Category: pool

IT IS ESSENTIAL TO DEVELOP and maintain a consistent pattern of eye movement if you want to be consistently successful at the pool table. Your system should be focused and deliberate for maximum accuracy, efficient enough to help maintain rhythm, and relaxed enough to prevent confusion.

As a general rule for your practice strokes, look at the cue ball as you stroke toward it and until your cue stops near it, and look at the contact point on the object ball through and until the end of your back swing. Within your routine, you may choose to look at either the cue ball or object ball for one or more strokes in order to really key in on your accuracy. The reason you look at the cue ball when your tip is extended, is to prepare for the accurate cueing of the ball. That is also why you stroke directly towards the exact spot you want to strike. Remember, it is like a dress rehearsal for your stroke, so pay attention.

The reason to look at the object ball when you start your practice back swings is partially to keep your stroke on line (see article on page 87). You also need ample time to focus on the contact point (which is what I suggest looking at on 99% of your shots, however it is possible to look at the cue ball last) before you strike the cue ball. On your practice strokes you are verifying the contact point and making sure you are lined up to hit it. You are also verifying the stroking line and making sure your aim looks correct.

Now, it is up to you to put these ingredients together in a way that suits your own style; in particular, the number and speed of your strokes. It might be a good idea watch closely and learn from top players’ eye patterns. Once you develop a system that works for you, be sure to use it in all situations. Sometimes the pressure of a match may disrupt your eye pattern and throw you off a bit. Try to get back into your pattern as soon as possible. Your eyes are amazing instruments and they will let you know if everything is on line—try using them in coordination with your cue stick.

Copyright 2000 Max Eberle. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.maxeberle.com

WHILE THERE IS NO single trick to consistently pocketing balls, there are a few of them that, when combined, make for a very nice equation. One extremely important element to this equation is body positioning, or what I call “lining up into the shot.”
Have you ever been down on a ball ready to shoot when you suddenly had the feeling that you were not aiming on the proper line? The answer is yes, I would guess. If so, what did you do about it? Perhaps you made a correction by pivoting your torso slightly, bending your knees differently, moving your bridge hand, leaning over, or trying to steer your cue in a better direction on your last stroke.
If you often find yourself using one or more of the above elixirs, then at least you do have the desire to pocket balls, but probably feel that life could somehow be more rewarding.
By adjusting your body once you have already assumed your stance, you are losing accuracy by hindering other important parts of the shot-making equation. These include good balance, proper cueing of the ball, relaxation, ample preparation (warm up strokes, feeling, mental comfort), and a straight stroke from your center of vision to name a few.
Now, have you ever lined up on a shot feeling right, only to change your premier pharmacy line of aim because of doubt, and then realize that you would have made it had you followed your first instinct? Imagine if you could utilize that keen instinct on every shot. With a little cultivating, you can. You have got to develop a sense of trust that you have already positioned your body correctly on every shot.
Practice making a commitment to the line of aim that you initially determine as being correct. Trust and commitment begin while you are standing upright. It is important to be deliberate in choosing where to stand on each shot and in crouching down into the line of aim.
Basically, it is best to position your body correctly into each shot so that you can properly execute the fundamentals. If you feel like you will miss, stand up and reposition your body. Also remember to allow for spin when you are lining up your body into the shot.
Try shooting a few racks like this: On each shot, put your focus on aiming and finding the angle while you are standing, and position your stance accordingly. Once you are in your stance, take one back swing and shoot the shot. You may even close your eyes after that first back swing. Feel free to smile when you hear balls dropping into pockets!

Copyright 2000 Max Eberle. All Rights Reserved.

Max Eberle

HAVE YOU EVER TRIED to thread a needle? When you tried for the first time, did you notice that you could hold the thread steady until you approached the eye of the needle, and when it was almost there your hand shook and the thread missed the eye? Attempting to pour liquid into the mouth of a very small-necked bottle may often result in the same kind of shaky muscle behavior. You can hold your hand perfectly steady until you try to accomplish your purpose; then, for some strange reason, you quiver and shake and spill the liquid. In medical pharmacy circles this is called “purpose tremor.” It occurs in normal people when they try too hard, or are “too careful” not to make an error in accomplishing some purpose.
In playing pool, these purpose tremors may lead to a missed ball. It may occur in a pool player if he is being excessively careful or too anxious not to miss a shot. Excessive carefulness and anxiety both have to do with too much concern for possible failure, or doing the “wrong thing,” and making too much of a conscious effort to do right.
You can avoid “dogging it” by training yourself to stop “trying” too hard or being overly-careful at the moment you deliver your stroke. You must learn to trust your stroke.
Do your best to position your body into the stance with your center of vision and cue stick on the stroking line, and have keen focus on the contact point before you begin your stroke. Now, with your body perfectly still, your eyes focused on the contact point and not a thought in your mind, freely swing your arm forward in a pendulum motion.
When you are first learning your stance, it will require much work just to get aligned properly for each shot, and may feel awkward. Yet the more you practice good form, the more natural it will become, and getting into your stance will also be like threading a needle.
You develop a trust that your body is lining up to what you are looking at, and with trust comes confidence. The trick is to keep your body still as you relaxingly and confidently throw the cue with your shooting arm.
So many times a dogged shot is accompanied by a sudden jarring of the body at the time of the forward stroke or a stroke that obviously deviates from its usual relaxed and straight path. Again, this often comes from being overly careful and anxious.
It may help to remind yourself to “trust your stroke” or that “I’m just going to move my arm” before you get down on a shot. Also, taking deep belly breaths to ease possible tension in your torso and to get more oxygen to your brain can be helpful.
Try hitting some long straight-ins and angled shots with your body perfectly still and your eyes glued to the contact point. Then move only your arm with no concern for the outcome, just detached observation to the feeling and results of the shot.
If you have a habit of moving your body on your stroke, you may not even notice it when you do move. Even if you have someone to alert you when you do move, try to develop that body awareness so you will know without someone telling you.
Even though you will be looking at the contact point on the object ball, you must focus on keeping still as you deliver your stroke with perfect trust.
Do not “try” to stroke straight, do not “try” to make the ball. Just swing your arm forward and keep your body still and see what happens. You may discover incredible powers to make difficult shots look easy, even in pressure situations.

Copyright 2006 Max Eberle
http://www.maxeberle.com

YOU WILL NOT BE ready to bend down on a shot until you have decided exactly what you are trying to execute. First you want to know your strategy in relation to the lay of the table, and then you want to know your strategy in relation to this shot that faces you now.
In his book Smart Pool! The Mind Game, John Delaveau thoroughly and convincingly outlines the importance of pre-shot planning and thinking, before concentrating on the shot itself. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in getting better and being more consistent.
So now that you are ready, you must aim. Aiming includes the entire formation of the stance, all the way through your final stroke, where you are fixed on the stroking line and ready to fire. It is pointless to get ready, aim, and then jump up as you stroke the cue.
Yet so many players do this, revealing their lack of confidence in their preparation, readiness and aiming. Once you tie the knot of holy matrimony between your plan and stance (aim), you must be faithful in your delivery of the cue. If it does not feel right, stand up and re-marry. Soon enough, your preparations will be as easy as getting married in Las Vegas and you will be able to move mountains if you just have faith enough to stay in your stance as you stroke your cue. Ready, Aim, Fire!

Copyright 2006 Max Eberle. All Rights Reserved

Max Eberle

WEBSTER’S DICTIONARY DEFINES COMPOSURE as “calmness; self-possession.” (Webster’s New World Dictionary, 2nd ed., Simon & Shuster, 1979, p. 101)

•
Composure is remaining calm and focused enough to perform up to your capabilities.

•
Composure is consistently responding to stressful situations with empowering thoughts, feelings and actions.

•
Composure is letting go of past mistakes and breathing out anxieties about the future.

•
Composure is laughing in the face of seemingly gargantuan pressure and concentrating on the task at hand.

Why would you want to have composure? Maybe you want to make great comebacks; or just play your game against a top player; or be a champion; or impress a potential significant other (show off). Whatever your reason, composure is a good place to start when you are striving for positive results.
It is similar to approaching life from a well-balanced center. If you do your best to keep balanced, you will have a better chance at staying afloat if something rocks your boat.
Gaining composure could mean changing the way you think about certain aspects of the game. I am sure you know a few players who go berserk every time their opponent gets a good roll. The more bad rolls they get, the more they freak out and start announcing to the world that you are lucky. Meanwhile, they are stuck in the past with a dark storm cloud growing over their head.
Granted, there is too much luck in nine-ball, but until the rules are changed to call all shots and safeties, it is necessary to understand that rolls happen and you should be happy to be at the table. If you find yourself on the short end of the rolls during a match, just think to yourself “things will turn my way,” and do the best with what you have.
For example, what if you were on the hill with a seven game lead and your opponent comes back to tie the match? You could be in shell shock and flub a possible chance at a win, or you could understand that many matches are close anyway, and all you have to do is concentrate on each shot in this final game.
When you have a big lead it is especially important to bear down even more, and realize that if you go to sleep you have no chance at winning. No lead is a safe lead.
The same thing applies when you are coming from behind. No lead is insurmountable. Just think “I’ll hold him there and then pass him.” It is amazing to see what happens when you are unflappable. The more you understand match dynamics, the less likely you will be taken by surprise, and the more you will be giving the surprise.
Composure has a lot to do with knowing and remembering the truth about yourself and any given situation. Whether the heat is on or off, it is good to remember what you are capable of (physically, mentally, and spiritually) and let this give you confidence. Letting go of fears and doubts is one of the main challenges every pool player or and person in life for that matter must face.
The illusions of fear and doubt have no power unless you have allowed them the power. Once you learn to recognize illusions, it will be easier to get rid of them.
If the truth is that you play at a certain level, then you want to do your best to prevent anything from interfering. Often, blockages are very subtle and it would be wise to take a deep honest look into the causes. Once you have targeted any interference, it is necessary to actively and willfully diminish it by turning its positive counterpart into a habit. Sometimes habits die hard, but in the business of uncovering the truth it will be worth it.
If you are often too tense, learn to relax. If you are doubtful, learn to generate feelings of courage and confidence. If you have trouble concentrating, turn pool into a study on concentrating. Whatever the malady, there is a remedy, and a little discipline can go a long way.
Not enough can be said about the benefits of preparation. Before a big match, tell yourself that this will take everything you have, and that you must go deep to your basic core where your strength lies. If perhaps you have never beaten this player, tell yourself “that was then; this is now,” or “I am due for a win.”
Michael Jordan says that before he shoots a big foul shot, instead of thinking about the millions of people watching and everything at stake, he puts himself in a familiar place like his old high school gym where he feels comfortable.
Being physically and spiritually fit are also great bonuses. The link between your body language and your mental/emotional states is amazingly close. It is good to work just as hard on your composure (mental game) as you do on your physical skills.
Talk to experienced players and champions about this and read plenty of books like Pleasures of Small Motions by Bob Fancher, Phd., Golf is not a Game of Perfect by Bob Rotella, The Inner Game of Tennis by Timothy Gallway, and Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsh.