your improvement
- Thread starter jcpoolgod
- Start date
Thing that shot me up a skill level or a ball or two was learning to think 3 balls ahead, checking what balls had a pocket and which ones didn't, and trying not to bump into balls that had a pocket unless I needed to use them for position. Johnnyt
Its not really drills...
My very first day that I decided I wanted to learn how to play pool properly, Danny Hewitt was a house pro and he saw me trying hard to figure out how to play and he decided to teach me how to play a stop shot.
We became friends and I have practiced with him for years. I got destroyed almost endlessly but I was paying attention to what he was doing...hehe
My very first day that I decided I wanted to learn how to play pool properly, Danny Hewitt was a house pro and he saw me trying hard to figure out how to play and he decided to teach me how to play a stop shot.
We became friends and I have practiced with him for years. I got destroyed almost endlessly but I was paying attention to what he was doing...hehe
Drills? None, unless you consider playing the 9/10 ball ghost, a drill.
Started with the 9ball ghost... Kept losing.
Went with the 4 ball ghost... Started winning.
Went to the 6 ball shot... Started winning.
Went to the 9/10ball ghost... And now I win 1 out of every 3 sets (race to 7).
I can probably beat the one pocket ghost before I'll ever beat the 8ball ghost lol.
Started with the 9ball ghost... Kept losing.
Went with the 4 ball ghost... Started winning.
Went to the 6 ball shot... Started winning.
Went to the 9/10ball ghost... And now I win 1 out of every 3 sets (race to 7).
I can probably beat the one pocket ghost before I'll ever beat the 8ball ghost lol.
Early on.... one of the things that dramatically helped me improve my stroke was the old "empty bottle" drill. Where you lay a beer bottle down horizontally and stroke the tip of your cue through the opening until you can do it with your eyes closed, or looking away while having a conversation... I worked on that until I could hit the back of the bottle with the tip consistently without ever touching the edge.
Never had a table at home, yet. (coming soon)
Back in '87 I bought Byrne's Book of Billiards, that made a big difference, too.
Too bad I quit playing from '97 to mid-2013.... Glad I picked the game up again.
Never had a table at home, yet. (coming soon)
Back in '87 I bought Byrne's Book of Billiards, that made a big difference, too.
Too bad I quit playing from '97 to mid-2013.... Glad I picked the game up again.
The bottle drill does have some negative effects. During the stroke the cue should finish down on the table - shooting into a bottle does not allow this to happen. Most current day instructors would advise against this drill but it was presented in the past as a form of stroke training.
Cheers,
Gerry
Cheers,
Gerry
Pool players were using the old thick green coke bottles 60 years ago to perfect a straight stroke and help you to be able to hit the CB in the center. Buddy didn't invent anything except making sure that casinos would never again take bet on pool or sponsor it. Them not sponsoring pool in the states is just as big a deal as the won't take bets again. Sorry, every time I think of Buddy I go off. Carry on. Johnnyt
Too hard to mention just one thing. Having took lessons from RandyG to learn of the importance of the "stroke"...getting a table here at home...putting in lots of hours practicing...well, I won't mention these things. :wink:
Seriously....I think what has taught me more about the game/taken me to higher levels....is the many, many videos of professional pool being played/taught on the internet. Watching the best-of-the-best and how they move the cue ball around, patterns they choose, safeties they play, etc., have showed me things here from the comfort of my own home that literally would have taken me years to have learned at the pool hall.
Maniac
Joe T
Well-known member
Steady training schedule of practice and playing. IF anybody really wants to get better they can't fail if they train properly. I miss being a good B player, that was a LOT of fun.
While working a job I my life revolved around getting better. Many days started with Accu stats playing in the background as I got ready for work. Some days I would run 2 miles in the morning before work and each lap I was building mental traits I wanted to improve upon (concentration, consistency, confidence, ego, awareness, humility, composure) were some I still remember working on.
At work (driving for Roadway 50+hrs a week) I would listen to different sports psychology programs and even a hypnosis program at the end of the workday before going back to the shop, I even brought two pool balls to work, man those contact points are tiny, lol
After work Tues was RI, Wed was Snookers, Thur was MA for tournament and action. Fri gamble and always with even or better players. Sat Sunday there were plenty of tournaments to choose from. Most days ended falling asleep to accu stats.
When sleep deprived, which happened a lot I would take some nights off but practice at home on a 9ft that I could not fit but could still practice on. Many times I would have to drive straight to work and park in front of the gate so they were sure to wake me, ah the days, lol.
I had a list of players better than me and would go after them as best I could working my way up the list, losing a lot at the beginning. Everyone always asked me “why you play so and so, he’s too good for you?” I didn’t get much action with players below me but did with players my speed and as I improved the money I won from them went directly to better players, lol I learned early on that I didn’t like getting the wild 7 8 but would rather get games on the wire and played those guys until the games I was getting turned into games I was giving
I didn’t do a lot of drills back then and I only recommend drills to players now adays that I’m sure have skills they need to add to their game. Big problem I see now is that ANYONE can invent a drill but they don’t realize there are so many other drills or skills that are way more important that they could be doing. I was pretty much obsessed with recording mistakes and then working on them or learning new shots I saw on accu stats. Accu Stats really saved me because Billy Grady Nick Buddy and those guys were telling you how and why to play shots certain ways, something that could have taken me many more years to learn.
So what I’m saying while I reminisce is this;
Have a plan.
Make a list of better players and how you can play them as affordably as possibly.
Make another list of players close to your speed that you want to pull away from.
A list of your weaknesses to turn into strengths.
A list of committed hrs of practice.
Add some cross physical training and some time to improve your mental traits.
Attack it without being an excuse making cry baby, “I can’t, I can’t” and you can’t fail.
Now go and have the most fun pool can offer you, a steady dose of testing yourself.
While working a job I my life revolved around getting better. Many days started with Accu stats playing in the background as I got ready for work. Some days I would run 2 miles in the morning before work and each lap I was building mental traits I wanted to improve upon (concentration, consistency, confidence, ego, awareness, humility, composure) were some I still remember working on.
At work (driving for Roadway 50+hrs a week) I would listen to different sports psychology programs and even a hypnosis program at the end of the workday before going back to the shop, I even brought two pool balls to work, man those contact points are tiny, lol
After work Tues was RI, Wed was Snookers, Thur was MA for tournament and action. Fri gamble and always with even or better players. Sat Sunday there were plenty of tournaments to choose from. Most days ended falling asleep to accu stats.
When sleep deprived, which happened a lot I would take some nights off but practice at home on a 9ft that I could not fit but could still practice on. Many times I would have to drive straight to work and park in front of the gate so they were sure to wake me, ah the days, lol.
I had a list of players better than me and would go after them as best I could working my way up the list, losing a lot at the beginning. Everyone always asked me “why you play so and so, he’s too good for you?” I didn’t get much action with players below me but did with players my speed and as I improved the money I won from them went directly to better players, lol I learned early on that I didn’t like getting the wild 7 8 but would rather get games on the wire and played those guys until the games I was getting turned into games I was giving
I didn’t do a lot of drills back then and I only recommend drills to players now adays that I’m sure have skills they need to add to their game. Big problem I see now is that ANYONE can invent a drill but they don’t realize there are so many other drills or skills that are way more important that they could be doing. I was pretty much obsessed with recording mistakes and then working on them or learning new shots I saw on accu stats. Accu Stats really saved me because Billy Grady Nick Buddy and those guys were telling you how and why to play shots certain ways, something that could have taken me many more years to learn.
So what I’m saying while I reminisce is this;
Have a plan.
Make a list of better players and how you can play them as affordably as possibly.
Make another list of players close to your speed that you want to pull away from.
A list of your weaknesses to turn into strengths.
A list of committed hrs of practice.
Add some cross physical training and some time to improve your mental traits.
Attack it without being an excuse making cry baby, “I can’t, I can’t” and you can’t fail.
Now go and have the most fun pool can offer you, a steady dose of testing yourself.
Practice
Time behind the cue ball. I have improved over the last two years but only play league. I have gone from an APA 5/7 to a 7/9 but this year I want to start playing in tourneys against opponents that really punish you when you miss. I recently refelted and double shimmed my table with Simonis 860, have access to a break rak and I am looking for good banking/kicking instructional video to round out my game. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. :thumbup:
Time behind the cue ball. I have improved over the last two years but only play league. I have gone from an APA 5/7 to a 7/9 but this year I want to start playing in tourneys against opponents that really punish you when you miss. I recently refelted and double shimmed my table with Simonis 860, have access to a break rak and I am looking for good banking/kicking instructional video to round out my game. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. :thumbup:
Biggest improvement for me was when I learned to focus on the OB. It's not a general "Look at the OB"...it's a laser focus on the contact point. From the moment I begin getting down on the shot, I'm focused on the OB contact point. I take one or two slow eye movements to the CB to make sure my tip/CB is where I want it, but the rest of the time is on the OB.
I really had to practice "quiet eyes"; the slow movement of my eyes from the OB to the CB and back to the OB without getting distracted by anything else in my field of vision, and without flitting rapidly between the OB and CB. Controlling your eyes is more difficult than it sounds (at least for me).
I've still got a long way to go but this was what made my biggest improvement so far.
I really had to practice "quiet eyes"; the slow movement of my eyes from the OB to the CB and back to the OB without getting distracted by anything else in my field of vision, and without flitting rapidly between the OB and CB. Controlling your eyes is more difficult than it sounds (at least for me).
I've still got a long way to go but this was what made my biggest improvement so far.
All the advice I have heard so far has been very good. But your comments on eye movement, lack of movement and focus are something that a lot of players don't work on. People often get too caught up in aiming systems and low deflection. Working on your mental focus and focusing your eyes on the target is probably the most important part of your routine and should be practiced and honed continuously. Your eyes tell your brain what it needs to make multiple decisions in an instant. Give your brain all the information that it needs by focusing for an extra second or two on the target before starting your backstroke. Develop your personal eye pattern while standing behind and down on the shot.
blah blah
Shoebat
Letting go.
Letting go of all emotions, ego, and other people's wants and opinions: letting go of what anyone else thinks of me or says about me, letting go of both pride and pity, letting go of fears of embarrassment, fears of losing, fears of being called names or making the opponent angry or of being told by the rail all of the possible should have's and could have's.
You can't play well while carrying all of those burdens around the table. Let it go.
Letting go of all emotions, ego, and other people's wants and opinions: letting go of what anyone else thinks of me or says about me, letting go of both pride and pity, letting go of fears of embarrassment, fears of losing, fears of being called names or making the opponent angry or of being told by the rail all of the possible should have's and could have's.
You can't play well while carrying all of those burdens around the table. Let it go.
I think of three things that moved me up.
Buying, reading, and re-reading, and following tips outlined in Mastering Pool by George Fells (RIP, sir.)
Taking my first lesson from Scott Lee.
Attending Pool School with Randy G and Scott.
As Randy said, it's still an ongoing quest.
Brian in VA
Buying, reading, and re-reading, and following tips outlined in Mastering Pool by George Fells (RIP, sir.)
Taking my first lesson from Scott Lee.
Attending Pool School with Randy G and Scott.
As Randy said, it's still an ongoing quest.
Brian in VA
I bought a Lucasi cue.
Banks
Banned
I give,you play better. :thumbup: