JUST THE TIPS - STROKE TIMING 

As far as your pint about the elbow. It's a valid point. Plus I think a loose grip on the cue you are not only allowing gravity but the weight of the cue itself to move through the shot. You hear older players talk about letting the cue do the work but what most people don't understand that this means allowing the cue to pull through the stroke. Because allowing the cue to move forward is not only straight it's smooth

You're right about that. When I'm playing good my elbows High. I've been playing for over fifty years and read every book and seen every video. People do talk about the elbow butt not about keeping it high.thanks man!

Bloody hell mate, this high elbow tip has transformed my potting. Thank you!

No one ever explain what you just explained to me with this video EVER! The tip of the elbow! Wow, thank you so much for sharing, and pleas keep uploading videos, i saw all your videos and beleave me, you explaing pool in a different way, in a better way i would say! THANK YOU!

This was a great explanation of what I've only recently figured out. Everyone talks about the pause but I hadn't heard it explained quite like this as to WHY the pause helps. I found that my shot making, my cue ball control, and my tendency to hit too hard has really improved once I finally got in the habit of pausing. The toughest part right now is that it isn't quite second nature so I still have to think about it and if I don't, that is when I find myself missing shots, "shooting too fast", and generally not doing well.

Good stuff. One thing I like emphasize on this topic is the muscles. Backstroke is triceps. Forward stroke is biceps. Good timing really helps make sure you are transitioning from one muscle group to another without losing the alignment of your cue tip. And following through is important because you are either accelerating or braking. If you start to hit the brakes before you contact the cueball, you’ve reintroduced the triceps at the worst possible time and are jeopardizing your cue tip alignment. Just another angle to discuss these same topics.

I have thought about this and played with it. I think the high elbow also helps stabilize the shoulder and elbow from a small side to side sway.

Excellent video my man. Timing is the bane of my existence on days when my game is off. It will cause issues not only in my pocketing, but in my position play as well. This video helped me re-visualize the issues I can feel and will make me focus on solving. Love the conversation about the back elbow and getting your chin closer to the cue, it naturally positions your elbow better without having to consciously do it. I give this video an 11/10. :)

Always great tips!!! 👍

I stumbled across this nicely done video and then looked over the desk near my Diamond table. Scribbled sheets of various stroke thoughts and on top is one highlighted with a yellow magic marker that I wrote about six months ago - "Keep your right elbow high". There's no question my accuracy level is much more consistent when I adhere to this concept. A huge thanks for reinforcing this with your excellent video!

Thank you... things i didn't think about.... now the focus of attention.... still learning..... Vince

We shoot for fun and always try to improve. My GF started really pausing her stroke and smoothing the cue delivery to the ball and her game is now night and day different. I knew it was important, but the difference in her game is amazing!

Thanks, I finally understood what "timing" is thanks

Great advise. Timing and proper acceleration. In golf, tennis and baseball I was alway taught you’re not hitting the ball, you’re stroking and following through correctly and the ball just happens to get in the way at max velocity. Not all pros keep their elbow steady. I learned that it was important to keep the tip moving level through the stroke. This requires a drop of the elbow during the stroke. I don’t have any idea what SVB is doing but don’t try it at home. I learned my cue motion when I was young and my brain flexible. I drop my elbow but that’s burned into my brain cells. Changing now is not an option. I’ve played golf and tennis at fairly high levels and get the concept that the more moving parts the greater the chance of errors, but I also learned not to fight my body. It wll accomplish the goal if you don’t consciously micromanage. Let it decide then only adjust such things as grip or contact face angle to compensate, not your physiology. My club face is closed 30degrees when addressing the ball on the tee which looks strange. Why do I do that? Drive is a straight as an arrow and down range 280 yards. I’ve seldom seen a professional golfer with a textbook stroke. In fact, some of them are downright weird, but they work…for them. In sports the most important thing to think about is what you want to happen. If you get caught up in thinking about the mechanics then pursue a life in philosophy or mathematics because you will never become an athlete.

Simple subtle tips that truly can step up someone’s game. Thank you for the advice

Great advice about the high elbow. Another commenter mentioned Tor Lowry.... I just did his stroke drill for a few weeks, which I've done before, but this time really focused on what you said about timing and on keeping the elbow high. I'm glad I did. Now it feels like gravity is doing more of the work.

Very good advice! 👍 You are right about the elbow. I will practice it. Thanks

Best 8 minutes I've invested in my game ever. Thank you!

Yup high elbow, great analysis

Thank you Andrew for another great video

Wow, this has been a game changer for me, overnight! Thank you for the visuals!

Excellent channel. The best. Keep it up. Thanks for all your work

Subbed. Great stuff bro. I think a lot of my inconsistency comes from this. When I play well I notice I automatically seem to have that pause and when im bad I tend to snatch it a bit. I'll try and consciously improve my timing when I'm playing tomorrow. Cheers !

Awesome video with lots of great information Andrew! Absolutely love your take on the this subject! Keep up the great work bro! 👍😊 🎱

Another great video, I have been working on lowering my stance and it started because I'm trying to improve following through the cue ball. I'm an older, bigger belly guy so getting my chin on the cue just isn't an option. I've found that getting lower with a higher elbow feels like a completely different stroke. It has diminished a lot of issues for me that I had spent over a year working on like grip, stroke align, follow through, and consistency. Your video gives me confidence that I'm on the right track.

will be focusing on this my next practice, thanks!

Fantastic videos have helped me a lot with my game. Would like to see more on the mental side of the game. Again thanks

good stuff. I need to record my stroke and see what's up. Thanks

Great video and explanation. Thank you!

Thanks for the tips it really improved my timing when i play. :)

All good stuff, thanks Andrew!

Found your channel last night. This is a great video. I saw instant improvement in my stroke. Just subscribed to your channel.

Great Video buddy !!! simple and effective. Cant wait to see more......

As explained awesome. Stay still ..and do this ..number one ..

Suas dicas na sinuca e muito diferenciada e objetivas..obrigado!!

I found moving back hand further back on cue gives higher elbow and creates better follow thru. I try to practice placing cue tip touching cue ball then sliding back hand to get 90 degrees, put rubber band on cue behind back hand, then when practicing I know if back hand touches rubber band I have good elbow position.

I stumbled across the high elbow recently. I noticed if the cue ball was on a rail, shooting a long straight shot - I had much more success if I setup with the mental cue of higher elbow. I'm still trying to get that same mental cue as part of my routine for other shots, but so far so good! Great tip.

Love this channel, just wish more content was put out. Timing is really important and something I struggle with. Today I played well and everything felt super smooth. My draw was working really well, so I guess my timing was really good. Then, on other days my timing and everything seems so off. Very frustrating.

Keep the content comin'! Thank you!

Omg.. timing .I never understood before your instructions Thanks 🙏

Great video but what I really want to see is some twist back banks! 😉

Amazing tips, thank you!

Great video. This was extremely helpful. Liked and subscribed. 👊💪

Please do eye pattern

Found this video at the right time really struggling with my cue stroke🤔 I've subscribed 😎

Im a back pause guy. Great video homie

Thank you for this . I have heard early on and just didn't put it together for draw shots

Very good explanation, thanks

Help me a lot bro thanks for this great video

Dude you gotta post more often I love your short-ish but still in depth video tips.

Back elbow should be over cue stick. Forearm should be straight up and down just prior to contacting cue. If these two statements are true for a person, they will need to have their head/shoulders lower for a 'high elbow'. Or to phrase this differently, if elbow is over shot line and forearm is perpendicular (to table) at contact, then the elbow position is already determined by the two prior statements. (For cross eye dominant people like me) I've heard people say try to get your back shoulder over the shot line. This is almost impossible unless you have narrow shoulders and turn them an awful lot (I think Jasmin ouschan does this). There are plenty of guy pros, that are cross eye dominant and shoot with back shoulder outside shot line (they are the ones that look like their back elbow is tucked inward. They are cross eye dominant, their shoulder is outside the shot line, their elbow is on the shot line which makes it appear their back elbow is tucked inward). Elbow on shot line. Forearm perpendicular to table at contact. Dropping your elbow is fine.

Interesting that you choose to pause at the cueball. As a snooker trained background player i pause at the end of my stroke instead after 2-3 feathers then pull back pause for 2 seconds then go through the ball. Always works well for me as an open bridgehand player.

I agree that "timing" isn't really the right word for it. Timing seems to imply two events coinciding, which didn't make sense to me. Anyway.. now I understand. Great explanation, thank you!

I used to have my chin on the cue and therefore my elbow up pretty high. The problem I had with it is that without dropping my elbow I could only follow through a tiny bit. Because that way the elbow is already bent pretty far when the tip is at the cueball. There's not much range of motion left after contact. And to get the most range of motion without dropping the elbow you need to muscle it to bend it as far as possible. Now I got my chin up a bit higher, my elbow lower and I can follow through much easier.

Good stuff man. I'm not really sure if the object ball skid really has to do with timing, but of course when you hit a ball with bad timing that does change the action on the cueball, and tip placement accuracy and potentially cue angle- all things that change the outcome of the shot. I have a big ass follow through for a few reasons. One of them is timing, but then there's also elbow drop and stroke slip, both of which extend the cue after contact. I think there IS a thing as too much follow through, but only in the context of forcing mechanics to hit the ball "harder". For instance, when breaking, I think many players add mechanics (as do I), and in doing so add a lot of follow through. What that does though is it changes where the peak velocity in the stroke actually is. Most strokes have a peak velocity towards the end of the stroke. While this helps smoothly accelerate and control the cueball, for the break shot and firm hits, it's very easy for extra mechanics to add speed to the END of the stroke. But then that also means if you keep the same stroke timing, you're likely hitting the cueball too early in the swing. So during firm shots and break shots, when adding mechanics (elbow drop/more follow through) you need to hit the cueball sooner in the swing that you're expecting.

6:03 excellent animation here, dude. Kudos. Also wonderful example

Wow, cheers !!!

High elbow 100%. As I get lazy it lowers and accuracy diminishes.

Me likey the pause pause concept. It’s helped me a lot -when I do it😉

Thank you

Only players I can think of is Efren Reyes who doesn't pause before shooting. But if you watch what he's doing he has a long slow practice stroke and then into his shot. On a difficult shot he will pause in between his small practice strokes and this long practice stroke. I think this is to keep everything loose. In snooker Ronnie O'Sullivan has his Ronnie rock he does at the back of his stroke that is very different than anyone else. Not saying either of these two things are good for most people but are both worth experimenting with. I personally find a short backstroke and extremely loose grip works best for me. I also usually pause before shooting but if I'm struggling I'll use Efren's style of practice stroke and into the shot

yes the higher elbow does work I am making more shots now

What I gathered from watching this excellent video is that: Timing is the transfer of energy and movement from one set of muscles (back strock) to another set of muscles (forward strock) along with any whip like action at the point of contact between the cue tip and cue ball caused by the fingers tightening and/or wrist flexing to allow for more follow through without lifting the cue's tip off the bridge hand. Am I correct with the understanding?

good explanation

That pause at the back is what every snooker players do.

Hi Great binge-worthy content and I doubt you'll see this comment, much less respond, but I'd like to see a video demonstrating various pro players' strokes. Some players have a long, beautiful almost "wavy" or loopy, loose and relaxed stroke resembling a"figure 8" or see-saw motion like many Filipino players, including Efron and Bustamante. While others have a high and frozen elbow with a straight take-back and follow-through. Hope I'm describing this right. I love Efron and SVB's stroke. Thank you!

Thanks good info

Great video and Erin Reyes has a high elbow

Great video! ive also added a pause and it improved my shot. Can you also do a video on stance? im a left eye dominant lefty (right handed by nature) and i recently recorded myself and found i have a square stance, more of a snooker stance but i've never played snooker a day in my life. Is this hindering my shot making ability? ive heard that its more stable with a square stance (like judd trump) but i feel it may be messing with my vision centre. Love to hear your thoughts.

Nice stuff, amigo. How do you like the Avid w/Cynergy combo? And do you play with the extension on all the time ? Curious

I unfortunately de accelerate and glad my friend pointed it out

I'm not 100% sure, but I think bad timing also can cause the cue tip to double hit the cue ball, sometimes, if you're still accelerating after you hit the cue ball.

Ohh im so trying too get follow through embedding in my head i some how cant seem too do it.. also i do notice when you follow through and hit perfectly straight with a good stroke the clacking of the balls makes almost a tin can sound .. idk if anyone has paid any attention too the sound balls make but i mean hearing is one of our senses.. not saying this matters about the sound but ive noticed this when i finally hit a really good shot which is rare the sound is different it doesn't just sound like 2 marbles clashing into each other like most my bad shots sound like ..

I can name you tonnes of champion players who doesn't pause. Carlo Biado, Dennis Orcollo immediately comes to mind.

Great job explaining the kinetic action with proper mechanics. My friend, I am worried about your BMI and your need for better cardio. Your breathing sounds very labored. For every lb of non muscle, non bone (fat) the body has to develop from 1-3 miles of capillaries This is very taxing on the heart and lungs. You are a smart man so what I am saying is going to be logical to you. I certainly am not trying to offend you, but rather, save your life and extend it. Best wishes!

Great tips, truly! However I wouldn't say that EVERY top player pauses at the backstroke. Allot of pro Filipino players, for example, have very tight, fast strokes, with zero pause. That being said I would say that every single European player, qnd every snooker player for sure have very accentuated pauses. Just an observation, I think the pause is beneficial to many, but it needs to be natural. Intentionally pausing may hinder your stroke until its second nature

Awesome video! I have a question off topic I'm looking to purchase the avid Era 6 pointer cue and I wanna throw a cynergy 11.8 on it but I don't know what joint diameter to purchase and I can't find any info. What cynergy shaft should I buy. I know it's 3/8 ×14 but not sure diameter. Thanks man!

I don't understand the elbow comment. You said, " They put their head low to make their elbow high. " Did I understand that, right? I think I know what you mean. As long as your elbow is straight up and down and your cue close to level, it can't get any higher or lower. That is unless you tuck it in our push it out. There is no other plane of movement for your elbow. I thought they got down low to sight better, and that gives the elbow the appearance of being high relative to the head. Hhmmm...maybe we could test it out some how?

Great video! Any chance someone could explain in dummy terms what technically/mechanically is meant by dropping the elbow 6:58

I get it but I also don't get it lmao I like that

What sbout the grip?

I have the greatest trouble with a slow stroke. I was running a drill trying to draw the cue ball to the short rail but not have the object ball reach the same cushion. I can’t do it. The object always bounces to the far rail and bounces off the rail closest to me. Just can’t get slow enough.

My hand holding the club turned inward when exerting force

How about your grip

You should introduce yourself or put your name in the bio or something. I can’t find it!

My cue ball on some shots not even hard jumps a little after I hit the object ball… what’s that all about

W Vid

The draw stroke is not really explained for the beginners. Long ago t was told to me , I either had it or not. I had it but started thinking about it and it all changed.level cue, downward stroke , speed follow thru? Any description.

I having problems with my gripi can't get comfortable.

Big component is the stroke acting like a throw. When I have non-optimal timing, usually because I'm muscling the ball or decelerating. Typically the issue is caused by having an improper back stroke. Go too long, you'll decelerate, too short of a back stroke, you'll muscle the stroke

Sweet glove and carbon shaft. I’m sure you’re an APA killer..and I do appreciate what you are trying to convey. But.. your stroke hand and arm are way to close to your body in relation to your back elbow. My guess is you used to have the Keith McCready chicken wing and are over compensating. According to your puppet analogy, your back arm should be hanging straight down and not touching your side. It is not. Lose the glove, the Mosconi Cup replica jersey, however many wackadoo synthetic shafts you have..spend 2k on a WOOD custom cue with a WOOD shaft. Oh yeah, it’s super clever that you have actually managed to weave some sexual innuendo and pool into your channel name. Man..that is awesome!

Why don’t you do all of us a favor and watch tor Lowry RU-vid video called slip stroke and jab stroke and tell us what the difference is between yours and tor slip stroke is. You guys make great videos but there is only a few that answer any questions. A teacher should answer his students questions. Thank you

Scammers be careful

Great video and explanation. Thank you!