How Does Your Potting Rate - Potting Test.

It might be interesting to number each position, then calculate the stats for each group of shots. We could then determine which shots people have the most difficulty with.

Either way, an interesting drill. I might try it later today if I find time.

That's a good drill. I also recommend that if you could number each position it would make it easier to talk about and the statistics could be broken down further. The spot shot could be 8L & 8R for left and right, then you'd have enough numbers where the left hand version could be the solid (1-ball) and the right hand could be the stripe (9-ball), for example :smile:

Eric

I got a headache just looking at that.

Anyway you look at it... pocketing balls IS only part of the game but IS important non-the-less. You wont get far cinching every shot and you wont get far missing every ball.

cleary said:

I got a headache just looking at that.

Anyway you look at it... pocketing balls IS only part of the game but IS important non-the-less. You wont get far cinching every shot and you wont get far missing every ball.

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I've heard this a lot on here in the past few years and to be honest, I don't understand the thought behind it.

IMO, pocketing balls is the most important aspect of the game. That after all is what seperates the big boys from all the others and let's face it there are many, many more "all the others" than Big Boys.

After all, doesn't the term stroke pertain to someone who can make the ball and move the cue ball. It may look picture perfect, but without the result, what good is it.

I watch a lot of youngsters practice and they shoot the same shot over and over without focusing on the object ball. They set it up over and over and they watch the cue ball instead of the OB. It baffles me to no end. Why practic e half a shot? I ask myself this over and over.

I have watched some pretty fair 1 pocket players in my time and you knew they understood the game pretty well, but the remark would come up so frequently, "if only he pocketed balls better. Or in 9 ball," Yep, but he misses too many balls.

I think Colin has a good point here and a pretty good test. If I were still playing, I would set it up. We can work on everything all we want, but, if we miss the ball, what good is it?

Colin, interesting challenge. I'll bring it to the pool hall with me tomorrow night and post back my results.
Scott

Colin,
I know it might take awhile to do it, but I'm sure it would be alot easier to see each shot on it's own table. It might not be as confusing. So many of them run together. I for one would like to try them all, but I want to put the balls as close as possible to your postioning.

.............

Great test Colin,

Some of these shots are already included in my warmup routine. If I can see the cut on shot #1 from the head string, I know my aim and vision are OK. If I can't I don't expect to do well.

Maybe I would do better if I had an aiming system :wink:

ironman said:

I've heard this a lot on here in the past few years and to be honest, I don't understand the thought behind it.

IMO, pocketing balls is the most important aspect of the game. That after all is what seperates the big boys from all the others and let's face it there are many, many more "all the others" than Big Boys.

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The point I'm making is that anyone can pocket a ball.

Anyone in the world with 1 arm can make this shot.

CueTable Help

not everyone can get on the 2 ball.

CueTable Help

Its the same shot, but one requires a whole lot more.

Sure, pocketing the 1 ball is easy. Anyone can make it. Not everyone will pocket this shot

CueTable Help

yet its not a hard shot. Anyone above the C level should pocket this 80%+. My point being, 80% is a lot! And the difference between a C+ pocketing 80% and a Pro at 97ish% isnt that far of a leap. The big separation between the C+ & Pro is getting on the 2 ball... wherever that might be. THAT is the hard part.

ironman said:

I've heard this a lot on here in the past few years and to be honest, I don't understand the thought behind it.

IMO, pocketing balls is the most important aspect of the game. That after all is what seperates the big boys from all the others and let's face it there are many, many more "all the others" than Big Boys.

After all, doesn't the term stroke pertain to someone who can make the ball and move the cue ball. It may look picture perfect, but without the result, what good is it.

I watch a lot of youngsters practice and they shoot the same shot over and over without focusing on the object ball. They set it up over and over and they watch the cue ball instead of the OB. It baffles me to no end. Why practic e half a shot? I ask myself this over and over.

I have watched some pretty fair 1 pocket players in my time and you knew they understood the game pretty well, but the remark would come up so frequently, "if only he pocketed balls better. Or in 9 ball," Yep, but he misses too many balls.

I think Colin has a good point here and a pretty good test. If I were still playing, I would set it up. We can work on everything all we want, but, if we miss the ball, what good is it?

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further to what cleary has said, it's also that even if you're really good at making balls from anywhere, chances are you won't be able to pull off these shots four, five, or six times in a row. so say you make that really great pot on the three ball, but you dont get great position on the four. so then you have to make another really difficult shot made even tougher by the fact you have to get position. if you just cinch the ball just to make it, you've then got another really difficult shot on the next ball!!

the point i'm making here is you're not gonna make these spectacular shots consistently, you need to be able to make balls and move whitey precisely.

...........

Neil said:

Is anyone else going to try this???

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I will when I get back into town tomorrow night, or may be Friday. I am going to start cleaning the basement for a pool table this weekend! So i have work to do.

I am probably a consistant c player so it will be interesting to see what my results are in comparison. I am kind of eager to know where I stack up.

-Kyle

Same player.

We have all see the player who makes an incredible shot and then blows and easy one right after it.

I have been that player many times and I am sure all of you have as well.

My good friend Ilona Bernhard, one of the greatest female players to give up the game, said that people often make the mistake of thinking that they are as good as their best game instead of accepting that their level is their average game.

A lot of people can make balls well when doing drills and can't make the same shots in a game. Then again other people are helped tremendously by drills.

Cleary, the point is that yes 99% of people in the world can make the easy 2 ball and only .0001% can get on the two consistently and on purpose. BUT making the two is the first part and applies to all shots where you are trying to pocket a ball. Pocketing the ball is number one if that's what you want to do.

Some players play to "miss it on the pro side" meaning that they are trying to pocket it but if they miss then the object ball winds up in a fairly difficult position. That's advanced pool and includes the ability to aim to a particular side of the pocket rather than down the middle.

I do however think a test like this is an excellent way to test out various aiming methods.

I don't like the fact that with this drill, no position is required. Potting and position work together, you can't have one without the other. You must set a specific goal to do something with the cueball. If there is nothing to be done with the cueball, then the shots are unrealistic and you'll never play them this way in an actual match. I can't see how can anyone draw any comparisons of potting ability using this method.

predator said:

I don't like the fact that with this drill, no position is required. Potting and position work together, you can't have one without the other. You must set a specific goal to do something with the cueball. If there is nothing to be done with the cueball, then the shots are unrealistic and you'll never play them this way in an actual match. I can't see how can anyone draw any comparisons of potting ability using this method.

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Well if the goal is to make the ball regardless of position then it's defenitely a test of that. Another test would be to define cue ball landing positions and see how well you do there.

To me just seeing how well you can pocket the balls using center ball will tell you two things - how well you are aiming and how well you are stroking.

Jimmy Reid taught me to throw all the balls out and make them all with right, then make them all with left, then high left, and so on until I felt good using all those spin positions.

It's a good way to warm up.

predator said:

I don't like the fact that with this drill, no position is required. Potting and position work together, you can't have one without the other. You must set a specific goal to do something with the cueball. If there is nothing to be done with the cueball, then the shots are unrealistic and you'll never play them this way in an actual match. I can't see how can anyone draw any comparisons of potting ability using this method.

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I see what you are saying, but how aften do you see someone have a routine shot and all they had to do was kill the cue ball and take what they had and get out. Often they blow it by missing the bll or do something crazy with the cue ball and the shot turns out disaterious.

How aften hac you seen someone make an incredible out only to get perfect on the 9 and shoot straight up in the air and miss it. Why, IMO, they have decided they are shooting half a shot and can't just cinch the ball. I would hate to guess how much money I've seen lost on this very shot.

It all looks very easy and simple from the rail though. From the rail, I haven't missed a ball in decades.