A reader suggested to me for an article to write possibly about different stances for women vs men, and how to take height and anatomical differences into account. The truth is, there is not an exact stance with which to approach pool, no matter your sex or height. What is important is the effectiveness of the stance for promoting the most accurate shot possible.
There are five main factors that are important when determining the stance you fall into. These are the same for every player of every height and either sex. They are as follows
- That the cue remains as close to level as possible with the table
- That your legs provide a stable base where if someone were to attempt to push you over or bump you, they could not budge you.
- That the back arm forms as close as possible to a 90 degree hinge so that it may provide as free a motion as possible during the swing independent of the shoulder, tricep, and bicep.
- That you know which eye you are dominant out of, and take your aim from that eye rather than the weaker eye. For example, while I have fairly decent vision, my left eye has more degradation in it from an astigmatism. So, I take my aim from my right eye. If my right eye had degradation in it, I would either learn to play left handed, or alter my stance to aim across my body.
- The body line. This refers to an invisible line that runs from the dominant eye to the chin to the cue to the center of the chest. A standard stance is to have the eye create an aiming line, with the chin resting as close as possible to the shaft of the cue, which lays on a parallel line to the center of the chest. In this way, the body is aligned in a single direction.
The reason for having the chin as close as possible to the cue is to prevent introducing multiple angles to take into account when shoot (see post beginning and end of the game). In order to get as close as possible to the cue, it may be necessary for a player to bend their knees (taller than average) or perhaps stand a little straighter (shorter than average) But the body line is the key, and feeling comfortable in your stance. Those are the keys to having the most effective shot possible, and finding out which eye you see best out of.