What are considered “best practices” for stroke technique?
Here are good video demonstrations of what are generally considered “best practices” of stroke technique:
The stroke “best practices” document provides a detailed summary of general recommendations for stroke preparation and execution. The pre-shot routine is also an important component of technqiue. Here’s a good illustration from Jeremiah Gage summarizing important stroke routine “best practices”:
The following video can help you diagnose and fix issues with your stroke with the help of video analysis:
For more information, see “Stroke Video Analysis” (BD, March, 2024), video analysis procedure, and check-list for video analysis.
A good drill for working on your stroke is MOFUDAT (The “MOst Famous and Useful Drill of All Time”). For demonstrations of this and many other stroke, aim, and alignment drills, see:
For more info, here are some relevant additional resources:
- “10 Secrets of a Good Stroke” (BD, March, 2021).
- “Stroke Tuneup – BD Coaching Bonus” (BD, May, 2008).
- fundamentals “best-practices” check-list
- pendulum vs. piston stroke resource page
- elbow drop resource page
- follow through resource page
- grip technique advice
- bridge technique advice
Is it important that your upper arm and shoulder be aligned with the shot line?
It is generally recommended that everything (cue, forearm, upper arm, shoulder, vision center) be in the vertical plane through the shot line, but doing so can cause neck strain and can make it difficult to get one’s face square and eyes level with the vision center in the right place (which is much more important). As long as you keep your upper arm and shoulder joint still during the stroke into the ball (see pendulum stroke), they have little effect on the straight motion of the cue, assuming the forearm is in the vertical plane of the cue hanging straight down. This is discussed and demonstrated here:
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