Cue Sport Group

Archive for March, 2010

If you want to make a shot, you need to consider a lot of things that include gripping of a cue, appropriate posture, cue ball command, correct english and aim. But most importantly, you should not forget to consider your psychological capacity to play. Just like other aspects of life, mental attitude affects your action that needs to be synchronized to produce a desirable effect. You need to set your mind in focus to be able to concentrate on the game. If you compete in a tournament with a pre-occupied mind you won’t be able to maximize your full potential as a player. Relax and stay with a clear mind as a natural habit just like maintaining good coordination and good eyesight, and the proper mental position.

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American pocket billiards or pool started in 1800s but became more popular in the late 1920’s and early 1930’s. Most historians claimed that the present billiard game descended from the English interest on lawn bowling with its modifications of equipments and rules because of certain limitations such as the weather. It is known that for certain times of the year, the British Isles is irresistibly cold and thus not allowing any recreational activity outdoors. Just so that games were not cancelled, these were put indoors but still restricted in space. Rules were changed by hitting the ball with a wood and not rolling it that was further refined with archways and rings which are needed to be hit and even being stroked. Lastly, a proposal to have a playing field on a table was made and gave birth to billiards.

pic via ultimatepocketbilliards.com

Being a pool player allows you to adjust numerous variables while shooting. These would include the setup of the balls including cue ball position, your aim when having a shot, the bridge height and distance, the speed of your stroke and even the elevation of your cue stick before you shoot. You can also alter the english or the spin that you need to apply on the cue ball. It could make your cue ball follow, draw or go to the left or right. Lastly, you can also change the extent of your follow through when you shoot. Before you make adjustments, you need to establish a repeatable stroke to be able to determine the effect of one variable to another as most of it is interdependent.

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What if after several weeks, you discover a stain or a rip off in your brand new pool table? This could be way prevented if you have managed to invest on a quality pool table cover.

The pool table cover plays a crucial role in adding protection to your table. This is especially true if there are other people who would use your pool table for playing. Of course, they won’t understand that much how much you value the table.

There is a great chance that some person will use it as some coaster for their drink or just horse around it by sitting on it which could really bring too much damage to your table, especially to the table’s felt. So with the use of the pool table cover, you can always cover it for added protection.

If possible, grab the waterproof type if you would find something in the market or over the Net. This would surely protect your pool table from all types of spills, scratches and abuse. The pool table cover is a worthy investment.

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The cue cases are usually made out of leather to keep it safe always. Majority of these are crafted by the hand with the best kind of raw materials. The cue stick can be either just a single unit or can be separated into 5 parts. All its parts are quite complex and needs total attention for utmost maintenance. Each cue case come very handy in serving safety and protection for your cues.

These are the types of leathers that cue cases are made of:

• Bonded polyester
• Genuine linen
• Chrome tanned
• Oak tanned

Each case without anything inside would weigh just less than 3 kg. Stitches are made right through the case instead of the use of the ordinary rivets. It has an interior makeup of 5 mm memory foam for extreme protection.

Photo via talismanbilliards.com

This is what you see being used by the players which they place on top of their cue after each shot is done. This provides them better grip so that they won’t miscue their shots. Its cue tip is made out of various materials like leather, being the most popular.

Leather has a tendency to toughen up its surface materials even after constant abuse of use. As more shots happen, the grip on the ball will surely decline which can cause the ball to slide off. And so here comes the pool chalk entering the scene.

This chalk prevents the cue tip from slipping off once shots are taken. Prevent from using the non-lead chalks for its dust settles around the table which can really be harmful to anyone’s health. These chalks can be bought in a wide variety of colors like red, brown, green, gold and blue. They can either be in cue or cone chalks.

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These balls are used in sports which involve the carom pool, billiards and snooker. There are varying types of cue balls according to colors, patterns, designs for each can have an effect on the kind of game you will be playing.

Other properties of the cue balls range from hardness, its coefficient friction, and resilience. All of these are essential to reaching the finer points of the entire gameplay. These are also popularly known as the pool balls, billiard balls or snooker balls.

Lately in this modern age and time, the kind of billiard balls used are phenolic resin. These are very highly resistant to chipping or cracking. Polyester is another type of material used but they are a bit more prone to be damaged in a short period of time.

Photo via newlaunches.com

There are three major types of cues:

The One Piece Cue is utilized in pool games by the casual players. They decrease evenly in diameter up from the butt down to the tip.

The Two Piece Cue is separated in the middle part for the convenience in transport. It comes with a cue case and yet another kind of the two piece cue is placed around three quarters down the cue. This measures usually 12 to 16 inches from the butt portion.

The other types are cues that have three to five joints. They can be either used for jumping, breaking and weight changing on the butt portion. They are also used as extensions at times to make a longer reach.

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When you come to compete for an eight ball challenge with a table that is open, you must spot an amazing opportunity. Do not ever be tempted to just take the easiest shot that you think is being offered to you.

You must look over the table keenly so that you would know if it is the solids or the stripes which will make an easier run. It is important to have a general plan for any 8-ball competition before you even start taking shots.

One of the most basic things for you to do is identify a key ball which you would have to target instantly before the 8-ball, which would eventually lead you to an easy shot for the win.

Try to work it out backwards from that very ball and search for a sequence that won’t need you to create any heroic shots. Once you find yourself out of the position, you would have to re-assess and try to know whatever is the next sequence made available for your game.

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If you happen to lose your streak of confidence in the middle of the game, there is nothing wrong with sticking to what’s safe until you get back in the game again. Patience works a lot better for you. Play it safe when you feel off!

Also in billiard, it is very important that you focus deeply on every shot you are doing. Put everything else that is not connected with billiards out of your mind. Do not mind the score, the audience and not even the other players. Stick in your mind that you are there for that shot.. you are there to get as many balls as you can.

Finally, when you get back to your seat, then that is the time you can take a deep breath, relax and relish everything that’s positive happening around you. This will definitely help in building up your confidence.

Photo via life123.com