I thought I would summarize my thoughts on the core fundamentals of the game – stance, bridge, grip, alignment, preshot routine, and stroke.  This also coincides with a free monthly clinic that I teach, which this month will be on this very same topic.  

This sums up everything I’ve read or learned about these concepts over 20+ years of playing, studying, and teaching the game.  I try to follow these tenets as closely as possible myself, and when I teach I try to convey these same principles, allowing for personalization and fine tuning for each person’s physical makeup and skill level.  I don’t believe in a cookie cutter approach, although certainly many of the key concepts discussed and the “keep it simple” approach do apply pretty universally.


1)      Stance
This is probably the area where I tend to be very lenient, but also one where a few simple tweaks can sometimes result in drastic improvements for a player.  In general, you should form a solid, balanced base and be positioned the correct distance from the cue ball so there is no excessive lean one way or the other.  I don’t subscribe that your feet have to be in a certain position, or favor a closed or open stance, etc.  Balance is the key, the stance should allow you to position your eyes correctly over the shot, allow freedom of movement for your shooting arm, and overall just help tie everything together.

I’ve shot well with both an “American”-style closed stance as well as a more snooker-style open stance.  I’ve experimented with having my back foot at a 90 degree angle to the shot, 45, or somewhere in between.  I’ve had my front foot pointing at a 45, down the line of the shot, or in between.  I’ve had both legs bent or a straightened back leg and bent front leg.  Point is, any of these can be acceptable, it’s all based on your physical makeup and shooting style.  Often tweaking a foot or leg position or changing how someone “hinges” into their stance can make a world of difference.  If you feel uncomfortable or cramped when shooting, seek out some advice to see if a simple change in this area is the key. 


2)      Bridge
This is another area that allows for varying degrees of personalization and where there may not be one conclusive answer.  Most players go through an evolution, starting with an open bridge, then a sloppy closed bridge, then a decent closed bridge, then back to using an open bridge on 50% or more of their shots.  I find that transition very interesting… 

Many pros shoot quite a lot of their shots with an open bridge, and snooker players use an open bridge almost exclusively.  It allows for more of a sight line down the cue and keeps everything very relaxed.  It also requires better technique, or put another way, it will expose flawed technique in your stroke, since any tightening or jabbing of your grip hand will be very evident when your cue comes flying off of your bridge hand!  To form this bridge, simply lay your hand flat on the table, squeeze it together a bit almost like there is something under your hand, and then just bring your thumb up toward the base of your forefinger to form a “V”.  Most players will also have their fingers spread comfortably and their hand turned in somewhat, and it’s important to keep the base of your hand on the table whenever possible.  Players vary whether their arm is bent or straight, just try to maintain consistency.  An open bridge can be difficult to form comfortably when close to the rail because of having to place your hand directly over the rail, so a closed bridge may be more advisable in those situations.

Speaking of, most American pool players tend to focus more heavily on the closed bridge anyway.  Here it’s just important to form a nice snug bridge, without being too snug, as that can actually have an adverse effect on the stroke.  The cue really rides on a V formed by your middle finger and thumb, while the forefinger is wrapped around the cue and can either touch the tip of your thumb, outside of your thumb, or even overlap the top of your middle finger.  The important thing is to spread your fingers out to form a solid base and try to keep a consistent connection between all three fingers.  If you are just learning the closed  bridge, put in some time practicing at home on a dining room table or even while sitting on the couch, maybe even in front of a mirror, it will save a lot of frustration at the table trying to force your fingers into the proper positions.

With either bridge, try to keep the length between 8” and 10”.  Any shorter and you will have trouble accelerating through the shot, any longer and inconsistency can creep in.  Many good players and pros have long bridges, 11” – 12” or even longer.  But if you notice, many of those same players do not pull the cue all the way back to their bridge hand, but rather pull back just a few inches on most shots and smoothly punch through the ball.  That’s actually the approach I take, and one I find effective, as I can simply pull back farther on shots requiring more power.  Just guard against a bridge that’s too long, especially if you are a beginner or intermediate player.

Of course the more you play the more variation in bridges you will experience.  You will need to learn to raise your bridge slightly when shooting a follow shot and lower it slightly when shooting a draw shot.  You will need various types of rail bridges, elevated bridges, and other odd ball bridges when in awkward positions on the table, they are all part of the game.  Watch a pro when they have an awkward bridge and they will spend extra time to make sure they get it into a stable position, since it’s so critical for the bridge to be formed properly to support the stroke.  Again, if you are unfamiliar with these bridges I would recommend checking out information on YouTube or in print, there are a ton of resources with pictures or video to help you out.


3)      Grip and Alignment
As with stance and bridges, there are all sorts of effective grips.  I mostly advocate a neutral, relaxed hand position that allows you to stroke the cue straight back and forward.  Try not to cock your wrist forward, backward, or sideways too much, as trying to keep your grip in that position day in and day out will prove difficult.  It’s usually pretty effective to lay the cue along the middle knuckles of the hand and gently wrap your thumb around the cue.  When looking from the front your hand will form a sort of “V” at the top where the webbing of your hand is.

Hold the cue with anywhere from 2 – 5 fingers, really just personal preference.  Anything that feels good and allows for a natural hinging of the hand during the stroke will work just fine.  You can also vary your grip pressure somewhat, just guard against too tight or too loose, with too tight being the bigger mistake.  Holding the cue too tight restricts wrist movement which in turn restricts the speed at which you can move the cue forward, making power shots, draws, etc. difficult to execute.  Holding it too loose in a “teacup” type grip, where the cue would fall to the ground without some small amount of pressure on the cue, is also a mistake.  Think of forming a cradle for the cue and allowing the cue to do the work – if everything is neutral and relaxed that’s exactly what will happen.

In addition to the grip, you ideally want your upper arm directly in line over the cue and should be holding the cue so when you make contact with the cue ball your lower arm is roughly at a 90 degree angle to the cue.  If you upper arm is not in line it can make it very difficult to stroke in a straight line, causing swerving, chicken winging, etc.  If the lower arm is not at 90 degrees it will be difficult to return the cue to the cue ball in a consistent manner and can also cause a lot of up and down arm movement, premature elbow drop, or lack of power.  You will find good players and even pros who deviate from these guidelines somewhat, but many of them just have raw natural talent, some physical variation, or perhaps learned the game at a young age and those “flaws” just stuck with them.  As long as everything is repeatable then there is no overriding reason to change.


4)      PSR (Preshot Routine)
This can be an often overlooked area for intermediate and even better players.  You need to develop a solid PSR that you can rely on over and over again, and especially under pressure.  Again, watch most good players and pros and you will see a consistent rhythm, routine, and number and type of strokes being used on all but the easiest or most difficult of shots.  You need to develop a cadence around the table, a “flow”, something that you can sink yourself into and just let your subconscious take over.  Do all of your thinking while upright and looking at the shot, once you get down just let your training take over and execute the shot.

Two other important areas of the PSR are eye patterns and pauses.  You have to coordinate your eye movements with your routine so that you can draw that imaginary line between the cue ball and object ball, or stare at your contact point on the object ball, whatever it is that you do to make sure you are locked on to the shot.  It’s best to have some quiet time for your eyes as well, if they are constantly moving it’s hard to get optimal feedback.  So staring at one spot for ½ second, 1 second, or even 2 full seconds can make a big difference.  Most people look at the object ball last, while others look at the cue ball last and then typically bounce their eyes up to the object ball during the final stroke.

Which brings me to the pauses, very important.  I think most people benefit from having a defined pause when finished with their aiming, warm up, or practice strokes and before the final stroke.  It gives you a chance to integrate a ready signal, where you tell yourself whether you are ready to pull the trigger or not.  If you aren’t feeling it, take another stroke or two and pause again.  If you still aren’t feeling it, then you should get up and go through your routine from the beginning.  The second pause is between the backswing and forward swing.  You don’t have to have a definitive pause like Buddy Hall or Allison Fisher, but some sort of slight pause will enable you to stop one movement (the backswing) and smoothly transition into the forward swing.

I spent years trying to find my ideal routine, always thinking that if I took an extra stroke, moved my eyes differently, sped up, slowed down, paused longer, etc. that I would hit that next level.  I tried to emulate players who moved and shot in a rhythm that seemed comfortable to me.  What I found was that while the routine was important, it wasn’t so much which routine I was using as it was the fact that I used a consistent routine.  I will try to help other players find their own routine and rhythm, as I know how important it is to your feel and confidence as a player.  I now found one that works for me, and while I may tweak it here and there, I can definitely rely on it and it supports my rhythm around the table. 


5)      Stroke
Finally we come to the stroke, that elusive concept that so many people struggle with.  There’s really nothing overly mystical about it – if the above fundamentals are reasonably solid, then during the forward swing everything should just release and flow naturally.  Don’t try to force any sort of wrist snap or release, just keep a relaxed grip and feel that you are letting the cue do the work.  If you keep your backswing slow and your transition smooth, then you should be able to accelerate very smoothly and effectively and develop an excellent sense of speed control with all of the power you need.  Many of the shots in the game require more finesse or precision than raw power, and you should be hitting your average shots with a controlled speed that allows the object ball to roll into the pocket rather than sliding all the way, it just makes for a larger effective pocket.

When you see those trick shot artists, or you hear someone say “They’ve got a great stroke”, again there is nothing magical about this.  By keeping everything smooth, you can give the impression that you are generating effortless power, so you look like you are exerting less effort or force than the next person.  For students having issues drawing the ball, I will demonstrate a table length draw shot from a foot or two away by holding my cue loosely resting on my open hand, no thumb involved at all, it actually slides after impact.  But all you need from that distance is a smooth acceleration of the cue and hitting the cue ball a full tip below center, letting the cue do all the work.  (Most don’t actually hit where they think they are aiming, but that’s another discussion…)

The cue ball reacts purely from a physics standpoint, so executing an extreme draw stroke or some other sort of power stroke is nothing more than hitting the proper spot on the cue ball (sometimes at the extreme limits of a miscue) while accelerating the cue up to a certain speed before impact.  Most of us are not as accurate when shooting at faster speeds, flaws tend to come out in our strokes which either limit the speed we are trying to use or cause us to hit somewhere other than where we are aiming.  When trying to develop your stroke, above all just think smooth and pay attention to your fundamentals and it will all fall into place.

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.

This is a fantastic drill for practicing and tightening up your position routes.  It teaches you to work in groups of three and how to stay focused on those last few balls on the table.  It was first shown to me by Jerry Briesath, a master instructor, and is simple in concept yet very, very effective as a practice drill.  So simple in fact that no pictures are needed... :)

There are a lot of great things on Bob Jewett’s site (www.sfbilliards.com) – reprints of his articles from Billiards Digest, technical articles on all sorts of pool-related topics, etc.  But in my opinion, one of the best things is the article focusing on Progressive Practice Drills.

The concept is simple – you set up a shot and execute it.  Every time you are successful you increase the difficulty, if you miss you make it easier.  You do this exercise with 10 or 15 balls and you will finish very close to the 50% point of making or missing the shot.  You can keep a log with your scores and track your progress over time.  His excellent article demonstrates exercises for working on stop shots, follow, draw, and even certain cut shots, each progressively more difficult.

At the top of the diagram above is the setup for the follow exercise, level 1.  Set up the 1 ball a little off the rail near the first diamond and the cue ball 1 diamond away.  Shoot a follow shot and try to follow the cue ball to within 1 diamond of the end rail.  Very simple from this initial position, but it gets harder…  When you make this first shot, move both balls back a diamond, so now the object ball is at diamond 2 and the cue ball is still 1 diamond away.  As mentioned, every time you make it move back a diamond, every time you miss move back to your previous position.  Even if you get to position 7, keep shooting out all 15 balls, we are after consistency not best attempt.

The bottom of the diagram shows the initial position for both the stop and draw shots in the easiest configuration.  For the stop shot, simply make the ball and leave the cue ball in the 1 x 1 diamond square near the corner pocket.  For the draw shot, you must make the ball and draw back at least 1 diamond from the object ball.  For each successful attempt, leave the object ball where it’s at and move the cue ball back 1 diamond, thus making the distance between the balls increase with each attempt.

This is only level 1 for the stop, follow, and draw drills.  Levels 2 – 5 increase in difficulty by requiring you to be more and more precise with your shots in order for them to count as a successful attempt.  For instance, in the level 3 draw drill, you have to draw back to at least the starting position of the cue ball but not more than 2 diamonds past.  That means that for the number 7 draw shot, you have to make a ball that’s 7 diamonds away and draw it back 7 diamonds but not more than 9 – very tough indeed!

Check out the original article at http://sfbilliards.com/Misc/progpract.pdf and do the exercises and track your progress, you might be surprised on the difficulty of some of these drills and your game will definitely benefit from the challenge!

This drill is from the PAT, which is a Playing Ability Test designed by Ralph Eckert, Jorgen Sandman, and Andreas Huber.  Ralph is a professional pool player and trick shot champion as well as a top coach, I’m not sure of the other two gentlemen’s playing credentials but they are both well renowned national level coaches in Europe.

The PAT has three levels and is a point-based test.  You typically perform each exercise multiple times, scoring points for each successful attempt based on the parameters of the exercise.  There are exercises for cue ball control, shot making, and position play.  As you move from level to level some of the exercises change, but more typically the exercises are similar but with increasing difficultly, either by adding distance, more balls, or more difficult goals to the exercise.

The drill diagrammed above is the Follow and Draw drill and is excellent for working on both of those skills.  Line up 6 balls as diagrammed along the third diamond, and starting two diamonds away place the cue ball so it’s straight in with the first object ball.  For Level 1, the object is to make the 1 ball and leave the cue ball near the corner pocket, no more than 1 diamond in either direction.  Do the same thing with the 2 – 6 balls.  For Level 2, you must make each ball AND follow it into the pocket, which requires both careful alignment of the balls as well as a smooth and straight stroke.

For the draw portion of the exercise, use the same setup as above.  For Level 1, make the ball and draw it back to within 2 diamonds of the top rail.  For Level 2, the object balls are placed 1 diamond further away, or even 2 diamonds further away, and you must draw back to the end rail within 1 ½ diamonds.  You can see how this can become more and more difficult very quickly.

This is a great practice drill for follow and draw.  If too difficult as diagrammed, move the balls closer together and/or closer to the pocket.  Focus on a smooth stroke, shooting only as hard as needed to accomplish the goal.  It’s not a power follow or power draw drill, the emphasis should be on clean pocketing of the object balls and smooth but strong action on the cue ball.  I would recommend doing at least 3 if not 5 repetitions of both follow and draw regularly until you can execute the shots confidently.

If you are more interested in the PAT, you can check out their website at http://www.pat-billiard.com/ and also check out YouTube for some sample exercises, including this one, being demonstrated by none other than Thorsten Hohmann.

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.

This is a nice complement to the across the table version.  This one though isn’t so much about working on your stroke as it is working on position play.  

This drill is quite versatile as well, with several approaches ranging from easy to more difficult:

1)      Shoot in any order, any pocket, from either side

2)      Shoot in any order, any pocket, but staying on the same side of the line

3)      Shoot in any order but only in the two corner pockets

4)      Shoot in order, staying on the same side, either any pocket or corners only

5)      Shoot in order, alternating sides, any pocket or corners only

6)      If you are not feeling challenged, bank them all in cross corner or cross side

So try this one out as well, maybe alternating from time to time with the across the table version to keep things interesting.

This is a fantastic drill for players of all skill levels, simplistic in its complexity (if that even makes sense).  While it can be both boring and frustrating at the same time, there are so many variations that there is something for everyone.

In its basic form, you line up 15 balls across the middle of the table and place the cue ball 2 diamonds away so that the shot is straight in on the 1 ball.  If you are a beginner, feel free to place the cue ball just 1 diamond away (along the third diamond) to make it a bit easier.  Take your time and line up the shot properly, no reason to make it harder than it already is.  Go through your routine and pocket the 1 ball in the corner with a nice smooth stop shot.  Move the cue ball so that it’s straight in on the 2 ball and shoot it in the corner pocket next.  Continue up to the 8 ball, at which point you can choose to shoot it in the same corner or switch corners.  Then continue with the 9 – 15 in the opposite corner.

This is great for assessing flaws in your stroke – and also your ability to line the shots up straight…  There is enough distance between the cue ball and object ball and the object ball and pocket where slight mishits will not go in, especially on tight equipment.  You also learn to aim for the proper part of the pocket as you get closer to the rails.  You will see if you favor one side or the other, and if hitting stop shots how good your stop shot really is.  You can focus on different things as you repeat the drill – maybe your grip, eye patterns, smoothness of stroke, staying down, etc.  Like I said, a lot bundled up in this one drill.

But wait – there’s more.  This is a perfect drill to do in sets and to keep track of your scores.  Keeping score not only gives you a baseline and helps you measure improvement, but it also adds pressure while doing the drill as you try to beat previous best scores, adding an element of real competitive pressure to your practice. 

The easiest way to score is what you would expect - just keep track of how many balls you make out of 15.  Whenever you miss just leave the ball on the table and put it in the middle of the opposite end rail, then it’s easy to count when you are done.  You can also shoot until you miss, then line up and start over.  If you manage to sink 15 out of 15, keep going and try to beat your high score.

If you get tired of shooting stop shots over and over, add some variety.  Do a few rows where you try and follow the ball in the pocket, or draw back to the end rail.  Work on smoothness and accuracy, shooting only as hard as necessary to get the cue ball to its target and having it roll end over end with no side spin.  You can also work on replacement shots, or short draws, to really fine tune your tip position and speed control.  If you are an advanced player, move the cue ball back to the first diamond, or even frozen to the end rail.  The possibilities are endless.

Ralf Eckert mentioned shooting 5000 shots using this drill!  It is a great way to refine and perfect your stroke.  If you committed to just 10 rows of 15 balls each week, it would take 33 weeks to complete, but at the end of that time imagine how much improvement you would see with your alignment and stroke, and your confidence on these types of shots would soar during matches.  Something to think about for sure.

... 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...

Take a look at the diagram above.  I did something pretty simple – went into Word, and used the rulers (both in inches and metric) to draw a cue ball to scale, 2 1/4” in diameter.  I was also able to use the drawing tool and come up with circles to represent the cue tip that were ½” in diameter (12.7mm). An average size tip, and it worked out well since Word automatically snaps the drawing objects to the nearest ¼” marking.

I started with center ball and drew three overlapping tips going up and down to represent three increments of follow and draw, overlapping in a slightly different manner so you can see the overlaps clearly.  As you can see, what is commonly called a “tip” is actually a half tip – that is, you move the center of your tip up or down to the edge of the previous tip’s location.  If you do this three times from the center in any direction, you reach very close to the maximum you can hit without a miscue.

A few things are interesting about this.  First, what I believe most people mean when they say 1 tip of english is actually a half tip.  I believe that because most people I know, and most everything I’ve read, frequently talks about using 1, 2, or 3 tips of english, or somewhere in between.  You can see from the diagram that it’s impossible to use 3 full tips of english, if everyone went by the physical definition we would be talking about using ½, 1, or 1 ½ tips, not 1, 2, or 3. 

Another possible explanation is that they are referring to the contact patch between the tip and the cue ball.  Regardless of tip location, the contact patch is roughly 3mm in diameter.  If you look to the right of the center axis in the diagram, I’ve drawn these contact patch positions, and you can see that as you move up, and different parts of the tip are hitting different parts of the curvature of the cue ball, you get a nice progression of 1, 2, and 3 tip positions above or below center.  They are not right next to each other, and in theory you could hit spots in between these, just like you can with the regular tip positions, but they give us good reference points to work from.

Speaking of which, when hitting maximum draw or follow (or side for that matter), you can see that the cue tip is 3 half tips above center, but it is actually making contact with the cue ball roughly half way between the center and edge of the cue ball.  This is about the limit before the curvature of the cue ball prevents a solid hit, or in the case of draw before the table gets in the way.  Since most striped balls are exactly that size, you can practice hitting with maximum spin by orientating the stripe either horizontally for draw/follow or vertically for side spin, and then aiming the inner edge of your tip at the outer edge of the stripe.  If applying fresh chalk you often can also see the mark you left after the hit as well, as long as it’s not rubbed off by the table.  You must learn to hit near these maximum limits to get that smooth “whipping” action on your cue ball with a minimum of force, or if you ever want to enter a trick shot competition…  J

And finally, to dispel one last myth – while your tip shape (dime vs. nickel) might allow you to press the limits a bit more, or at least more than a poorly shaped tip, the size of the shaft doesn’t matter that much within normal limits.  I’ve heard people say they get more english with a Predator Z2 shaft, or a similar thinner shaft.  The difference between that 11.75mm shaft and my example shaft of 12.7mm is 1 mm.  Which means that for each half tip progression, the tip location is .5mm lower.  After 3 half tips, I would be 1.5mm further from the edge than with my sample drawing.   So yes I could move slightly more toward the edge with a thinner shaft in terms of “tips”, but the actual physical location of the edge of the tip in the maximum tip position for either shaft is achievable just the same.  The difference with the smaller shafts is that visually they appear to be slightly less toward the outside of the ball, or more above the table on draw shots, which may give some people the confidence to venture more toward the edge of the ball.

So be aware of the possible confusion around this, and when someone tells you to use a tip of english make sure you know which tip size they mean!