{"id":1173,"date":"2014-09-22T04:01:27","date_gmt":"2014-09-22T04:01:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gametablesonline.com\/blog\/?p=1173"},"modified":"2022-11-01T23:05:03","modified_gmt":"2022-11-01T23:05:03","slug":"pool-stance-stroke-and-alignment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gametablesonline.com\/blog\/pool-stance-stroke-and-alignment\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Stand at the Table: 5 Steps to the Perfect Pool Stance"},"content":{"rendered":"

We are moving our way up the chain of fundamentals to develop a solid pool game. We have looked at staying on the vertical axis<\/a> of the cue ball, keeping our stick level<\/a> and shooting more softly<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In this article, I want to look at stance. Now the hard part about teaching you how to stand is that everyone is different, height, weight, sex, wing span, etc. But there are a few things that are common to all stances that I want to go over, and then give you a way to check and see if your stance measures up.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

1. The Big Secret\u00a0is Balance<\/h2>\n

The first part of a good stance is that you are balanced. No standing on one toe, leaning forward, feet too close together, or awkward positions. The classic feet shoulder width<\/strong> and at about a 45 degree angle<\/strong> to the line of the shot is a good place to start.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

2. Free Movement of the Arms<\/h2>\n

Next is freedom of movement for your arm. In another piece we will talk about the magic move of pool, but for now make sure that your arm swings freely<\/strong> and does not hit your body during the stroke.<\/p>\n

3. Relaxed Stance<\/h2>\n

We also want to make sure that we are relaxed. Close your eyes when you are in your stance and see if you feel any tension<\/strong> or tight muscles<\/strong>. If you do, try and relax them.<\/p>\n

4. Grip on the Cut Stick<\/h2>\n

Our grip on the pool cue should be at the place that when the tip is on the cue ball, our forearm of the shooting hand<\/span> is perpendicular to the floor<\/strong>. You can find this place by making a closed bridge, releasing your grip, and moving your back hand in a pendulum motion stopping at the bottom of the arc. Pick up the cue at this point.<\/p>\n

5. Cue Stick Level to the Table<\/h2>\n

Finally, we want to stand so that our stick is level to the bed of the table. This may require that you bend your knees<\/strong> or lean forward<\/strong> more than you are now.<\/p>\n

How to Test Your Pool Stance<\/h2>\n

Ok, here is how you test this. I want you to aim at a straight shot at the far corner pocket. Make sure it is a long shot. Now get in your stance and aim. Once you have this aim down, swing the cue stick a few times and stop with the tip resting almost on the cue ball. Now, close your eyes and relax. Stay with your eyes closed for at least 5 to 10 seconds.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now open your eyes and check your shot alignment. If you are still on the line of the shot, congratulations, you have a great stance. On the other hand if you are off a little on the line of the shot, you need to work on your stance. There is tension<\/strong>, imbalance<\/strong> or another error creeping in.<\/p>\n

Once you can get down and close your eyes and still be on the shot, move your arm slowly in a full pool stroke to make sure that you are not hitting your body<\/span>. Now is your stick level? If you pass all these hoops, you have a good stance. If not, keep finding where you have tension and relaxing it<\/strong>. Before you know it you will have a great stance.<\/p>\n

Good luck and see you on the road.<\/p>\n

More Instructionals:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Getting Better at Pool \u2013 A Pool Odyssey I<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. The Basics \u2013 Hitting Softly I A Pool Odyssey II<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. Keeping It Simple \u2013 Stay on the Vertical Axis I A Pool Odyssey III<\/a><\/li>\n
  4. 3 Drills to Keep Your Cue Stick Level I A Pool Odyssey IV<\/a><\/li>\n
  5. How to Stand at the Table: 5 Steps to the Perfect Pool Stance V<\/a><\/li>\n
  6. What Do We Look At? \u2013 A Pool Odyssey with Mark Finkelstein VI<\/a><\/li>\n
  7. Controlling Our Cue Stick I BCA Instructor Mark Finkelstein VII<\/a><\/li>\n
  8. How To “Stand” Shooting Pool Based On Your Height<\/em><\/a> from Matt Sherman at Billiards.About.com<\/li>\n
  9. The Black Widow Instruction – Stance<\/em><\/a> by Jeanette Lee (Video)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \"\"About the Author<\/span>
    \nMark Finkelstein is a professional pool player, a BCA Master instructor, anAmerican Cue Sports (ACS) Level 4 instructor, and House Pro at Slate Billiards in New York. He is also a former UPA Touring Pro and has played on the Joss 9-Ball Tour. Mark is leading instructor and can be found at other sites like NYC Grind, Easy Pool Tutor, and Inside Pool Magazine. Mark has also authored a book with McNally Jackson aptly titled, \u201cPool Ramblings.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    We are moving our way up the chain of fundamentals to develop a solid pool game. We have looked at staying on the vertical axis of the cue ball, keeping our stick level and shooting more softly. In this article, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pool-and-billiards"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gametablesonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gametablesonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gametablesonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gametablesonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gametablesonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1173"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.gametablesonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1173\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2334,"href":"https:\/\/www.gametablesonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1173\/revisions\/2334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gametablesonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gametablesonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gametablesonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}