Your stance?

Question

Mickey makes a good point. Alison uses a classic snooker stance. Like I said, if it fits the definition, then it works. I don't necessarily recommend her particular stance, but she makes it work and it's comfortable for her. From the waist up, she's absolutely text book.

Answer 1

Man, this is sort of hard for me to figure out without a pool table...I don't think I ever would have realized that I don't know exactly what my stance is like...Well, I actually think it's pretty similar to Johnny's, looking at that picture (just looked again...my feet aren't that far apart, but I'm not that tall :)  ). My front foot is facing forward and my back foot is maybe about a 45 degree angle to the side. My feet are maybe 18 inches apart at the toes? My front leg is bent but I think my back leg is straight but maybe not locked (I need a table :)  ) Kinda hard for me to tell. My cue does rub my chin on about every shot, and I try to keep my bridge hand close to the cue ball. I actually think my weight is on my front foot. Umm...I'm extremely comfortable with my stance like that, and I guess that's why I do it. I rely on my husband to do any tweaking, if necessary. I don't know if I described it correctly, but I do know I have a good stance. My husband stands almost exactly like Souquet, but that doesn't work for me.

Okay, my feet are normally farther apart than I said (for just a 'normal' shot that I don't have to reach for).

Hey Mickey, I'm interested in how that stance works, myself. A lot of the snooker players shoot like that, and I think about it now and then but forget to try it out.

Answer 2

I tried to do it by the book all the time but figured that I get problems with my neck. Now I adjust my stance depending on the position. Playing long balls (I mean on a 9 ft table) I tend to bend further down so that my chin almost touches the shaft of my cue. Achieving this requires me to bend my knees and my feet are at leat 3 ft apart at 90 degrees to the shooting direction. Shorter balls or rail kicks I do standing more upright with a stance by the book, right leg straight and locked, left leg half a step in front and to the left (I am right handed). This works best for me.

Answer 3

Wow i been waiting for this question, and all of the answers. I myself have spent many many 100's of hours trying to grow my game, by trying stances, put ur feet this far apart, elbow straight, and on and on. i read every book, watched every tape. the only thing that did was slow my learning of the game by many years. i tried 2 emmulate earls stance, efrens stance, all that got me was sore knees, and frustration, of why i cannot see the shot. im gonna get slaughter(esp by so called instructors) on this but i dont care. believe me or not, im suffering with dystonia at this piont, where a small muscle uncontrobablly spasms near near the right side of the base of my skull, pulling my c1 against my brainstem, causing severe dizziness at times, and extream pain. youtube dystonia, and watch the 1st video, there are many different cases of it. i told you this because this is the reason im not on tour right now, and i will be coming out with my instructional dvd's when i heal, hopefully in the next year or 2. nothing will happen til i heal! im going 2 p**s off alot of so called instructors, that have been taught the wrong thing, and teach the wrong thing. my reason for doing this is to show how easy the game is, and to produce many more great players, for the sake of rising the genre of billiards, where more people will have more fun playing, because they will be able to what i call (see the shots) soon as you learn this way, soon as you see the shots, the game is basic common sense. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A STANCE!!! During playing a game or prastice, there are many different so called stances. reason i say that, if you go set up your stance, you cannot see the shot correctlly. why u ask. a stance is the end result of a shot, not what you set up 1st! you do not set up a stance then attempt the shot! the stance is a result! im a very fast player, not stupid fast. i play the speed that efren does at times, and the speed that earl does at times, depending if the balls are open, and its a clear runout. but, after analizing the shot, i imagine kinda where my body will be, lets say i have a straight in shot, where the cueball is about 5 inches off the rail, and i know i just have to roll the cueball straight. i dont reall focus on lining up the cueball to the object ball, until on stroking, as i realized the shot i must make, and picture where my body will be, and then i get into that position(which is always ballanced) then when i look up at the shot, im balanced, to that particular shot, my stroke is automatically free flowing,  and i can (see the shot) clearly, and it is common sense from there, to what speed to use, ect.  i see so many teachers and players taking their taught stance, then bending over to take the shot, but when they do that it is impossible to see the shot correctlly! the stance is a result, of the right thinking, about each shot! some will say well im a good player, and i use a stance. maybe, but you are not going to improve your game, to a level like efren does, because you will not see the shot nearly as clearly, and your stroke will not be nearly as freeflowing! i myself always wondered how efren, makes it look so easy, why he has great speed control, why does he (chicken wing his arm, during certain shots) i wasted many years trying to learn the wrong way. since i was a little kid, iv'e  had a compulsive personality, and from the 1st time i seen a pool table, i thought wow, and about 17 years ago, i decided to dedicate myself to becoming a professional player. i do not brag! i've had many  people come up to me, while playing on a 9ft, and ask me if i played b4 on espn. but basically no one knows me, as i play 99% of the time exclusivelly at home. for over 10 years i was a gas station jockey, i'd get off work, and play 8 to 10 hours almost everyday of the year. if i knew then about how to see the shot clearly, it would have saved me alot of heartach, trying to get myself to where i am today. i love to play, but since i dont feel well the last few years, i play about 5% of what i used to. but now i can walk to the table, and basically be in dead stroke within 20 shots. i know johnny archer doesn't prastice very much anymore, and i understand why. ok 1 more shot to imagine 4 now. your object ball is 3" off the right rail about 2foot from the corner pocket, and your cueball is in the center of the table, and you want to draw the cueball off the right rail and back down towards the bottom rail. 1st thing in my mind after i know where i wand my cueball to end up, is to realize what type of shot i need to use which is low right, (common sense i know but im showing how to see the shot correctlly) so i imagine where my body will be about, and the stroke i must use, which in this case is low right. so picturing where my body must be, knowing that i will be using a  downward stroke for a draw, i dont focus on the object ball yet, but i get my body behind the cueball realizing i must make a little bit of downward shot, i still havnt focused on the object ball yet! soo as i get my body set up and everything feels balanced, then i look at the object ball, and now what i see is myself being lined up behind the cueball, everything is balanced, my stroke is free flowing, then, only after im there! is when i put the low right on the cueball, because only then you SEE THE BALL clearly, and it makes common sense what to do then. very hard to explain without showing it on video, which i will put a couple small clips eventually on youtube, but just a sample as im going to put out my own line of instructional dvd's busting all the myths of teaching, which even teachers don't realize. this will produce many great players, and more people will enjoy playing, as they will understand it as well,  and more players will have alot more fun playing How many teachers do you see, that is at efrens level?  thats why they call him the magician, because he SEES THE SHOT correctlly, and its common sense from there. i have givin way more information that i have intended to, before my dvd's come out. not exactlly sure of my plan at this time, because unless i get a cue contract, or figure out how much my dvd's will make, i might be a road player for awhile. im not out to break any records, as im not going to spend my life in a poolhall, or traveling to every tourny. i have a full audio and video recording studio, and a family, as my passion is screenwriting, script writing, sitcom writing, song writing, commerical pitches. which i have a 8x12 foot dry erase board in my studio. and a 9ft brunswick with stadium seating, and cameras mounted. playing pool makes me feel happy, and euphoric. i do not brag! i really enjoy groups of people gathering at the poolhall watching me, as it gives them joy. i know ill get a bunch of thumbs down form so called bca instructors, i dont care, but b4 if you do, man up, and write me to tell me why! friendly question accepted. good luck, and let me know if you start SEEING THE SHOT, people who want to learn, read this over and over, if you have no table at home, get fruit, or balls, even a broom stick, and the counter or a square or rectulanger table, to learn to do the right things at the right time, and soon you will be SEEING THE SHOT clearly, like never b4, and notice how ballanced you have become. and  you will become very consistant!

Answer 4

Very bad but Johnny says I look good doing it

Thought you might like a short answer.

                     Tks Mrs Johnny

Answer 5

I stand at a 45 degree angle to my cue with my right leg straight, but not locked (it becomes uncomfortable to lock it), and my feet shoulder length apart. My left foot is only a few inches ahead of the right. I do not bend down as far as many modern players do, so my head is about 10-12 inches above the shaft. I'm 6'1 with proportionally sized arms (I don't think they're unusually long or short for my height).

Answer 6

Except for some shots that require me to take  a different Position, my stance is usually low, with legs spread about 2-21/2 feet, front arm bent some, head low, above the pool table, Legs locked at knees. back bent at waist, parrallel

with table. My friends use to tell me that I had my head a little bent aiming with right eye like.

I never noticed, I did anything different cause it worked for me.

I am 5.10, Arms may be a little longer than usual, black hair,,

No!!, that's another site. except for the hair, I usually, stroked at least 4 times, and any changes in stand or otherwise, resulted in missing shots.

I had to make sure that I followed that to a T.

Stick through fingers creating a hole, , index on top of middle.

smootth strokes, and make sure arm didn't go up down in the back, smooth stick lightly held, except for break. other fingers created the base as I could raise them if I had to clear something.

EDit- iused the bed, to describe my stand, just got down there and I almost made the 8into the Pillow.

Answer 7

Never really think about it.....like Lea said, I would have to be in front of a table to tell you...."what ever is comfortable" is my answer......how does Fisher shoot with both feed even and just bent over....really uncomfortable for me but may it is something that a woman can do and not a man.

Answer 8

Right leg locked  Left slight or a bit more bent  I guess bout 2ft apart .If you ever go to my 360 the payday in 3 more shots pic. thats my stance most of the time even for the break my right leg locked transfers to my bridge hand rest -pretty stable- the left just to get comfortable.in stance

I think if I didnt lock my R leg I would bobble around like I was in the back window of a 51 Mercury

                 But just my style  Oh im bout an even 6ft long arms -notice my grip is so far back on stick cant hold in the wrap if stick has one

But from your standpoint I told you you would laugh at my Mechanics

Good one Straight

Answer 9

My style of playing is by allowing myself to be relax not tense and treated it as a game eventhough there is a price.Be creative and try out the impossible shots. Your legs only come with natural stances if you were in peace and calm. The only pressure in the game is how much stakes you put on the table.