How it works
The stroke is where all the other fundamentals pay off. A stroke that goes straight through the cue ball sends it exactly where you aimed. A crooked one adds side spin you didn’t want and pushes the cue ball off line.
The simplest way to stroke straight is to move as little as possible. Your upper arm and body stay still and only the forearm swings from the elbow, like a pendulum. When your forearm hangs straight down at contact (Lesson 1), the cue is level and moving straight at the moment that matters.
There are three phases. The backswing: slow and smooth, long enough for the speed you need. The transition: a brief pause or a very gentle change of direction, never a snatch. The forward stroke: accelerating through the ball, with a relaxed grip, and a follow-through that lets the cue keep moving and finish naturally, usually a hand’s length or more past where the cue ball was. Speed comes from the length of the backswing and a smooth acceleration, not from force.
Step by step
- 1
Decide the shot standing up: aim, speed, where the cue ball goes. Only then get down.
- 2
Take 2–4 warm-up strokes the same length and speed as the real one, tip close to the cue ball.
- 3
On the last warm-up, move your eyes to the object ball.
- 4
Draw the cue back slowly and pause for a moment at the end.
- 5
Swing forward, accelerating smoothly through the cue ball.
- 6
Let the cue follow through along the line and finish on or near the cloth.
- 7
Freeze until the balls stop. Then check where your tip ended up.
Common mistakes
Jabbing
A short poke that stops at the ball. The cue ball loses its speed and spin.
Rushing the transition
Snatching the cue forward from the backswing. This is a common cause of a crooked stroke.
Jumping up
Lifting the head or body during or right after contact.
Twisting the wrist or forearm
The tip finishes left or right of the line.
Too many or too few warm-ups
Too few and you’re not ready; too many and you freeze.
Practice this
Exercise · Level 1
Bottle drill
Stroke through the neck of an empty plastic bottle lying on a towel or a normal table, never on the pool cloth, without touching it. Ten smooth strokes.
Exercise · Level 1
Up and back
Put the cue ball on the head spot and shoot it straight to the far cushion and back. Did it come back over the spot? Use a stripe ball to see any side spin.
Exercise · Level 1
Straight-ins
Object ball one diamond from a corner pocket, on the diagonal towards the centre of the table, well away from the rails; cue ball on the same line, two diamonds further back. 10 shots.
Check yourself: in the up-and-back drill, shot medium-soft so the ball comes back to the head string, 7 of 10 cross it within two balls’ width of the head spot, and at the end of each stroke your tip points along the shot line. Then you’re ready for the next lesson.
Speed: a straight stroke at one speed isn’t enough. Practise the same shot soft, medium and firm; the stroke stays the same, only the length of the backswing changes.