Comments on: Different Strokes . . .

By: John Biddle

John Biddle — Sun, 09 May 2010 04:15:22 +0000

Well, those stats would make these two guys the greatest straight pool players that ever lived, but I get your point; they’re good, you trust them, and their advice has worked for you.

I’m glad it worked, especially since you worked hard for three months to make the change. Do you think it’s possible that this intense 3 month effort of focusing on your stroke would have improved your performance even if you had stayed with the non-pausing approach? I mean, maybe the improvement isn’t coming from the new stroke but from the intense practice.

By: countryboy54_44

countryboy54_44 — Sun, 09 May 2010 02:08:21 +0000

Three close friends and very good pool players suggested I come down on my shots on line with the shot and stroke as many times as I wanted to, then pause 2 seconds, stroke 2 more times, pause 2 seconds and shoot the shot. It took about three months for me to get used to shooting this way but it made me a better pool player. Playing straight pool my first friend averages 80 balls every time he shoots, second and third friends average 45 balls every time they shoot.

By: Bill Asher

Bill Asher — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:30:04 +0000

As in the waggle of the golf swing your constant motion is important to get a rythym and make the stroke without starting from a frozen postition (the pause)…Hogan beleived the “waggle” loosened him us and prepared him for the full swing…and so with your stroke that is in constant motion before the hit…good article…

By: Jack Shepherd

Jack Shepherd — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:14:46 +0000

Re the Ultimate Coach, which I like very much – I think you are missing the most important point. As I read your review, I think you say it reveals if ones arm is correctly vertically aligned. Assuming it is not, the device goes one step further – it means that the FEET are not positioned correctly. It then follows that the correction is made by adjusting the Feet, not the arm. This is the key. Nothing could be more important.

By: Ben Conley

Ben Conley — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 02:21:34 +0000

I don’t pause, mainly because I bought a course from Jimmy Reid and he said don’t stop.. fast and free, three dead aim strokes and let the cue continue to the cue ball, don’t shoot, just let it flow… I tried the pause after I heard Allison Fisher say that it was the best tip she ever received, it works okay but I like the continuous motion much better… It is probably whatever you like the best, either will work. It is just a matter of practice.

By: goettlicher

goettlicher — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 23:03:43 +0000

SET on the cue ball.
PAUSE is the transition from back to forth.
FINISH is the end result of your stroke.

By: Roy Zornow

Roy Zornow — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 13:15:42 +0000

It seems to me that pausing risks altering one’s pendulum line. There is a stabilizing gyroscopic effect from swinging an object rather than holding it and dropping/pushing. Golfers don’t pause – they don’t want to employ antagonistic muscles to stop a motion.

I do better when my aiming and adjusting are done during warm-up strokes, not while performing the actual stroke itself. So hat’s off to the people who pause, because to me it’s harder.

By: Chris O'Donnell

Chris O'Donnell — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 19:21:19 +0000

I tend to agree with John Biddle. A protracted pause of any kind that disrupts the natural and steady rhythm of the stroke may help somehow with the mental game, but I prefer to rely soley on the tempo of my stroke when I am under pressure. I find that anything that alters that tempo is a problem for most of my students as well.

I truly believe that the biggest problem most people have keeping a steady stroke from the practice stroke to the shot stroke is focusing too much on a target point, which tends to make players punch at the ball with a stroke that is a bit harder than the practice strokes they have been taking. It is the change in tempo that causes most of the problems in pocketing shots.

That is why I consider the “protracted pause” (or “hesitation” as Byrnes refers to it) to be a real problem for anyone who doesn’t spend 6-10 hours a day refining it. I’m sure it provides some visual assistance, but I prefer to rely on the targeting that I do when I line up the shot and take my stance. And keeping a good rhythm and tempo can be crucial when you don’t get a chance to play for a week or so. Try that pause when you haven’t played for a while and I bet it isn’t so easy to keep a good rhythm with it.

But, as always in this game, each to his own.

By: Jim Walsh

Jim Walsh — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 03:42:07 +0000

I returned to playing pool about 1 yr ago after a 40 yr layoff. For all practical purposes I had to relearn what came easy eons ago. For a while it was a Little difficult because the mind and memory was happy in their retirement.

As would be predicted my game had gone so far south it did not seem to want to be reactivated. But I persisted, and as time pasted the grove started to become familiar and comfortable. I was having problems with shots that should not have been a problem and I began to look for a solution.
I started to do the research and became acquainted with the discussions revolving around the “pause at the back stroke”.

I tried it and dropped it, and tried it and dropped etc cetra. Somewhere along the line I realized that I was making more shots with the pause, and I got serious about it. Litle by little it became a part of my back stroke and I do not even thing about it.

When I start missing shots, I know right where to look for the problem. That 2-3 seconds makes a difference in my overall stroke and follow. And it also gives my tired old eyes (70+) a chance to check my aim. It has become a second nature part of my stroke.

You know what they say…..pause and smell the roses. It will be good for you. And your game.

Another nation heard from.

By: Johnny Ohm

Johnny Ohm — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 15:15:04 +0000

I switched to the pause because I felt that, under pressure, I couldn’t keep my stroke steady and smooth and ended up rattle a lot of pockets. I would “tense up” or “speed up” on final delivery and that would be enough to cause a miss. I found it very hard to maintain a continuous perfectly straight stroke trying to get that feeling right before pulling the trigger over pausing, and focusing on deliver one perfectly straight stroke to the target. (It does, as Pool Minnow stated, work very well with the Quiet Eye concept.)

I found it complicated in the beginning to make the switch but I have become use to the pause and it’s now just part of my routine. I believe it took me a full month to become fully adjusted to it and to do it without thought. (Results will vary depending on how many hours you practice a week.)

I can only say that you should try it, really try it, and see if it helps. If, after a month, you still do not like it you can always switch back.