I am finally learning to manage the lane front to back, not side to side as much and it really has helped me understand how to have a soft hand and proper grip pressure
I sometimes try to use something aggressive in practice and at least some frames to try and create a friction spot, it all depends on pattern and volume

I'm not sure what "front to back" instead of side to side means.  Do you have any info or articles on how you do this?

I'm not sure what "front to back" instead of side to side means.  Do you have any info or articles on how you do this?

Managing the balls energy and how it slows down when it reads the pattern.  You want the ball to slow down appropriately and have the right amount of energy at the break-point.  To me, if the ball floats thru the heads I know it's going to make a quicker move off the spot (this is key later in the block on flat patterns) and if the ball is slowing quicker I know the ball won't be as jerky and give me a smoother motion (this is KEY on flat patterns when they're fresh) that I'm looking for.

On a THS, you can get away with left-to-right reading often (this is a horrible habit though). 

EDIT:  Sorry for the off-topic response OP, but I think todvan asked a good question very few understand. 

On sport patterns, like Scroggy mentioned, you definitely want to start as deep as you're going to play and move outside.  Moving inside, even on a house shot is sometimes a crap shoot at best.  The move off the friction is just too strong, so wet/dry is something you want to avoid at all costs.  Obviously wet/dry is a problem on the right side too, but it's easier to manage and not as sharp. 

Quote from: todvan on August 26, 2015, 03:19:59 PM

Good points.  You touched on this, but I am wondering about transition on the left side and if you think it is better to ball down and use the same line vs move inside?

Thanks, but this confuses me. If my line is drying out, don't I want to keep the dry spot outside of my line (move inside of it) to allow recovery from shots missed outside?  Learning how to adjust is the hardest part for me......

You do if you're a righty.  If transition forces you inside, it's already done that to righties a long time ago, meaning you're both going to be on top of each others heads.  Head burn is bad enough for righties, but it's game over for lefties.  Use fresh head oil, ball down and use the mid friction. 

Quote from: ITZPS on August 26, 2015, 07:17:26 PM

On sport patterns, like Scroggy mentioned, you definitely want to start as deep as you're going to play and move outside.  Moving inside, even on a house shot is sometimes a crap shoot at best.  The move off the friction is just too strong, so wet/dry is something you want to avoid at all costs.  Obviously wet/dry is a problem on the right side too, but it's easier to manage and not as sharp. 

Quote from: todvan on August 26, 2015, 03:19:59 PM

Good points.  You touched on this, but I am wondering about transition on the left side and if you think it is better to ball down and use the same line vs move inside?

Thanks, but this confuses me. If my line is drying out, don't I want to keep the dry spot outside of my line (move inside of it) to allow recovery from shots missed outside?  Learning how to adjust is the hardest part for me......