About what percentage of misses/mistakes are due to calculation and what percentage are due to physical error? For yourself, for a good player, a great player, whatever...I'm just curious.

Also, any information on about how much edge is typically gained from being able to calculate very difficult plays would be appreciated. Same thing but for the ability to execute very difficult plays as well. If that is a little confusing in wording I basically am just wondering what would help a typical player more, a coach who would line up every shot for them or a robot who would execute every shot the player instructed it to. I know it's kind of silly but thank you for any responses.

This is a very complex question, and one which ebs and flows depending on a variety of variables.

Very high level players would make very few calculation errors in regular play, but can often become overly reckless or too passive and negative as the pressure grows. As your calculation becomes clouded, so does your ability to accurately judge shot selection, and more physical errors will creep in as your confidence and routine gets broken.

Weak players can often do this in reverse, and there is a whole sub group of good amateur players who's stroke is actually pretty decent, but they just never calculate properly and get torn to bits by tactically astute players despite their shooting skill being roughly on par.

Again, it depends on the player. A pro pool or snooker player would benefit much more from the robot on the whole, a weak player with an ok action would probably do better with the coach.

In my pool league I regularly defeat opponents who have a more accurate shot because my strategy is at a much higher level. I can leave them with difficult runs and shots even when I miss which gives me an advantage in the long run. Choosing when to play a defense and where can turn a game in my favor by allowing me to get higher percentage shots when my opponent makes a mistake.

I would say for most top players they rarely miss because they misjudged the angle of the shot, and most often it's because of some technical flaw (and usually one you've fought for much of your playing career). However, good players also miss balls because of what they're trying to do with the cue ball far more than either of the above. This can also be a separation factor between an amateur and a professional where the pro might miss a ball that an amateur might not because the pro was looking farther ahead.

For example, in a very complex lie of balls in a rotation game, a pro might miss, say, the 2-ball because he was thinking about position on the 8-ball six shots later, whereas the amateur would probably make the 2-ball and get position on the 3-ball, but then lose the game anyways on the 8-ball because he didn't even consider that problem when he started. Don't know if that makes sense or not.

The robot would obviously be ideal, because I would say most expert players know the 'right' shot pretty much all the time, but struggle in execution. I think the only exceptions would be for younger players who simply haven't seen as many shots and situations as some of the older players, but even if they are good enough players they can often puzzle out good solutions anyways. I'd go for the robot.

Just to add to Dino's excellent analysis, this is also what makes pool a great gambling game. A shot which looks like a simple miss to an amateur can actually have a huge amount of complexity behind it, which over time makes its EV known, but on the individual shot makes it look like a very high level player is actually very bad at the game to the unknowing eye.

This effect over the short to medium term is the single greatest emptier of wallets in pool.

Very interesting and thought provoking. Thank you all so much for your responses.

100% of my shots missed are because of the piece of **** table rolling out on me.

For me that's more like 90%. The other 10% I got a skid.

A professional pool player understands the variables. Balance, cue ball spin, cue ball speed, throw, alignment, focus, breathing, heart rate, adrenaline, grip pressure, follow through, breaking, safeties, pocket speed, patterns, percentages, pitfalls, cloth, pocket cut, rail traits, temperature, tension, cue stick, jump shots, posture, humidity, etc. In between being a rookie and becoming a master it is required that you learn about all those topics and practicing them enough to cut down your mistakes, aka, maximizing your knowledge in each category. I'd say that balance and throw are two of the most important topics, but in reality all the skills are connected and possibly equally important. Every bit of error that is in your game comes from misapplying perfect strategy from all of the variables involved in the game. The more things you do right the more often you will make each shot.

It is my opinion that most amateurs miss shots for two main reasons. Balance and not knowing what point on the cue ball to hit. These two reasons are totally intertwined. In order to hit the exact point on the cue ball that you need to hit to pocket the ball the highest percentage of the time it is crucial that your balance is perfect. Balance is a skill that can be learned, just like every other skill in a pool players repertoire.

The second part of that equation is a little more complicated. In order to figure out where to hit the cue ball I have one example I like to use. Take out a piece of paper, a ruler, a marker and a pencil. With the pencil and ruler sketch a pool table from a ceiling viewpoint that is roughly correct in dimensions. With the marker make two dots on the table. One is the cue and one is the object ball. Now draw a line in pencil from the cue ball to the object ball and from the object ball to the pocket. You would take the ruler and line it up with the center of the cue ball and draw it to the object ball. Then you would draw a line from the center of the obj ball to the center of the pocket with the ruler. The only way to do this is by using the ruler, otherwise the line is all curvy.

Well my point here is there is only one way to hit the cue ball "ruler straight." That is by hitting it on the center vertical axis. All off center hits to the left and right of center on the cue ball curve the ball! For beginners this curving of the ball is both unknown and unaccounted for while they play and when they aim. They are adding variables in the shot that they could leave out by hitting the center axis. Most players should hit 90+% of their shots with a center axis hit, aka hitting their shots ruler straight. The better you are at pool the more you can deviate from the center axis of the cue ball, because you understand everything at a much higher level than the people who are worse than you. You know how much it curves, you know what the spin will do to the cue balls path, etc.

To add another sports example here, if you had to throw a strike in baseball to save your life (strike you live, ball you die) would you throw a fast ball or a slider? The answer is obv. The fast ball is the center ball hit and the slider is the off center hit. I think I have proved my point here.

If you understand throw and that it works at its maximum while the cue ball is skidding (which usually is the first few inches after you hit the cue ball, but can be shorter or much longer depending on all variables) you can then and only then use outside english to minimize throw and maximize object ball accuracy on just those shots where throw would have been imparted had you not done that. All the other shots should be hit on the center axis with either draw or top depending on where you want the cue ball to go because throw is not involved in most of the pool shots you will shoot. I can get anywhere on a pool table with just top and bottom 90% of the time. This obv requires good patterns and a good stroke.

The fundamentals in pool are so important. Can you follow-through straight? Can you stay perfectly balances and relaxed while aiming your shot? Do you breath well while down over a shot? Is your brain strong enough to stay focused even through adversity and elation, both of which you will experience often while playing the most important games of your life? Can you think clearly while your heart rate is the highest it has ever been while trying to make a pool shot? These are just a few questions that masters of the game have answered throughout their careers and amateurs have never thought about, the more you understand about the game the easier it becomes.

The overall complexity in pool is so vast that one person can not learn everything. A master can not always apply what they learned correctly. You can only try to learn everything and that is why we all love this game, because the best players sometimes miss shots and the worst players sometimes make them.

Did this help anyone?