Play Better Pool – The 5 Basic Things You Should Master

The grip.

The first thing is the position of the grip on the cue.  Your hand should be roughly 4 inches back from the balance point of the cue.  The grip of the cue is with 2 or 3 fingers holding the cue from the outside and your thumb supporting the cue from the inside.  Don’t grip too tightly. Before you take the shot, you should position your arm in such a way that your forearm is 90 degrees to the floor, i.e. vertical.  This will allow a smooth fluid swing of the cue.  It is essential that during the swing that your arm does not swing to the left or right. This is a bit more tricky while trying to play a smooth shot without tensing up during the swing.  Practice is the key at this point.  Practice will allow the grip to become natural and take none of the concentration from the shot itself.

Here’s a link which will explain.

The bridge.

The bridge is what you call your hand (more often than not), to support the cue when taking the shot on the white.  There are several different types of bridge used during a normal game of pool which I won’t go into for this article.  The most commonly used would be the open bridge which is performed by resting your hand on the table about 6 to 8 inches from the white.  The knuckles are then raised so your hand is similar to a spider standing on the table.  Lastly the thumb should be raised to create a V between the thumb and the index finger knuckle which is the resting position for the cue.  You should make sure the cue has a comfortable position and that your hand is not too sticky.  A rubbing with the chalk should ensure a smooth surface for the cue to move back and forth.  The height of your hand for straight shots should leave the cue tip at the middle of the white.

Here’s a link which will explain.

The aim.

This can be achieved most effectively by aiming with the cue on the ball that you want to pot and not on the wight.  Then aim the wight to hit that point on that ball to pot it.  This is the technique I use to pot sometimes.  After a while this will come naturally.  The key of course is practice.

The Position.

This is something which a lot of people will not consider but is I think the most important aspects of playing a good game of pool. When potting a ball, its not enough to pull off a great pot.  It is of course a great feeling to slam a ball straight into the pocket but if you then have to bounce the ball off two cushions to pot the next then you have a problem.  The position of the next two balls is crucial to to a successful game.  Clearing a few balls at one visit to the table will give a great feeling and confidence during a game while giving your opponent a feeling that they’ve already lost.  Watch a pro snooker game and you’ll see this clearly.  It all about a sequence of good positions, making the pots easy.  You’ll hardly ever see a pro pulling off difficult pots because they don’t need to.

Here’s a link which will explain.

Ball control.

If you search the internet you’ll find a million and one different web pages giving advice on controlling the ball with back spin, top spin, English… and more.  These tricks can of course allow you to gain great positions and spectacular pots.  They do require a lot of practice to achieve successfully, but with practice and clear understanding of all of these things, your game will improve immensely.

Now go play and enjoy. It’s only a game after all.