practice drills for getting shape?

M

mohrt

Student of the Game
Silver Member
Watching matches and playing pool, one thing stands clear: one of the most important elements of the game is getting shape. If you are a good shape shooter, it makes the vast majority of your shots easy ones. That is much better than getting so-so shape and having to shoot a lot of low-percentage shots.

So what do you recommend for effective practice? I can take a specific CB/OB position, mark it, and try to get the cueball to several different positions on the table with that shot. That sounds like a good start, but I'd like to find a systematic approach. A good drill that covers the majority of shape shots you need to know. Something I can repeat and record my progress. Recommendations?
 
There are many free drills on the net that you can just add a position area after the shot. Also, don't forget stun, stop shots. They are very important to practice for your short game. Knowing the feel and tanget lines on these shots will boost your position play and cut down on going 3 and 4 rails when you only need to go 6" to have about the same shot. Johnnyt
 
Johnnyt said:
There are many free drills on the net that you can just add a position area after the shot. Also, don't forget stun, stop shots. They are very important to practice for your short game. Knowing the feel and tanget lines on these shots will boost your position play and cut down on going 3 and 4 rails when you only need to go 6" to have about the same shot. Johnnyt
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Very good advice here. In addition the 30 degree rule is a must to learn & trust (Dr. Dave's website has a lot of free stuff on it and other stuff like the 90 degree rules, etc.).

One of the best things you could do to get started is learn where the cue ball goes after a certain cut (maybe 30 degree cut angle) when you are hitting it w/high center, than try to adjust where you hit the cue ball to go a diamond longer or shorter, then 2 diamonds longer or shorter, etc. Buddy Hall has a great tape that illustrates this he calls the clock system. Once you know the path the cue ball is going, you can work on speed.

Isn't pool great?

dave
 
play rotation. start with 4 balls and practice running them in order. just throw them out on the table, make a plan for each ball, then take ball in hand and execute your plan.

anytime you execute it without missing 3 times in a row, add a ball. if you fail to execute it, take a ball away.

this drill has really improved my position play. for the record, the best i've done so far is get to 12 balls.
 
I can't remember his Azbilliards name but, look up Forcefollow on YouTube. He has a lot of drills for shape and speed and just about everything else. He gets his drills from good sources and shares them on his YouTube channel. Greyghost is in a few of his drill videos. They are very good videos. Ron
 
jdxprs said:
play rotation. start with 4 balls and practice running them in order. just throw them out on the table, make a plan for each ball, then take ball in hand and execute your plan.

anytime you execute it without missing 3 times in a row, add a ball. if you fail to execute it, take a ball away.

this drill has really improved my position play. for the record, the best i've done so far is get to 12 balls.
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Good idea. And when let's say starting the run at 3 balls, throw 5 balls randomly onto the table and remove the two largest-number balls. This normally gives me a more randomly distributed balls than I subconsciously distribute the balls myself.
 
I have many drills in my 9 ball book - available if you go to my website - link is in my signature -

I also have some videos of those drills on youtube - plus forcefollow has done videos of my drills too -

Here are a few examples -

The Dreaded "T" Drill

Center Of The Universe

The Crucifix

Stroke Shots

The Railbiter

Restricted to Half of the Table

14.1 End Pattern Drill - 3 rows of 3 - 3 rows of 5

Add-A-Ball Drill

Definitely check out Forcefollow's page - he has a large library of instructional material available.
 
Blackjack said:
I have many drills in my 9 ball book - available if you go to my website - link is in my signature -

I also have some videos of those drills on youtube - plus forcefollow has done videos of my drills too -

Here are a few examples -

The Dreaded "T" Drill

Center Of The Universe

The Crucifix

Stroke Shots

The Railbiter

Restricted to Half of the Table

14.1 End Pattern Drill - 3 rows of 3 - 3 rows of 5

Add-A-Ball Drill

Definitely check out Forcefollow's page - he has a large library of instructional material available.
Click to expand...

Some pretty cool drills there. I like the dreaded "T" drill. Thanks for the links. Johnnyt
 
Blackjack said:
I have many drills in my 9 ball book - available if you go to my website - link is in my signature -

I also have some videos of those drills on youtube - plus forcefollow has done videos of my drills too -

Here are a few examples -

The Dreaded "T" Drill

Center Of The Universe

The Crucifix

Stroke Shots

The Railbiter

Restricted to Half of the Table

14.1 End Pattern Drill - 3 rows of 3 - 3 rows of 5

Add-A-Ball Drill

Definitely check out Forcefollow's page - he has a large library of instructional material available.
Click to expand...

Can't go wrong w/anyone named dave :thumbup:.

Dave
 
Nice Stroke Shots!

Blackjack said:
I have many drills in my 9 ball book - available if you go to my website - link is in my signature -

I also have some videos of those drills on youtube - plus forcefollow has done videos of my drills too -

Here are a few examples -

The Dreaded "T" Drill

Center Of The Universe

The Crucifix

Stroke Shots

The Railbiter

Restricted to Half of the Table

14.1 End Pattern Drill - 3 rows of 3 - 3 rows of 5

Add-A-Ball Drill

Definitely check out Forcefollow's page - he has a large library of instructional material available.
Click to expand...

Blackjack,

Nice drills and great shooting. Check your PM.

Muziq
 
Neil said:
Ever heard of a game called Target Pool that Kim Davenport used to put out? Get one if you can. You can also use Bert Kinnisters tapes, as they will help a lot. Or, you can just do as you said and make up your own!
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The 16 critical shots fro the pro players hand book are great.

I was fortunate and bought target pool when it first came out and never used it. I started doing it about 2 months a go when I got tired of the 16 critical shots and it has made a big difference in my position play. I start a new lesson every Monday and do it at least 5 days. It's changed the way I play thats for sure.
 
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