My first video share (100 balls w/12 misses)

CueAndMe

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hey everyone. I just started recording my straight pool practice tonight. I never recorded myself playing straight pool. Rather than the usual way of practicing straight pool, I don't like stopping to re-rack after missing a shot. Instead, I like to throw the missed ball in a pocket, or take a scratch in the kitchen and continue running balls according to plan. So I will be recording 100-ball stretches and posting them on YouTube with the misses included. I'll be keeping track of the racks and misses on the score counter. Tonight, my best effort was 100 balls with 12 misses and a high run of 27. I posted it on YouTube if anyone cares to watch. When I beat that effort I'll post another video.

Feel free to comment here or on YouTube if you see I'm doing something right or wrong. My goal is always to improve and to eventually be able to run 100. As I explained in this thread:http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=461549
my table is pretty tough for straight pool with 4-1/8" pockets and wobbly slate, so I don't know if I'll ever get to 100 on this table, but it's still a goal to better my position play and patterns and reduce the number of missed shots.

Here's the YouTube video:
https://youtu.be/rj2gqfLNKJo

Edit: 11-21-17 added another video of 105 balls with 15 misses, but I think it was better played:
https://youtu.be/s1rQ9LgtzCA
 
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alstl

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
This video contains content from UMG_MK. It is not available in your country.
 

Snooker Theory

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
uJonL0q.jpg
 

CueAndMe

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Sorry about that. I was listening to some good music while practicing. That must be a legal issue with YouTube. I'll fix it today and post back here when it's ready.
 

lfigueroa

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I finally got the problem fixed. I had to mute the audio in order to upload the video to YouTube.

I changed the link in the original post and here it is as well.

https://youtu.be/rj2gqfLNKJo


Just watched the first rack.

I think you have a lot of the pieces but you *really* need to work on your shot selection. Try watching Thorsten Hohmann running 152 on youtube.

Lou Figueroa
 

CueAndMe

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Just watched the first rack.

I think you have a lot of the pieces but you *really* need to work on your shot selection. Try watching Thorsten Hohmann running 152 on youtube.

Lou Figueroa

I hear ya', Lou! I think I have the same priorities in mind as the great players like eliminating problems first, always thinking insurance, and playing for zones that leave more than one option. But my position play and shooting skills may not be up to the task to follow through on a precise Thorstenesque plan.

Example: At 2:51 it looks like I'm trying to bump the 9-ball off of the 8-ball, but I was actually trying to bump the 13.
 
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Poolmanis

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Your game have good start.
If I were you I would try get rid of that wobbling bridge hand.
Bridge hand should be like a stone. Immobile. Just shoot drill or 14.1 but use most of your focus to keep bridge solid. choose bridge height carefully before shot. Everything else should be secondary couple weeks and **POOF** new Solid Bridge!
That should provide better cueball control too... :)

Maybe shooting balls a tad too hard when not really needed.
Patterns need polishing but they are not far from good! :thumbup:
 

Dan White

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
My 2 cents:

Your strength is clearly shot making. The small pockets are not your barrier to 100 balls, IMO. I'd say your biggest problem, even above shot selection, is cue ball control. Not that it is really bad, it's just not up to 100 ball run calibre. Some for instances:

At 4:35 your first key ball. On this shot, you should end up much closer to the break ball, at least to the side pocket distance or closer. You are so far away it made your likelihood of a miss greater. Is that 760 or 860 Simonis? Seems pretty fast. Oh, and are you the guy complaining about the balls not opening up? Seems OK to me. Are you using that goofy wax that goofy guy recommended? :smile: Set this shot up and hit it enough times so you know how to put the cue ball closer to the break ball.

At 20:58 on the 10 ball. Look where your cue ball ends up, right next to the 5 ball. Did you REALLY want it there? If so you are risking getting snookered by the 5. More likely, you didn't pay that much attention to where you wanted the cue ball to go. You just knew you wanted the 3 next. The point is, you have to decide exactly where you want the cue ball and pay attention to executing the shot in order to make that happen. You seem a little casual. Part of learning to play good position is knowing what is required of you. You must be able to bump that 13 you mentioned, although admittedly you had to punch the shot, making it more tricky, but still. On that 10 ball shot, all you needed to do was slow roll it and let the cue ball move ahead 6 inches for an angle that allows you to move the cue ball when shooting the 3.

You look a little lost when you get down to 5 balls, like, "OK what do I do now?". There's an idea you might consider if you don't know it. When you are running the balls and you have the major clusters already open, stop and think about which last 5 balls you want on the table. Pick a sequence that gives you a stop-stop sequence or something similar. Then, just shoot off all the balls that don't belong! When this method works it is like magic because the last 5 are suddenly easy, not hard.

Only watched up to 23 minutes, but I think I got the gist of your play. Nice shooting, a bit loose on the position.
 

CueAndMe

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Your game have good start.
If I were you I would try get rid of that wobbling bridge hand.
Bridge hand should be like a stone. Immobile. Just shoot drill or 14.1 but use most of your focus to keep bridge solid. choose bridge height carefully before shot. Everything else should be secondary couple weeks and **POOF** new Solid Bridge!
That should provide better cueball control too... :)

Maybe shooting balls a tad too hard when not really needed.
Patterns need polishing but they are not far from good! :thumbup:

Thanks, Poolmanis! I've been concerned about my wobbly bridge hand for a while. I'll take your advice and really work on it until it becomes naturally solid.

And that's also good advice to choose bridge height earlier. I've been finding lately that one of the most important things for success for me is to do all of the work standing up behind the shot, then just getting carefully down into position and not doing any thinking from there, just trusting my stroke and setup. Bridge height and stability is all part of that routine, so I know I've been sloppy about it.

And yes, I have been shooting too hard. I think this table has trained me to do that, because it's a bit slow and balls don't open up easily. But, I agree that I'm overdoing it. I'll try to soften things.

By the way, when I first watched this video I was really surprised how long my bridge has gotten on most shots. I don't know how I got there, unless the need to shoot harder gradually made me want to take a longer and longer stroke. Lots to work on.
 

CueAndMe

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
My 2 cents:

Your strength is clearly shot making. The small pockets are not your barrier to 100 balls, IMO. I'd say your biggest problem, even above shot selection, is cue ball control. Not that it is really bad, it's just not up to 100 ball run calibre. Some for instances:

At 4:35 your first key ball. On this shot, you should end up much closer to the break ball, at least to the side pocket distance or closer. You are so far away it made your likelihood of a miss greater. Is that 760 or 860 Simonis? Seems pretty fast. Oh, and are you the guy complaining about the balls not opening up? Seems OK to me. Are you using that goofy wax that goofy guy recommended? :smile: Set this shot up and hit it enough times so you know how to put the cue ball closer to the break ball.

At 20:58 on the 10 ball. Look where your cue ball ends up, right next to the 5 ball. Did you REALLY want it there? If so you are risking getting snookered by the 5. More likely, you didn't pay that much attention to where you wanted the cue ball to go. You just knew you wanted the 3 next. The point is, you have to decide exactly where you want the cue ball and pay attention to executing the shot in order to make that happen. You seem a little casual. Part of learning to play good position is knowing what is required of you. You must be able to bump that 13 you mentioned, although admittedly you had to punch the shot, making it more tricky, but still. On that 10 ball shot, all you needed to do was slow roll it and let the cue ball move ahead 6 inches for an angle that allows you to move the cue ball when shooting the 3.

You look a little lost when you get down to 5 balls, like, "OK what do I do now?". There's an idea you might consider if you don't know it. When you are running the balls and you have the major clusters already open, stop and think about which last 5 balls you want on the table. Pick a sequence that gives you a stop-stop sequence or something similar. Then, just shoot off all the balls that don't belong! When this method works it is like magic because the last 5 are suddenly easy, not hard.

Only watched up to 23 minutes, but I think I got the gist of your play. Nice shooting, a bit loose on the position.

Thanks for the input, Dan! Yes, the balls do probably still have the Real Magic on them. It does help, but keep in mind I'm hitting the balls very hard too. The cloth is 860HR. Under the basement conditions I find it slow, but if you see it as fast, maybe I'm being too picky.

I totally agree that cue ball control is a big problem. And I agree the shot at 4:35 should have had a more acute angle to get the ball closer to the break shot. These little things add up to run enders. I know it.

But the reason I took so long on that shot at 20:58 is because I didn't get up high enough to have a simple follow on it to the two balls on the bottom rail. I knew I needed to go off of the side rail. However, you're right that I didn't want to get that close to the 5-ball.

And yes, my end patterns could certainly be better! I'll work on them. Thanks, Dan!
 

CueAndMe

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
New Video

I just posted a second video of 105 balls with 15 misses. It doesn't beat the previous video's numbers, but I think it was better played. A ball rattle midway with the short cue prevented starting off with a 37-ball run. Sorry for the slow play. I really took my time with this one. I think it was tougher to get through than the other one. It's amazing how 14.1 exposes a player's weaknesses. Stroke a bit off, alignment a bit off, speed a bit off, a little bad planning and suddenly you're faced with a missable shot, and.. well.. you miss.

https://youtu.be/s1rQ9LgtzCA
 

14-1StraightMan

High Run 127
Silver Member
Why in the world would you alter the pockets on that beautiful table?.... Altering equipment, that is what it is.... In its history Brunswick they have never put out pockets like that on any of their tables. Tables are manufactured to play a certain way. A good 14.1 player learns how to play all parts of the pocket to achieve position...... I hear players state... "it teaches me to hit the ball directly in"... Well, why don't they just aim dead center of a normal pocket? Players that have shimmed pockets like that do not properly learn all aspects of the game. It will do more harm to your game and you will not even realize it...... Anyways, I'm sure my opinion here will bring out the closet shimmed pocket players... I like that you put out the video of your practice. You need to work on a few points as listed above by other players. Good Luck and keep us posted on your progress.
 

CueAndMe

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Why in the world would you alter the pockets on that beautiful table?.... Altering equipment, that is what it is.... In its history Brunswick they have never put out pockets like that on any of their tables. Tables are manufactured to play a certain way. A good 14.1 player learns how to play all parts of the pocket to achieve position...... I hear players state... "it teaches me to hit the ball directly in"... Well, why don't they just aim dead center of a normal pocket? Players that have shimmed pockets like that do not properly learn all aspects of the game. It will do more harm to your game and you will not even realize it...... Anyways, I'm sure my opinion here will bring out the closet shimmed pocket players... I like that you put out the video of your practice. You need to work on a few points as listed above by other players. Good Luck and keep us posted on your progress.

Thanks, and I totally agree with you! I can't say that I regret buying the table, but a year ago I was anxious to get a table in the basement, and this was what I thought was the best of only a couple of opportunities at the time. I wish it was shimmed, because being almost exclusively a 14.1 player, I probably would have removed the shims before the cloth was put on, but the rails were actually redone with facings over wood added at the corners. The work was done nicely, but still. Sometimes it feels like I'm torturing myself playing 14.1 on this table, and the slate is wonky, so you'll rarely see me soft roll a ball over any more than three feet or so. It's a challenge, for sure. And shooting break shots at high speed with significant angles and tight pockets is like rolling dice. That's where I think 14.1 players really need to have reasonably sized pockets.

That said, it is forcing me to sharpen my focus and hone every aspect of my game. I still have a lot of honing to do though. But knowing how much of a challenge these pockets are allows me to forgive myself for pocket rattles that would have gone. And when I eventually take my game to a normal table, I think I'll be running many more balls than I did before. At this point I think my high run would be in the 70's on a wide-pocket table. Among other things, what I really really really need to do is work on cue ball control drills. If I could get that rock under control, I think the rest would start falling into place.
 

JC

Coos Cues
Why in the world would you alter the pockets on that beautiful table?.... Altering equipment, that is what it is.... In its history Brunswick they have never put out pockets like that on any of their tables. Tables are manufactured to play a certain way. A good 14.1 player learns how to play all parts of the pocket to achieve position...... I hear players state... "it teaches me to hit the ball directly in"... Well, why don't they just aim dead center of a normal pocket? Players that have shimmed pockets like that do not properly learn all aspects of the game. It will do more harm to your game and you will not even realize it...... Anyways, I'm sure my opinion here will bring out the closet shimmed pocket players... I like that you put out the video of your practice. You need to work on a few points as listed above by other players. Good Luck and keep us posted on your progress.

I am the one who altered those pockets before Jeff got this table. They are not shimmed, I extended the rails.

Why?

Because I don't play 14.1 or one pocket.

They do have 3/16 facings in there though.

I told Jeff that he could simply put new 1/8 facing on the pockets without even buying new cloth for cheap and open them up enough to make a difference but he didn't do it while it was apart. Quick and easy and no go was the result. 1/8 larger would be noticeable. He could still do it.

JC
 

CueAndMe

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Yes. John did suggest that to me. Honestly, I'm not regretting not replacing the facings with thinner ones. My father used to tell me a story about basketball players back in the day practicing with galoshes rather than sneakers. Once they switched to sneakers they'd fly. I feel that this is my time to hone my skills. Maybe when I decide to recover the table I'll switch facings, but for now I'm in training.
 

JC

Coos Cues
Also Jeff is a pretty sporty player but most of the balls he missed in the latest video would not have gone in on any pockets.

The six ball in the second rack. He hit it 3 inches down the short rail. That's not falling anywhere. Mostly because he didn't stroke it well with the cue ball close to the rail. Then the 15 ball misses by 4 inches. Again a positional error. Left way too hard of a shot due to a faulty prior shot. I didn't watch the whole video but what I did watch didn't show any rattling balls that would have scored on bigger pockets.

He will be a much more accurate player for owning this table in the long run. In fact he's doing quite well. Good job Jeff!

JC
 
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