How much warm-up time do you need?

How long do you need to warm-up?

  • I'm always good to go

    Votes: 19 17.1%

  • <15 minutes

    Votes: 38 34.2%

  • 15-30 minutes

    Votes: 32 28.8%

  • 30-60 minutes

    Votes: 17 15.3%

  • >60 minutes

    Votes: 5 4.5%
  • Total voters
    111
Prob 10 to 15 mins.

A couple minutes of light stretching (bad back/shoulders)

Handfull of straight in shots to check my alignment and since every table is different, I hit a few banks and multi rail position shots to get a feel for the rails and the speed of the table.
 
Last edited:
warm up

you will find after you go through the same routin you will tell"yourself" ok, i am ready.

this exercise will vary for each individual, on a daily basis.
that is because the inner mind may need different amounts of time stroking the cue ball, to say to itself, that's good , center ball delivery is true, let's play some!

personally i just hit some plain middle ball hits, stopping the C.B. dead.

then a bit hard, like mosconi advised for warm up. some follow, some draw.
i always look for he result of the pot, i.e. cue ball position.
when i feels good, time to rock.
 
Scott Lee said:
None...if you truely "own your stroke" you will never need to warm up...even if you have laid off for months. This is a basic tenet of what we teach.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
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With all due respect, stroke is not the issue, it is getting used to table speed, throw, softshots throws, swerves, lean, banks, pockets accept hard shots or not..etc.
If you play on same table only few balls will get you. Plus i would not want to miss one ball because of any of the above.
 
OnTheMF said:
I'm curious how much warm-up time everyone else needs to get "up to speed"?

I see lots of people just show up and they seem to be running at full speed right out of the gate. Myself, I find that at a bare minimum I need 20 minutes of dedicated time just to myself on the table, and that 30-45 minutes is even better. Although I am fairly new to pool, so I would assume everything is not as "grooved in" as the old timers.
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When I wasn't practicing a lot, I needed a lot of time. Now I need one or two racks to adjust to the table and I'm ready.
 
naji...With all due respect, stroke is ALL about everything you mentioned...and more.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

naji said:
With all due respect, stroke is not the issue, it is getting used to table speed, throw, softshots throws, swerves, lean, banks, pockets accept hard shots or not..etc.
If you play on same table only few balls will get you. Plus i would not want to miss one ball because of any of the above.
Click to expand...
 
Jimbojim...Believe it or not, it's true. How about this example:

You learn to ride a two wheel bike at a young age (usually 5 or 6). Soon after learning how to ride it, you have mastered it, jumping curbs, riding up and down hills, probably even riding with no hands. Skip ahead 50 years. You have not ridden a bike in all that time. Think you'd have any trouble putting your butt on the seat, your foot on the pedal, your hands on the handlebars, and then pedaling away without falling over? Nope. Why?...because it is so deeply ingrained in your long term memory. It works the same way with your stroke...you just have to get to that level of expertise or have mastered the process. Most don't...

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

Jimbojim said:
I have a hard time believing that...
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For me it takes about 25 minutes to get in stroke. But to really find the sweet spot on the cue ball it takes me about 45 minutes. Seems like after about an hour I can consistently hit draw shots aiming super low on the cue ball. If I try those shots with no warm up I mis cue often. 45 minutes of practice is worth the 7 ball to me.
 
I don't care how good one's stroke may be. Everyone needs at least *some* warm up time to feel at 100% or at least feel more comfortable. All high level pro tournaments have practice tables don't they?
 
It varies, sometimes i'm good to go from the first shot other times i need to loosen up with a rack or two, but i seldom need more than 15 minutes.

That being said i always carry eye drops, aspirin, a banana and something too drink. I play crap if my blod sugar is low, my eyes are dry or my head hurts from a combination of the two mentioned above.
 
Scott Lee said:
naji...With all due respect, stroke is ALL about everything you mentioned...and more.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
Click to expand...


Thanks Scott, i agree stroke is important for position play mostly and applying the desired english, draw, follow, spin, but if your aim is wrong you will not pocket balls no matter how good the stroke is. I am sure you agree with me on very fast cloth cue will slide longer, and on slow table cue will slide shorter, therefor to know the table you have to practice until you master its speed and judging that aim, and eventually how to aim on such shots, as well as other english shots. Unless you shoot every shot at 1000 mile/hr!
Banks, every table plays different, no matter what the stroke, also every table pockets are slightly different.
 
depends on how big the bet is, if its cheap action 5-10 minutes.

If its real action I like 30-60 minutes, closer to 30 90% of the time, the difference between 45 and 60 minutes isnt gonna make a difference, 30 minutes will get me warmed up real good.
 
Scott Lee said:
Jimbojim...Believe it or not, it's true. How about this example:

You learn to ride a two wheel bike at a young age (usually 5 or 6). Soon after learning how to ride it, you have mastered it, jumping curbs, riding up and down hills, probably even riding with no hands. Skip ahead 50 years. You have not ridden a bike in all that time. Think you'd have any trouble putting your butt on the seat, your foot on the pedal, your hands on the handlebars, and then pedaling away without falling over? Nope. Why?...because it is so deeply ingrained in your long term memory. It works the same way with your stroke...you just have to get to that level of expertise or have mastered the process. Most don't...

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
Click to expand...

So you think a player could go without playing for50 yrs , step up and maintain the muscle memory needed to have same stroke right then and there? I callbull$%#&.
 
I'll play the first rack, dead cold, nearly flawless. Then my play digresses for the next 5-8, before I get back up to speed. It's kinda weird.
 
naji...I agree with everything you said. The only difference is in how long it takes someone to do those things. Aiming is perceptual, and we all perceive differently (therefore you have to "learn" how to perceive the shot correctly from your perspective). I also believe if you have a very repeatable stroke you can "learn" the things you mentioned more quickly. For example, I can learn the speed of the cloth in one or two shots. The same goes for how the cushions play. This is due solely to how much I trust my stroke.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

naji said:
Thanks Scott, i agree stroke is important for position play mostly and applying the desired english, draw, follow, spin, but if your aim is wrong you will not pocket balls no matter how good the stroke is. I am sure you agree with me on very fast cloth cue will slide longer, and on slow table cue will slide shorter, therefor to know the table you have to practice until you master its speed and judging that aim, and eventually how to aim on such shots, as well as other english shots. Unless you shoot every shot at 1000 mile/hr!
Banks, every table plays different, no matter what the stroke, also every table pockets are slightly different.
Click to expand...
 
decent dennis...No, I said they could still ride a bike immediately after not riding one for 50 years (due to ingrained memory). If you quit playing for several years (pick 10 as a number) you would still need to 'rewire' your head and your stroke. How long that takes would depend on your level of expertise when you quit. For a top pro, I would estimate that they could be playing at their previous level in probably no more than a few hours...not weeks or months. Certainly it would vary from person to person. This is jmo.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

decent dennis said:
So you think a player could go without playing for50 yrs , step up and maintain the muscle memory needed to have same stroke right then and there? I callbull$%#&.
Click to expand...
 
On a table that I haven't previously played on or haven’t played on for some time, just long enough to see how the cushions play, the cloth, and the table itself plays, Etc. If it’s a table I play on a regular basis, nada. For example, today I was at the Center (9’ Diamonds) and a friend was playing some 8 ball (BCA rules: except 1 in the left side and 15 in the right side). He asks if I want to hit a few around, he dry breaks and I run out.
 
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