10 Secrets of a GOOD STROKE in Pool

Dr. Dave covers generally-recommended “best practices” that help make a pool stroke good. Topics covered [with timestamps] include:
- Intro [0:00]
1. Set and Check [0:53]
2. Relax and Test [1:40]
3. Pause and Verify [2:03]
4. Focus on Target [2:14]
5. Pull Back Slowly [2:26]
6. Transition Smoothly [2:47]
7. Keep Grip Relaxed [3:16]
8. Accelerate Smoothly [3:45]
9. Keep Elbow Still [4:14]
10. Finish the Stroke [4:55]
11. Stay Down and Still [5:30]
- Wrap Up [6:31]
---- shot montage [7:24]

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Good Luck With Your Game!!!

[DrDaveBilliards]

*Table of Contents:*
- Intro [0:00]
1. Set and Check [0:53]
2. Relax and Test [1:40]
3. Pause and Verify [2:03]
4. Focus on Target [2:14]
5. Pull Back Slowly [2:26]
6. Transition Smoothly [2:47]
7. Keep Grip Relaxed [3:16]
8. Accelerate Smoothly [3:45]
9. Keep Elbow Still [4:14]
10. Finish the Stroke [4:55]
11. Stay Down and Still [5:30]
- Wrap Up [6:31]
---- shot montage [7:24]

*Supporting Resources:
*

[Nazaja]

The greatest pool teacher of all time--- DrDave!! Thank you very much dr Dave.

[CarveYourLegacy]

Dr Dave, Niels Feijen, Stephen Hendry and Garreth Potts. Good tips to up your game from all these dudes. Thanks ✌️

[coreycallahan]

So glad that I found your channel Dr. Dave. My father taught me much of what you show in your videos but after a lot of years most of it had been lost in the cobwebs of my brain. Now you are bringing my father’s lessons back to me while also teaching me so much that I had never been taught or even heard of. I will recommend your channel to my friends and family members who play or would like to play but not until I get a little jump on them by practicing what I have learned from you so far. I could use a slight advantage at times 😊.

[CS-bhur]

Dear Dr. Dave, I have been playing pool for 10 years now and been serious about improving my game for about 4 of those years. This video helps me out so much every now and then when my game gets a bit off, I go back to my stroke and do stroke drills. I love this video so much. Thank you so much for your excellent videos. Your friend- Chris

[roadshowautosports]

Dr. Dave, you’ve been inspirational to many of us for sure! Your simple method of teaching with a calm voice and funny examples keeps us motivated and focused! I take that you’re a physics professor? Love your simple exercises that I’ve been using since I’ve met you here in this platform, i.e. the aiming systems you’ve developed or improved, and the brilliant simple following the vision for a straighter stroke as shown here today! I thank you for your kindness! Keep aiming to swerve! Hopefully, someday, I’ll have a chance to meet you in person and perhaps play a match!! Thank you!

[HikeColorado]

This is an excellent training video. I’ve been working on these fundamentals and techniques for the past month and I’ve seen my shot ratio go up significantly. It all makes perfect sense 👍

[beelzaBob]

You're like the Salmon Khan of billiards. I'm old enough such that I remember when the only way to learn pool was to go down to the pool hall and lose to the gamblers (shout out Chris's Billiards). I also remember when the only way to learn Calculus was to go to college. When I first started taking pool seriously I was also learning Calculus. I'd have one monitor on Khan Academy and another on one of your sites/vids. Your selfless act of education is what the internet is made for.

[gman]

Thanks for the often overlooked fundamentals ! Dr.Dave

[InterWebGuy]

Excellent instruction. Thanks for putting this out there!

[maxxw]

I've watched about 30 of your videos but never commented, just wanted to say I really appreciate these videos, they've definitely helped me improve my game👍

[sonicdiablo]

Very good video. It's something that I'm always trying to improve.

[billquiggle]

Thank you for reminding me of what you told me at our lesson, my stroke improved then, and continues to improve to this day.

[ZSharkPH]

Great tips... thank you.. Jumping up after a shot is what i need to work on most.

[MrJdsenior]

Great stuff, as always. I like that you start the video by pointing out that almost anything can be a 'good' stroke if it is just consistent. I have had this argument many times with people, now I will have this video to pull up next time. Excellent topic. I would argue that there are things you should almost definitely not do in a stroke, though, and I'm sure you will point that out as I continue to watch, things like jumping up, one of my worst and most difficult habits to kill.

I even hit balls from one corner pocket to another, direct, for three THOUSAND shots once, actually over about three days, consciously working every aspect of ball address, from pre-shot to lining up to foot placement, ad infinitum. I also recorded and played back video from multiple angles (side, rear, front) to periodically check that everything was 'kosher'.

It helped for a long time, but I should have done a hundred or so every time any aspect of my mechanics got sloppy. I didn't and over the years a lot of them have creeped back in. That is why I think it is SO important for beginners to learn it RIGHT. Bad habits are far more difficult to fix than NO habits. I also suspect a 'proper' standardized stroke is probably more easily learned and controlled than one with some quirk thrown in, some more than others. There's probably no simpler better way than to just get a GOOD instructor to get you started right, and give you a look/see every now and again to stay correct and consistent.

I 'know' a lot better than I play, and I was watching a player FAR better than me, and he was missing. I said you are cocking your wrist. His shooting immediately got better. After about three shots he looked up and said, thanks, good call.

One night, a couple had been watching me, and they were absolutely clueless when they got on the table, but had been watching me practice. The husband was trouncing her. He asked if I could give her some tips. Just about every aspect of her stroke initially was horrific to watch, so when she made what was supposed to be a bridge, I put my thumb and index finger and each side of her hand and wobbled it. I said you will NEVER hit a ball straight with mechanics like that, so I worked her stance, stroke, and then some various shots, showed her how spin action of the cue worked. I then showed her a few aspects of cue resultant angles and speeds (gave her your rules of thumb). I set up a rotation table with four balls on it, and ran through a bit of patterning, the hows and whys, and a bit of safety play, how, when, and why. Every time I told her and showed her how to do something, she just DID IT. Man, she could learn at incredible rates. I took about 1/2 hour with her (it was all fast, and pretty surface level) and I watched her play the next game against her husband before I left. She DEMOLISHED him. It was fun. He looked at me with a kind of 'my turn' on his face and I said I had to go, which I did. Probably should have told him $50 and hour, but I can almost guarantee he wouldn't have gotten what she did out of it.

On the converse funny side, a once top level amateur (pro edge) snooker player I often watch at the hall, when asked if he could give me a few pointers to improve my stroke, said, absolutely deadpan, "there's too much". I about fell off the chair, laughing. His stroke is GORGEOUS, like a machine, looks exactly the same, in terms of basic mechanics, on every shot.

One pro I think has a really beautiful stroke is Allison Fischer, like Ron's it always looks the same, and looks dead 'correct standard' to me. Obviously there are many others. It never ceased to amaze me how some pros look almost like they are slow stroking, and get amazing action, a la Reyes and others.

It's hilarious you picked her. I wrote all of that at the front end of the video. Great minds think alike.

[shortydancer]

Dr dave, thank you for your videos. Back around 2008 to 2012 i was deep into pool. I watched and learned from youtube. Videos like these allowed me to become a C player, lol. I took a break from pool but am starting to play again and these videos will come in handy.

[GetMeThere]

Always useful information; great video. We pool players have to take a lesson from the amazing precision and consistency we see in snooker players. It used to be that some top snooker players had stroke idiosyncracies (Alex Higgins was probably the best known example). Now, all snooker players play essentially the same -- using the form described here. Snooker players have learned the huge importance of the principles you demonstrate in this video. Allison Fisher, btw, began as a snooker player.

[anthonyperez]

Great video @DrDaveBilliards!
I’ve seen some “experienced” players leave somewhat mean-spirited comments about avoiding unconventional technique (like dropping the elbow during follow through), but you nicely point out that, as long as one achieves good, consistent results, a stroke is successful!

I would also point out that one of the greatest snooker players of all time, Ronnie O’Sullivan, has a HUGE elbow drop on almost all of his shots. Barry Stark, another great online coach (for snooker specifically), has pointed to this elbow drop and follow through as one of the reasons why O’Sullivan is so dominant.

[FXBilliards]

Good video Dave -with some good points made

[LilChrisPoolPlayer]

Great topic to cover, as I've pointed this out to plenty of players that I've reviewed!

I've said before, on a podcast, "You can have bad mechanics and still be a great pool player".
What would you suppose to is average learning curve between mastering "best practices" or mastering "bad mechanics"?