🎱 How Confident Players Think

Hey there, and welcome to this week’s edition of Stroke of Confidence. In this issue, we’re digging into something small that can make a big difference: your wrist. A tight wrist kills cue ball action. A loose one brings your stroke to life. Let’s take a closer look at how to loosen up and get the cue ball moving like it should.

This week’s topics:

• Importance of a loose wrist

• Act confident to feel confident

• Best kick shot highlights

Let’s dive in:

Get loose, get action

Most players know what it feels like when the cue ball just doesn’t react the way you expected. You go for draw, and it barely moves. You try to spin around the table, and the cue ball dies halfway there.

One of the biggest reasons for this is a tight wrist. You might have good mechanics everywhere else, but if your wrist locks up during the stroke, you’re choking off the cue’s ability to deliver clean, consistent spin. On the flip side, when your wrist stays relaxed and natural, the cue glides through the ball and gives you much better action. This one change can add draw, sharpen spin, and improve touch — all without needing more power.

Here are ten things you can do to develop a looser wrist and start getting better cue ball action:

• Check your grip pressure — If your grip is too tight, your wrist can’t move freely. Try holding the cue like you would hold a bird — firm enough so it doesn’t fly away, but gentle enough not to crush it.

• Use your fingers, not your palm — Let the cue rest in your fingers instead of jamming it deep into your palm. This small shift gives your wrist more range and makes the stroke more responsive.

• Let the wrist move naturally through the shot — You don’t need to force the wrist to flick or snap. Just let it follow through as your arm extends. When your wrist isn’t fighting the stroke, it adds speed and spin with less effort.

• Don’t try to muscle the shot — A lot of players try to force spin by swinging their arm harder, but that usually backfires. When your wrist is locked and your arm is doing all the work, the stroke gets stiff and the cue ball doesn’t react. A smooth, relaxed stroke with a free-moving wrist will give you more action than a tense, powerful one ever will.

• Watch your follow-through — If your cue stops short or wobbles off line, your wrist might be freezing up on contact. Aim for a long, steady follow-through with your wrist staying soft the whole way.

• Practice with soft draw shots — Set up a straight-in shot and use minimal power to draw the cue ball back. Focus on staying relaxed through the stroke. You’ll quickly feel the difference between a tight wrist and a smooth one.

• Use slow-motion video — Record a few strokes from the side and from behind. You’ll see right away if your wrist is rigid or if it’s working with your arm.

Developing a smooth, loose wrist won’t happen overnight, especially if you’ve been playing tense for years. But once you feel what it’s like to stroke the ball freely and see the cue ball react with life, it becomes something you’ll never want to lose. You’ll get more movement with less effort, and more precision without chasing power. Check out the video below from Ron The Pool Student for more tips on keeping a loose wrist.

Best overall training tool: ICA Training System

The ICA Training System is like having a coach, drill book, and practice partner all rolled into one. It uses a ceiling or wall-mounted projector to beam drills directly onto your pool table. Set up is fast, feedback is clear, and every drill feels like a game. Whether you're playing solo at home or trying to teach someone else, this system makes high-quality practice easy, repeatable, and way more fun.

Why I like it:

• Instant Drill Layouts – No guessing where you should put the ball. No little white hole punch stickers. No wasted time. Drills appear on your table in seconds so you can spend more time shooting and less time setting up.

• Loaded with Content – Comes with hundreds of preloaded drills, including aiming, cue ball control, and pattern play. You can also build your own custom drills and save them to your system.

• Visual Guidance and Feedback – Each drill shows you where to hit on the cue ball, how hard to hit, and the path each ball should take. It takes the guesswork out of speed control and tip position so you can improve your cue ball control quicker than ever.

• Fully Adjustable – Every drill can be scaled and rotated to fit your table size, layout, or practice focus.

• User-Friendly – Simple interface that can be controlled through your phone. They also have guides and video tutorials to walk you through everything.

Downsides:

• Setup Required – You’ll need a compatible projector and be able to mount it. Calibration can be a bit technical, but you only need to do it once and they are available to help with any questions you have.

If you’re ready to level up your practice routine, this system delivers. Not to mention…readers of Stroke of Confidence get a special deal: Use the code StrokeICA at checkout to save $50 off the ICA Training System without the projector.

This is perfect if you already own a projector or want to buy your own separately. It’s a great way to jump in at a lower price point and still get all the benefits.

Here is the recommended projector to use with the ICA Training System.

📽️ ICA Training System

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Act confident to feel confident

Every player has days where the confidence just isn’t there. But here’s the thing. You don’t need to feel confident to act confident. That’s one of the most important mindset lessons in The Champion’s Mind. Feelings and emotions can be unreliable. But your behavior and how you choose to carry yourself is always in your control. More often than not, if you lead with action, the mindset starts to follow.

Here are some things you can do to carry yourself with confidence, even when you don’t feel it yet:

• Walk with purpose – The way you move around the table affects how you think and feel. When you walk with purpose, you’re telling your brain that you’re here to compete, not just participate. That kind of body language steadies your mind and reminds you that you belong in the match.

• Use your full pre-shot routine – Your routine is your anchor. It’s what keeps you stable when the pressure hits. Skipping steps might save a few seconds, but it costs you focus. Sticking to your full process, every single time, trains your body and mind to respond the same way in any situation.

• Breathe evenly under pressure – Your breathing sets the tone for your whole body. When you take slow, full breaths, you keep your muscles loose and your mind clear. Shallow breathing leads to tension, and tension ruins touch.

• Choose your shot and commit – Indecision is where confidence goes to die. Once you’ve chosen a shot, trust it. Don’t stand over the cue changing your mind. Even if it doesn’t work out perfectly, a committed stroke always produces better results than a hesitant one.

• Stay down on the shot – Confidence shows in your follow-through. When you stay down and let the stroke finish naturally, you’re trusting your process. Jumping up early to see if the ball went in is a sign that your mind is already a step ahead of your body.

• Focus on process, not score – The scoreboard has its place, but it can’t help you shoot the next ball. What matters is what’s in front of you right now. When you lock in on your process—your aim, your routine, your pace—you stop chasing outcomes. Ironically, that’s usually when the results start improving.

Next time you feel off, don’t chase the feeling. Start with the behavior. Take the next shot like someone who believes in their game, even if you’re not sure you do yet. You just need to make the decision to carry yourself like a steady, capable competitor. And when you start behaving that way, your brain gets the message.

📚️ Our favorite books on the mental game for pool.

Kick back and relax

Kicks are one of the most commonly asked-about topics among our readers, and for good reason. Kicks aren’t just about aim—they require an understanding of angles, speed control, and how spin affects the cue ball off the rails. Many players avoid practicing kicks because they seem unpredictable or too difficult, but the truth is, with the right system and some focused table time, they can become a reliable part of your game.

The highlight reel video below from the Predator Pro Billiard Series showcases just how effective and precise these shots can be when executed well. It’s a great example of what’s possible with a bit of knowledge and practice. If you’ve been hesitant to work on your kicking game, this is the kind of footage that might change your mind. Take a look, pay attention to the speed and contact points, and consider how you might bring some of these techniques into your own sessions.

If you want a training tool that takes the guesswork out of multi-rail kicks, the ICA Training System is hard to beat. It gives you clear reference points for the rails, shows you how to line up shots with accuracy, and makes practicing repeatable. Instead of chasing “feel”, you get a structured way to see the angles and build real consistency.

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That’s it for this week. Try loosening up that wrist and see how much cleaner your stroke feels. As always, thanks for reading and see you in our next issue.

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