I was watching a closed gambling match between Efren Bata Reyes and Ronnie Alcano the other night. They played simple 9 ball, race to 15, professional rules. When we say professional rules, it means the bounds is "rail after contact". When the cue ball hits an object ball, either one- the cue ball or object ball must hit a cushion. If not, a ball-in-hand infraction would commence. In addition to these rules, professional rules entail the common three foul rule, which I guess everyone knows about. No player is allowed to have three consecutive fouls on his turns. This would result in the loss of the rack. In our next lesson, I'd be giving billiard tricks about hiding the cue ball. The most extraordinary shots are done rather very ordinarily. Did that make sense? I hope it did. Think about that first.
So anyway, as I was watching the Magician and Ronnie Alcano, a guy from the audience suddenly told me, "Efren isn't that great. He hasn't done any hard shots yet he's winning by a huge margin." I scoffed and told him, "You're wrong son. That's why he's so great because he didn't need the need for difficult shots." And this doesn't hold just a grain of truth to it. It was the absolute truth. A great player may know his way around jump shots, masse, drawing control, etc, but the greatest players use these tough shots only when needed. The best of all players have total control of the cue ball making each shot as though it were a bad shot. The less funky billiard tricks you see in a player's game, the more top caliber he is.
Once I amazed myself at the beauty of the bank shot. I kept on practicing it on my table and told myself that when this situation would ever arise, I'd still make the winning shot. Come tournament time, it did with my fight for the semifinals of 64 players. I had a wrong preparation for the 9 ball. However, it seemed like an easy bank. It seemed like what I was practicing hundreds of times in my own table and never missed. As I proceeded to bank the shot, you guessed it, I missed. Resulting in the loss of the game after two more turns of placing and bad luck.
The moral lesson in this entry is billiard tricks should be put on reserve, well, at least the really fancy ones. The real "trick" is no trick at all. Practice preparation, forget fancy moves and you're all set to win.
Go back to how to jump or how to draw.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
How To Draw
I was away for a few days in Hong Kong because I had a "match" with one of my fellow friends there. Let's just say he's not my friend anymore as of the moment as he lost a few hundred mil on our race to 21 match. That's why I haven't been updating this site in a while. However, I can assure you, I used a ton of billiard tricks in that bout.
So what's our next agenda for this day? The draw shot. Yes, this is one of the most powerful and most useful shots in the world of billiard tricks, and the world of becoming a real pro. Just like me. Ok, I'm kidding. There's a fine line between a pro and a hustler, and naturally, pros would beat hustlers in a fair game, but hustlers would win most of the time given the correct circumstances. And trust me, we play only when we know we'd win. But maybe that's for another lesson. Let's focus on the draw shot for now.
The first step in performing the draw shot properly is to have the right equipment. You will be hearing this line again and again and again. Blue Diamond Tips or Master would be best for a beginner. They're not that expensive and you'll really be able to draw shots.
The next step would be how you actually shoot the shot. Maybe you already know that you're supposed to aim for the cue ball at the lowest end. However that isn't sufficient information. Most of the time you'd actually still make the ball roll forward instead of drawing it back. The technique is to use a somewhat wrist action, just like poking someone quickly with a pen or something. Keep on trying. The motion must be a snapping one.
Finally, practice, practice, and practice. You'll get it right soon enough. Sometimes it's harder to perform these shots especially when your table isn't of high quality and the farther your cue ball is from the object ball, the more impossible you think it is to perform. Don't give up hope! In no time you'll be performing all these billiard tricks like a pro, or a hustler (which is better).
I think I interchanged the lessons, but go here if you want to learn how to perform a jump shot .
So what's our next agenda for this day? The draw shot. Yes, this is one of the most powerful and most useful shots in the world of billiard tricks, and the world of becoming a real pro. Just like me. Ok, I'm kidding. There's a fine line between a pro and a hustler, and naturally, pros would beat hustlers in a fair game, but hustlers would win most of the time given the correct circumstances. And trust me, we play only when we know we'd win. But maybe that's for another lesson. Let's focus on the draw shot for now.
The first step in performing the draw shot properly is to have the right equipment. You will be hearing this line again and again and again. Blue Diamond Tips or Master would be best for a beginner. They're not that expensive and you'll really be able to draw shots.
The next step would be how you actually shoot the shot. Maybe you already know that you're supposed to aim for the cue ball at the lowest end. However that isn't sufficient information. Most of the time you'd actually still make the ball roll forward instead of drawing it back. The technique is to use a somewhat wrist action, just like poking someone quickly with a pen or something. Keep on trying. The motion must be a snapping one.
Finally, practice, practice, and practice. You'll get it right soon enough. Sometimes it's harder to perform these shots especially when your table isn't of high quality and the farther your cue ball is from the object ball, the more impossible you think it is to perform. Don't give up hope! In no time you'll be performing all these billiard tricks like a pro, or a hustler (which is better).
I think I interchanged the lessons, but go here if you want to learn how to perform a jump shot .
Friday, January 1, 2010
How To Jump
First off in learning how to jump, you'd need some quality equipment. You can't just jump with any cue stick. The tip and the ring under the tip must be solid and reliable. Just searching off the net for these tools wouldn't be too hard. Here's a fine-looking one that can bring one's A-game.
What's our motto? A good workman CAN blame his tools in this sport, so be prepared. When jumping, the rest becomes easy when you look down. Yes, you heard me. Look down! Aim your stick about 45 degrees just between the bottom and middle part of your cue ball. If your cue ball has some of those little red spots, all much better! Try it a couple of times, but don't forget to chalk up first. That is another golden rules in the list of golden rules of being a great pool player. CHALK UP. I'm gonna hurt you if you complain that you can't jump your cue ball when you don't chalk up. Seriously.
Ok so see here:
Notice the elevation and precision of my hand? Okay, that's not my hand. However, in jumping for noobs, this is a hard scenario. Try to follow that hand, but aim again for the middle of the middle and bottom of the cue ball? Make sense? Just do it! You maybe off a couple of tries or so but hey, practice makes perfect. Practice makes perfect sense to me.
Don't ever forget!
1) Equipment- The greatest players in the world *cough cough* have the best equipment. You don't have to spend much for starters but you DO have to spend. This is a good investment if you really want to improve your game.
2) Chalk Up- Nobody, I repeat NOBODY can do magic without chalking up. Not even Efren Reyes, Magician and cue artist.
3) Practice- Money doesn't grow on trees. So much more does skill! Maybe an hour a day isn't so bad. Just focus on the jump first as this is needed in top quality placing games.
That's all for today's lesson on jumping. Stay tune for more billiard tricks.
What's our motto? A good workman CAN blame his tools in this sport, so be prepared. When jumping, the rest becomes easy when you look down. Yes, you heard me. Look down! Aim your stick about 45 degrees just between the bottom and middle part of your cue ball. If your cue ball has some of those little red spots, all much better! Try it a couple of times, but don't forget to chalk up first. That is another golden rules in the list of golden rules of being a great pool player. CHALK UP. I'm gonna hurt you if you complain that you can't jump your cue ball when you don't chalk up. Seriously.
Ok so see here:
Notice the elevation and precision of my hand? Okay, that's not my hand. However, in jumping for noobs, this is a hard scenario. Try to follow that hand, but aim again for the middle of the middle and bottom of the cue ball? Make sense? Just do it! You maybe off a couple of tries or so but hey, practice makes perfect. Practice makes perfect sense to me.
Don't ever forget!
1) Equipment- The greatest players in the world *cough cough* have the best equipment. You don't have to spend much for starters but you DO have to spend. This is a good investment if you really want to improve your game.
2) Chalk Up- Nobody, I repeat NOBODY can do magic without chalking up. Not even Efren Reyes, Magician and cue artist.
3) Practice- Money doesn't grow on trees. So much more does skill! Maybe an hour a day isn't so bad. Just focus on the jump first as this is needed in top quality placing games.
That's all for today's lesson on jumping. Stay tune for more billiard tricks.
Billiards Beginning
When I was young, I was always interested in math. Numbers weren't something tangible I could really grab, but to me, it felt good being around figures, symbols, and other stuff involving equations. When fourth year high school kicked in, physics introduced itself, and I fell in love instantly.
Newton's Third Law of Reciprocal Actions states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Perhaps in the world of real love, this does not hold true, but in billiards, it does! Whatever magic you want to do on the ball depends on you. It all depends on your control of the cue ball.
Before I'd start with my formal lessons, I want you to just shoot and shoot random balls first. Notice what happens when you aim your stick at the bottom of the cue ball. What happens? Why does it draw (reverse) itself from the object ball? Why does it move forward when aimed at the top? Where does the cue ball go when it is shot left or right? All of these things I will explain in the future. For now, however, I want you to just shoot randomly in all directions and have a feel what it's like to be in control of the ball. Pocketing will come naturally. Feeling king of the game doesn't. All of these things take time, and I assure you, after about five or six lessons, you will now how it feels to be a billiards champion, or even a billiard tricks master.
My early career started in unknown tournaments. I've won several low pot tourneys battling old drivers and billiards goons and wannabees. It's never too late even if you're old. All one needs is confidence and heart. Controlling the spin is one of the most important things in the game. Also, you must keep in mind that the draw shot or the reverse shot should be saved for very rare circumstances. Yes, it looks fancy, but it's better to just use follow on the ball with the right spin as that approach is easier to control. Control would probably be the most important word and element I'll be repeating for all the lessons. If you're interested in not just knowing how to play but be on gambling or pro-tournament level, I also suggest you buy a nice cue, perhaps $50 at the least. Some tips really do not give the full power one needs for exact preparations in billiards games. Plus, if the table is ugly, a cue stick with a bad tip would get you nowhere. Trust me on this. The best players fall without a stick. In the game of pool, the good work man CAN blame his tools.
So that would be enough for today. If you have any questions, I'll be posting my email on my next entry. Prepare for tomorrow's first lesson, the spin.
Newton's Third Law of Reciprocal Actions states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Perhaps in the world of real love, this does not hold true, but in billiards, it does! Whatever magic you want to do on the ball depends on you. It all depends on your control of the cue ball.
Before I'd start with my formal lessons, I want you to just shoot and shoot random balls first. Notice what happens when you aim your stick at the bottom of the cue ball. What happens? Why does it draw (reverse) itself from the object ball? Why does it move forward when aimed at the top? Where does the cue ball go when it is shot left or right? All of these things I will explain in the future. For now, however, I want you to just shoot randomly in all directions and have a feel what it's like to be in control of the ball. Pocketing will come naturally. Feeling king of the game doesn't. All of these things take time, and I assure you, after about five or six lessons, you will now how it feels to be a billiards champion, or even a billiard tricks master.
My early career started in unknown tournaments. I've won several low pot tourneys battling old drivers and billiards goons and wannabees. It's never too late even if you're old. All one needs is confidence and heart. Controlling the spin is one of the most important things in the game. Also, you must keep in mind that the draw shot or the reverse shot should be saved for very rare circumstances. Yes, it looks fancy, but it's better to just use follow on the ball with the right spin as that approach is easier to control. Control would probably be the most important word and element I'll be repeating for all the lessons. If you're interested in not just knowing how to play but be on gambling or pro-tournament level, I also suggest you buy a nice cue, perhaps $50 at the least. Some tips really do not give the full power one needs for exact preparations in billiards games. Plus, if the table is ugly, a cue stick with a bad tip would get you nowhere. Trust me on this. The best players fall without a stick. In the game of pool, the good work man CAN blame his tools.
So that would be enough for today. If you have any questions, I'll be posting my email on my next entry. Prepare for tomorrow's first lesson, the spin.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)