I know that if I wanted to be a professional pool player that would become a champion then there would be one form of billiards that I would get good at and that is cushion billiards maybe even being a champion of that billiards as well as other forms of billiards. The reason is because I would want to be master of bank shots and I feel that being a champion of cushion billiards would make that happen.
Finished 2nd in a mini tournament because I missed that last difficult shot B was showing. I'll practice it in the progression Brian demonstrated at the end. Thanks
No kidding. My open game is on fire, but my struggles with the rail have dragged me down. I used to aim for the crook and shoot with speed, which worked for a time, until I experienced different rails at different billiard halls
Your lesson here can save players years of learning by chance or by repeating the same mistakes over and over- not knowing the reason for the missed shot. I have not heard a better explanation of these concepts by anyone. Thank you. I liked and subscribed because I respect your skill in playing and teaching. Good job!
Also important to remember, as mentioned in earlier vids, old, cheap "mud" balls, found in most bar boxes, throw a LOT more than clean, higher quality balls. Another great video Brian! Happy New Year all!
Now youve got me wanting to try to play in those gloves LOL. I have not forgot about your email. I will try to give you a call in the next couple of days. Its been nutz around here.
Stop it!!! ..... funny stuff. At my pool hall it's known as "DTFR" on those cuts up the rail............... "don't touch the freakin rail". After playing since I was a kid and watching way too many hours of tournament play I would say at least 80% of all missed cut shots are missed by being undercut.
Standing in front of the shots had helped me tremendously! Another great lesson. Happy New Year, Bryan. Thanks for all you do for the pool community and us lower skilled players. Rodney
Great advice. If the ball is at 30%, they can also aim the right edge of the cue stick at the far left side of the object ball. The spot is about 1 dime with to the inside of the far left edge of the object ball but the edge works as well (just cheats the pocket a bit).
And how they difffer it seems to improve there shot making ability alot just realizing that the balls are round so the contact point is truly harder to hit
I do prefer using centerball training i know how to use english definitely havnt mastered it and i prefer to use minimal english when i do use english what has helped me run more balls when i shoot softly easierr to control the rock and fall into position easier
I like all your videos. Question I was watching a RU-vid 9 ball tournament with Shane V. Boening and Groust. and he racked 9 ball and the 9 ball was centered with the middle diamonds on the table with the 1 ball out in front of it. I've never heard of this, the 1 ball has always been centered with the middle diamonds. I watched this video over and over and they racked the 9 ball like this. You have any idea what's going on here. Thanks
This is becoming common in a lot of events where you have to put the nine on the spot. The ability of players making the wing ball has become so automatic that hey need to try to make it more difficult. Putting the nine on the spot makes it more difficult to make a ball on the break.
Great advice at the end. Whatever shot you are trying or having difficulty making. Just PRACTICE. Experiment with spins, speed. Thats the only way to learn pool
I love your videos Bryan and you've helped my game a lot. With that being said, I do have a question. When you shot the 1 ball in the beginning of the video you used low left as you said, wouldn't this be considered inside english not outside?
Hello sir, I want to ask a question about butt of a cue. What is the difference between expensive butt and the cheap one?, If the shaft we got the technology such as the low deflection which makes it expensive. what about the butt ? What makes it so expensive ? Is it only for visual purpose? Anyone who understands can please let me know. Thank you and sorry for my bad English😅
A good butt is going to last longer, be stiffer, better made, use better materials etc. They also hold value more. A predator cue I paid 1400 for 12 years ago is worth 1400 today (used.) My 300 Lucasi is worth maybe 150 and my cheaper cues have no value at all.
It's like any tool. As you get better, the difference will be noticeable. But for beginners, it does not make as much difference. Since you will likely get a more expensive cue down the road, I always say to start out with the best you can afford and grow into the cue. I started out with a Players cue many (decades) ago and used it for a very long time. It was considered a mid range cue at the time. And it served me well. Thats it on the wall in the background of my videos in the frame. It's over 30 years old and still good. So dont break the bank but dont go too cheep and you will be fine. BTW my best/most expensive cue is nothing fancy to look at. It's all black with no design on it - It's a PREDATOR P3 and it plays better than anything else I have in my collection. So looks are not a key factor in cost.
I don't look at shadows when shooting never my table is right outside my bedroom so some timed I shoot in very little light late at night is that wrong ?
Preferably, you wouldn’t have any shadows on the table, and as far as lighting goes, you should get as much light on the table as possible for the environment where your table is located
Some really good advice here. Everyone has certain shots that "fits" their eye and their stroke. All of the shots in this video are those shots for me. I could literally make all of those shots 98 times out of 100 and in be using follow, english, draw, and a combinations of those on these shots. Walking over and looking at the shot is FANTASTIC advice! I cannot tell you how many times I had to lose games to finally figure out that, FOR ME, walking over and looking at the line is a must. Some of those losses were quite painful. And the other thing I do, and something Tor Lowry recommends, is that on those shots - aim to barely miss the pocket or aim to the far inside edge of the pocket. Once I started doing this - walking over and checking the line and then SLIGHTLY aiming to miss the center of the pocket - these shots became super easy for me. Super easy. And the progressive part of shot making is something Brian preaches all of the time - and that has helped me a lot. I am an aggressive player and I want to start at x, y, and z on some shots. But I have learned that when I am struggling with certain shots to start at A and work from there.
I’ve been very consciously avoiding such videos. Because even the best ones that I’ve seen other people produce still leave amateur players lacking the information they need And I refuse to make analytical videos that in the end don’t really help. What would be proper aim for me might not be proper aim for someone else. I recommend learning organically the way most of us actually learned it, which is by shooting hundreds of balls with different types of English - Hit the cube ball on the right the object ball goes left - hit the cue ball on the left. The object ball goes right start there and put in a ton of reps. Shooting with English has to be intuitive - anyone who tries to draw you a bunch of lines to show you where YOUR shot is going to go, has presented you will a disservice. But at least they tried.
I actually got ok at these setting one ball on each rail doing my own made of drill. This shot comes up all the time. Making this shot has given me wins and carried over to other aspects of the game. Controlling my speed more as you say will up my game on it even more. lol
When you play on alot of bar boxes there are times where they have the cue ball that is. Bigger then the object balls which threw me off for along time so. What I did to fix this was purchase a snooker cue ball to high tune my center ball game and I was impressed by amount of spin you could produce with this little ball but it really helped. Me adjust to any size cue ball and hitting center ball
The angles, the same, but the shot is much different because of what you’re actually seeing when you execute the shot. The pocket is more in your peripheral with the rail shots. Thanks for watching.
I tried to explain this to my APA teamates on this same issue. But not very well. Thank you I am going to share this video with them. Again excellent explanation. 50 year pool player here.
For me it’s not just the cut that’s inducing the throw, the English is sending the white on a different path to the object ball so while his point to speed up might be correct, part of the reason for that is there’s less time for the ball to be thrown off the line as much.to correct that you need to adjust your point of aim. Basic snooker technique.
That's brilliant advice he gave at the end, for any shot you're having difficulty with.... humble yourself to the shot!!! Go for the easiest version of anything you're having trouble potting and work you're way to the deeper waters👍👍👍 great tutorial!
I get scared when I'm frozen or really close to the rail because there's no room for error. Now if I have half an inch even quarter inch space I can make the shot very very easily 80% of the time.
As a somewhat new player ( about 2 1/2 months) playing just for fun, alot of times I don't have what I would call a sure (easy) shot. So I walk around the table 2 or 3 times just looking for some kind of shot, so my question is am I doing anything right or wrong. by looking the table over 2 or 3 times?
There’s nothing wrong with it, but it might drive your opponents nuts if you’re taking a long time to shoot. Sometimes there simply is not a shot on the table for you and if you’re a beginner that “sometimes” is more frequent.
Great video! The thing we ALL can take away is be honest with yourself about your stroke and ability. Even semi pro level players get over confident in their ability from time to time. Stay in your lane and play a safe if you have to. Better yet, play better shape.
Hello, Great videos, I assume that all table sizes follow the same physical laws. For reasons of space, I would have to put a 5 ft. table in the basement. In the club there are 9 ft. tables. Do I "screw up" my technique if I train on small tables? Thanks for the answer Gregory
You can certainly help your game on a smaller table, but you want to put in time on the larger tables as often as you can. I got pretty good on a crappy 7 foot table when I was a kid, but I played on 9 foot tables and even a 10 foot table as often as possible my best friends grandfather had a 10 foot table that we played on anytime we could get on it. As long as the balls are regulation size you should be able to Work on a few things that will help your game
can you show how this is done on a UK pool table, as every time the target ball hits the cushion first it stays out, you guys get it, and I did play a lot of 9 ball in my young days on you're tables, any of these shots would miss on our smaller pockets, if its not in the middle it doesn't go, I really wish we played more 9 ball here
@@FXBilliards hello Brian... great videos and coaching style. I'm a beginner realizing that table time practice is key. Can you recommend a good cue stick for the entry player that won't break the bank? I notice you mention the Predator brand. Thanks
Absolutely...subbed!! Appreciate the walk thru...league is in 2 weeks. We have a legit squad, definitely want to be solid with my approach and delivery for the squad
I've hit that shot a little harder but I found I scratch in the cross corner unless I put English on the ball. Then I'm right back to the same problem... missing the shot.😢
I’m with you, Danny keep in mind that the shot is sensitive to angles - move the cue ball an inch to the left or right and you scratch or don’t scratch - but that makes it like a ton of other shots in pool. Thanks for watching. Thanks for your comments.
Like others from the UK have said, these shots just won't go in on a 7x4 tournament table unless they're perfect. I love 9 ball on a table like yours but 8 ball on the smaller, tighter tables is definitely the main game played here, plus snooker. Good video though and will defo help regardless, as always 👍
Happy new year Bryan and thanks a lot for this video! It really helps me a great deal because I have been struggling with this kind of shot. Greetings from Honduras!
Thanks Brian! I work on that shot all the time, but 1-6” from rail, out to first diamond, same angle. Opposite problem, I tend to pull it away from rail not into rail probably bc I’m using English. Variations of that shot come up in every game!
Brian, I often miss this shot- not into the side ball but the object ball goes wide towards the middle of the table. What am I doing wron and how should I fix it?
Your shadows and light comment hit home, I play in a place with only cealing lights. Now here is a more fundamental question, why can I make the shot 6 diamonds down the rail but miss the one that is 1 diamond. I have been thinking I am not seeing it right and just aiming wrong.
Yes Sir!!! Those shots are deceptive, especially moving away from the pocket with less angle :) Almost like the "air" changes around the rail. Practice so they become familiar; the more familiar at making them, the more things you can do with success! Great Stuff !!! Wishing the utmost New Year. Be Safe
I'm more or less a fresh faced beginner, only about 6-8 months ago did I go from playing maybe a few times a year to 2 or 3 nights a week and taking the game more seriously. In the past two months or so I've starting learning more about adjusting for cut-induced throw by slowing my speed and using gearing outside, and I started making shots I used to miss constantly. Unfortunately though, as I've used that approach more and more with more varied shots and cut angles, I've starting missing a LOT of shots again. My question is this: would you give the same advice of using speed rather than spin for more general cuts from the opposite side, IE when making cuts from around the foot spot? Should I focus on speed control to adjust for throw until I can do that consistently before actually relying on outside english?
Most players at your level are using speed to make the adjustment and that’s fine as long as you understand that the better you get, the more likely you are to use outside English on cut shots. With that shut down the rail speed is the best option for everyone.
I got that advanced shot long rail down after showing my brother I think the cue ball was a bit far away and the object ball right on the rail I played it with a bottom left English with a little speed and that ball hugged the rail aaaaaalllll the way down twice I could me wrong in the method but it may not be consistent for every shot like it
More good tips to practice on Bryan thnx! Gearing up for another APA season n I'm going through your videos to tune up n saw this one. Yeah, I've been adding outside english to my cut shots, and yeah it does make it tougher to pot balls when I do, so I'm gonna try this. I noticed on my cuts shots that with no english I'm way more accurate, but figured I can practice my way outta it. But more n more during matches I don't add spin unless I absolutely need it for shape after the shot...so seems like very sound advice! Patience n practice are key to me!
Try putting yourself on a mental shot clock - saying I’m going to shoot within the next 15 seconds - and then you get down and take the shot. This could be a big help to some players. I’ve done it with my students with great success.
Another great video Bryan. Your hilarious illustrations had me laughing 😃. I really needed and appreciate this video on rail shots. Thanks and stay well. QA
Great video, I've played since I was around 12 yrs old (I'm now 61) but lacking a home table I got away from it for the past 20+ yrs. Now having reacquired a home table I've really lost my game. It seems as though the self taught lessons I learned (and took for granted) I'm only now realizing the complexity of what the time seemed like 2nd nature. I hope that short explanation of my current frustration makes sense. Your videos are very helpful in my ongoing attempt to recapture my game so wanted to say thanks. Also I noticed the gloves hanging there on the post I'm going to guess you're quite a mechanic in the ring.
I don’t do a lot of fighting these days, but I love the sport. Those gloves were signed by Vinny Pazienza. Fun fact, my ex girlfriend and Joe Frazier‘s girlfriend were best friends. Have a great day. Thanks for watching.
@@FXBilliardsIt's weird that the things you can learn in your younger years which you just take for granted ie. deflection, English ( not so much the effect but the compensation and use of) can be lost in what seems like no time. It's unbelievably frustrating! It's kinda hard to explain but what once was just natural for me is now a struggle to regain. My 8 ball play used to be clear a rack every 8-10 games with no game lasting outside of 3-4 turns. What happened??? lol old age, eyesight, shaky hands ... DAMMIT!!! LOL
Because we have called it english for the past 70 years and spin could also be draw or follow. English is side spin. Just as in ping pong, tennis and many other sports.
@@FXBilliards Happy New Year! If you are ever in Arkansas Hot Springs I would love to shoot some games together and share pool stories. God bless you and yours.
