 Beat People With a StickMakin' the Money BallBy Tom Simpson In most games, there is a moment when we face the game-winning (or game-losing shot)-the "money ball." In 8-ball and 9-ball, obviously it's shooting the 8 or the 9. In straight pool, it's the final point. We've been there a thousand times, and it's not always pretty. Because sinking this o要e shot matters so much, and because the ball just sits there waiting for us to decide we're ready, we have opportunities to get ourselves in trouble. We think of the money shot as something different from the other shots, and the pressure begins to rise. We allow the pressure to influence how we approach the shot, how we feel about it, and how we shoot it. And guess what? We start to see it as a different shot. It doesn't look like it would if it was just a "regular shot." The pressure to make it-and the potential embarrassment if we don't-distract us from the task at hand. We get tied up with issues of winning and losing, fear of missing an easy shot and looking like we succumbed to the pressure, self-consciousness because we feel the judging gaze of the railbirds. We desperately try to avoid choking-and, of course, that causes us to choke. This is a huge, multi-faceted problem, o要e we're all too familiar with. We've all missed game-winning hangers. We all face the money ball challenge-hopefully frequently. Psychotherapy is expensive, takes too long, and will have our opponents poking fun at us (causing even more stress and pressure). So what's left? What practical steps can we take to deal with those pesky money balls?
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Beat People with a StickBy Tom Simpson Fundamaniacs I'm a maniac about fundamentals. Weaknesses in our fundamentals are what I believe hold most of us back. Great fundamentals-and pretty good vigilance about it-allow our games to improve as we incorporate new knowledge and more advanced strategies. Advanced techniques are of little help if you can't execute them accurately and consistently. Without solid fundamentals, shots requiring finesse (which is pretty much every shot) are literally "hit or miss." To play pool at an ever higher level, you need to continually refine your touch-your ability to consistently get the shot result you want. Fundamentals are about developing and burning in a simple, repeatable, highly functional set of physical techniques, techniques that make sense to you, techniques you can trust under pressure. The most common thing students say when they track me down for help is, "I'm not getting better any more. I've been stuck at the same level for a long time, and I'm frustrated about it." I hear this from players who've been at it anywhere from a couple of years to a lifetime. They have realized that whatever they've been trying, if anything, is not working. Something will have to change if they are going to move forward again.
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Beat People with a StickBy Tom Simpson Doin' the Backstroke Most players don't give much thought to their backswing. Their focus is primarily o要 hitting the ball. But to hit the ball with good quality, you have to have a good backswing. To be clear, I'm talking about the backswing o要 the final stoke, pulling back to hit the cue ball (not your warm-up strokes). Let's begin by looking at the idea of "quality" and the idea of "hitting" the ball. To me, the whole point of good fundamentals of stroke, form, and alignment is to learn to deliver consistent, precise, fluid strokes. We have to be able to send that cue ball down the target line with extreme precision, with our intended spin (or lack of spin), and with exactly the speed we planned. Stroke quality is the degree to which we produce that all-important consistency, precision, and fluidity straight down the target line. The idea of "hitting" the cue ball is part of the problem for many players. If you're thinking, "Hit the cue ball," you'll tend to stop the stick somewhere close to where the tip touched the ball. In other words, you're likely to stop the tip inside the space previously occupied by the cue ball and not follow through naturally. This is a POKE! You were slowing down o要 the way to the ball! With a poke, how can you hope to be consistent?
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Beat People with a StickBy Tom Simpson Cheating the Pocket Pool, as you know, calls for amazing precision. And as we become better players, we actually like to make it even harder. We shim the pockets o要 the "player tables," making the pockets even narrower and less friendly. It would be helpful to see how accurately we are pocketing balls and get feedback o要 exactly which part of the pocket a ball entered. After all, if we're going to tighten the pockets, we'd better improve our awareness of our results. Corner pockets are typically about two ball-widths wide at the point where the balls drop into the pocket. There is considerable variation in this, but it's a good rule of thumb. That means there is a lot of leeway for where we can enter the pocket. Side pockets are even larger. We can use this leeway to "cheat the pocket." Cheating the pocket means intentionally sending the ball into o要e side or the other of center pocket, either to avoid hitting another ball that is blocking part of the pocket or to make the cue ball come off the object ball at a slightly different angle to gain position. When the object ball is close to the pocket, the margin for error for making that ball is higher. This means you can purposely cut the ball to different parts of the pocket to change the angle for the cue ball's subsequent path. Very useful. As your angle of approach to a corner pocket gets tighter (closer to shooting down the rail), the pocket opening available to your ball effectively becomes smaller. You have to watch your speed, because the pocket will reject the ball. In general, the harder you shoot, the smaller the pockets become. With this in mind, it's a good idea to really know where the center of the pocket is, because that's where the pocket will be the most generous.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 01 January 2006 )
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Beat People with a StickBy Tom Simpson Testosteroneous Shots This is primarily a guy problem. As guys, we are sometimes driven by our testosterone to do the "manly" thing, whether that manly thing is a smart thing or not. We may know better and do it anyway. In pool, players at every level feel compelled to take the hard shot. We want to "go for it" and try for that low percentage shot. We are pulled by our desire to make the great shot, and at the same time, we are pushed by our fear of looking like a wuss for not taking the shot. In many places, defense (safeties) is viewed as "dirty pool"-definitely not the manly play. Taking the tough shot, we have a chance to pull it off and look good. At the same time, if we miss the tough shot-hey, it was a tough shot. We have an excuse for the miss. Missing with an excuse might be better than just missing, but is this the way we should play? I don't think so.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 01 January 2006 )
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