Stance

• general advice
• low stance
• snooker stance

for more information, see Sections 2.04, 7.05, and 7.09 in The Illustrated Principles of Pool and Billiards

general advice

What are the recommended "best practices" for the stance?

Generally recommended "best practices" for the stance can be found here:

fundamentals "best practices" check-sheet

The stance can be a very individual thing. You need to do what works best for you. The important aspects are stability, good and consistent alignment, stroke clearance, and comfort. The ideal feet placement, body position, knee bend, head height, and other stance mechanics issues can vary a lot from one person to the next based on the person's height, flexibility, body shape and anatomy, comfort level, and any physical issues. As with most stance, grip, and bridge related issues, individual comfort is a primary consideration. The main purpose for the stance is to create a consistent and comfortable body position and visual alignment that allows accurate aim and a consistent and repeatable stroke. If your stance does this, then it is a good stance.

A good pre-shot routine can also be an important consideration involving stance and visual alignment.

For a good demonstration of general stance recommendations, see (starting at 2:05):

NV B.59 - Mike Pages's "Learn to Play Pool in Ten Minutes"

from av84fun:

There is no such thing as an "ideal stance" for everyone. There is what I would call a "classic" stance...that which is recommended in most texts dealing with the subject which are, in turn, based on the stances used by a large number of top players.

That "classic stance" might be described as:

1. Placing the back foot on the extended line on which the CB will be directed toward the OB.

2. Place the front foot at about a 45 degree angle to that line.

3. Bend forward with a RELATIVELY straight back leg onto a bent forward leg.

4. Place the cue directly under the chin.

5. In the SET position, with the tip very close to the OB, the forearm should be at a right angle to the CUE.

The variations from "classic" are nearly endless but frequently would include.

1. Instead of a nearly straight rear leg, both legs are bent in a partial "squat" type of stance...watch Strickland who does this.

2. The Brits tend to adopt more of a snooker stance where the forward let is placed at a wider than 45 degree angle which, in turn, "squares up" the chest toward a more perpendicular orientation to the line toward the OB.

3. The chin is moved to various positions to the outside (away from the body) of centered under the chin.

Finally, various chin heights (above the cue) are used. Back in the day, the chin was help several inches above the cue but today, many pros have moved the chin much lower...Allison's cue rubs back and forth ON her chin.

from av84fun:

1. Pointing to the technique that any particular championship player utilizes for ANYTHING...including the stance is a prescription for disaster.

   Trying to emulate Bustamante's "loopy" stroke and his technique of practice stroking with the cue tip literally dragging on the cloth...and then striking the CB with...say...high left would ruin most player's games.

   Keith McCready's side arm stroke is another example among many.

   In attempting to learn from watching top pros, the student should focus on how MOST players play not any ONE player.

2. Regarding stance while body size, type and flexibility are certainly major issues, there are a few important matters that are NEARLY universal.
   1. The back foot should be positioned on a line extended from the aim line out to where the player is standing. Most top players "walk into the shot" being CERTAIN to have their back foot "step on the line."
   2. The forearm and upper arm (grip arm) should form a 90 degree angle with the forearm perpendicular TO THE CUE....NOT TO THE FLOOR.
   3. The "traditional" front leg position is at about a 45 degree angle from the aim line but the snooker converts open that angle up somewhat which, among other things, makes the shoulders more square to the shot. Either method is fine and is a matter of personal choice based on extensive experimentation. HOWEVER, avoid at all costs placing your front leg much narrower to the shot line...i.e. placing the front leg much less than 45 degrees to the line. Doing so is a VERY unbalanced position that risks overall body movement during the stroke...especially harder strokes.

... whatever you do...do it CONSISTENTLY.

from Fran Crimi:

If you are tall and are having trouble getting comfortable at the table, you can try spreading your legs farther apart. This will help alleviate having to bend so much at the waist, which can cause fatigue, and possibly back pain over time.

Yes, if the stance is right, it will feel comfortable, but in some cases, such as when you're making a stance adjustment, the comfort feeling isn't there immediately. It may take a little while to get used to something new. The thing you should never be feeling is pain.

Many people don't realize how fatiguing a bad stance can be. When you start to force your body into positions that work against it's natural anatomy, you are putting a constant strain on your body. Imagine yourself turned sideways towards your cue stick, and then having to twist your neck so you can look over your shoulder to set up for your shot, and then to hold that position while you try to swing your arm as you stroke. Now imagine being in that twisted position for hours and hours. That's what many players do to themselves --- and they wonder why they can't stay down on their shots or why they lose their focus after playing awhile.

low stance

Why do so many pro pool players, and virtual all pro snooker players, have such a low stance, with the chin very close to or touching the cue?

A low stance, with the chin just over the cue, offers many advantages:

• It makes it easier to be consistent with your visual alignment (for more info, see vision center). With the chin so close to the cue, it is easier to see (or even feel) whether or not you are off to one side or the other.
• Being closer to the cue allows you to sight more along the cue, similar to a marksman looking down the barrel of a gun. This can help you better visualize the line of the shot. Note that with a low stance, it helps to use an open bridge or longer bridge length to allow you to see more of the cue (for more info, see bridge length).
• There is less eye movement between the CB and the OB while checking the tip position and aiming line in the set position.

snooker stance

What are the recommended "best practices" for a snooker stance?

from sfleinen:

The correct snooker stance implements the following key points:

1. Foot on same side of body as grip hand (i.e. the "planted foot") is planted onto, and pointing into, the shot line.
2. When weight is applied to the planted foot, the hip on that same side of the body will "seat" or shift inwards slightly. This is the natural effect of placing all of one's weight on one leg. (Try it -- go in front of a mirror and shift your weight so you're standing on one leg, with the other leg off the ground. Notice how your hip no longer "juts out" as it does normally when you're standing on two legs, but now seats inwards such that the edge of your hip is even/level with the side of your leg?)
3. The opposite foot is placed approximately a shoulder's distance away, and only slightly forward of the planted foot. By side-stepping a shoulder's distance like this, the combination of the hip seating inwards and the slight shift of the body away from the shot line, gives more than enough clearance for the grip hand to swing freely in pendulum fashion.
4. Once that opposite foot is placed, weight distribution between the two legs is approximately 70/30 or 60/40 in favor of the planted leg.
5. Placing the bridge hand on the shot line, and bending the upper body over onto the table, one finds that the seated hip and the body's already-implemented slight angle (via the placement of the opposite foot, which, remember, is slightly forward of the planted foot) is quite natural and automatically places the chin over the cue. You just bend over like a hinge, and your chin automatically is placed over the cue.