Having fun is the key... Dave, sounds like you're on your way. English? Fun to play with, but I do my best to stay away from anything other than stop-follow-draw. It's fun to spin the cue ball, but as you learned, English can cause misses as well...even with a "low deflection" shaft. That's a tip I picked up from my BCA GrandMaster honorary nephew...English is supposed to help your game, not hamper it. He uses it only as needed.
I do think a better tip on that Dufferin should be on your to do list...
On fun...if you're not doing something for a living, it should be fun. I try to follow that self imposed rule...if something I do for fun ever stops being fun, it's time to move on to something else. Only a few gain the skill to make it as a pro in pool. I almost said "lucky few"...but thinking about it, I don't think I'd enjoy that lifestyle much. Travelling all over the globe, living in hotels, eating road food, lack of sleep.
Nope..at my age, I not only like my routine, I need it!
Study the players better than you. Their stance, the bridges they use, the stroke and follow through, shot selection, all of it. You can learn a lot watching better players. Stay down. Whenever I watch two people I don't know play, I can usually predict the winner after each has shot a few by picking the one who follows through and stays in position after the shot. The one who jumps up immediately after shooting is most likely going to lose.
I'll close with a pic. Mika Immomen on his way to winning the recent world 14-1 championship. Perfect stance...one feather in my honorary nephew's cap was in beating Mika at the Reno bar table championships.
