Eric "The Preacher" Yow's Trickshot Madness! - WPA Masse World Champion

How to Masse: Part 1 - Introductory Physics

Many have asked me to explain how to masse the cue ball, as I have learned to do. There are so many great players out there, yet few have mastered the masse. Though I feature here several examples of masses, I have NOT mastered the masse. It is extremely difficult to become consistent at them. The great artistic players in the world, Pelinga and Sayginer to name a few, are about as good as anyone could imagine at masse shots. I long for their abilities. If you do as well, then you can start learning the masse with a simple masse and work up from there. I'll help with step one.
When shooting a masse shot, there is a lot to think about. You must have a good cue, a good tip, good chalk, a strong stance, a solid bridge, a good grip, and a smooth stroke. Moreover, it helps to have clean balls and fast felt. You must also consider where you are attempting to learn the masse – most pool rooms ban masse shots specifically because those who do not know how to execute them properly tend to harm the equipment. When practicing, you can put a small square of felt between the cue ball and the table to reduce the burning/ripping of the felt. Masse Physics 101: Eliminate from your mind anything but the stick, cue ball, and the table. In a masse shot, the cue ball is struck so that it moves on all three axis. That is, it is propelled forward, spins against the felt, and often jumps off of the table slightly. Consider the basic masse (shot 1) – the cue ball needs to travel half the width of the table to get past the obstructing ball, before curving left to pocket the object ball. For the masse, the variables to consider are the elevation of the cue, the power behind the hit, and the aim point on the cue ball. (I'm assuming you have a proficient bridge, stroke, and grip.) Physics tells us that to have the cue ball in shot one make it around the obstructing ball, it must be struck hard enough to get past it before the spin takes effect. This is a factor of both elevation and power. Shot one doesn’t need as much elevation or power as shot two, a much more advanced masse. Shot two requires a lot of elevation because more spin is needed to reach the object ball once the cue ball gets past the wall of balls. Since more elevation is needed, more power is needed to propel the cue ball far enough. Focus on shot one for now. When aiming the masse, begin by aiming to propel the cue ball past the obstructing ball, as if you were shooting it to the first diamond on the opposite long rail. Now, elevate the cue to 45 degrees (this is more than necessary, but helpful to learn the principles of the shot). On the clock face, aim to hit 10:00, at 2 tips from center. Shoot this shot repeatedly, varying only the power of the hit. What I want you to notice is that the harder you hit, the further the cue ball travels before “biting”. For this shot, as described, it actually requires a fairly soft hit, all things considered. Play around with shot one, shooting less elevation now, varying both aim point and power. You’ll find that there are numerous ways to make the shot. The key to understanding the masse thus far is to have the cue ball travel to a desired point (past the obstruction) before changing directions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to Masse: Part 2 - Introduction Continues

To understand what makes a masse work, consider the various forces involved: the direction of your shaft before/after elevation, degree of elevation, power of the hit, aim point, and the actual hit point. If, in shot one, you aim a level cue through the cue ball at the first diamond, as diagrammed, then elevate anywhere short of 90 degrees, you are still shooting in the direction of the first diamond. Then all of the other factors come into play. Tip 1: remember when you elevate, you are still aiming the initial path of the cue ball. In shot two, aim at pocket B, then elevate. The elevation can be used to regulate the power of the hit, the initial path of the cue ball, as well as the speed of the subsequent path of the cue ball. For shot one, I suggested 45 degrees. Shot two requires much more. Tip 2: generally, the more elevation, the more spin the cue ball retains after the initial change in direction. I elevate to about 80 degrees. This allows me to effect enough spin on the ball so that when the forward movement is overtaken by the spin, there is more than enough to take it to the target ball. The power of the hit affects most obviously the length of the initial flight line. In shot two, if you hit too hard, the cue ball will change directions too late; too soft, the cue ball changes direction too early. I wish I could type “medium-hard” and that suffice, but it won’t. Find the power that works for you and your table with practice. Tip 3: shoot medium-hard . Seriously, just practice, but practice consistently. The hardest part is the aim point. Rick Malm, in his “Artistic Pool Manual”, suggest drawing an imaginary line from the tip of the cue through the ball to the felt (X), then connect that point with the point on the felt where the cue ball sits (Y). This he calls the “mini-final flight line” (Z) because it is roughly parallel to the final flight line. However, the friction of the felt is going to cause the cue ball to slow and alter the spin slightly, so this is simply an educated guess. Tip 4: if you want a 90 degree right hand turn, your aim point should create a “mini-final flight line” perpendicular to the aim line of the shaft, notwithstanding other variables. On shot two, I shoot just about 3:30 at 1.5 tips out. It takes practice before your aim point becomes your actual hit point consistently, so slowly increase your power as you work on these until you are hitting where you are aiming. The “laws of physics” are laws. If it doesn’t work, it’s you. But don’t get discouraged. Practice consistently by changing only one variable at a time (power, aim, etc.). Next time we’ll bring it all together and I’ll teach you some fantastic masse shots!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to Masse: Part 3 - The Hustler Masse

I wrote previously of the basics and the mechanics of a masse. Review what you’ve already learned before moving forward. (Those articles are kept on www.professorqball.com) Now, I want to teach you a specific, difficult masse shot – “The ‘Hustler’ Masse”. This shot is called “The ‘Hustler’ Masse” because it was shot in the movie “The Hustler”. In the movie, you’re made to think that either Fats or Fast Eddie shot it, but it was actually the great Willie Mosconi, who served as the film’s technical advisor. Naturally, this has become quite a famous masse shot. Set the shot up as diagrammed and stand at the foot of the table. You can float your bridge over the table but it helps me to place my leg on the table and brace my bridge on it for stability and precision. With a full cue I use the overhand grip, but with my Dieckman Masse Cue I use the dart grip. With either, I use a fairly light grip, as you want the cue to do the work. In setting yourself up for the shot, get your desired aim point in mind. For me it is about the second diamond or so, as diagrammed. Before you elevate, get down and point your cue through the cue ball to that point. Now, slowly elevate to what you think is about 80 degrees. This is just short of vertical, which allows the cue ball to retain a lot of spin without too much forward trajectory. At 80 degrees, still effectively aiming the cue ball towards the aim point, at any speed this should pocket the first ball and send the cue ball up the table as diagrammed. Now, with this aim point, your hit point on the cue ball will be about 1.5 tips from center at 6:30, as seen on the enlarged cue ball in the diagram. Remember to keep your bridge steady as a rock and focus on hitting where you are aiming. Strike down at that exact point with a medium-hard stroke. The cue ball should make the first ball, shoot up table a few diamonds, then rapidly spin back to pocket the second object ball. A clean cue ball on new cloth can go far before spinning back, whereas with dirty balls and old cloth make it more difficult. Play around with your elevation, varying one or two degrees at a time. Do the same with your power and aim point, making very slight changes until you find what works for you. With masse shots, probably more than any other artistic shots, it is important to limit the variables you change between attempts. Change one variable at a time until you get closer and closer, thus making the most of every shot. With this, in no time you’ll be performing one of the same masse shots that we shoot in professional artistic pool competitions – “The ‘Hustler’ Masse”!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to Masse: Part 4 - The Rocket Masse

So, after reading the last three articles on “how to masse”, by now you should have an understanding of the physics of the masse. You can now approach the table with an elevated cue with confidence knowing exactly what is going to happen when you stroke the cue ball medium-hard, using 85 degrees of elevation, hitting 1.5 tips out from center at 5:30. Right? If so, you’ve been practicing a LOT. Consistency in masse is extremely difficult. As they say, the masse is why they invented the jump cue. But, numerous masse shots can be performed with consistency, ones that will impress skillful players, and that even show up in traditional gameplay. One such shot is called “The Rocket”.

Ideally, you will masse stroke the cue ball, make the one ball, and the cue ball will be spinning so rapidly that it shoots like a rocket towards the far end of the table to pocket another ball. There are many variations to this shot but I want you to shoot the simplest version first. This is the lower shot in the diagram.

Standing at the long rail, place the one ball near the corner pocket a quarter inch off of the rail. Place the cue ball a half-inch away from the one ball and a hair closer to the rail. The two ball is at the far end of the table, hanging. Elevate your cue to nearly vertical so that when you stroke the cue ball it will go forward to pocket the one ball. With this elevation, on the clock face (with 12:00 pointing towards the one and 6:00 toward the two) stroke medium at 6:15, 1.25 tips out from center. Remember to use a stable bridge and a loose grip. Shoot this shot a few times until you begin the send the cue ball down table. To accelerate the cue ball faster, shoot further out from center and add a little more power.

A more difficult challenge is to shoot the same shot but have the cue ball hit the long rail three times or more on its way down table (upper diagram). Here, set the shot up again but shoot closer to 6:30 or 7:00. The inside spin will take it into the long rail a number of times on its way down to pocket the two.

As I’ve said all along, however. Remember to practice consistently. When you’re working on these shots, change only one variable at a time until you get closer and closer. Don’t “waste” shots. Rick Malm once encouraged me to “learn from every shot”. If you practice with this in mind, it won’t be long before you can walk to a table and know precisely what will happen if you shoot the cue ball medium-hard, using 85 degrees of elevation, hitting 1.5 tips out from center at 5:30.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to Masse: Part 5 - The Mingaud Masse

If you’ve been working on your masse while following these articles, you’ve hopefully come a long way.  So, I want to teach you a difficult masse shot that we shoot in the pro Artistic Pool competitions – The Mingaud Masse.  This shot is named after Captain Mingaud, who is the Frenchman credited with the invention of the first cue tip as well as being the originator of the masse, more than 200 years ago.  Mingaud would raise the cue to almost vertical, as one would hold a mace (the weapon of choice in his day), and strike down on the cue ball to impart significant amounts of spin on the ball, causing it to change directions otherwise unexpectedly.  (Incidentally, our word “masse” comes from the French word for “mace”.)  In his day, some accused Mingaud of possessing the power of the devil.

One of the shots credited to Mingaud is the fifth masse shot in the current professional Artistic Pool shot program.  In it, the cue ball travels almost the entire width of the table, then makes a hard right and spins all the way down table to pocket the object ball in the corner.  In competition, we place a cube of chalk as diagrammed and are restricted by the bold lines on the table, so I’ll explain the shot from this starting point.

To make the shot, I generally use my Dieckman Masse Cue (“Magic Wand”) which is shorter and heavier than a normal cue.  However, the shot is also possible with a full cue.  With a masse cue, I use the dart grip (finger and thumb) and bridge on my leg (propped on the table) with a closed bridge.  Your power will vary depending on the weight of the cue and the speed of the cloth, but generally it doesn’t require a very hard hit with my masse cue.  Effectively aim the cue ball from its position at the second diamond.  At 80 degrees elevation, aim to hit at 3:30 on the clock face.  The deflection will squirt the cue ball to the left some as it shoots forward, the little bit of backspin will slow its forward progress, and the right hand English will send it to the right, hopefully with enough spin to get it to the ball.  Sounds easy, right?  Well, it’s not.

For those who don’t have a Dieckman Masse Cue, get one.  But until then, you will shoot the shot the same way, though your grip hand will be higher on the cue and you will use an overhand grip (what you normally use).  Because your cue is lighter, you’ll need more power, but don’t ruin your cue or table just whacking the ball around.  Practice consistently, remember.  Focus on hitting exactly where you’re aiming.  Get the action you want, then work on getting the cue ball to travel farther before making the right hander.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to Masse: Part 6 - The Kick Masse

If you’ve been following these writings on masse instruction, I surely hope you’ve been practicing.  As you may have guessed, I practice the masse a lot.  Incidentally, practice has proven to pay off, as I am now a WPA Masse World Champion!  Hallelujah!  And so, I continue to encourage you to strive for greatness in the game and in life.  As we press on towards strengthening our masse abilities, let us consider another shot performed in professional Artistic Pool competitions:  The Kick Masse.

As you can see in the diagram, there are numerous ways this shot can come up, and there are far more ways in which you can execute it.  If you are trapped behind a two ball wall, you can simply find your geometric kick point to get the ball past the wall after one rail.  Elevate your cue to about 40 degrees and aim 1.5 tips of Left and Draw.  If you stroke properly, it should follow the lined path.

The version we shoot in competition is more difficult, with a 6 ball wall.  The cue ball is limited to one ball’s width away from the short rail and first ball of the wall.  With my Dieckman Masse Cue, I use a dart grip (thumb and two fingers), aim with 1.5 tips at 5:30 at 1.2 diamonds up the long rail, with 80 degrees elevation.  I shoot just hard enough to get the cue ball around the wall and let the spin take it the necessary direction.  With a full cue, you might shoot with an overhand grip, following the same directions.  At the most recent WPA World Artistic Pool Championship, I watched many of the players shoot this very shot, in a number of different ways.  Some used a masse cue, while others used a full cue.  Some used the dart grip, while others used the overhand grip.  I was most impressed to see a masse stroke more prevalent in Mexico, South America, and Europe, coming by way of Byron Ledezma, from Ecuador.  He shot his masse shots holding a full cue between his first and second knuckles, using a flick of the wrist to effect the requisite spin on the ball.  Needless to say, there are numerous ways to shoot this shot; I suggest you try them all.  When you get the stroke down, you can begin shooting variations of it.  Bruce “The Big Guy” Barthelette and I like placing a rack around the cue ball instead of building the wall.  We jump the cue ball out of the rack before it kicks back to make the ball.  Most impressively, I have seen my colleague and good friend, Tim “The Dragon” Chin, amazingly shoot this shot with a wall of 15 balls!  Incredible!  That takes practice!

As you practice these masse shots, remember our first lesson:  practice, but practice consistently.  Learn from every shot, and pretty soon you too will be a Masse World Champion!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to Masse: Part 7 - To Jump or Masse

Ok, so now you’ve mastered the masse, that final frontier that had been evading you for so long, and now you’re a perfectly rounded pool player with the complete skill set required to excel in the game.  (Yeah, right.  Just bear with me.)  You’ve even followed the last several articles to learn fancy masse shots to impress your friends.  But, you’re not an Artistic Pool player, or, “one of those trick shot guys,” as I hear from time to time.  So, you’re more particularly interested in honing in your abilities relevant to typical game play.  Well, in that full skill set that you have acquired over the years you have also learned to jump proficiently.  (I’ll assume.)  A question arises, and has been asked on many occasions, “which shot do I take?” 

Nine ball strategy is oversimplified by the statement, “find the lowest numbered ball and shoot it.”  There are always a number of ways do take such a shot.  Eight ball strategy is harder to simplify.  I’ve seen players, arguably the best in the world, come to an open table and gaze into the spread of balls, as if they were pondering the midnight sky, trying to develop a strategy.  I could consider other games as analytically, but you see my point, there are always a number of shots to choose from.  How many times have we taken a shot and exclaimed, “I should have shot the other one!”?

I pose this question for your consideration – when do you jump versus masse?  How do you choose?  I cannot tell you the ‘right’ answer because rarely are two shots alike.  I can, however, give you some things to think about as you perfect your game, at least from a strategy perspective.

One must account for these facts:  1. the closer you get to an object ball, the harder it is to masse around it with precision.  2.  The closer you get to an object ball, the harder it is to jump over it legally.  3.  When more elevation is required, there is more room for error, both in masse and jump shots.  4.  When the ball must travel a long way after a masse around an obstacle, the final path of the cue ball is very difficult to predict with certainty.  5.  When the object ball is well beyond the obstacle ball, one tends to jump too hard and lose control of the cue ball.  6. Your reach, etc. - Common sense and a rounded knowledge of the game will tell you the rest

My advice is this – practice both.  Most who teach the game will say that drills are the best preparation for competitive play.  By setting up shots comparable to those diagrammed, you can shoot both the jump shot and the light masse (little elevation) to see what works best for you in particular situations.  Vary the distances, the angles, how big the obstruction is, and the desired position after making the shot.  Once again I must say, practice, but practice consistently.  In any case, I’m always here to help.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to Masse: Part 8 - The Value of Instruction

It was May 16, 2007 and just a few hours before I was set to make my ESPN debut performance against Semih “The Turkish Prince” Sayginer in a show entitled “3 Cushion Grandmaster,” where he and I would be executing some of the most thrilling and awe-inspiring stroke shots on the billiard table.  It was that very morning that I spent an hour or so with Scott Lee (www.poolknowledge.com) and other friends at Cue Tech Pool School.  I offered my services to provide further insight to these established, professional instructors in regards to the most effective manner in which to teach the elusive and ostensibly unmasterable masse.  As I stood in this room, surrounded by men who have been playing the game longer than I have been alive (and then some), I was honored to share with them my grasp on this very subject.  And so, I came to a number of conclusions that I would like to share with you.  For those of you who have been following along in this series, cue in hand, lay them down and ponder with me.

I began this series with the admonition to learn the masse slowly and consistently in order to progress, to read and comprehend the physics so as to discern for oneself what makes a ball do what it does.  I gave a thorough explanation, conceptualizing the masse, albeit on paper.  I then asked you to take what you’ve learned to the table and apply it.  Such is my mantra:  learn the physics, then the technique – at any level of progression in the game.

However, surrounded by masterful instructors with far more experience than I possess, the proverbial light bulb comes on and reminds me that people, who are inherently and intrinsically different, learn better through different methods of instruction.  (Hence, Scott Lee and others teach with instruction which is verbal, visual, hands-on, and reflective, by means of video review.)  There is only so much that I can teach by virtue of the printed word.  To simplify, one must be able to apply the principles to acquire the technique.  However, far too often does a beginner learn the technique improperly, for lack of a teacher’s correction.

In my case, my instruction came by virtue of email correspondence with Rick Malm, of Artistic Cue Sports Press, and application directly to my own table.  After thousands of masses, I have a handle on it.  But, I still learn something new every time I am in the presence of a master – Miguel Torres and Semih Sayginer,  for instance, each of whom taught me further, subtle nuances, recently.

And so, I offer this for your consideration:  If you take learning the masse seriously, whether for practical or artistic use, entertain the idea of professional instruction.  There are a handful of top artistic pros willing to offer their services around the country and the experience would be invaluable; trust me.  And with the use of video, the lessons far outlast the few hours with the masters, as you can learn reflectively as you progress.  I am scheduling classes in the Memphis area and can be contacted at - yow@ericyow.com.  If you cannot come to me, let me know and I’ll find someone who can come to you.  In the meantime, don’t miss “3 Cushion Grandmaster” on ESPN – coming soon! (August 7, 2007, 7:00pm EST - Check your local listings!)