14.1 Drills: The Crucifix

This is another drill from my 14.1 DVD that requires maximum cue ball control combined with minimal cue ball movement. In this demonstration, I complete the drill and run an additional rack.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• 14.1
• Straight pool
• billiards
• Sapolis

[BlackjackDSapolis]

Yeah, when I got too straight on that last ball, I sorta pulled it wrong. If I had gotten just a little bit of angle on it I would have been ok, but alas, I'm only human.

[LeonFleisherFan]

@BlackjackDSapolis The fun thing is, what you did wrong there is pretty tough to do on purpose. To just check the cue ball off the rail is one thing, but to actually make it reverse it does on the video, an impressive little lapse. ;^)

[BlackjackDSapolis]

@LeonFleisherFan

I did put some hot mustard on the cue ball, but I think the unwritten rules says that "its only impressive if it gets you somewhere"... lol

[LeonFleisherFan]

@hendinho87 Same as Jack, by the way, I have been teaching this game (for over twenty years now), and believe me, I have seen many, many players who excel at execution. Among those, O'Sullivan is among the most stunning (although people tend to give him too much credit for being fast - which in itself is a different kind of feat). Let's agree he shoots with greater precision than most people. But he can't really draw a cue ball like Mike Massey, however. AND: he rarely does something unexpected!

[LeonFleisherFan]

@hendinho87 Ultimately, when I've been talking to players over the years, what sets apart Reyes is that we've all seen him come up with shots none of us even saw - multiple times. It's not just that we hadn't considered them, deemed them too difficult or whatnot. That kind of strokes of genius where one really needs a rewind button to figure out not only how the heck he did it, but why on earth it must have seemed to HIM the next best (sometimes even simplest) thing to do. That to me is genius!

[LeonFleisherFan]

@hendinho87 ...a great achievement for sure. We're really discussing cueists on the highest possible level here, as there have been only a few others in history (we tend to forget e.g. Lindrum, Ceulemans, Blomdahl etc.). I could still witness Mosconi in person, for example. Personally, I admire them all. And I agree O'Sullivan has some of the finest raw talent I've ever seen. Reyes, apart from an incredibly loose and straight stroke, is a humble mastermind - never seen as many strokes of genius!

[hendinho87]

@LeonFleisherFan he is not that young, yes i agree i hold a bias to snnoker from my background but i have been living in th US and have played alot of pool i am an average snooker player who wouldnt mount to anything in the snooker game but i can win pool tournaments as i have provbed in southern illionois and st louis missouri. reyes im sure as beaten osullivan in a couple frames money matches whatever but to make the 147 in 5mins and to make centuries in competive play with either hand is ...

[LeonFleisherFan]

@hendinho87 O'Sullivan is still young and will need to prove he can achieve similar lifetime achievements as Reyes, who by the way beat the former in Snooker money matches, and is equally as gifted playing left-handed (one needs to pay close attention to notice he plays with his opposite hand, same as with O'Sullivan). But it's easy to understand your billiards household deity is bound to stem from the Snooker - to me, all cue sports are of equal interest, at least theoretically.

[hendinho87]

@LeonFleisherFan . i have watched reyes he is very good player makes some quality shots, but for pure naturally gifted i think o'sullivan he has won pool tournaments aswell as being the #1 player in the snooker world. he can make century breaks for fun either left or right handed now that is genius. stephen hendry is actually my favourite as his break buildibng and consistency the best iv seen, hes is on the decline now. o'sullivan liek alex higgins a genuis does lose his head now an again

[LeonFleisherFan]

@hendinho87 One of the most naturally gifted cueists - other than that, I agree. Everyone has a favourite I guess - by far the most gifted cueist I have seen in my lifetime is Efren Reyes from the Philippines. You'll find a plethora of matches of his on YT - try and watch some from the nineties and earlier when he was still young(er) and playing at his very best. I'm sure you'll enjoy them - and there's always lots to learn from him.

[hendinho87]

@LeonFleisherFan ok, i see. decent break from blackjacksapolis...check this out just watched this guy play. its the ultimate masterclass from the most naturally gifted cueist in the world.

"ronnie osullivan 147 fastest break"

[BlackjackDSapolis]

@LeonFleisherFan

I never knew I was capable of all of that... and to think that all this time I thought I just dogged it. lol

[LeonFleisherFan]

@hendinho87 He draws the cue ball applying (from his perspective) a ton of right hand spin (thus throwing the object ball in addition to cutting it - hitting it fuller this way means the cue ball hits the cushion at less steep an angle than it otherwise would have, which in turn makes the acute reverse angle fractionally more likely). Note that the smaller the balls (as in Snooker), the more difficult this will be to achieve (= it's MUCH easier with the yet bigger carom balls).