Fundamentals of Pool

If you listen to most people achieving a stroke in pool requires a lot of hard work and time put in on practice. If you don't understand how a stroke works it can take you years to become accomplished at it. If on the other hand you do understand the principle behind a good stroke it is easy to learn and can be accomplished in a fairly short time. If you watch players that haven't developed a stroke yet you will find that most of them seem to stroke well until the final forward movement of the cue. They take 3 or more warm up strokes that look like perfection then on the final stroke manage to destroy the entire illusion.

There is not much info on slip stroke and apparently no clear definition. From what I have read I believe I do utilize the slip stroke when I get going, kind of in the zone. I have tried to force myself to use it, to push me in the zone and it seldom works. The slip does not push me in the zone, the zone itself creates the slip stroke in me. That is me, perhaps different to others who use it, I am new to it, but like it. I only use it on normal shots, not over the ball stuff etc.

We are all still working on executing the perfect stroke. I am improving mine lately, thanks to the help of recent instruction. I'll try to relate the high points of what I was told.

A smooth stroke is a worthy goal; you will never be good without it. A little wiggle at the back end will translate into inconsistency and many missed shots for unknown reasons. You knew the aim was good and it looked good but missed by a mile.

The "stroke" is often the most misunderstood and most difficult to define part of the game. While we may be unable to put it into words - we know it when we see it. The stroke is what separates the good from the great. The stroke must be smooth; it must be straight; it must be complete. We know it when we "feel" it: the grip (the position of the fingers on the butt), the alignment (head, shoulders, elbows, wrist), the execution (the lock of the eyes on the object ball, the feel of the cue as it contacts the CB.

There is no question that the stroke is the one of the most important element in the game of pocket billiards, snooker or any cue sport. A smooth, straight stroke is key in pocketing your object balls accurately.

Rail Bridge

Rail bridges are used whenever the cue ball is too close to the rail and doing any of the normal bridges (open or closed) would be impossible. For this type of bridge you simply lay your cue stick on the rail and use your fingers to stabilize it. There are different types of rail bridges that you will learn as you play the game. Below are some illustrations you can use as reference.