- Build on a Solid Foundation -

Build on a Strong Foundation
Handbook of Billiards Basics
By The Monk’s Apprentice

Details to remember:

Your body must be stable and in a comfortable position This means:
• When you point at the white ball (cue ball)
• When you stroke the cue
• When the cue hits the cue ball

Start with:

• Your feet and shoulders at the same width
• Take one step forward with your leading foot
• Position your chest parallel to the floor
• Place the cue on your bridge hand
• Look straight down the cue

The game of pocket billiards is based on the fact that once you strike the cue ball with the tip of the cue stick, it is on it’s own. Only your pre shot routine, or preparation will affect this outcome. After that, the shot will then take care of itself.

This happens on every kind of shot you can think of, providing that you use some basic fundamentals.
The A-Z of Creating a Foundation:
You don’t start a building by constructing windows; bridges aren’t build by first laying the roadbed. It is logical to begin with the foundation, and like a building, or a bridge, the more solid the foundation, the stronger the finished structure. In billiards, a strong foundation will profit you well every time you are in competition.

Fundamentals plus your own personal skills in regard to shot preparation will determine the outcome. This is the foundation you will build your skills upon. It will be central to your game for as long as you can pick up a cue with serious intent. You will return to these pages when things go wrong, and they will.
These basics will help you correct flaws that creep into your game. You will be surprised just how many of them get their origin in slight miss-alignment; an unsteady stance; a slight tilt of the head, or a lung that is sneaking in on your solid, smooth stroke.

You are responsible

You perform all of this, the cue ball is under your control, awaiting delivery of your stroke, with your best strategy behind it.
Just getting started? I’d like to be there beside you and guide you through the proper stance, bridge and grip. Since I’m not there, here’s a quick stance setup I learned from The Monk, one of the most respected billiards teachers.
Come up to the table, cue in the proper hand gripped about two feet from the joint (more on this in a minute). For now, the object is to get the cue tip adjacent to the cue ball. Keep your feet planted where they are for now. Let’s get back to the grip. With the cue tip in the same position, your forearm must be perpendicular to the cue and at the same time, parallel to your leg.

The final moves will set your feet properly. Move the rear foot back (tip will move offline) and the front foot forward (tip returns to origin). Your rear foot should be aimed down the target line and the other should be facing the object ball.
In this position, your chin should be directly over the joint. You can feel free to experiment and discover your own comfort and balance levels, but stick to the accepted framework outlined above. Follow the instructions and you will soon go on to master the keys to pool shooting basics; proper posture, stroke confidence, aim accuracy. and cue ball speed.

These four fundamentals are the heart of your game. They must be mastered. Throughout your billiards life, when things go wrong, it is these four work horses that can get your game back. Return to them often—they are the keys to your success.
Take a lesson from the Pros
Notice the pro on TV. He steps back for just a very few seconds, his eyes darting out over the table layout before him. He approaches the table, his eyes taking in the entire scene before him. He then assumes his stance, already knowing which shot he will take, the correct shot alignment, the speed necessary and the sequence of the following two or three shots which will follow.
His bridge hand holding the cue shaft stretches out toward the cue ball, coming to rest about eight inches in front of cue ball on the smooth felt surface.
He bends his body forward, comfortably, at the waist. The forward foot is almost parallel to his cue stick, pointing at the target object ball.
His rear foot planted horizontally with the pool table. Weight evenly distributed on both feet. His forward knee is slightly bent and flexible. The rear knee is fairly rigid.
( Notice the good players align their chin about two to ten inches above the cue with an imaginary line coming straight up through the center of the chin and directly between the eyes)
. They know the importance of keeping both eyes on a level plane and not having either eye tilted above the other. You will notice that nowhere in here do we give deference to the “dominant eye”. Some of us have one, others don’t.
I had an interesting experience regarding the dominant eye theory. I am a strong advocate of centering the cue under the chin.
I never gave much thought to the player who happens to be “cross dominant” (left handed for instance with a strongly dominant right eye). This is the plight my wife is in, so I started researching the role of eye dominance in aiming sports, billiards, marksmanship, bowling, golf and even martial arts.

My research on the Internet turned up an extensive study done by the Sports Vision Association. She came up with her own idea to compensate, and I’ve got to admit it really works. Prior to last week, she used to just miss many, many cut shots. It was close to frustrating her until…
The idea: wear her prescribed contact lens on her left eye and nothing on the right. It was like night and day. Long cut shots fell. Long bank shots fell. Table length straight-ins fell. And her form was a lot better.
She wasn’t trying to shot left-handed and sight with her right eye…that’s even hard to write, imagine trying to shoot pool that way.

But the contact lens thing works great. Now she is aligned directly on the shot line, left eye over the cue and she sees her target.
Back to the pro...He sees an imaginary line from the target ball to the inner portion of his rear thigh. Once he has established this line in conjunction with his body, he remains balanced and comfortable, he then goes into sighting and stroking mode. This has all been accomplished, starting with his beginning “stand back posture”, in well under ten seconds.
Now, let’s look at it another way, setting a pattern for each time you are about to shoot.
1. As you approach the table, or chalk your cue, look the table over and pick your best shot plan. If you are a beginner, it is the line to the object ball. 2. Decide on how you will shoot the cue ball. Get in the habit of deciding what the shot will be before you get down to shoot it. 3. Remember, as you move to the table (cue in both hands) that proper timing is important to make the move naturally. 4. Foot position should also feel natural; your back foot will be at the rear end of your cue and almost parallel to the table edge, your forward foot will be about 2 feet from the table and at about 45 degrees to the cue. 5. The stance is actually a triangle. A lot of teachers insist you keep the weight off your bridge hand, but to be really comfortable and balanced try to split your weight 40% per leg and 20% for the bridge arm and hand.

Your proper Alignment

You should be able to draw a straight line from the object ball, through the cue ball, the cue tip, the entire cue, back through your hand, arm and shoulder and most important, the inside seam of your rear leg. Step into the table with your left toe (if you are right handed) pointing toward the object ball you will be shooting the cue ball into. Lean forward at the waist, extending your left hand which is cradling the cue stick shaft within approximately eight inches of the cue ball.
The final alignment is head position. The purpose of aligning the head with the cue is to be able to sight down the cue. You will find that instinct is more important than attempting to align with either the left or right eye, how you instinctively line up your head over the cue. Consistency and comfort are more important than any dominant eye.

Getting a Grip (the right one for you)

Getting a grip (the right one) is vital to a good game of pool. Within the grip is an eye that sees the shots. An eye that looks out of the grip hand and down the shaft towards the target.
This eye must be able to visualize the shot. If there is something wrong, the eye cannot see and, therefore, you will not be able to deliver a smooth pure stroke. There will be interference within your efforts. You will be tentative as you start guessing at shots.
Get a grip. It should be comfortable, relaxed, and remain fairly consistent throughout the range of the stroke. A relaxed grip is usually best since too tight of a grip can tense up muscles in the arm and cause your stroke to perform erratically. Likewise, too loose and you could lose control.
Start by balancing the cue in your hand. Hold it so the cue lays balanced across your index finger and does not tip or drop on either end. This is the balance point. Now, move your grip hand back about four inches. Temporarily mark this spot with a small piece of tape.
This is the proper place for getting a grip on your cue on most shots. There are times when the shot itself calls for you to slip your grip hand forward or backwards a few inches. For instance, the break shot is usually delivered with the grip hand set further back on the cue. For the most part however, your grip hand should be about four inches behind the balance point of your cue.
You are training your eye to work with your hand. Repetition is the best trainer in the world. Analipotese once said, “The organism repeats that which is pleasurable.”
The eye and the hand go together. They must be coordinated. The eye moves the hand. The hand responds to what the eye sees. Have you ever driven in a white out? The snow is so thick you see only white in front of you, along side you and above. There is no perspective. No way to measure distance.
A storm like this struck the Northeast Thanksgiving, 1971. I remember it like today, trying to drive across the New York State Thruway. It was white in front, white to the rear, white on both sides and white above (no horizon). The eye cannot see, therefore, the hands do not know how to guide the car. In my case, both hands were locked on the steering wheel, not daring to inch left or right. It’s easy to panic and then catastrophe follows.
As The Monk says, “we need to become one with our grip hand". This is vital to a winning performance. First, we need to be in line with the shot and have the confidence to allow the eye to move the hand. Let go of resistance. Let go of your preoccupation with making and missing the shot. Deliver the smooth winning stroke. Let it happen.
Read my book, Point The Way. The chapter on “The Shot Shoots Itself” will give you some valuable insights into this fine art. Be one with your grip. Let the eyes and the grip become one unit. Transfer your eye to your grip hand. See the shot. Shoot the shot. First, by getting a grip, professionally.
Develop an intimate sense of feel in your grip hand. Set up the four-ball exercise. Practice this over and over with a keen sense of the feeling in your grip hand. Feel …the shot as the cue tip goes through the cue ball. Become one with the sound associated with a successful shot. Get a grip, feel the grip, hear the sound, see the shot. It all goes together. This is how you win.

Now, assume the position

Spread your feet to feel comfortable with evenly balanced weight distribution. Lean forward, over your cue stick with your chin directly above where it feels most comfortable to you. A good target for the base of your chin: the joint in the cue stick.
Try to keep the chin distance above the cue, the same on all shots. Delivering good draw shots and power break shots may require your chin position to be higher above your stick.
However, no matter how high or low your chin may be, it must always be directly above and in line with your cue stick. Keep your forward leg bent at the knee and your back leg fairly rigid. crazy

A rigid rear leg "prevents lunging at the cue ball" during your final stroke shot. Lunging is all too often the most re-occurring problem, even among serious pool players. They take several beautiful, smooth warm up strokes before shooting, seemingly confident with the shot under their control and all at once, the bizarre takes over. The body jolts forward into the shot, cue tip jerks up off line and, guess what; of course, the shot is missed.
Draw an imaginary line straight back from the target object ball to the inner side of your rear leg’s upper thigh. This will help form a continuous alignment of shooting arm shoulder, elbow, forearm, bridge hand, cue tip, cue ball and object ball.
Your shooting hand, forearm and elbow should become part of your cue stick. Your stroke must be from the cue tip back to your elbow. No other part of your body is to move before, during and after the shot. Your shoulder must remain rigid and your elbow becomes the pendulum of your stroke.
If you change your mind or are in doubt prior to or during your stroke, stop and stand erect, even back off; get out of your crouched stance completely. Make your new decision or renew your former one and take your stance accordingly.
Always remember to position your head so that your eyes are level. There is a slight perception distortion when the eyes are tilted off the level plane. This can be a problem, especially for older players.
Experiment. Find out what works best for you and gives you more confidence, comfort and success.

Stroke on a solid bridge

As the elbow of the shooting arm acts as the fulcrum for the stroke, the forearm, cue stick and the grip hand makes up the force provider. The bridge hand becomes the staging area, the platform for the stroke. There are two basic types of bridges for the standard on- table stroking shots. Of course, these bridges will vary when you are on the rail and for off-rail shots when your bridge hand is flat on the table.
There is the closed bridge with the forefinger crossed over the cue shaft forming a complete circle enclosure of the cue as it rests in the groove of the v-area at the base of the thumb and forefinger.
We also use the open bridge. It is sometimes referred to as the ”beginner’s bridge” you need never be ashamed to use it. Whether a beginner or top pro, many of the world’s leading players, and yes, I do mean in the top ten in the world use the open bridge on many of their shots and some have become world champions using an open bridge exclusively. One reason; it gives you a clear, unobstructed view of the cue ball and object ball.
In fact, on all shots requiring you to stretch your body out over the table with your bridge arm fully extended, there isn’t a choice. You must shoot with an open bridge.
The first thing to be concerned with, regarding your bridge is its solidity. A solid base must be built before you can trust it to cradle your cue shaft with all of your new-found skills behind it. All skills, including perfect stroking, perfect aiming, perfect speed control preparation and flawless cue ball stroke preparation are totally wasted if the cue shaft is trying to counteract a wobbly, shaky bridge.
The first step in solidifying your bridge hand (assuming it is your left hand if you are shooting right handed) is to firmly plant the left (outer) edge of your hand from where the wrist goes into the heel of the hand, all the way out through your extended ”pinky” finger. There should be no room for air space between that entire left edge of palm and pinky and the table felt surface.
Once that portion of your hand is firmly planted and you have the feeling of stability, roll your hand to the inside (right), forming your fingers and thumb into an open groove V - bridge or a closed bridge.
Now you are ready to glide your cue shaft back and forth through an open or closed groove that is firmly propped up over a solid bridge base that invites smooth, confident stroking and will remain stationary and inflexible throughout your entire stroke. Your bridge is to remain secure, regardless of cue tip impact, English applied, speed used or follow through distance of tip.
Firmness of the bridge eliminates erratic motion in your game. It stabilizes the cue stick. An open v-bridge gives you an unobstructed view and line of sight on long shots because of no overlapping finger. All the knowledge in the world about this game is of no use if the physical foundation of the shot is not solid and trustworthy. Do not have it said of you, ”Great eye, but no bridge”.

Developing a Stroke that works wonders

Now, you have approached the table, knowing which shot you are about to shoot. You know it’s alignment along with the speed you want to apply and any or what English you may wish to put on the cue ball.
Go into your perfect stance. Line up your shot. DO NOT waste time. Bring your cue back slowly and then forward directly at your planned contact point on cue ball.
Do this from two to seven times until you are comfortable with the stick speed, aim and levelness of cue. Do not take more than seven strokes at the very most because direct eye focus, visually will not last longer than that. Your eyes will begin to blink and waver at that time.
It is most important to completely stop your cue tip on the last warm up stroke prior to your shot stroke exactly at the cue ball contact spot. Then draw back, raising your eye level over the cue ball to the target object ball desired aim point. Now, forward with the cue stick with the same pace as your warm-up strokes and with your eye firmly on the OBJECT BALL.
Many players stroke for warming up and then on one of those stroking motions, continue it right on through the cue ball. This non-stop procedure will usually cause misses of as many shots as it makes.
The loosening up, stroke smoothing, and speed determination are all correlated during the two to seven warm up strokes. The only way to create precise aiming is by holding the cue tip absolutely motionless at the aim point on the cue ball.
Then stroking completely through that aim point with your eye only on the object ball. Hold the tip still at aiming time no matter how fancy and stylish you believe your stroke to be.
NEVER push or rush your shot and you will never commit the worst sin in pool ”missing the easy shot”.
ALWAYS REMEMBER, “most pool games are not won by making the hard shots, but are won by not missing the easy ones.” So, it is the simple shot that you will be so overly confident about (and you should be) that will beat you. Treat ALL shots the same and do not rush ANY shot.

Regarding the important backstroke.
Try not to come to a complete stop at the end of this portion of each stroke. Visualize a baseball pitcher during the brief wind up. The pitching arm goes back, behind his body and with no hesitation he snaps it up, out and forward toward the target.
Great tennis servers take a complete loop back swing in a non stop arc as the racket goes down and back behind them and then snaps up and out toward the sky, meeting the tossed ball right at racket center and propelling the ball over the net with almost frightening speed.
DO NOT lock your wrist. Always shoot every shot with loose wrist action. This is a must on all shots, stop, draw, follow or spin. This includes English use.
The only part of you in motion during your stroking is your shooting arm from the elbow forward. Keep your shoulder still. For absolute motion free body, exhale completely just prior to the shot stroke.

“The key words in Billiards shotmaking are soft and softer”

From “Winning Pocket Billiards” by Willie Mosconi When ever it is said of a player ”he makes it look so easy”, it appears effortless and easy because the player stays down, briefly motionless and FOLLOWS THROUGH the shot. Follow through creates ease of stroke. I find it hard to fault the statement “the longer and smoother the follow through, the easier and more accurate your shot.”
The shot appears to others as effortless and to you it is almost effortless only because you did everything just right.

Critical…Get past the Lunge

Lunge: noun- from Old French alonge, from alongier to lengthen, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin allongare, from Latin ad- ad- + Late Latin longare, from Latin longus long
1 : a quick thrust or jab (as of a sword) usually made by leaning or striding forward

Two things will cause you to lunge forward while shooting.

First is not holding the tip still at the cue ball aim point prior to release.
The second, not keeping rear leg rigid. All pre shot routines are useless if these two shooting rules are not followed.
Remember, your shooting arm elbow is the pendulum or hinge point. Everything above the elbow and the entire body are frozen during the perfect stroke. Throwing the shoulder back on the final stroke is the bad habit of many would-be good players who don’t realize they are starting a bad habit. Keep in mind that you never put your body into any stroke and yes, that includes your “power break”.
“Follow through” practice drills are essential along with other great practice routines.
Deliver each shot with some degree of authority. You will do well to follow the advice of the greatest pocket billiard player who ever lived. Willie Mosconi often said, "There are only two ways to shoot pool-one is to shoot soft and two is to shoot softer."
Knowledge of the game and of its many shots separate the pros from most players. The primary divider between pro and amateur is: The StrokeTrainer by Doug Carter Stroke, the stroke, the stroke! The newest tool to groove your stroke was developed by Doug Carter. It’s called The StrokeTrainer. You’ve got to try it if you are having stroke problems. Doug created this billiards training aide to develop a stroke in a matter of days.
The StrokeTrainer has been endorsed by Tom "Dr. Cue" Rossman and "The Monk" Tim Miller, both World Master players and Professional Instructors.

The key to Follow Through

Keep your head in your stroke position until follow-through brings your cue to a natural stop or all balls stop rolling. Resist the temptation to raise your chin. You can watch your target ball go into the pocket from right where you are with your head down.
Concentration on follow-through will eliminate unwanted head and shoulder movement. Just as field goal kickers in football and golfers are constantly telling themselves to “keep your head down,” pool shooters must do the same.
Allow your stroke follow-through to come to its end, naturally at the end of it’s forward thrust. Let the shot take care of itself. As soon as the cue ball responds from the cue tip strike, it no longer cares what you do with your cue or body. It is off and running away from any further control by what you may do from that point on. The cue ball will, do your exact bidding if you did everything correctly prior to striking it.

One last word—Concentration

The Monk first ground on me about concentration and its impact on the game of billiards. I’d like to pass along some of his wisdom on this topic.
We are going to work together with this great skill. When I asked that question to the class, as to why they lose, they were telling me that they did not work on their concentration skills. Return to this section each month. Read it, down load it, memorize it and work on your concentration skills.
According to Ernest Wook in his book, Raja Yoga, "Concentration is the narrowing of the field of attention in a manner and for a time determined by the will."
Mountain climbers, when they are dangling from a high rock out cropping tell each other not to look down, but to look directly in front of them. This way they narrow the field of attention. It is not about falling, it is about holding on and moving step by step towards the top.
When I was playing very well, I would lean over the table and stare at the cloth. I narrowed my field of attention. Or I would stare at the point of contact on the object ball. I would simply stare at it until I was ready to shoot. Once again, I narrowed my field of attention. There is a lot to be said about concentration. An entire course can be taught on this subject.
The mind is like a searchlight. When you shine it upon an object, it illuminates that object. It does not encompass the entire terrain. If it did, the searchlight would lose it's purpose and illuminate nothing. In order to be effective the searchlight must be narrow, bright and confined to one purpose. We must increase our focus, shine on one thing, and narrow our field of attention. Do this throughout the day.
Focus on objects. Search for objects. Remember my favorite quote from the Bible. "The word is like a lamp unto my feet". To me, my growth in pocket billiards is the "word". A lamp unto my feet only shows only one step at a time. It does not light up the entire surroundings. Many of my students want to learn everything in one easy lesson. Let the light shine all around, and you cannot see where to step. Shine at your feet and you will always have sure footing.
Recently I was driving through the mountains of New Mexico with my daughter on my motorcycle. We were near Tao's which is well worth visiting if you are in the area. I did not see the beauty as she did. I needed to focus on the road directly in front of me.
At one point I was mesmerized by the mountains and the Rio Grande River. We were running high above the Rio Grande, and for a moment, with my eyes on the river, we drifted towards the edge of the road. My heard pounded by the knowledge that we almost went over the edge. I was not focused on what I was doing. A motorcycle offers no forgiveness for driver mistakes.
From that time on, I use the scenic cut outs to do my sightseeing. Or I travel very slowly.
When you are playing billiards, do not look around at the environment. Instead, narrow your field of attention, by focusing on the game at hand.
Listen to me. If you have mastered The Monk 101 system, you will always have a specific purpose on all shots. When you are not committed to what you are doing, you are not going to give one hundred percent. You will be divided. And when you are, Herman and his girlfriend are going to have their way with you With my system, you will be able to identify exactly what you intend to do and have the skills to carry it out.
How many times have you missed your position and then missed the next shot. And the next shot was possible? It was not the shot you expected. It was not the shot you had in mind. And you kept the expected shot in your mind when you attempted the shot at hand. How can you focus on the shot you have, when you have another shot in your mind. You have not narrowed the field of focus. And the result was a miss.
We will work on this subject in the future. Stay with me. We have a lot of work to do. Remember, when you have increased your skills at concentration, you gain your freedom from Herman and his girlfriend. Freedom is what we seek.

Keep this in mind. "We focus on a spot, for a time determined by the will". Once we master the skills to concentrate, we then need to work on our will skills. Learn more about that in other lessons.
I have been Webmaster for Tim “The Monk” Miller and I’m also his student. I have learned more about billiards than I ever thought possible. The biggest lesson is the fact that The Monk is still learning. He learns from his students, he learns from other players and he learns from other teachers of this fantastic sport.
One real lesson I have learned from him is to learn from my mistakes, each missed shot will tell you something.
The real trick is to stay down long enough to see it. Once you have a solid foundation, start putting the lumber and planks to it. Build on this foundation with more learning. I can’t recommend too highly, The Monk’s books. The 8-Ball Book, The step-by step-guide for mastering the game of 8-Ball.
Don't get caught behind the eight ball. You are a winner with this masterful book on the game we all love. The 8-Ball Book will build your skills.
Point The Way This is the blockbuster book that swept the billiard world. Learn how the shot shoots itself. Master key ball syndrome. Point the Way shows you how to increase your concentration skills.
Learn how to reach the "zone." The Lesson At some point in your pocket billiard career you will have to deal with how you approach winning and losing. The Lesson will prepare you for this moment in your billiards experience. Master each lesson and have the skills to face all the challenges that come up.
I Came To Win If you want to perform up to your own standards; " I Came To Win" is the book for you. This book will help you become the player you always believed you could become. If you want to perform up to your own standards, "I Came To Win" is the book for you. This book will help you become the player you always believed you could become.
At this point you should, with proper stance, bridge, grip, and stroke, resemble an accomplished pool player.