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  Billiard, Pool Stroke Drills - Aiming Techniques, Play Better Now

We are Luckier than We Think

8/5/2016

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I have a friend that always seems to be content and at peace no matter how many negative things are going on in his life. I ask him the other day "how do you keep from complaining when things are going wrong, I know you have problems like everybody else."
He looked at me and said "I used to be a chronic complainer, I'd complain because I had to do laundry, clean house, fix my car, my job, my wife, etc....then one day I "real eyesed" that I'd never be able to stop complaining, it was just in my nature".
I was really surprised by his response "but you never complain, what do you mean when you say you could never stop - it appears you stopped?"
He smiled, "well, a friend told me how fortunate I was to have a full load of laundry, a house to clean, a car to drive, a job to pay my bills, and a wife to keep me company....... you see, he had none of those things and was living under a bridge in a cardboard box......and he told me he was grateful to have the bridge and the box....from that point on when my mind told me to complain, I told it how lucky we were to have something to complain about!" - 'The Game is the Teacher' www.cjwiley.com​
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Begin Your Pool Game "With the End in Mind" 

6/11/2014

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Picture

The body position getting down is described as "begin with the end in mind" (a Steven Covey quote) because you want to start out above the ball with your body parts in the same relative position as they will be in when you get down and shoot. 

Many people especially change their left arm angle too much and don't pre set their arm/wrist/shoulder angles properly, this means you have to create them on the way down or after you get down on the shot. 

This is infinitely more difficult to do in a consistent way....thus, if you start above the ball in the position you will be in while hitting the cue ball (or as close as YOU can get), you will be able to be a "pool playing machine" and that's just a figure of speech for those that want challenge me and say "a man can't become a machine" ... however, it's a good thing to strive for and in the process take out any "moving parts" that you can't repeat.
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Syestems in Pocket Billiards 

1/13/2014

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"Systems underlie every phenomenon, and are everywhere one looks for them. They are limited only by the observer’s capacity to comprehend the complexity of the observed entity, item or phenomenon." 

This is a useful definition of a system because it does exist "everywhere one looks for them". If you're unable to look for anything new I would venture to guess you'll find nothing new. 

After playing a lot of my best matches subconsciously (in The Zone) it is challenging to explain some of the shots I was able to pull off. I can't even try to explain some of the phenomenal things I've seen (from many players) in the midst of a 20 hour session, they seem "supernatural".

If someone's really struggling to improve and they don't believe in developing a better system, then they may unconsciously not want to improve.  The mind can pretty much achieve what you can conceive so make sure you at least "think" you're improving every day. Sometimes we just have to "fake it, til we make it," and see ourselves as a better player, in a better job, or in a better relationship before it actually happens. 

I recommend the book 'Zen in the Art of Archery' to anyone wanting to learn more about learning to "play in the zone," (it's the first book I read on the subject and it's superb). imo 
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'Increasing Margin of Error by Reducing Choices'

1/8/2014

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For many pool players it's a natural tendency to want to spin shots in with outside "helping" English. This technique is very useful, especially if you're trying to change the natural angle of the cue ball after contact. There's another way to do this if you want to "master a shot" so you can hit the three parts of the pocket. To do this you must become more accurate and develop a "FEEL" for the pocket. This isn't any more difficult, it just requires you to simplify your Game and reduce calculations.

There are three {main} calculations you make to be accurate using "outside English," 1st) - you must judge the immediate deflection and 2nd) - you must judge how much the spin brings the cue ball "back" to it's original "shot line". 3rd) - you must decide where to hit the cue ball to accomplish the intended shot. (these calculations are related, but not necessarily connected like they are with the TOI Technique) 

You will find it's necessary to hit these shots at a variety of speeds and a variety of spins to do what you need with the cue ball. This takes a LOT of different calculations because speed effects deflection AND spin. Where you hit the cue ball and how far over to get your "outside English" also effects deflection AND spin. 

Over the course of hours, you will have to make numerous calculations and instinctive judgments to make every shot as planned. With the 'Touch Of Inside' system of play I am showing you how to reduce the amount of calculations and instinctive judgments considerably. 

The TOI Technique shows you how to hit one "theme" of speeds, one "theme" of spins, and one "theme" of deflection. I have played many players in my life and the only concern I had was if they would play long enough. Because, even though this edge against other accomplished players may be only 1-2%, it will show up over time. 

If you're cutting a ball at a "half ball" angle down the rail to the left and using "outside" (right English") you cue ball is immediately going to deflect into the object ball slightly. To overcome undercutting it you will need to spin the cue ball to make it curve back and the spin will help cut it in. This may "FEEL" like it's helping the cut, but IS IT REALLY? 

You are having to hit the speed correctly, the spin correctly, the contact point (shot line) correctly and hit the cue ball precisely to do this. I'm sure you do this very well, but how about under pressure? How do you make all these calculations playing a champion player? This is where your unconscious will start to falter and break down. 

You are simply over whelming yourself with these calculations and when you add pressure? I don't know, how does it effect you, do you play better or worse? How about over the course of a 5-10 hour set, do you rely on your game to get better and better or do you have "ups and downs?" With the TOI Technique I teach players how to use (as much as possible, of course there's exceptions, and less that you may think) ONE SPEED - ONE SHOT ANGLE REFERENCE (center or edge) - ONE TIP TARGET (the "Touch" of Inside). 

The one thing you guard against {using TOI} is overcutting the ball, however, if you're going to miss a shot would you rather over cut it or under cut it? I don't know about you, but when I under cut a shot I feel like a "dogged it," however, when I over cut a shot I feel like I know what I need to do to correct what I did wrong. 

TOI increases consistency, which strengthens confidence and makes your Game strong, reliable, and very intimidating. 'The Game is the Teacher'

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The Lesson I Learned WIth "Omaha John" on the Road

1/5/2014

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I recall at the age of 19, "Omaha John" and I were touring around on a road trip and ended up in a small bar in South Carolina. The owner of the bar was a BIG gambler and would take the 5 and the break from anyone playing on the bar table with the Big Cue Ball. 

We had been going through a tough time and I was "breaking even" with everyone. Usually I would get ahead, then start "letting up," they would come back, "get even" and quit. This was getting annoying and I was beginning to question if I had enough "heart," to be a champion player. 

This was a big thing in the gambling days, if you have the heart to close someone out. To put them away. And it was happening again, I had got up over 2k for $200 a game and now we raised it to $300. a game and the guy beat me 7 IN A ROW and we were just $100. winner.

Omaha John came up to me and said "if you're ever going to be a great road player you better do it now. I'm not out here "for my health," I have a wife and kid at home and I have to win, breaking even is for "suckers!"

He was serious, so, standing my cue against a near by stool, I stopped playing and went to the bathroom - it was "now or never," I thought, looking in the mirror, starring straight into my own eyes - "do you really want to be a pool player, do you really have what it takes?" I hesitated slightly, waiting for the answer to come from my "Inner Self"..... not the answer I wanted to hear, I HAD to know the truth....I needed to know and my life would change from that moment. 

Finally the answer had come - I knew in my "heart of hearts" that the moment had arrived. "The Moment of Truth," I couldn't be a sucker, "stuck" at my current level, struggling to break even and making up excuses. 

There was only one choice - to become a winner and break out of that "victim level" and do whatever it would take to learn the Truth about pool and what it takes to be the best. 

I made that decision right then because I had to. And it's a decision that continues because life's much more about the "journey," than the "destination." Life is the best teacher, and at that moment my life was the game and for an instant they melded into One...The Game is the Teacher!

Often times we are held back because we don't need to win, we don't have to get better. I didn't have the luxury that day and I thank Omaha John for putting me in a situation where I had to be honest with myself. No one else matters when you're trying to get to the "next level,"{in life} it's all about ourselves.... it's about looking ourselves in the mirror and "real eyesing" that the answer we've been searching for is not outside, it's inside ourselves.

I went back out there and was like an entirely different person. John had been telling me to stop spinning my ball and playing low percentage shots....so I did. Others had made comments about my game that I had ignored because of my ego, so I incorporated those suggestions too - my perception had changed, the Game had given me a vital spiritual experience. 

From that point I beat the guy out of over 8K and he looked like he had been drained of all his energy. I didn't care what it took I made myself shoot the correct shot, in the right way and forgot forever my childish reasons for not playing the Game correctly. To be a Champion at anything we must keep doing "the next right thing," whether we like it or not. 

Looking back I can't help but think the chains of mediocrity had been broken, and I had started to become a player. From that moment on I had a "6th Sense" about pool and knew what I HAD to practice to improve - and what I needed to ignore. "The chain breaks at it's weakest link" and that became the motto of my practice routines. 


I'll always remember that lesson Omaha John Shuput and the Game taught me in that bar in South Carolina.... and the mirror that reflected what I needed to have "eyes that could see my self". 'The Game is the Inner Teacher' www.cjwiley.com

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The Million Dollar Challenge 'Billiard's Perfect Miss'

12/17/2013

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After completing the Million Dollar Challenge documentary I've been doing a great deal of thinking about what we could have done differently and why it wasn't the "right time" for Professional Billiards to make that epic leap into the spotlight of American Sports.

The one thing we didn't plan for was the 7.8 Million to 1 odds of Earl running those racks. In our interview Earl himself says "we could have made millions if I hadn't run those racks the first day"......I believe he was right, we had everything in place to achieve our Mission Statement with the PCA.

We had most of the key components that are necessary, such as:

1) A Professional Marketing and Advertising Team with several major clients that were already poised to invest in commercials, event presence and title sponsorship of the PCA....this, of course was contingent on the success of the first event in Dallas. 

2) A Schedule of 12 Pro Events that made up the "Million Dollar Challenge Tour"

3) All Events were going to be televised (after Earl ran the racks we were only able to film the one in Olathe Kansas, and the one at the Hollywood Park Casino.

4) A Strategic Alliance with a National Grass Roots Tour (The McDermott Tour) that would feed the PCA (Our Professional CueSports Association) with winners from their tournaments that would be qualified to "Play WIth the Pros".

5) PCA Endorsed and Sanctioned the ESPN World Open Championships, and the Ultimate 9 Ball Championships. These ESPN Tournament matches were averaging over 1,000,000 Viewers per show, with 16 matches a tournament coming from the WPBA and PCA......we even did the "Battle of the Sexes" with price money of $100,000, the World Mixed Doubles and the Celebrity Billiards (with cheerleaders from the NFL).

6) PCA had an agreement to supply players to the Mosconi Cup and took the PCA Team to London in 96 and brought back the cup.

7) PCA had the BCA granting us $25,000 a year to run our PCA OFFICE.

8) PCA was made up of eager, young, athletic players that were working together for a common goal - to propel pocket billiards into the limelight 'THE NEW AGE OF POOL'

9) PCA had two of the best commentators in history, Joe Rogan and Jimmy Mataya and was also raising money for charities (Tony Hill of the Dallas Cowboys hosted the first charity event prior to the Million Dollar Challenge in Dallas).

10) Our Marketing Group had several clients that would have been the ideal match for the PCA and the entire plan revolved around creating a marketing vehicle to promote their products (through the PCA Players) ON TV.......except for one thing that no one ever thought could happen.......Earl Strickland running 11 Racks in a row to win the Million Dollar Annuity THE FIRST TOURNAMENT:

With one million dollars on the line, on April 10, 1996 Earl "the Pearl" Strickland did the unimaginable. He ran 11 racks of 9-ball at the inaugural event of the PCA Pro Pocket Billiards Tour. While it was a miraculous feat, it simultaneously dealt a fatal blow to the new Pro Pocket Billiards Tour and gave a death strike to what might have been the rise of televised table pool as a mainstream sport. CJ Wiley had spent years preparing a new tour to showcase the sport, using a million dollar prize as the main draw. His goal was to breakout pool as a mainstream sport. 

Through an in depth interview you will hear how Earl trained to achieve this incredible level of performance, the legal battles that eventually vindicated CJ Wiley, and accounts of the following two-plus years to honor the prize through the accounts of CJ Wiley, Tournament Director Jay Helfert and many more. It is a tale of struggle for the game and a telling of the greatest achievement in the history of pool.


Directed by Mary Avina — The Million Dollar Challenge Documentary 'Billiard's Perfect Miss' is available now at www.cjwiley.com

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Two Shot Shoot Out Rules Playing 9 Ball 

11/22/2013

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 Two Shot Shoot Out 9 Ball is entirely different than "one foul ball-in-hand" because you can NEVER win on a safety. Therefore the safeties you do play need to be quite different in intent and outcome. It's actually a good tactical "move" to leave the object ball close to the pocket and hook you opponent....this may be risky, but it pays off because it limits where they can "roll out". It's also a good "move" to leave the object ball in the middle of the table if possible. 

Virtually every game you will be required to make a challenging shot to win against a seasoned player. This is not true at all in "one foul" rules, as a matter of fact the conservative players often gets rewarded for NOT taking chances and going for difficult shots. 

This makes the game boring to the "sweaters" (fans) on the side or viewing on TV......there's no emotional attachment (reward ie: it's a waste of time) watching a guy running 7 easy shots to win.....it's like watching 7 two foot putts in golf.....one is plenty.  'The Game is the Teacher'
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The Hammer "Push Drill" for FAST STROKE DEVELOPMENT

11/17/2013

2 Comments

 
I've now been doing the "Push Hammer Drill" drill every day for several weeks and it's made a noticeable improvement in my stroke and Targeting the cue ball as precisely as ever. It's a drill that requires you to get down and place the tip to the center of the cue ball and PUSH the ball into the pocket with just a Hand/Wrist/Forearm motion.....the practitioner must be very precise of the ball with squirt off path very noticeably, and when done correctly it grooves the stroke in a very effective way. 

I put all 15 balls up two diamonds and "Push Hammer Style" all 15 balls down to the opposite corners and then repeat for a total of 30. Then I put the balls an inch off the rail and "Push Hammer Style" the balls again, with my cue elevated like I'm shooting off the rail.

This is a really effective way to groove the stroke and feel that "SLOT/TRACK" that I've referred to in this thread several times. I also shoot all the balls off the rail "Mexican Rotation" style after the "Push Hammer Style" drill to groove the stoke for acceleration.

I've been incorporating these drills in my lessons with noticeable results. I have an entire 3 hour training that I"m doing on request where I oversee the player do a regiment of the most effective drills I know.....it's like going through a workout, however the results are worth it for those that truly want to improve. 

We offer this 3 hour session on request and will schedule or answer any questions at - thegameistheteacher@gmail.com 

When you REALLY want to improve FAST.....IT's HAMMER TIME> 
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Training the Minds to Connect Synergistically 

11/13/2013

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The conscious mind is at the mercy (for the most part) of the subconscious mind. Under the level of "thinking" lurks our beliefs, our concepts and our self defense mechanisms that deal with security and social interaction....it also controls any issues we are having and there's no way to stop it by "figuring it out" because the problem centers in the minds, the "subconscious, and the conscious". 

We have on the average of 30k to 50,000 thoughts a day between the two "minds"....this leads to all kinds of possible behaviours, emotions/feelings, and even delusions.....it's very often from a balance issue, your mental "self" is out of balance.

The way to improve you conscious contact with your mental self and the "inner world" is to address the problem at it's source.....connecting the subconscious mind to the conscious mind in a useful, more effective way. This requires periods of "non thinking"......it's somewhat of a paradox - "to improve our thinking we must not think"

This is done through meditation and prayer (which is a form of meditation).....it doesn't matter if someone is atheist, agnostic or a believer (it's spirituality, not religion) , they must at least be willing to believe in a Power higher than their conscious thinking to make any progress. Once someone is "willing to believe" then the door is opened to the process of higher thinking.

I recommend ANAPANA Meditation***, it's a simple way to meditate, where the person observes their breathing at the source, their very own thoughts....."observing" the thoughts is very important in this process....of course this is much easier said than done, the more we think about something the less chance we have of actually doing it.

'The Game is the Inner Teacher'  www.cjwiley.com 

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Uncovering the Perfection of the Game

11/11/2013

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I was hanging out at my pool room "CJ's" behind the bar of all places....I really didn't spend a lot of time back there, but this day was the exception. An older man came in, sat down and ordered a soda...I knew how to "mix" that one so I got it for him and set it down.

The man said "you are the professional pool player CJ aren't you?"....I replied "yes, that's me, unless I owe you money - LoL"....he laughed, took a drink and said, "no, you don't owe me money, but I would like to ask you a question that may result in some."

I suddenly felt him get serous and wondered what this older man was up to - 

"sure, you can ask me whatever you want" I said, leaning against the cooler.....the man pointed at the pool table and ask "what are you trying to achieve playing that Game?"....

I hesitated, thought and replied "I'm trying to be the best player I can be, maybe even the best in the world, at least for a time-being".

The man place his napkin between us, looked into my eyes and said firmly - 

"you know this Game you play is already perfect....it's up to you to uncover it" and immediately turned over the napkin and looked under it.....

"Do You Understand" he said firmly again "The Game is already perfect, it's just up to you to uncover that Perfection", again he lifted up the napkin, looked under it and then quickly back into my now de-focused stare.

His eyes by now felt like they were probing my very soul and I shifted a bit, suddenly feeling more clear, answered "I think I understand.....it's not me that has to be perfect, it's the game, so I don't need to try to be perfect, I just need to Uncover the Perfection that's already been placed there...in the Game.....by...uhhhh".

He smiled at my hesitation and finished "by the Breath of the Universe or The Breath of a Higher Power, right now that's not as important as you having Faith that it's true!

He then told me to hold on for a minute and went to his car and brought back a book called 'A Parenthesis in Eternity', that I read and still have to this day.....this was one of those occasions that influenced me so much I find myself wondering if this old man was really an old man.....or.....angel....no, that would be silly now wouldn't it?.....hmmm, I still can't help but wonder...?" 

'The Game is the Teacher'
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