prove my theory about my own game.  I'll post my findings good or bad so you can learn from my experience.  As always, feel free to comment on this or any other article, and call or email with any questions you may have with your own game or to set up lessons.

Scott

Have you ever watched a match and said to yourself, “He never has a hard shot”?  While it might be boring to watch, that’s the key to playing pool at the highest level.  Even the best players in the world miss difficult shots just like we do, so to be able to string shots together and run racks you must become an expert in shooting easy shots – that’s where position play comes in.

Position play is relatively simple in concept – you need to know where you want the cue ball to go, then how to make it go there.  Of course you still need to have decent fundamentals in order to hit the cue ball correctly, experience to be able to aim properly, and enough practice and coordination to be able to execute the shot, but without a plan to get on the next shot the game simply becomes a pure shot making exercise, one that you will surely lose.

I learned a lot about position play from reading books and watching a ton of recorded professional matches.  You can learn a lot from the commentary, and with all of the free content available on YouTube and similar sites you have months or even years of matches available for your viewing pleasure.  If you like to read and really study the technical aspects of the game, I highly recommend anything by Robert Byrne or Phil Capelle, they’ve each written many excellent books on various facets of pool.  If you can only get one or two, get the Standard Book of Pool & Billiards by Byrne or Play Your Best Pool by Capelle, you won’t be disappointed.


Position play is achieved through a combination of knowledge, angle, spin, and speed.  You have to know what is possible and what is not, and where the correct position is – without this, you might play perfect position to an incorrect target.  You need the correct angle in order to keep the route as simple as possible and avoid obstacles.  You need the right spin in order to get the cue ball to travel on the desired angle and path, and finally the correct speed to land at the intended location.

There are several principles that come into play when thinking about playing position.  I’m going to list ten key concepts that I think are important, many of which I learned from reading the books mentioned above or hearing concepts discussed over and over during recorded pool matches.


1)      Perfect Angle + Perfect Speed = Perfect Position
This is the key, plain and simple.  You need to have the correct angle on the shot, and then use the correct speed/spin on the cue ball to follow the intended path to the next shot in the sequence.  Simple, right?


2)      Think in Threesomes… J
Position play is all about thinking in groups of threes – you want the correct angle on your current shot, which then takes you to the correct position on the next shot, allowing you to get position on the third ball in the sequence.  Danny DiLiberto, legendary pro pool player and frequent match commentator, is famous for saying “You need an angle for an angle”.  Players should of course look at the rest of the rack and scope out any problems, look for key sequences, etc., but essentially you are simply performing a rolling three ball analysis and execution throughout each game – 1/2/3, 2 /3/4, 3/4/5, etc., until you sink the game ball.  With knowledge and practice this will become second nature.


3)      Get in the Zone
I’ve heard many players, even pros, talk about playing precise position for a specific spot.  “That guy can stop his cue ball on a dime”.  Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but no one can stop the cue ball that accurately shot after shot.  While it may be advantageous to pick out a specific spot, and let your mind/eye computer use programmed muscle memory to feel the shot and send the cue ball there, the game is really about understanding and visualizing the position zones on each shot.  These zones can vary in size from half a table to a few inches, can be wide or narrow, and are roughly triangular or rectangular in shape, narrowing as you approach the object ball.  They are typically limited by obstructing balls, the rails, or maximum practical cut angles for the shot.  Learn to identify and visualize these zones!


4)      Enter at Your Own Risk
Now that you are visualizing the zones, you should try whenever possible to enter the zone correctly.  Imagine a rectangular-shaped zone that narrows as it gets closer to the object ball (this forms a trapezoid for you geometry geeks).  You ideally want to send the cue ball down the line (right down the middle of the rectangle/trapezoid lengthwise) or across the widest part of the zone (the part usually farthest away from the object ball).  Doing one of these things ensures that you are in the position zone for as long as possible, which maximizes your margin for error and allows you to stay in line from shot to shot.


5)      It’s Good to be Right
Right-sided, that is…  On most shots there is a right (correct) and a wrong side.  Being on the right (correct) side makes the shot natural and simple, the wrong side often requires more speed, more spin, or a creative or high-risk recovery shot to attain position.  Think about when you are shooting a ball in the side pocket, and your next shot is in the middle of the end rail. Would you rather be on the right side, above the ball, and just float down toward the next shot, or be on the wrong side and have to force the ball around the table 2 or 3 cushions, using more speed and bringing into play other blocker balls and the scratch?  This may be necessary sometimes, but staying on the correct side of the shot makes getting to the next position zone a breeze.


6)      Long is Strong
Most players do pretty well with this one naturally but it’s still worth mentioning.  If a ball is 1 diamond away from the corner, it makes sense to position the cue ball on the long side, minimizing the distance the object has to travel into the pocket and maximizing your position zone.  The zone is very small on the short side and most players intuitively know that.  The key is planning ahead so you can utilize the zone on the long side, and also knowing when it makes sense to play for the short side in order to increase your overall odds of running out.


7)      Keep it Natural
Try to position the cue ball so that you can use natural shape to travel to the next ball in the sequence.  It makes both the shot and position easier since you are minimizing or eliminating spin on the cue ball and only need to control your speed to attain good position.  These shots are the bread and butter of great players and what makes the game look far easier than it is.


8)      Stay Centered
Getting back to the center of the table is a very important concept.  When shooting from the center of the table, most shots are available and fairly close, and only those balls near the middle of the end rails or high up on the side rails are not accessible.  As a bonus, if the cue ball passes directly through the center of the table after hitting a rail, it’s impossible to scratch!  Practice the various 1, 2, and 3 rail routes leading to or through the center of the table and your game will improve immensely.


9)      Play the Percentages
In general, try to attain position following the simplest and/or highest percentage path.  If you already have good position with a stop shot, don’t try to get a little bit closer or a slightly better angle at the risk of missing the shot or losing position.  Sliding the cue ball a bit is usually preferable to using 1 rail, 1 rail is usually preferable to 2, 2 is better than 3, follow is usually easier to control than draw, etc.  I say “usually” because there are always exceptions based on the layout of the table or your personal preferences.  One thing I’ve learned from watching a lot of commented matches is that most good players use very similar position routes with just a few personalized deviations.  They’ve all learned the hard way through experience what not to do or what isn’t the highest percentage shot.  While following the above mentioned principles (and others) is very important, you also have to know when to break the rules.  Shooting an easy shot and taking a slightly harder shot on the next ball is often better than trying a risky position play to get perfect on the next ball.  Weigh your options at the table and let knowledge and experience guide you in making the best decisions you can.


10)   Dare to be Different
Staying focused on the proper way to play and the percentages is necessary if you want to win.  But we all need to have a little fun sometimes too, right?  Don’t be afraid to experiment during practice, shooting shots at different speeds, with unconventional spins, etc.  Set up a shot by marking the table or using hole reinforcers, and shoot it using all combinations of spin to see what happens.  Work on your stroke, trying to maximize your draw or follow action.  Play with using side spin and how to compensate for the various effects (deflection, curve, etc.) at different distances and shot speeds.  You will not only learn quite a bit about how spin can be used to alter cue ball’s path, but you will also learn your limits on certain types of shots, allowing you to better assess your chances in a game.  And if you learn some cool or difficult shots or position routes, don’t be afraid to use them in a game when you need to, just use them sparingly and in appropriate situations.

Yep, it's that time again...  Everyone goes through peaks, valleys, and plateaus, even pros, and sometimes you just need to go back and review all of your fundamentals to see if something might be getting in the way of you playing your best.  I took a few lessons over the last couple months, only numbers 4 and 5 for me in my pool career, and while they weren't specifically on fundamentals, a few things were uncovered and made me want to really take a hard look at everything I was doing.  The best way to do this is to capture some video of yourself shooting, so let me give you some advice on how to go about doing that and what to look for.

If you are self-analyzing, you will ideally want to use a high def, newer style video camera.  If you don't have one of these, most current cell phones on the market also come with HD recording capabilities, so as long as you have a good light source and can prop the camera and phone up high enough and in the right position you should be fine with either option.  You can also ask a friend to record the session, or as a last resort ask them to watch your stroke and tell them what to look for.

I suggest capturing video from back, front, and side views.  I'm certainly no expert in this, have not attended any certified schools to learn how to do video lessons etc., but a lot of it is common sense.  You want multiple views to see different things from different angles.  Make sure the parts you are recording are in the frame, and unless you are working on something specific, shoot normal shots into the pocket with the camera directly behind or in front of the shot.  Try to shoot a variety of shots and speeds after the normal baseline to see if anything changes.  When you are done recording the basics you can also shoot a few racks and watch later to look at your overall rhythm, patterns, etc. 

What should you look for when analyzing your stroke?  From the back view, I'm looking to make sure the stick is roughly over your back foot, that it stays on line during the stroke, check the grip tightness and opening/closing of the hand, wrist angle to the stick, alignment of the upper arm and elbow over the stick, look for the arm or elbow moving up and down or sideways excessively, and generally looking to make sure the stance and stroke don't look cramped or crooked.  From the front view, I will assess many of the same things as above but also see the follow through more clearly and make sure it stays on line with the shot, look for consistent stick/eye alignment and perhaps watch the eye patterns, check for head movement during the shot, and watch the overall stroke pattern and rhythm.  From the side view, I make sure the forearm is roughly at 90 degrees to the stick, watch the grip movement during the stroke and the overall rhythm and pattern, watch for changes in or excessive tension (everything should just flow smoothly), and look for raising/lowering of the elbow or stick during the stroke.  

I'm sure there are more things than this, and I'll go into more details on certain aspects in future articles, but this is similar to the high level assessment I first do when seeing a student for the first time.  I'm really just looking for glaring flaws or flaws that could be holding the back or causing inconsistencies (as I just found with my stroke - oops...).  I also don't subscribe to any one way of doing things, so I try to stick to the preference vs. principle idea.  There are many ways to accomplish something, but there are certain things that ideally must happen for the stroke to be pure and consistent.  Anything beyond those few principles is a preference and you have leeway in how you approach and execute those concepts and personalize your stroke.  Just because you do something different than me, or different than what is generally taught, doesn't make it bad.  Even if you have a pretty distinct flaw, if you are able to execute shots consistently I wouldn't go out of my way to change it.


Which brings me to the picture above.  Jerry Briesath is a phenomenal instructor and one of the founding fathers of the current PBIA certified instructor program.  He is actually who I had my first lesson with after I had been playing for almost 15 years and it still is one of the best 2 1/2 hours of instruction I've ever received.  If you are looking to get back to fundamentals and get some great advice, I highly recommend his latest DVD series, it's a 3 DVD set and you won't be disappointed.

Hope this helps those of you who are looking to analyze your strokes.  If you would like me to analyze your personal  video and offer some suggestions, just post the video online (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.) and email me a brief description and the link and I'd be happy to help.

... you better listen!!!  Let me explain.

I typically play twice a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 3 - 5 hours each night.  Most weeks I try to sneak an extra hour or two at lunch on Friday's at a local pool hall that opens at 11am.  For the last month or so, I've revved up my practice a bit, trying to add another 4 - 6 hours per week, which isn't much but definitely an improvement.  I've been trying to finalize my experimentation with SEE and Pro1 and building up my confidence so I can start getting back into tournaments again.  My practice has been a little scattered and felt a little rushed at times, but something was better than nothing.

Just when I thought I had it almost figured out, I heard the same advice from 4 different sources over the last week, all independently of each other.  Not to name drop, but two of these sources were Thorsten Hohmann and Mika Immonen, definitely two guys to listen to!  Thorsten lives here in Jacksonville, and I run into him from time to time, and Mika was here for a clinic and I met up with him for lunch and a private lesson.  The other sources were a local shortstop level player, Butch, and my new Masters league partners Neal and Andy, both solid players as well.

What was this great advice?  To summarize hours of conversations, one glaring thing stood out - I was shooting the balls too hard.  Somehow in all of my experimentation with aiming systems, and in an effort to "prove" to myself that the systems were working, I lost sight of my feel for the shots and had developed a pretty punchy stroke on most shots.  I guess I was forcing the ball in the pockets, determined not to worry about the tight equipment I typically play on, I had an awesome aiming system, right?

Actually, what I was doing was making an already difficult game even harder!  I was basically demanding perfection from myself, and at the speed I was shooting I needed it for the ball to drop.  Any slight glance off the rail and the ball wouldn't go in.  Just for perspective, I wasn't slamming balls in at break speed, just punching them more than necessary, maybe 20% - 30% harder, and on shots that didn't require any sort of punch or force stroke.  To paraphrase Thorsten, shoot as soft as you can but as hard as you need to.

So I got back to basics, and started working on smooth draw and follow shots, probably 50 or 60 of them, until I was getting the same action with 30% less power.  Once I had smoothed things out a bit, I started setting up cut shots to recalibrate my speed control, and watched and heard the difference as I stroked the ball into the pocket instead of slamming it in.  And guess what?  Balls were rubbing the rail occasionally, but now they were dropping instead of rattling, thanks to the slower speed and the nice natural forward roll on the object ball.

I need to continue the recalibration process over the next few weeks and continue building confidence with the new speed.  I also need to not forget to stroke the ball harder when necessary for position etc.  I'm working on a few other basics suggested by the various sources - slowing down my backswing a bit, slight change in my grip, concentrating more on my shots - so my other system work will have to wait a bit.  But I'm starting to feel everything coming together, hopefully over the next few months I'll have some positive results to share.

Don't make my mistake - when working on something new, don't lose sight of your natural rhythm and shot speed.  And pay attention to the world around you, it might just be trying to tell you something...