I'll take you through 5 big mistakes I see average and intermediate players making constantly, and how to solve them, touching aim, body position and stroke.
1. Myth 1 - The Head Goes Atop The Cue Stick
Photo courtesy of Timothy S. Klugh
The head may go above the cue stick, but the reality is that the head needs to go wherever the eyes need to be placed... which begs the question, "Where do my eyes rest during the stroke. What's the best spot for them to go?"
You shoot pool with your right or left hand, not your head, so simply place your eyes where you can best see the contact point where the cue ball will strike.
I can say more, but I want you to get into this understanding at the table. You might even find dead stroke this way, and shoot everything you look at into the pockets immediately.
2. Myth 2 - The Pros Have Fantastic Hand-Eye Coordination
Photo (c) Matt Sherman, licensed to About.com, Inc.
Ever watch a pool playing professional and think, "I can never make the shots they do and as consistently?" Sure you can.
One of the main purposes for this Pool and Billiards Guidesite with its hundreds of instructional articles for beginners on up is that yes, you can!
This isn't wrestling or weightlifting, it's pool, Fast Eddie. Anyone can learn the angles, the geometry and the discipline. The only part to "visualize" with the non-verbal part of your mind is the stroke.
Start with my tips for a classic stroke, and for pro aim.
I can take anyone and make them a very strong pool player indeed. I do that consistently in clinics for groups and in private billiards lessons.
3. Myth 3 - A Strong Grip And Muscle Are Needed For Power
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Oh, my. I can predict how good my next opponent is simply by watching how they lightly clasp or else throttle the cue stick.
The pros get far more from their strokes because they set properly, tip close in to the pool ball, and stroke smoothly, softly and easily through, not at the cue ball. I can smash the balls apart with a teacup grip and so can you.
On a scale of grip from 1 to 10, 10 being the strongest, you should be shooting with a 1 for most shots. That's so soft, that if you gripped any less, the cue stick would clatter to the rail or floor.
It's all speed control and not muscling speed. Ask any top martial artist, it's "light to fight." And a race car driver never fights their wheel but turns it smoothly. Easy, in this case, really does it.
More On The Relationship Between Pool Speed, Position And Power
4. Myth 4 - I Can Adjust Aim While Down In The Stance
Photo (c) Matt Sherman, licensed to About.com, Inc.
Not only is it difficult to adjust aim while hunkered down in the stance, but most good players can only see a blurry cue stick dim in their peripheral vision. They are looking at the object ball or perhaps the cue ball and not the cue stick anyway, right?
I'll bet you a hundred dollars today that if you watch footage of 100 pool pros on TV or on YouTube, each and every one of those hundred pros will bend to the stance, placing the cue tip in their bridge hand behind the cue ball, quietly still. They will never wiggle sideways or back and forth while adjusting aim. Never.
While they may go back and forth during the practice stroke, at address and at the final pause/checkoff point before the final stroke is taken, the tip stays put. Period.
Once I had this firmly down, that I was to get in the stance and commit without fiddling around down there, I became a much stronger player. For some very strong shooters, the little adjustments they make in the stance rather than before they bend to shoot are holding them back from an exciting pro career.
5. Myth 5 - There Is No Miracle/Magic Aim System For Billiards
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Of course there is a wonderful aim system that most pros know and most amateurs don't. As a matter of fact, I teach several different systems in one-on-one sessions and group clinics--you can easily adjust for throw (a.k.a. "ball cling") and for english and etc. But one system I'll give away at About.com right now.
