Last Sunday night, I noticed one of our group's better players had a routine that differed from mine. On every shot he stood well back to view the position, and then stepped onto the line of aim, so that his rear foot was exactly right each time he got down.
He so impressed me that the following day I copied his routine in a practice game and achieved my highest ever break at 8-Ball. Actually sunk 3 on the break and the cue ended up mid-table.
The importance of foot position cannot be over emphasized. Good pool playing, even the sexy looking stuff, is based in mundane things like precision and consistency, which depend on perfect replication of setup, stance, aim and stroke -- which starts with putting your feet in exactly the same place each time.
It's the first and most foundational thing that must be done and, ironically, probably the part of the stance that gets the least attention.
The good part is it's really easy to be perfectly consistent and it can really help your game if you're not so consistent in your foot placement now.
OK, here's the tip: When in shooting position your cue is aligned directly along the shot line, your head is directly over it, and your rear foot is probably directly under it.
A quick glance down lets you ensure your rear foot is perfectly online and both feet are in proper relation to the shot line (your cue). The picture quickly becomes memorized and better alignment quickly becomes automatic.
If you don't get quite consistently aligned with the shot now, then you might be surprised at the difference a simple thing like this can make.
