As important as your bridge, grip and stance are, your game will ultimately be determined by the quality of your stroke. A winning pool stroke should be straight, smooth, fluid and consistent. (Much like golf, pool is not a game of muscle. A 16-year-old girl with a picture-perfect swing, can drive a golf ball further and more accurately, than a 200-pound he-man with a crappy swing.)


In many ways, pool is the most exacting game of all. A winning game is a product of touch, precision, consistency, composure and, above all, form and technique. The proper grip, bridge and stance are indeed important ... but only as they merge into a cohesive whole, to achieve the ultimate goal. In the final analysis, stroke controls all. Your game will rise or fall on how the pieces come together, to produce a fluid, surefire stroke.


Effective stroking is surprisingly simple. Granted, certain shots make for awkward bridges or stances, but the majority of shots require very simple strokes. In either case, basic principles should always apply. Stroking the cue ball should always be natural and unforced. The action of the wrist, elbow and shoulder should be free and easy. Stance, of course, should be balanced. Your eyes should be directly over the line of the cue and cue ball. The cue should swing back and forth like a pendulum. The natural motion of your arm swinging forward will produce more than enough force to propel the ball.


When stroking, don't keep the cue stick too close, or too far from your body. Your back arm should remain at a distance, were it can dangle straight down without touching. On your backswing, take your cue back as far as you can, without pulling the cue tip completely out of the bridge. The proper grip will allow you to keep the cue straight on your backswing. Never grip too tightly, or try to "muscle" the ball. Let the cue stick do all the work for you.


Always allow yourself a few practice strokes before hitting the ball. It's a good practice to take the same number of practice strokes on every shot. Repetition (even on something seemingly as trivial as practice strokes) will only help in attaining consistency. Three or four practice strokes are generally enough. These warm-up strokes will help "groove" you not only for the shot, but for a smooth and controlled follow-through.


Your backswing is merely the initial movement of the pendulum, the natural swinging back of the forearm. The cue motion will be partly in the wrist and partly in the elbow. This is not to say, however, that you should exert force with either. Your arm and wrist should remain relaxed throughout the entire stroke. The pendulum action and the weight of the cue will exert all the force you need.


The pendulum action makes shotmaking virtually automatic. Once you've mastered the closed bridge and the pendulum stroke, you should be able, after your practice strokes, to shut your eyes and execute the shot!


Of course, the pendulum doesn't end upon contact with the cue ball. Without a follow-through, the entire motion gets thrown out of whack, resulting in an absolute loss of control. A pool stroke, much like a golf swing, is as reliant on the follow-through as anything that precedes it. (Imagine the control a golfer would have, if he brought his club to a screeching halt, the second he made contact with the ball.)


Like the backswing, the follow-through should be fluid and smooth. Stroking a cue ball is basically a "throwing" motion. A good throwing motion is a product of a slow backswing and a smooth acceleration through the ball. Just as a golfer swings through the ball, a pool player must stroke through the cue ball. The cue should increase in speed until contact with the cue ball, and then come to a natural stop.


Don't lift your bridge hand from the table until you have finished your follow-through. (The only time you'll lift it fast is when you play a draw shot, to get it out of the way of the returning cue ball.) Keep your head down all the way through your follow-through. Lifting it up before completing your stroke will interrupt the natural motion, destroying accuracy and control. Always stroke straight through the cue ball, even when applying english. There is no prescribed distance for the perfect follow-through. While most pros follow through 10-12 inches, your follow-through should be the natural extension of a fluid, pendulum stroke.