Alright, so I’ve finagled myself a date with a girl this weekend who apparently isn’t good at billiards and wants help. I’m certainly no expert, but I’m not terrible either. But I’m not really really sure what techniques/tips I can provide. So any easy pointers I can use to help her get up to speed?
I think it’d depend on how familiar she already is. I’ve never played pool in my life so I’d need the basics, she may only need a few tips.
When the time comes to play you can just say “Let me know if you want the step-by-step or the tournament tips, you’re the boss!” After that you can just pick up on her clues and go with it.
Sooo…she’s “not good at pool” huh?
Don’t play her for money. You may be surprised at what a fast learner she turns out to be. That’s the oldest pool hustle there is.
Other options…maybe she wants a way to get cuddly…by helping her hold the cue properly and so forth, you’ll have an opportunity to be close to her, in a semi embrace…that could linger, and lead to more…
Yes, I’m a cynic. Why do you ask?
Did we used to date? 
I learned to play pool when I was about 4, in my parents’ basement, but I’ve gone for as long as 10 years without playing. Date after date fell for that, “I’m not very good at pool.” I wasn’t hustling, and I didn’t play for money; I just thought I’d be out of practice. Turns out, it’s like riding a bike… it comes right back the minute I pick up a cue. My husband still won’t play me, because he knows better, and my mom ratted me out.
And to the OP: show her how to form a proper bridge with her fingers, how to line up a shot, and how to follow through. That’s about all a real beginner would grasp, I would think. Then you can explain bank shots and English and combinations on subsequent dates, until you get around to really showing off.
(Why does this sound so sleazy when I type it?)
Tell her to get way down over the cue so she can look down the length of it. I’ve seen way too many beginners standing almost straight up. Dunno, maybe it works for some people, and I sometimes use an overhead view initially to gauge the angle, but when I actually shoot my head is only a few inches above my cue.
-
Start with the foot stance. Many people line their feet up along the cue direction, which means they will be wobbly on their feet. Plant the feet squarely on either side of the cue so that the line between the feet is more or less perpendicular to the line of the cue.
-
Cue grip and planting of the rest hand. This depends on the individual to a large extent, but I suggest the rest hand should be 4 fingers splayed and planted on the table, with the thumb extended up into the air. The cue will rest in the valley created by the thumb base and index finger. The other hand on the back of the cue should be in a position so that when the shot is being taken, the forearm is hanging directly up and down, from elbow to wrist.
-
Chin directly over the cue and eyes forward, so that the chin is a cm or two above the cue, and each eye is equidistant from the cue. If you shift your head to the left or right of that position, you get a skewed perspective of where your shot is going to hit.
I’d say ya got trouble.
[quote=“Oakminster, post:3, topic:487572”]
Sooo…she’s “not good at pool” huh?
Don’t play her for money. You may be surprised at what a fast learner she turns out to be. That’s the oldest pool hustle there is.
snip QUOTE]
Muwahahaha - I’m guilty as charged!
(Hit post too soon)
- Analysing the shot to play. Stand up and picture the shot that you want to play. Look at the angles from the center of the desired pocket to the target ball first. If you need help, you can put the cue tip in the pocket center and then hold the other end of the cue over the middle of the target ball. This shows you where you need to hit the target ball - keep that position in your mind. Now look at the cue ball and do the same thing, imagining where you have to hit the cue ball to get it to hit the first position of the target ball. Bear in mind that whatever direction you want to hit the cue ball, you MUST hit in squarely in the center - not to the left or right, not to the top or bottom. Now get into your stance. Relax, visualise the shot before you take it. Never hit with a fast cue stroke, always with a smooth, gentle stroke (as a beginner) so you can see clearly where the ball moves and where it strikes. Never jerk the cue.
I guess these are the basics for a beginner.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot, if she’s bending over the table to take a shot, you may have to get up close right behind her and help her with her stroke.
And tell her that this being a pool date, a swimsuit is mandatory.
Hey, worth a shot.
And if she goes for that, tell her you were kidding - the swimsuit is optional and she can take it off.
Have her bend over the table (wait for it), as if she’s about to make a shot, but without the cue in her hands. For the arm that’s not on the table, hold her upper arm still and let her swing her forearm back-and-forth like the pendulum on a clock. That’s the motion you’re after for a good shot.
And you might want to play 9-ball. The rules are easy, and the weaker player always has a chance to win if the other leaves a shot on the nine. Wouldn’t want her to wind up too discouraged.
I dunno, but I am available. How do you feel about right-leaning middle-aged atheists?
I’ve had success teaching girls the “Ghost Ball” technique of aiming. But first, follow the suggestions above to make sure she has good stance, a bridge that gets as much of her hand down on the table as possible (for more stability), and most importantly, check that her elbow is straight- that is, the stroke arm should swing like a pendulum, if your elbow is out too far or too close to your body, you are going to get a crooked stroke and wildly inconsistent shots. A good test is to take just the cue ball and hit it up and back across the lenght of the table. If you have a good stroke you should be able to have the ball go up the table and back and hit your cue tip where you hit it originally.
But that’s practice and boring, so on to the “Ghost Ball” technique. Basically for people who don’t know how to aim, this is the best visual aid. Say she’s got a simple cut shot, but with a decent angle. You take a dead ball from off the table and put it up against the object ball on a line with the pocket you intend to make the shot. You then have your student line up to hit the cue ball directly into the center of this dead ball. Take the dead ball away, and the student still is shooting into where the ball was (imagining a Ghost Ball there). After a few times using a dead ball for aim, she will get the hang of it and will simply imagine the Ghost Ball without help. The great thing is, this works for any angle shot, thin cut, straight on, doesn’t matter, just imagine that ball and hit into the middle of it.
(Now since this is the Dope, I feel obligated that this is a techinque for beginners only because it does not account for ‘throw’, ‘squirt’, ‘spin’ etc that advanced players must take into account on every shot.)
I’ve also found rookie players are fascinated by the “90 degree rule” of cue ball control but I can’t begin to explain that here.
Good luck, let us know how it goes.
That’s what I was going to suggest, most rookies will be amazed at the improvement of potting accuracy this simple technique can bring. Many people won’t have thought about this enough (and why would they, it being pool and all) to realize that the object ball is always going to move along a straight line given by the centre points of the cue and object balls at the moment of contact – get that line to point into the pocket, and all that’s left to do is strike the cue ball.
I see what you did there.
This.
Most women I see playing pool make a “bridge” by making a fist, then sticking the thumb out. Make sure she doesn’t do this.
Also, you may want to skip the “chin right over the cue” part until she’s had a couple of drinks, because there’s about a 50/50 chance she’ll think you’re just trying to get her bent over.
I speak from experience here.
Make sure she knows about that rule about how sex is required at the end of any pool date. This may seem like common knowledge to folks like you and me Red Barchetta, but you’d be surprised at the amount of people who don’t know about this all important rule.
Try NOT to snicker whenever you say:
Stick
Tip
Your rack
Felt
Ball-in-hand