There are may aspects and elements of this game that almost defy description and definition. There is such a variety of complexity, and difficulty to a seemingly simple playing field. Yet, people’s lives have become entangled in the effort to jubilantly demonstrate greater mastery of the battle field over your opponents. Continue reading
Tag Archives: pocket billiards
(FAQ) Why is luck a big part of pool?
Sometimes you hear a player say something similar to, “If it wasn’t for bad luck, I wouldn’t have any luck at all.” This kind of statement usually occurs after a bad roll, a scratch, a missed shot, or just plain less than expected ball behavior. Continue reading
(FAQ) How to forget your pre-shot routine
Every once in a while, for one reason or another, you approach a shot, bend over, and the next thing you know – the cue ball is moving and you don’t even know what happened. You just allowed your back brain to take over your consciousness and totally ignore your pre-shot routine. Or it could be your evil self took momentary control. There are two ways for your pre-shot routine to vanish. Continue reading
(FAQ) Pool Sharking, Gamesmanship, & Other Mind Games
First of all, let’s properly describe the term “sharking”. To people who lose, their first complaint (and justification for losing) was that they were sharked. Let’s set aside that notion immediately – you were not sharked when losing against someone of superior skill. You just didn’t have enough shooting competence, plain and simple. Continue reading
(FAQ) You are obsessive about pool when…
This checklist tell you if you have a pool addiction. If you discover this is a personal problem – good for you!! Continue reading
(FAQ) What is Gamesmanship & Sharking?
Random House Dictionary definitions:
gamesmanship – 1. the use of methods, esp. in a sports contest, that are dubious or seemingly improper but not strictly illegal. 2. the technique or practice of manipulating people or events so as to gain an advantage or outwit one’s opponents or competitors.
shark – 1. (v) to obtain by trickery. 2. (n) a person regarded as ruthless.
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(FAQ) Do you perform a post-shot routine?
If you watch players compete, there is one habit that the winners consistently have in common. Those are the shooters who always stop after a shot and appear to be momentarily frozen in time. What they are really doing is going over their shot, comparing the new table layout with what they were attempting to achieve. These are the players that learn from their mistakes. Continue reading
(FAQ) How do you find a good pool instructor?
It is surprising, but the vast majority of pool players have never taken any kind of lesson from a qualified pool instructor – not even a basic check on their fundamentals. They will spend hundreds (even thousands) of dollars on a cool cue stick. They aren’t willing to spend $20, $50, or $100 for lessons that will improve their game for the rest of their lives. They are perfectly happy to go on for years and years (and years) believing they are just too intelligent to need an instructor. Continue reading
(FAQ) How can your shooting game go wrong?
When your shooting game goes off into failure-land and your shooting results begin to significantly deviate from your intentions, something has gotten out of kilter – usually your fundamentals. The problem is – how long does it take before you notice that something is wrong and take corrective action? Generally, by the time you do wake up, the game count is tough. You might recover – but the struggle to win becomes a low probability proposition. Continue reading
(FAQ) How to check your stroke for flaws
This is the basic setup for this self-evaluation process:
- Five (5) striped balls
- Line up balls about 1 diamond from short rail.
- All shots are done on the vertical center line:
12:00 contact is one tip above center
6:00 is one tip below center - All balls are shot into one of the far corner pockets Continue reading