The Four Strokes of Pool

By The Monk

I have received many letters and I am shocked by how many players do not know the four strokes of pool. You can read all about the four strokes of pool in The Lesson. You must master the four strokes of pool because the stroke determines the track line. You must master the four strokes of pool because the stroke determines the speed of the cue ball. You must master the four strokes before you can master cue ball speed or position play. If you skip the four strokes of pool, you will be plagued and condemned to an inconsistent game. One day you're up and one day you're down. If you are an inconsistent player you need to master the four strokes of pool. You should order The Lesson and begin to put your game together. When it comes to your game, "do it right."

1. The punch stroke. This is by far the most popular stroke in pool. Willie Mosconie used it over eighty per cent of the time. It gives you natural speed and natural track lines. To master this stroke, line up a shot straight in the side pocket. The cue ball should be a couple of feet away. Deliver a "pop" sound with one sixteenth below center. If the cue ball stops dead in its tracks, you have discovered your punch stroke. What ever it takes to stop the cue ball dead, is a punch stroke. If the cue ball drifts back towards you, you have added a little draw into your punch stroke. If the cue ball drifts forward you have allowed a little follow in your punch stroke. You must stop the cue ball dead. Pay attention to that sound. Pay attention to how it feels. You will want to master this stroke.

The Punch gives you natural track lines. In The Lesson book I give you a series of shots you can use to begin to develop cue ball speed and cue ball control. If you do not possess a good solid reliable punch stroke, you will never find the consistency you seek. The Punch stroke, don't leave home with out it.

2. The follow stroke. Many of us shoot high on the cue ball and call it a follow stroke. The essence of any stroke is in how you deliver the cue tip to the cue ball. I want you to set up a shot straight in the side pocket. The cue ball should be a couple of feet from the object ball. Place your cue tip one-sixteenth below center. Deliver a follow stroke and make the cue ball follow the object ball! There is only one way you will see the cue ball follow the object ball and that is if you deliver a fine follow stroke. Flow through the cue ball. Your shooting hand should almost be limp. Float through and allow the cue ball to roll towards its target. I can make the cue ball follow the object ball with one half cue tip below center!

A follow stroke is vital to your game. There are many ways to use a follow stroke to gain favorable position and control the cue ball. I illustrate many of them in The Lesson. If you are ever to become a consistent player you must master the four strokes of pool. In my workshops and clinics I show players that there is only one stroke that will get them position on certain balls. If you know the strokes you know how to play pool. If you do not have a copy of The Lesson, do yourself a favor. Order it now. Muellars offers you a discount. I give you a personal guarantee. If the book does not help you, I will refund your money.

3. The Spin Stroke. Very few teachers take the time to teach this vital stroke. The old masters used it in straight pool. There are times in a match that the spin stroke is the difference between winning and losing. I want you to have it. The Spin Stroke is a great tool to measure speed of the cue ball off one or more rails. It is also a way to widen the natural track line off the rail. I could write volumes about this fantastic stroke.

The spin stroke is a close cousin to the punch stroke. Set up on the spot and sight straight down to the center diamond (7) on the bottom rail. Use center right and "pop" the ball so it is spinning on its way down table. You should be able to control the spin so you can scratch in the right corner pocket near you. You should be able to control the cue ball so you can hit the number two diamond on the right side of the table. You should be able to control the cue ball so you can hit the right side pocket. With a great spin stroke, you will be able to control where the cue ball is going. You will develop an instinct with this wonderful stroke.

I use the spin stroke to control the speed and control the track line of the cue ball. I use the spin stroke when I am kicking balls. I use the spin stroke when I want to throw an object ball. If you mix up the strokes, you will miss your shot. You must master the four strokes of pool before you consider speed and position play.

4. The draw strokes. I give this a plural because there are more than one draw stroke. It is not enough to simply pull the cue ball back towards you with a sharp jabbing motion. The draw stroke is the most abused stroke in pocket billiards today. In The Lesson I devote twelve pages to this great stroke. There are four draw strokes.
1. The follow through draw
2. The snap back draw.
3. The bounce back draw
4. The snip draw.
If you use the wrong draw stroke you will not get positive results and you will have no control of the cue ball. You must master each draw stroke and know when to use them. The draw strokes calls for a snap delivery. You must push the cue tip through the cue ball faster than the cue ball leaves the tip. In other words, the tip is almost all the way through the cue ball before the cue ball takes off. Since the cue tip is faster than the cue ball, the cue ball will immediately spin backwards. This causes the cue ball to come back to you.

With the follow through draw, the cue tip is not spinning backwards until it has traveled a few feet. Your tip pushes through in a follow through motion. When the cue ball contacts the object ball, it will slide away and then begin to come back. This is an important stroke to use when you want to control the position the cue ball will end.

The snap back is dramatic. You snap through the cue ball in a quick jab. The cue ball will immediately pick up spin and come right back at you. You will tighten up the line it returns on. In The Lesson I show you how to get the cue ball to two separate places on the table off the same shot simply by changing one draw stroke for another.

The snip draw is the most popular draw strokes. You shoot down on the cue ball. The main purpose of the snip draw is not so much to draw the cue ball back to you but to kill the cue ball and throw the object ball. In the "touch no rail" exercise you will not succeed if you do not command the snip draw. This is a vital stroke. You use right or left and snip the cue ball.

The bounce back draw. This is really a "stun" backwards. You are not trying to spin the cue ball back. You are trying to bounce it back from the object ball. There are times in a game when your command of this stroke is the difference between winning and losing.

The draw stroke calls for you to dramatically snap the cue tip through the cue ball. When you do that, this stroke imparts spin on the cue ball. Once you get the cue ball coming back to you with this stroke, try the same stroke with one cue tip above center. Deliver your finest draw stroke and you will see what a force follow is. The force follow is really a draw stroke. The stroke determines the track line. The stroke determines the cue ball speed. The cue tip location has nothing to do with what stroke you are using.

If you want to be a consistent player you must possess the four strokes of pool. There are times when you mix them up. A shot may call for a little follow and a lot of punch. Or punch force follow. Begin your training now. The second stage of pocket billiards is the four strokes of pool. Master them. You can do it. It is time for you to "do it right".

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