Practicing Pool without a Pool Table

[MilwShooter]

I am the guy who will play you a set of One Pocket race to 5 for $100....you in?

I recent the statement because yes I do have a table...and yes I know a lot of people....so I guess that means I never use it....So true! :crying:

just so we're clear, I was implying you play on your table at home so often you don't get out, then contradicted the statement because I know you don't play on your table as much as you should. lol....I don't know too many people, you can store your table here. :thumbup:

 

[Caromsoft]

This is what I did to practice without a table. The bottle is pretty full so it has some weight. I taped some felt to the bottom so it would slide easily.

I would practice hitting it down a table through a couple of Pez dispensers set apart 1/2 inch wider on each side than the bottle. If I didn't hit the bottle directly in the center it would spin like crazy and veer off. I used Joe Tucker's Third Eye Trainer to get my stroke straight. After I worked with it for a while I could put the Pez dispensers 1/8 to 1/4 inches wider on the sides and make it through without knocking them down almost every time from around three feet away, the length of the table.

 

[edd]

when it comes down to it, 90+% of the game is mental. exercise the mental aspect of your game. youtube various video's or get some good DVD's. Watching great matches or even good instruction vid's over & over will do more for your game than anything else you can do without a table.

Yes! Please see Mind/Body Pool thread in for sale section of this forum.

 

[tjlmbklr]

just so we're clear, I was implying you play on your table at home so often you don't get out, then contradicted the statement because I know you don't play on your table as much as you should. lol....I don't know too many people, you can store your table here. :thumbup:

Ok my head hurts..! I made a funny with the "I recent (which I may have spelled wrong)that statement" thing I said.Becasue you said "if I had a table half of you wouldn't know half these people.". That means me too! So the resentment was a joke more implied to me...since I do have a table....and you and I both know I hardly use it.....so the joke there was......I do know those people....which I shouldn't....since I have a table at home......

There now all our heads hurt! :scratchhead:

 

[monica]

visualization

Play pool in your mind and do it against someone you are striving to beat or have a hard time playing. When you do this you need to feel what it feels like in your arm and the sound of the hit and the stoke you apply to execute the shots. Even chalk your cue and think of the smell of the pool room. You can also set up shots and execute them in your mind. This is a very powerful way to practice. This is one of the first things Jeanette and Helena taught me when I started playing again.

 

[JB Cases]

I have been wanting to rig a laser pointer on my pool cue to practice my stroke at home. Looking at a dot on a wall a 15-20 feet away would magnify any errors in my stroke making them very obvious.

These people have taken it a step further projecting a laser generated line on the wall so you can see if you are twisting as well as if you are stroking straight.

I know nothing about the company or the product. Looking at the site it appears well made. They do offer a 30 day money back guarantee. Of course that is only as good as the company is. Seems like a good idea, beyond that I can not say. Since the laser pointers usually spend most of the time off battery life might be an issue.

Hu

http://www.laserstroke.com/index.html

And these people were the first ones to do it and patent it.

www.cuesight.com

 

[JB Cases]

I used to practice with pennies and dimes. You can learn a lot by figuring out banks, kicks and caroms using coins.

When I have had a lot of change I make up one pocket problems sort of like chess players do chess problems.

 

[Mitchorama]

I used a beer bottle to pratice my stroke. I would simulate a break shot and a normal stroke. I would close my eyes and try not to hit the bottle with my cue using all kinds of strokes. Just feel the muscles in my arm working.

 

[ShootingArts]

Nothing new

And these people were the first ones to do it and patent it.

www.cuesight.com

John,

This device is plenty enough different to meet the 10% rule and the primary purpose is different. All of the pool devices borrow from earlier devices. I don't really like the way patent law is but obviously I am not going to get far trying to rewrite the laws. I met a man that spent years creating a motorcycle engine from scratch. Someone else made some slight modifications and reaped almost all of the rewards. I also was in partners on some projects with a man that held over eighty patents. He made money on two of them which forever left me with little respect for the value of patents unless you have very deep pockets to defend them or are very lucky.

Hu

 

[JennBarretta]

Play pool in your mind and do it against someone you are striving to beat or have a hard time playing. When you do this you need to feel what it feels like in your arm and the sound of the hit and the stoke you apply to execute the shots. Even chalk your cue and think of the smell of the pool room. You can also set up shots and execute them in your mind. This is a very powerful way to practice. This is one of the first things Jeanette and Helena taught me when I started playing again.

Just to reinforce what Monica suggested:


"A study conducted by Dr. Blaslotto at the University of Chicago was done where he split people into three groups and tested each group on how many free throws they could make. After this, he had the first group practice free throws every day for an hour. The second group just visualized themselves making free throws. The third group did nothing.

After 30 days, he tested them again. The first group improved by 24%. The second group improved by 23% without touching a basketball!!!! The third group did not improve, which was expected."

Also, a study of Russian athletes was done prior to the 1980 Olympics, and it was discovered that the athletes who had the most improved performance only practiced for 25% of their training and did visualization for the other 75%.

 

[MilwShooter]

This is what I did to practice without a table. The bottle is pretty full so it has some weight. I taped some felt to the bottom so it would slide easily.

I would practice hitting it down a table through a couple of Pez dispensers set apart 1/2 inch wider on each side than the bottle. If I didn't hit the bottle directly in the center it would spin like crazy and veer off. I used Joe Tucker's Third Eye Trainer to get my stroke straight. After I worked with it for a while I could put the Pez dispensers 1/8 to 1/4 inches wider on the sides and make it through without knocking them down almost every time from around three feet away, the length of the table.

Was the stool softener bottle necessary? Or are you trying to share something personal with us.

Ok my head hurts..! I made a funny with the "I recent (which I may have spelled wrong)that statement" thing I said.Becasue you said "if I had a table half of you wouldn't know half these people.". That means me too! So the resentment was a joke more implied to me...since I do have a table....and you and I both know I hardly use it.....so the joke there was......I do know those people....which I shouldn't....since I have a table at home......

There now all our heads hurt! :scratchhead:

It doesn't take too long to make my head hurt. lol

 

[JB Cases]

John,

This device is plenty enough different to meet the 10% rule and the primary purpose is different. All of the pool devices borrow from earlier devices. I don't really like the way patent law is but obviously I am not going to get far trying to rewrite the laws. I met a man that spent years creating a motorcycle engine from scratch. Someone else made some slight modifications and reaped almost all of the rewards. I also was in partners on some projects with a man that held over eighty patents. He made money on two of them which forever left me with little respect for the value of patents unless you have very deep pockets to defend them or are very lucky.

Hu

I was just mentioning it. The CueSight was the first. Don't know about 10% or not, but I do know that my boss is well versed in patent law and has everything covered as to all pool cues with lasers on them. He is aware of this product and others and has the situation well under control.

What I was really trying to say is the CueSight Laser Cue is better and so if you want to use a laser cue to train your stroke off the pool table then that's the one I would use.

 

[JB Cases]

Another way stroke train is to stroke along a straight line, a yard stick or a tape line or whatever. See how far you can go without wobbling or going off line. This will show very quickly what your tendencies are, like twisting the cue, dropping your shoulder, etc....

 

[Pete]

It may sound strange, but thinking about pool and your game while you're drifting off to sleep can be a good thing. Buddy Hall once told me that he discovered something about his stroke while he was laying in bed. He got up the next day and tried it out and has used it ever since. Don't ask me what it was. He never told me that, only that it had something to do with the way he went through the ball.

I believe it was his bridge. He talks about it in Rags to Riffleman I think (not that I have ever had the chance to read it).

Pete

 

[Sam Waltz]

A proper beginning...

Just curious what others recommend as well. As you may have read from my post the other day, I am really starting to dial some things such as a more steady (closed) bridge and concentrating on keep the back arm straight. Now however, I am spending more time worrying about keeping all of those things in check that I am missing obvious shots.

Thanks for the help!

It sounds to me like your on the correct path to building a strong game! Your still in the conscious thought process and that's not a bad thing though. On the norm, it takes 21 days to take an action from the conscious realm and turn it into a habit that can be performed naturally without thought. Keep practicing the foundation of a correct stroke in whatever manner you find available and three weeks from now go back to the pool hall you visit regularly and show 'em what you've been workin' on. When that stroke becomes habitual and you put it in action on the table you will be amazed at your "new" results in your performance! Best of luck! Go get 'em!

 

[msmilwshooter]

It sounds to me like your on the correct path to building a strong game! Your still in the conscious thought process and that's not a bad thing though. On the norm, it takes 21 days to take an action from the conscious realm and turn it into a habit that can be performed naturally without thought. Keep practicing the foundation of a correct stroke in whatever manner you find available and three weeks from now go back to the pool hall you visit regularly and show 'em what you've been workin' on. When that stroke becomes habitual and you put it in action on the table you will be amazed at your "new" results in your performance! Best of luck! Go get 'em!

Thanks a bunch for the great motivation. I do plan on practicing as much as I can. We also have leagues starting up again in a few weeks. I am hoping to show off my new skills . Those people are very good and I can't wait to be more of a competitor and begin helping our team improved the standings.