Where Are Most Pots Missed?

[armstm]

a) sighting

b) errors sliding the bridge hand from standing up to the table

c) cueing across?


my suspicion is b) is responsible for this - we sight most/all pots correctly but somehow the line of aim is not translated into correct bridge hand position.

what i have tried to do is forget about stance/ getting feet in the right place, move the cue first (not the feet) and simply be as aware as i can possibly of my bridge hand and guiding it down to the baize in a smooth straight line. Result - many more pots got and also you can actually feel your bridge hand moving off line (conscious brain tries to take it off line as it doesn't look right?).

what it also means is instead of staring at the object ball as you get down to the shot you flick your eyes between your bridge hand and the object ball... or at least have an awareness of what your bridge hand is doing at most times as you move down to the shot...

i am sure a and c are responsible for some misses but i think eliminating b) or at least being super aware of unintentional deviations in b) will improve my potting %.

it would also explain why many more cushion shots are missed - presumably sighting isn't at fault here - more the fact that your bridge hand struggles more to move to its stationary position in a straight line?

am not an expert, just shooting the breeze - any thoughts appreciated...

[nrage]

I am fairly sure a) is not the cause of most missed pots, some but not most. Once you've played for any length of time, you get fairly good at sighting the potting angle. The problem is making the white hit that spot (and if you play it too slow, roll off). b) could definitely cause issues, as can c). I am inclined to think that c) - or more generally a fault introduced as you cue the ball would cause more issues than b) simply because c) is a very dynamic action so there are many ways in which it can go wrong, and you might not realise/notice/feel. b) on the other hand is static and once you're aware of it, as you say, you can fairly easily check it, and fix it. c) is much harder to solve because it all happens in an instant on the shot.

[cazmac1]

Putting the cue on the correct line of aim. Most players put the cue on the line and then through bad habits manage to take it off again in trying to achieve what they believe to the perfect stance, in reality they are bent up and twisted all over the place. I find these kind of players so hard to watch. The position of the feet has a massive part to play as well

[joejoe]

for me im a bit strange,im holding my cue with my right hand,but i miss most of the shot when i need to pot the ball (half ball or less )in to the left pocket,far less miss shot when im poting to the right pocket.for me i think is C cross cueing. need help.

[cazmac1]

Feet position and chest contact

[joejoe]

Feet position and chest contact

hi, can you please explain it more detail, thanks.

[Terry Davidson]

joejoe:

Without any doubt I can say the reason the majority of pots are missed (amongst amateurs) is because of upper body movement taking the cue off the intended line of aim.

I agree with nrage and everyone else that every player, after a little experience, will sight the pot correct and will also get down into the shot correctly with the cue on the correct line of aim. The only exception to this is on fine cuts along the cushion where very many players (myself included) have some trouble determining the correct line of aim.

Amongst pros however the main reason they will miss pots (even seemingly very easy ones) is they will take their eyes off the object ball and focus all their attention on the cueball and getting it into the predetermined position. This also happens with the same frequency amongst amateurs.

The next most common reason for taking the cue off-line besides the upper body movement is closing the grip too early in the stroke, which will cause the wrist to turn slightly and will take the butt of the cue off-line and thus take the shaft off-line to a lesser degree.

And last but not least, the third most common reason is decelerating the cue through the cueball and stopping the cue before the back of the thumb hits the chest. This will happen a lot on pots of less than medium pace and can be avoided by learning to increase the backswing length for all shots and driving through to the chest.

All of these reasons above have one final result...UNINTENTIONAL SIDE ON THE CUEBALL.

Nuff' said

Terry

[cazmac1]

deleted repeat post.
I also agree with the points that terry has raised

[cazmac1]

hi, can you please explain it more detail, thanks.

It depends on the player and at what stage they are in there development, so I can only speak from my own personal experience.
When I went to see del Hill, after the practice session he set up his Christmas tree for me to clear up. I was doing really well till I got to the green ball, which I missed. Del put the balls back and I missed again this went on for four or 5 shots. It was a simple shot yet the harder I tried the more I missed. Del noticed that I missed to the same side of the pocket every time and gave two reasons for why I was missing.....
1 ; I was picking the the pot wrong as he put it (sighting)
2 ; not putting the cue on line.
I believe it is the latter and this is what I think is happening. Del believe's that the chest contact keeps the cue on line and maintaining this contact throughout the delivery will keep the ball on-line. Now what you will find is that a lot of right handed players will miss straight pots to the left of the pocket and when playing up the spots the white will come back down the table to the right of the spots. Most players will think that they have put right hand side on the cue ball. But what is happening is that they have moved the chest contact point over to the left and are cuing across the ball ever so slightly put enough to miss the pot. The way to correct this fault is to square up your stance. You achieve this with correct feet positioning and this moves the chest over to the right and will keep the cue on line.
It might not work for everyone but it's worth experimenting with.

[joejoe]

thanks Terry and cazmac1,very helpful information.

[nrage]

Now what you will find is that a lot of right handed players will miss straight pots to the left of the pocket and when playing up the spots the white will come back down the table to the right of the spots. Most players will think that they have put right hand side on the cue ball. But what is happening is that they have moved the chest contact point over to the left and are cuing across the ball ever so slightly put enough to miss the pot. The way to correct this fault is to square up your stance. You achieve this with correct feet positioning and this moves the chest over to the right and will keep the cue on line.

Very interesting. I am finding that my white comes back to the right of the spots fairly consistently, and was almost certain I was applying right hand side. The only way I could stop it was to intentionally try to apply a little left hand side, and then I sometimes got it straight and sometimes came back to the left.. but, if I relaxed my focus it would come back to the right again. Next time I'm practicing I'll try a slightly squarer stance and see what happens. Thanks!

[alabadi]

Now what you will find is that a lot of right handed players will miss straight pots to the left of the pocket and when playing up the spots the white will come back down the table to the right of the spots. Most players will think that they have put right hand side on the cue ball. But what is happening is that they have moved the chest contact point over to the left and are cuing across the ball ever so slightly put enough to miss the pot. The way to correct this fault is to square up your stance. You achieve this with correct feet positioning and this moves the chest over to the right and will keep the cue on line.
It might not work for everyone but it's worth experimenting with.

This is exactly what is happening to me, you must be psychic...lol

the square stance is just too painful on my joints, surely the boxer stance can be accomidating to allow for the correct line of aim too

Alabbadi

[Particle Physics]

Cazmac makes a valid point about the square stance. I found this out today.

[NorthWestJunior]

Most my pots are missed at a fairly longer distance when I need to apply some power. Almost always cue right across it. Most other shots don't bother me, just long pots with pace.

[Chris Bedford]

Where Are Most Pots Missed?

I have exactly the same thing if I practice long reds to stun for the black from the D I am sure I am on the right line and if I play centre ball striking pot a fair few but as soon as I start stunning I hit the right hand side of the red sending the red to the left of the pocket. I did notice when I was getting fed up to really cue right through as if your throwing the cue down the table or at least that's how I can explain it and then I was more consistent. But it did feel unnatural. I will try the squarer stance I'm not Si bad on cueing the white up and down the spots at slow speed it's as soon as I put pace on it.