Concept of Touch in Billiard Shot Making
This is an article to help with your mental billiard game, and relates to the concept of "touch" in billiard shot making.
Concept of Touch in Billiard Shot Making
The Concept of "Touch"
For those of you who have the satisfaction of knowing that you can go to your next shot just before your tip makes contact with the cue. For those of you who finally surrender logic to belief...
You are among the select group of players that have spent enough time on the tables to have a "Motor Memory" and what I call "Flash Geometry", that are all a big part in understanding the concept of "Feel" or "Touch". But to completely understand the concept of "touch" there is another level that we sometimes can tap into.
I write this for myself more than you to maybe get closer to understanding how to fall "In-the-Zone" on a more regular basis and even more, to understand why sometimes I can't seem to have that level of "Touch".
Here are a few things that help me in keeping a more consistent "Touch" game.
Posture
The most important aspect of the concept of touch in billiard shot making is posture. Time has to be taken to set up a correct posture and frame to be able to deliver a flat consistent stroke.
Spend the time to shift your behind as a "Rough Aim" to be square with the shot you are MAKING to minimize any "Touch" adjustments Confirm a flat cue stroke and consider what you need to do to the cue ball get to the next ball.
All of the ability you possess will always be cheated by bad form. Good pool players with bad form can be great pool players within months of accepting basic skill habits.
Allow the brain to work FIRST...
Take a second to look at your object ball and visualize the contact point. I'm not at all suggesting that you use this point as the focus of your shot concentration. Oddly enough, I'm suggesting just the opposite. Spending a moment to consider the contact angle of the object ball before shooting relieves the "Touch" player of having to make a logic decision at execution. For me, "Touch" is not ever a decision making process. All of the decisions have been made before execution. By allowing the brain to process the object ball and its relationship to the pocket before relinquishing the shot to "Touch" generally offers a much higher success ratio.
Use the Force
There is no real thought process at the execution point to the "Touch" player. Giving in to any degree of alteration during the stroke is almost always deadly. Alteration requires thought. The touch player does not succeed well in turning the motor on and off. If you are choosing between logic and "Touch", FINISH WITH TOUCH!
If you have no idea what you've just read, keep practicing. It'll hit you one day.
If you have any comments (and you know what I mean), I'm not hard to find. Bring your money.
The CutMan
Concept of Touch in Billiard Shot Making
- Title: Concept of Touch in Billiard Shot Making
- Author: dustywon
- Published: 11/17/2009 2:38:20 PM
- Last Updated: 3/11/2017 1:13:46 PM
- Last Updated By: billiardsforum (Billiards Forum)
Concept of Touch in Billiard Shot Making
The Concept of Touch in Billiard Shot Making article belongs to the The Mental Aspects of Billiards and Pool category. Pool playing tips to help you master the mental aspects of pool and billiards.
Concept of Touch in Billiard Shot Making Comments
Jay Surya from Dallas, TX on 8/2/2010 1:06:08 PM
This is the best piece of advice I ever came across. This clearly confirms my confusion as choosing 'logic' over 'touch' many a time during execution.
By the way I don't play snooker, billiards or pool. I was just searching the web for information about "clearing my mind of confusion" during practice in making a shot in a game called "carrom". This game is played more in India and I am in the USA where it is played not to that extent (uscarrom.org).
Thanks again for confirming the "Touch" concept which I use often, but was confused about, before reading this.
dustywon from Houston, TX on 1/1/2012 8:45:40 PMThanks Jay!
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