Get a Grip
Wednesday, January 31
A good grip is an important aspect in the game of billiard. A proper grip allows you to make accurate shots. On the other hand, a bad grip will limit your potential for improvement. Take a look at the illustrations on the side, as you can see your grip must be loose and relaxed.Never tighten your grip, keep it relaxed all the way through your stroke.
Try to use two to three fingers to hold your cue stick while using the thumb as support to keep your cue stick from falling off. The image on the side shows you that your wrist and your lower arm must be in a straight line or 180 degrees. Your wrist must point downward and NOT inward (greater than 180 degrees) or outward (less than 180 degrees). The reason for this is that if your wrist is pointing inward or outward, it will most likely move sideways as you do your final stroke.The next thing to learn is which part of the cue stick you will need to put your gripping hand. Should you put it on the very end of the butt of the cue stick or should you put it closer to your body? It is different for everybody but one guideline for figuring this out is to locate the balance point.
See the illustration below. To do this, use your index finger to balance the cue stick on its own. Once it is balanced, remember the point on the cue stick where it balanced and use this as your reference point. Depending on how tall you are you will need to place your gripping hand at least 6 inches from the balance point towards the end of the cue stick. Shorter players will put their gripping hand closer to the reference point while taller players will put their gripping hand farther away from the reference point.
Labels: Billiard Tips, Billiard Tutorial, Cue, Cue Grip, Grip, Pool Table Tips
posted by Raphael @ 13:29,
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Billiard Game Stance
Tuesday, January 30
Different types of players will have different stance. Your stance may not exactly be the same as mine but there are a few guidelines to keep in mind.Balance is important simply because a good stroke requires minimal body movement except for your arm to swing the cue stick. You need to find the proper balance so that every other part of your body is kept still. Spread your feet apart to distribute your weight evenly on both feet. Move your left foot forward if you are right handed or your right foot if you are left handed.
Your arm should be perpendicular to the table, i.e. 90 degree angle (see illustration). It should remain at 90 degrees as you swing your cue stick. There should be no sideways movement of your arm. This ensures a straight stroke.
Next, make room for your arm to swing freely. In order to do this you must angle your body at least 30 degrees from your cue stick. Make sure that your arm doesn't hit your hip when you swing back. Let yourself be comfortable with the position. And last, you must set your cue stick as level as possible by lowering your upper body to a point where your cue stick becomes as level as possible. Depending on how tall you are, you may have to lower your body even more to accomplish this.
Labels: Billiard Tips, Billiard Tutorial, Pool Table Tips, Stance
posted by Raphael @ 11:50,
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Buying a pool table for an apartment
Wednesday, June 28
Buying a billiards table for the home is not the same as buying new living room furniture despite the fact 2 chairs and a couch will probably cost as much as a new eight-foot table, particularly if you live in a two-bedroom apartment.
At the time, I was nudging Senior Citizen-Hood and my wife was coming along. We both jumped into billiards like we were in our mid-twenties.
Playing a couple of evenings a week at the local Boston Billiards was turning into a budget item.
The idea of a pool table loan for half what we were spending monthly made sense.
I started researching on the web and it soon became clear it wouldn't go into the spare bedroom (five feet clearance all the way around).
We didn't have a basement. That meant relegating the two chairs and couch to one end of the room and corner and the table got center stage.
Actual table selection wasn't that big a deal. There are two stores in the city and we were more concerned about selection and service, prices were about equal.
We purchased the Brunswick the day before Thanksgiving in 2000 for delivery in mid-December.
In anticipation of table delivery day we tugged and shoved the furniture into its new positions and cleared a space roughly 30 X 16 (well relatively clear, a couple of spots the cue will nudge the wall).
But we were ready for T-D-Day. Took my last vacation day to watch the table get assembled in the living room.
It’s an interesting process if you've never seen it.
The table-in-the-living room worked for a while (with the cover in place, it's a great place to fold laundry).
But after the first year, my wife began yearning for a sitting room without an 8-foot flat top as the centerpiece.
One good thing about a billiard table, it pretty much takes over its domain. Once it is set up, there isn't an easy way to move it.
That's the day we lost the spare room. Out went the bed, out came my computer desk and related paraphernalia. Out went the old couch and one of the chairs.
In came two new chairs, a new love seat and a new coat of paint. With a little ingenuity, my wife put the TV inside the closet so it's in the new sitting room.
When visitors called, it could go behind closed doors. When my wife gets on a roll, she can literally transform a drab living space; almost overnight into a resort hotel's Presidential Suite.
I know, it took place in this apartment I can easily call home. Who says billiards won't change your life?
posted by Raphael @ 07:58,
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Insane Pool Table Tricks!
Thursday, May 25
While surfin through the net, I found this crazy video of some dude doing insane billiard tricks... you have to see it for yourself...
Video: Insane Pool Table Tricks
posted by Raphael @ 10:23,
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Pool Table Lights Guide: How To Light Up Your Game
Friday, May 19
The proper pool table lights is critical to playing your best game of pool. The ideal pool table light fixture is attractive, unobtrusive, and provides just enough illumination without creating a glare. Choosing the right pool table lights for your home need not be difficult. Just keep a few points in mind.
The Best Pool Table Lights for the Job
The most effective pool table lights cover the entire length of the table. Measure your pool table before you start shopping. The majority of pool table lights fixtures available have multiple globes in order to direct several points of light at the table, usually two, three, or four globes. Multiple globes on your pool table lights fixture also help to eliminate any glare. Some fixtures contain multiple globes within one larger fixture.
Traditional vs. Contemporary Pool Table Lights
Pool table lights come in a wide variety of styles and finishes. Traditional, Victorian, Tiffany-style lights are popular pool table lights. These fixtures, modeled after designs by the famous glass artist, Louis Comfort Tiffany, are made of small panes of glass joined with lead piping. These colorful glass pieces are put together to form all manner of designs, logos, and slogans.
Tiffany-style pool table lights are available in one long shade with several bulbs inside the globe or in multiple shades along a single, metal bar. They may be elaborate, multi-color showpieces or relatively simple, one-color pool table lights fixtures.
Other traditional fixtures of pool table lights come in black or brown wrought-iron fixture with alabaster glass shades. Most often the pool table lights fixture is crafted into a scrolled design with multiple glass shades. This style of light fixture is also widely available in bronze, brushed pewter, and brass finishes. pool table lights made from ooden fixtures, too, can lend a warm and homey touch to your poolroom.
Contemporary pool table lights can give your room a clean, sleek, modern look. Bar pool table lights in chrome and brass with simple, smoked glass shades can create such a look. Some pool table light fixtures insert a vibrant touch by adding green, red, and blue colored glass shades.
Something a Little Different
Customize your pool table lights by adding a college or professional sports logo. Tiffany-style lights often incorporate the logo into the glass motif whereas solid glass shades can be etched with your favorite team’s logo. Cheer on the “Fighting Irish” of Notre Dame, the Colorado “Avalanche” Hockey team, or the New England “Patriots” right from your recreation room.
Military logos are also popular designs for pool table lights. The Marine Corps, Navy, Army, and Air Force insignia are all available, both in Tiffany lights and in solid etched glass shades. Also consider “Jack Daniels” logo pool table lights or perhaps one with the “Harley Davidson” logo.
The Technical Stuff
Installing your pool table lights should be relatively easy for the weekend home remodeler. There must be a secure place onto which to mount your pool table light fixture and that it has its own separate electrical box. As with any electrical project, turn off the electrical current before you start working on mounting your pool table lights.
The correct light bulbs go a long way to ensuring your pool table lights fixture is safe as well as creating the right mood. 60-watt bulbs are recommended although some of the pool table lights with multiple shades might look better with 40-watt bulbs instead.
Where to Shop
The Internet has made shopping for pool table lights much easier. A typical search yields hundreds of online retailers of pool table lights. Browse through thousands of pool table lights, right in the privacy of your home. Many Web merchants even offer free shipping and live online customer service. Expect to pay from $150 for simple bar pool table lights to over $1000 for an elaborate Tiffany-style light fixture.
The right pool table lights can give your poolroom that ambiance of casual elegance or rustic charm that you desire as well as providing the lighting necessary to play your best game of pool. Shop carefully; consider all your options, and you’ll enjoy your pool table lights fixture for many years to come.
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posted by Raphael @ 14:55,
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