BASICS 1While this book is aimed mainly at players who can already handle a cue fairly well, there is always the possibility that it will fall into the hands of a beginner. For that reason, I will start with a brief review of fundamentals. Newcomers to the game should take a lesson or two from a qualified instructor and read one or more of the many fine instructional books now available, some of which I wrote myself. Getting past the beginner stage is impossible unless you know how to stand, hold the cue, stroke, and aim, and there's more to those seemingly simple acts than you might think.If you are unfamiliar with pool instructional materials and have never studied the game before, a good place to start is with Byrne's New Standard Book of Pool and Billiards, which covers fundamentals in much more detail than you will find here and which continues to advanced concepts. If you'd rather watch than read, try Byrne's Standard Video of Pool, Volume I and Volume II. Both are available at billiard supply stores. Short descriptions of these and other books and tapes can be found on my Web site at byrne.org.Getting Started RightAn important tip The most important tip is the one at the end of your cue. If it flattens out or mushrooms, trim it with a razor blade and sand it off so it is flush with the sides of the ferrule (the plastic collar onto which the tip is glued). Be very careful not to scratch or sand the ferrule or the wood of the shaft.Hold it Hold the cue as level as possible unless you are deliberately trying to make the cueball curve or jump. When the tip is halfway from the cueball to your bridge hand during your warm-up strokes, your right forearm (assuming you are right-handed) should be aimed straight down at the floor. Hold the cue firmly but not tightly.Chalk up Applying chalk to the tip before every shot is not too often, but it's not necessary to chalk up so frequently when hitting the cueball in the center. If the tip won't hold chalk, rough it up with a piece of sandpaper or one of the many scuffers designed for the job. Don't spin the cue into the chalk; instead, rock the chalk back and forth on the tip or brush the flat surface of the chalk across the tip.Crouch Some top players bend down so low when aiming that their chins touch the cue. Most have their chins no more than a foot above the cue. If you are having trouble pocketing balls, it may be that you aren't bending over far enough to aim the cue like a rifle.Aim Really aim, don't just go through the motions. One way is to imagine where the cueball must be at the moment of contact with the object ball, then aim through the center of the imagined cueball. Another way is to keep refining your aim until the hit looks right, neither too thick nor too thin. Fans of geometry and precision might like the method explained in Diagram 1.1The geometry of aimingIf you have trouble aiming cut shots, resorting to geometry might help. Find point Y on the object ball direc Excerpted from Pool Shots: 350 Moves Every Player Should Know by Robert Byrne All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
