A fellow teacher describes the havoc of some bizarre billiards strokes and theories he's encountered (combated). Have fun reading about them but don't do them!

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The Swerve, The Double Jerk, The Corkscrew And Weird Strokes

This isn’t my lesson in exotic massé shots by an old master! These are some strokes I’ve seen people use over the years, which accomplish little besides telling onlookers that the shooters either never had a pool lesson or have some very imaginative ideas about physics.

The "Swerve Stroke" isn’t all that uncommon. It’s that goofy stroke where you at center ball or somewhere nearby and swerve the cue to one side or the other, ending with the cue tip far outside the imaginary cylinder between cue ball and object ball.

It’s almost always a futile attempt to apply right or left english to the cue ball. Even if you use a backhand english stroke, which has some swerve to its motion, stay in the cylinder, just as the pros do.

Such spin is achieved most effectively with a straight, smooth stroke through the cue ball, not with a "slap" at the ball, which is what the swerve stroke is.

Another weird “method” is what I call “NPS” or "The No Pull-back Stroke". This is where the shooter takes rather normal practice strokes, stops at the cue ball to address it, but then pokes forward without any pull backwards before the business stroke.

For some strange reason, those who exhibit this trait seem to do it only when they want to draw the ball. Occasionally it works a bit, so they stick with it, although the usual result is no draw at all.

A Better Way To Draw The Cue Ball, Like A Pro Does

A friend of mine has a similar habit to the NPS, one he is currently working to eliminate. After playing for over forty years, he has a respectable follow stroke, but has always had a fear of attempting draw. I think perhaps he miscued a few times when he was young and was embarrassed, so he now passes up simple stop and draw shots to search for follow position.

He takes a few nice practice strokes, but his final pull back is about one inch in length only. It’s a quick jerk backward followed by a quick jerk forward. We call it the "Poke Stroke" or the "Double Jerk", and it usually results in a poor shot. I’ve actually had to dream up several brand new teaching techniques to help my buddy with this problem.

The "CBS" or the "Cue Bending Stroke" is something you actually see some of today's pros use. The force of the stroke, if the bridge hand is kept on the cloth, will create that amazing bend in the cue that you sometimes witness, as the shaft is held down along the cloth while the butt is raised as part of the follow through.

Keep in mind that this bending action comes after the cue ball has been struck and thus has no effect on the shot. There are some players who exhibit this cue action when they attempt super draw. Again, the bend comes after the shot, and has no appreciable effect. I know players who “perfect” this cue bending, thinking somehow that they achieve more force or more draw.

A Cue Bending Draw Stroke In Slo-Mo Photography

Some years ago, one of my great sponsors also filled in as a substitute on several of my championship teams. "Bob" somewhere, somehow got the idea that if you twist your cue while striking the cue ball in the center, you will achieve added right or left english.

By “twist” I mean to spin the cue in place as you would turn a screwdriver or a corkscrew. Even after we demonstrated for him why this didn’t work, he could not shake the habit and his "Corkscrew Stroke" became the stuff of legend.

Such weird strokes are the result of not paying attention to how the good players shoot and not seeking out a qualified instructor for lessons. The longer you play with bad habits, be they simple or on the wild side, the harder they are to eliminate. Get someone to clean up your stroke, now, and send me an e-mail if you need help.