About.com Pool / Billiards

Pool Cloth And What To Do About It

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:47:51 +0000

Why Can't We Get Decent Pool Cloth On A Table, People

Today is my rant against poor pool cloth and what I call "crappy fast" pool tables. In the rush to be like TV, many pool halls are putting in faster and faster tables with Simonis brand cloth and so on. You too can play on fast tables like the pool pros, just like the golf pros putt on fast, slick greens. Not so great, really.

And therefore, room owners also have an incentive to not refurbish certain tables and let the cloth wear down still more, because faster cloth wears away even faster than slow cloth, and the tables are still slick as ice, bare slate with threadbare cloth atop, so why bother to pay the money to make repairs...

You have to put a real pool stroke, a solid, classic stroke on balls on a traditional (slower) speed table. On the super fast table, unless you have first class fundamentals, it's difficult to get accurate speed on the cue ball.

In some respects, I don't care much either way. I can run tables on slower or faster cloth. But just as the average golfer should use a shorter, more manageable course than the pros, so should the average pool player use a large-sized nine foot table where possible, but slower cloth and amenable pockets. The kids who shoot pool on the fast tables hit the balls hard to try to force their way and will on the table--and it doesn't work.

Room owners, please take note. Recover your tables frequently with good cloth. And use proper methods to do so, as elaborated by Doug Walters in his outstanding Pool Tables 101, and your pool cloth efforts will last many years longer than they do. Your patrons will thank you.

Correct Pool Cloth And Pool Table Installation And Maintenance

Pool Cloth And What To Do About It originally appeared on About.com Pool / Billiards on Thursday, November 19th, 2009 at 14:47:51.

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Pool Cheats, And Secrets Of The Pool Professionals

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:56:22 +0000

Take My Pool Cheats To The Bank!

I have a few aim secrets of the pros that I'm going to reveal on this About.com GuideSite along with my other pool cheats and pool videogame strategies and etc.--in due time. I could be lynched for sharing some of them by my pool instructor colleagues or the pros themselves, but share them I shall!

First, take some time to digest what I'm sharing with you regarding contact point aim. It truly works, though aiming directly at the geometric contact point with the cue ball fails on paper, because most players who believe they are aiming at the contact point (the point on the object ball furthest from the intended pocket, where the cue ball must impact to sink the ball) truly aren't. It's a visual trick.

But cueing toward the contact point enhances visualization of impact, and a slight tendency toward contact point aiming works against the collision-induced throw that knocks off line otherwise fine strokes.

I'd love your feedback, as I wrote earlier this week when I said...

You Won't Believe Me Until You Try CONTACT Point Cue Ball Aim

Photo courtesy of Barb's Billiards Art

Pool Cheats, And Secrets Of The Pool Professionals originally appeared on About.com Pool / Billiards on Monday, November 16th, 2009 at 15:56:22.

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Cue Ball Aim � Chop Them Cue Balls In Twain

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:47:30 +0000

Take Accurate Cue Ball Aim

Sure, we talk a lot at this site about cutting object balls, that is, about aiming at fractions, edges or sections of object balls, but are you cutting your cue ball correctly?

Intrigued? Check out my advice today on fixing a common aim error, sister error to having your stick straight but your aiming crooked!

You Won't Believe Me Until You Try CONTACT Point Cue Ball Aim

Photo (c) Matt Sherman, licensed to About.com, Inc.

Cue Ball Aim � Chop Them Cue Balls In Twain originally appeared on About.com Pool / Billiards on Friday, November 13th, 2009 at 19:47:30.

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A Pool Aimer Worth Your Time And Money

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:02:33 +0000

This Pool Aimer Is Superb

Ted Schulze was tired of not having a quality pool aimer, a keen visual reference for his billiards stroke and aim, so he did something positive about it. He innovated a cue mount for your stick with a powerful laser, but with a twist--you can shoot using a bright laser spot to aim at a pool ball or target or convert it with a flick of the wrist to a vivid vertical line to check the plane and angle of your pool stroke.

A fellow instructor and I have been play testing the Laser Stroke pool aimer and, frankly, it's too good a product! It reveals every little stroke flaw so that the average player could be overwhelmed. Once you're over the initial disappointment, however, the Laser Stroke is probably the best pool aimer tool on the market.

Read my full review including three different ways to use this tool, and...

Add This Pool Aimer To Your Holiday Shopping List

Photo courtesy of LaserStroke.com

A Pool Aimer Worth Your Time And Money originally appeared on About.com Pool / Billiards on Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at 12:02:33.

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The 9-Ball Break Shot

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:12:04 +0000

Why Can't I Shatter My 9-Ball Break Shot?

Another pool myth explodes on our site today. I'm asked, "How do I smash a 9-Ball break shot, because if I could, I'd run the simple rack that's left most every time?"

Can you really run 'em all out if you had the monster break stroke? True? Myth? Fantasy? You decide:

Why I Can Shatter My 9-Ball Shot!

Photo (c) Matt Sherman, licensed to About.com, Inc.

The 9-Ball Break Shot originally appeared on About.com Pool / Billiards on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 17:12:04.

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Pro Skill Drill Instructor To Drill Me Again

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:53:29 +0000

Get On The Pro Skill Drill Bus

I'm scheduled for a follow-up with Dominic Esposito, Mr. Pro Skill Drill Instructor for pool and the inventor of the Jesper Jump Cue.

He comes highly endorsed and highly recommended by me personally. I'm the author of a pool book and DVD, so is he. I have a pool website, so does he. I am a regular columnist for a top pool magazine, so is he. If I'm paying good money to pick his brains for a few excellent hours of pool instruction, you know he's highly knowledgeable.

But we all need a refresher in the basics sometime from someone we respect. And we all love tips of insight, like Esposito's recipe for mass� aim, shared with you in today's feature called:

A Pro Skill Drill To Bless You, Not Distress You

The Jester Jump Cue

Photo courtesy of The Drill Instructor

Pro Skill Drill Instructor To Drill Me Again originally appeared on About.com Pool / Billiards on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at 10:53:29.

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TAP Pool League

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:58:50 +0000

To Tap Or Not To TAP Your Pool League?

"Matt,

My wife and I are currently members of 2 APA teams and have been for several years.

We have experienced the Las Vegas trip to the nationals and found it fun. As you know the inherent problems of the APA I don't need to repeat them. I am currently looking into the TAP league as a player and as a league operator and would like to know what you think of that league.

Thanks, George"

Great question, George. There is no perfect pool league, and there are some rules and other quibbles that make people for or dead set against the American Poolplayers Association or "APA" and its league. I've discussed some of those problems and tried to balance the good and bad of it before.

Bearing in mind, therefore, that operating a league effectively can be a headache and a trial, the TAP league staff really care about our sport. Their passion makes all the difference and I suspect they will be an even-faster growing tour/league in the years ahead.

I also like the up-and-coming American Cue Sports (ACS) league. So much so that I'm working with a local club to do a hybrid league blending some of the best of the ACS rules with that of the Billiards Congress of America (BCA). I started a thread on this new local league in Florida with me, Donny Lutz and other fine participants and teachers participating, online. For you and for those interested, I'm pleased to provide some contacts or perhaps we can set a conference call to discuss these issues and keep best promoting the game of billiards.

New Local Pool League, TAP Or What-Have-You, I'm Game

Photo (c) Matt Sherman, licensed to About.com, Inc.

TAP Pool League originally appeared on About.com Pool / Billiards on Monday, November 2nd, 2009 at 15:58:50.

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Take This Jump Break Cue� Or Not?

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:32:08 +0000

I Tried A New Jump And A New Break Cue And Report On My Findings

Got a good question today regarding the purchase of a jump break cue. That had me thinking about seeing The Drill Instructor, Dominic Esposito, at a pool clinic this week.

Dominic, along with other super-cool pool dudes like Donny Lutz and Carl Oswald, was recently named to "The Top 20 Pool Instructors" by Pool & Billiards Magazine, itself a fast up-and-coming pool publication with a powerful staff of instructors aboard.

How would you answer Matthew Lim's question regarding a new jump break cue?

"Matt,

Hope this message finds you well.

Want to get your opinion on jump break cues. I've been searching for all the info I can get on them online but still can't answer my questions.

I prefer a heavy cue to break but a light cue to jump. So if I were to buy a jump break, what would the ideal weight be?

On most retailers' websites you can choose the weight of the jumpbreak but I suppose this is for the whole cue. What is the weight of the thing with the bottom part pulled off then?

I notice popular cues like the Stinger, BK2 and Sledgehammer all still feature phenolic tips. Aren't these illegal under BCA?

On my belian wood - I got hold of a cuemaker in Bali and he told me belian is not good for cue making because the wood naturally secretes a type of "oil" slowly over the years.

That's what makes this wood 'waterproof'. This also means any inlays, joints and finishing will have a hard time staying bonded to the wood!

Regards..."

Buying one hybrid jump break cue will save you some dough, which leads paradoxically to my question:

Why Buy A Break Jump Cue At All?

Photo courtesy of The Drill Instructor

Take This Jump Break Cue� Or Not? originally appeared on About.com Pool / Billiards on Friday, October 30th, 2009 at 15:32:08.

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Will Forte Is A Lousy Pool Commentator

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:20:18 +0000

Will Forte, Go Home?

Comedians Will Forte and Jason Sudeikis of Saturday Night Live fame recently lampooned pool on TV in their clever skit. Our links include the SNL video of Forte as the dumbest pool commentator you'll ever meet, watching a thinly veiled (but far less attractive version of) Gerda Hofstatter duke it out for pool glory.

As Forte explains, he actually knows nothing about professional pool but his dad got him the job on ESPN TV.

One of the best lines goes something like this:

Sudeikis: "Wow, you can really tell what a pro shoots like by the way they chalk their stick, can't you?"

Forte [deadpan]: "No... no, you really can't..."

Will Forte and Jason Sudeikis Take Pool To The Extreme

Photo courtesy of All About Pool

Will Forte Is A Lousy Pool Commentator originally appeared on About.com Pool / Billiards on Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 at 16:20:18.

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Pool Aim Technique Right, Pool Aim Wrong

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:51:18 +0000

Ready, Aim, But Don't Fire

Yes, your stick is pointed straight and your pool aim technique seems right. Yes, you are indeed aiming right through the center of the cue ball.

But you are still missing shots (consistently) and here's why, and it's probably not what you think, "throw" or "deflection".

The disease is nasty, the cue cure is easy. Check it out.

Get Your Pool Aim Technique Squared

Photo (c) Matt Sherman, licensed to About.com, Inc.

Pool Aim Technique Right, Pool Aim Wrong originally appeared on About.com Pool / Billiards on Monday, October 26th, 2009 at 15:51:18.

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