Become the champion in your mind that you want to be first, so that it is easier to deliver winning shots when you need them to produce the win you want.  This speaks to the daily way you speak to yourself and what you visualize yourself accomplishing.  Without having the wins already to remember and give you confidence, you’ve got to believe they will come and even imagine that it has already happened.

Still, regardless of your self image, all pool players feel pressure.  If you expect it not to be there and then it shows up, it will be much harder to deal with than if you actually expect it and are prepared to handle it.  Nick Varner has said something like this… that he was waiting for the day when the pressure of pro matches would disappear but that day never came, and he realized he would just have to deal with the pressure and play through it.

Watch this video.  Famous NBA coach Pat Riley talks about how to deal with expanding pressure in a game…

So the idea is to expect the pressure to increase and expand and therefore deal with it.  Don’t become a balloon that explodes all over the pool table.

Increase your focus.  Increase your intensity.  Breath from your belly, at least while you are in your chair.  When you practice, imagine you are in a high pressure situation and play as if it is real.  Win some practice games with this imaginary pressure and your confidence in the real pressure will be better, and you will be less likely to be that poor exploding balloon.

Be that champion you envision yourself to be!

See you soon…

Max Eberle

I’ll start out by proposing that mastering the game is the goal and that winning is a by product of mastery.  Jack Nicholas told Tiger Woods at the start of his career that excellence is the lodestar and winning will come as a by product.

Do the pool balls know or care what kind of spin you put on the ball, or punish you because you did not comply with someone’s theory on how the game “should” be played?  Not really, but they will behave as a consequence of what you think and hence do and tell them to do.  With a lot of practice you’ll find that you can master the game as long as you are within certain parameters of accuracy and at least get the cue ball where YOU wanted it to go, and the ball in the pocket you intended.

What matters most is how much intention you infuse into your playing be it practice or competitive.  If you know me by now, there are themes I always come back to and so it should be no surprise what I’m about to say…  by starting to incorporating choosing an exact spot for your cue ball to land on EVERY shot you take, you will become MUCH better that previously possible, AND do it in much shorter a time frame than you may have thought humanly possible.

This kind of discipline in picking the spot for the cue ball will become more valuable to your game than any SYSTEM ever will.  And I’m one who promotes systems.  It is the system however that is the servant of intention and therefore not the master of your results.  On the pool table your plans and desires (with the help of your skills as increased by learning from the results in which there were clear intentions) will be the driving force behind the success of the systems you incorporate.

If the system you use does not get you closer to gaining mastery of the cue ball, it’s either time to give the system less credit or start adding the component of getting your cue ball where you want, over and over again.  Why, because you want mastery.  And if you are indeed trying to win, that’s what it will take to beat the players who can (or who are at least very close) to playing perfect pool.   Time to bear down and make things happen properly on the table.  And of course within that, learn how to relax and do it with style.

See you soon…

Max Eberle

PS:  To get Powerful Pool and all the bonuses CLICK HERE NOW
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Hitting the cue ball low enough requires a very accurate tip placement onto the cue ball during the final stroke.   Getting to this accurate position requires a good bridge hand that holds the cue at good level and a cue that is angled nicely down into the bottom of the ball.  Having a level stroke is not what you want on a draw shot.  Of course you don’t want to shoot downward at too much of an angle, as that will limit follow through and forward cue power, but you DO want to shoot down into and through the bottom of the ball.

So many of my students drop their grip hand too far before their cue tip strike the cue ball.  This causes the tip to raise and not hit low enough.  This is difficult to see oneself doing.  Even many instructors may miss this when watching a student.  I’ve trained myself to watch closely what a player is doing and catch what is going wrong.  If this is your problem, I suggest you think of the draw as more of a stabbing the cue into the table than as a normal stroke.

Even though I teach to drop the elbow on the stroke, this does NOT mean to drop the hand very much at all… the grip hand will swing down and when the cue is coming in at the ideal angle into the bottom of the cue ball, the stroke than goes forward like an ice pick going straight down into some ice, in this case the cue will be heading down into the table.

Make sure to keep your elbow high enough to angle the cue down in the first phase of the draw stroke.

One thing you can do to help remedy not hitting the cue ball low enough is to look at the cue ball when you hit the ball, so now your main target is the bottom of the ball and you just try to stroke the cue through what you are looking at… imagine a hole that was drilled out of the ball through the bottom and your cue is going through that hole, which you will be looking at.

Also, it is good to let the cue scrape the table right after it hits the bottom of the ball, scrape the table for 4-7 inches (or so).

The draw stroke is pretty complicated while figuring it out.  The work is very much worth it in your game.

Max Eberle

This goes a long way in showing what we have been explaining for years about the ghost ball.

There is a lot more to making shots than seeing this such as your fundamentals, stroke, looking at the pocket, where you stand, seeing gutters, and more, etc… which I cover in detail in my dvds and free blogs here.  Enjoy!

Thanks Malcom and thanks to my friend Steve Chaplin for creating Virtual Pool 4!!!  Well done!!!

See you soon…

Max Eberle

PS:  To learn more about fundamentals Check out my Powerful Pool DVD or “GET IT ALL” at ProPoolAcademy.com
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT PROPOOLACADEMY  

Today I have a real gem for your pool game.  Just by doing this you will automatically improve your game in a couple of ways.

So what it is, is this.  Play or practice some pool with your opposite hand.  In my case, since I am a right handed shooter, my opposite hand is my left hand.  And if you are a left handed shooter, opposite handed would be with your right hand.

The first good reason to practice your opposite handed game is that you will not need to use the mechanical bridge as often.  You’ll be able to simply reach the shot and play it well with your other hand.  Most players will feel completely lost when trying out their opposite hand.  I was not much different, but I got into it simply because I like a challenge and I wanted to know what it felt like when I taught a new student the fundamentals… it must feel clunky like I felt with my opposite hand.

The trick is to try it a little bit every day and don’t give up.  You’ll have to work on your bridge, alignment, stance, and stroke.  It is also weird turning your neck in the opposite direction.  When you understand how to get behind the cue ball though and line it up to the object ball with your normal hand, you can use this as your constant and bring it over to your opposite handed game.  Just try it, it’s a lot of fun, and it will make using the clunky bridge less important (although you should practice that too).

The second reason for practicing opposite handed is that according to research, it improves your normal handed ability automatically.  So without an ounce of practice this is a sneaky trick to improve your normal handed game!  Don’t be lazy!  Just put a little time in on the pool table with your opposite hand.  Learn how to play pool all over again and allow yourself to be humbled while looking like a neophite if that’s what it takes.

By using your other hand, the other side of your brain is activated and you now activate Whole Brain Power.  My friend Skippy over at billiardsbiohacker.com talks a lot about this.  I recommend you check out his great website!

I can tell you this from my own experience, from putting in the practice left handed I have won many games and matches because I can execute accurate shots WITH cue ball control that I just can’t do yet with a bridge… and I DID notice an improvement in my right handed game.  Everything just seemed to get even easier  which my friend, is a GOOD thing!

Ok see ya soon…

Max Eberle

PS:  Check out my insane DVD and poster deal this week HERE

And don’t overlook his technique, whatever you do.  Snooker is the prime example of many of the things I teach about fundamentals.  There really is not room for being sloppy with your body control in that game.  Americans have been lulled into a false sense of security by the manufacturers of “Bar Box’s” and the widespread existence of “Bucket Sized Pockets” on 8 and 9 foot tables in pool halls all across the country.

It is ok to play on Bar Box’s and bucket pockets once in a while, but existing ONLY on that arena will do little good for preparing you for playing on tight equipment or for playing under pressure.  So often I hear local amateurs say “I don’t want to play on that table, its way too tight!”  Well if you are here reading this it must be because of a desire to improve your game.

And so I challenge and invite you to step up your level of commitment to excelling in the act of making shots and controlling the cue ball on a pool table, or any type of billiard table be it 3-cushion, pool, snooker, Russian Pyramids etc… by seeking out and playing on tougher equipment than what you are accustomed to.

The lazer like focus and dedication required to play on tougher equipment will have the effect of transforming you into a more skilled and accurate cue “sportsperson.”

So lets have a look at what Ronnie is doing…(btw it’s not just Ronnie, all the players in this event have body control skills that far exceed most pool players)

Have a very close look at how these guys set up, deliver the cue while keeping their body still, and then get up to the next shot.

• Decide what to do
• Get on the stroking line
• Get down into your stance
• Move your stroking arm and strike through the cue ball
• Keep your body still while stroking and till the end of the stroke
• Stand up and go do it again on the next shot

Trust me, if you can put this into your pool game, you will be well on your way to being the best in your league and possibly better than most “A” level pool players around the world…and perhaps one day winning a major pro title.   If you are reading till this point, I know you want to get better.  And I know I’ve just given you one of the keys to the kingdom.  Now working hard to own this and make it work for you… is up to you.  You can’t be too obsessed with perfecting this by the way, for that’s what it requires.  Go crazy on mastering this stuff.

Ok practice hard and I’ll see you soon…

Max Eberle

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When competing in a pool or billiards match, a “FUNK” or “COMA”  is when you just can’t seem to do anything right.  Maybe you run several balls, but rack after rack keep messing up somehow.  Either you get out of line or you miss a shot you normally make.  And this “funk” seems to go on game after game after game.  It feels downright awful, and maybe you find yourself experiencing this often in competition.  In practice you play great and then in the tournament the pressure seems to get to you just enough to where you don’t perform on the pool table like you know you can and as you feel that you should.

What I suggest is that you have a way, or ways, to get out of such a funk.  An emergency game plan so to speak for playing run out pool in the face of just playing not run out pool.  Let’s just say that what you are doing at the moment is not working.  Sure, if you keep at it you’ll probably snap out of your funk pretty soon and start running out.  But in a pool match, let me tell you, you really don’t have time for that and cannot afford to keep handing games over to your opponent.

The secret I’ll give you today is to resort to a backup aiming system.  This will refocus your mind and clear the doubt that occupies it at the moment, the awful cancer that prevents you from playing your game.  You need “antioxidants” of the brain to start your winning process.  Keep in mind that I have used this successfully in countless matches where I was just not performing well, I turned around my play, started running out, and often won the match that I had buried myself in.  To often I’ll see player with the body language of resignation to their “fate” of once again playing bad and dogging it… GARBAGE!  Not you my friend, of course.  Never let yourself give in to accepting a piss poor performance and projecting into your future.

What you need is confidence and to play well from here on out.  So, if you are using say the ghost ball aiming system but it just is not working, what you do is switch to “find the contact point and hit the contact point” and now you will start to consistently make balls, get a rack under your belt, and start creating some momentum in your match.  Or maybe even if you are just practicing but having a bad day, change something up and find what does work RIGHT NOW.  Generate accuracy, create confidence, control the rock.  Yeah baby!  You can do it!

See you soon…

Max Eberle

PS:  To supercharge your game more in the coming year than you have in the past 10 years combined, CLICK HERE TO SEE WHAT I’VE CREATED FOR YOUR IMPROVEMENT