dear diary: a 14.1 journey to nowhere

[qolbrand]

That's ok. Just means you'll continue to run 20-30 balls.

i know!!! it’s a real bummer.

you might have missed the part where i talk about trying to slow down. I go back and forth.

My last practice sesh i was averaging 30 seconds a shot.

i stare and i stare and i measure angles and tangent lines and set my cue on the rail and all that shit and then i miss the hanger.

by the way, 20-30 balls is a GREAT day for me i think i usually run like 6 or 10 probably.

my first assessment was probably the correct one. i’m either too dumb or not patient enough to get good at this

and thats okay

in the meantime, i intend to take the friendly advice from some of the folks in here who care and continue to apply it to my practice, hoping one day something clicks.

but if it doesnt, its just a ball rolly stick game and idgaf

 

[Straightpool_99]

i know!!! it’s a real bummer.

you might have missed the part where i talk about trying to slow down. I go back and forth.

My last practice sesh i was averaging 30 seconds a shot.

I don't really agree with playing the game slowly for the sake of it. The most important thing is finding a nice rhytm.

i stare and i stare and i measure angles and tangent lines and set my cue on the rail and all that shit and then i miss the hanger.

by the way, 20-30 balls is a GREAT day for me i think i usually run like 6 or 10 probably.

Making sure to leave insurance balls, using small, controlled cue ball movements and focusing on end patterns will get you way beyond where you are.

my first assessment was probably the correct one. i’m either too dumb or not patient enough to get good at this

and thats okay

I don't think brains really comes into it much. It's just about a few basic principles, and once you incorporate them, the game becomes instinctive. If you can't play instinctively, you'll never get to the highest level. You'll wear yourself out from overthinking. If you spend a little time thinking about insurance balls and end patterns, you'll spot them without thought soon enough.

in the meantime, i intend to take the friendly advice from some of the folks in here who care and continue to apply it to my practice, hoping one day something clicks.

but if it doesnt, its just a ball rolly stick game and idgaf

I wish you all the best with your 14.1 journey. It's a game which can be enjoyed at any level and which has stood the test of time. There is a drill called the "brainwash drill" but it has various other names, which consists of spreading out all the balls and trying to run them without the cue ball touching a rail. Jim Rempe recommended it. Maybe you'll like it. It helps the patterns stand out, I think.

 

[qolbrand]

paging @Straightpool_99

whats the smart end pattern here? I got through it but it felt dumb.

 

[Straightpool_99]

View attachment 897283
paging @Straightpool_99

whats the smart end pattern here? I got through it but it felt dumb.

You've allready kind of messed up here by leaving the 3. This means it won't be a stop shot pattern probably. The 3 is a worthless ball in this scenario. I might shoot it first, if you are close to straight in in the diagonal lower pocket, with low left trying to get straight in on the 7 again. Then 7, 4, 1, 15 and then 10. The 1 guarantees a nice angle on the 15 to get nicely on the 10. Otherwise the pattern wouldn't be any good. The position on the 10 is a lot more forgiving than the illustration shows, I just didn't want to mess up the picture too much.

If you don't have that angle, there are still a couple of patterns here, none of which are foolproof and all of which will vary according to the exact angle you get on the balls. To me, the 3 ball is the big joker here. It hasn't really got a good ball leading to it, and it does not easily lead to any other ball without perfect position. You see, the 7 leads to the 4 and the 1 leads to the 15, which in turn leads to the 10. The only ball that gives sort of natural position to the 3 is the 15, but then you have to get a very good position on the 3 to get to the 10. You see the problem? If you shoot the the 15-10-3 as your last three, you have a terrible key ball.

 

[qolbrand]

You've allready kind of messed up here by leaving the 3. This means it won't be a stop shot pattern probably. The 3 is a worthless ball in this scenario. I might shoot it first, if you are close to straight in in the diagonal lower pocket, with low left trying to get straight in on the 7 again. Then 7, 4, 1, 15 and then 10. The 1 guarantees a nice angle on the 15 to get nicely on the 10. Otherwise the pattern wouldn't be any good. The position on the 10 is a lot more forgiving than the illustration shows, I just didn't want to mess up the picture too much.

If you don't have that angle, there are still a couple of patterns here, none of which are foolproof and all of which will vary according to the exact angle you get on the balls. To me, the 3 ball is the big joker here. It hasn't really got a good ball leading to it, and it does not easily lead to any other ball without perfect position. You see, the 7 leads to the 4 and the 1 leads to the 15, which in turn leads to the 10. The only ball that gives sort of natural position to the 3 is the 15, but then you have to get a very good position on the 3 to get to the 10. You see the problem? If you shoot the the 15-10-3 as your last three, you have a terrible key ball.

I sent this still in particular because when i watched it back i wondered why i didnt take the 3 first.

seemed more important to get rid of the 1, and i didnt think of the 3 as “useless” until i watched it back. i guess thats something if i’m on the right track. i took a week off before this, and it was my second of the day.

Here’s the tragedy of a rack:

 

[Straightpool_99]

I sent this still in particular because when i watched it back i wondered why i didnt take the 3 first.

seemed more important to get rid of the 1, and i didnt think of the 3 as “useless” until i watched it back. i guess thats something if i’m on the right track. i took a week off before this, and it was my second of the day.

Here’s the tragedy of a rack:

It turned out ok although the second rack wasn't the best. After the 7 (which you should have shot softly) you should have taken the 14, as it was blocking several other balls from going to the pocket. Killing the cueball on the 14 ball shot, giving you an angle on the 15, would have given you a chance of going into the cluster with the 11 for insurance, but the 14 could lead to several other possible shots as well.

Ending up where you did, the 13 was an odd choice for the final shot...There was another, creative shot here that not all people see. Using the 15 to break up the cluster, as shown in the illustration. You're probably going to have to shoot a long shot from the rail anyway, might as well try to set up the rack for after you pocket whatever long shot (probably the 11) you have to shoot after that. There is a another out of the box shot here which I also included. You should practise these shots, they come up more often than you think. There is also an easy masse or half ball jump shot on the 14, if your are good at those, the masse being the better of the two IMO. The conservative and probably highest percentage option is to shoot the 12 and drift up table however long you need to get a shot at the 14. I included the others to show you some things you should practise, because very few people do and it will give you a huge edge in the long run.

As to your comment about the 3 being a problem: Balls in the middle area of the table are typically useless in 14.1. "Balls in space". They're not problem balls usually (But they can be, particularly when your intended breakball is blocking the lower pocket for them). Balls in the middle of the table are not really any good for end pattern play, except in very special circumstances. They can be pocketed at any time and need not be saved, as they have no intrinsic value, other than being used to get rid of other problems.

Priority of play, as taught to me when I was beginning, by a 200 ball runner:
1. Remove balls that block other balls from going into the pocket "Clear pocket lanes".
2. Break up clusters.
3. Balls on rails (frozen) and other lone problem balls.
4. Balls that are not part of the end pattern. (HERE IS WHERE THE "BALLS IN SPACE" HAVE TO BE REMOVED)
5. End pattern.

 

[JochenG]

I really like pocketing the 14 with a kiss from the 11 in that situation. I wouldn't have seen it playing myself, but I think it's kinda easy and a really good option with the 15 and the 3 as insurance balls.

In my opinion the initial break shot (2nd rack with the 6) should have been played either a lot harder or as soft as you played it but with a strong follow shot (I don't like playing with draw when I hit the lower part of the rack).

 

[qolbrand]

yuck

 

[Straightpool_99]

You have learned some lessons well, and others not at all. I don't mean to be overly critical, but you have to work on your end pattern plans.

1. You cleared up most of the problem balls at the correct time, and in the beginning of the rack I can't really fault the way you went about things. Granted I might have done things differently, but it's a matter of taste really.

In your first rack you made a classic and fundamental mistake. When you have a ball close to the rail and you have to move the cueball down table, you never try to get low on it. Stay high, make sure to have an angle so you don't end up in the position of death: Straight in with both balls near the rail. Walk over there to find out where you want to get. You might be surprised at how high you can stay and still have a good shot with control. You got out of trouble this time, the next time...perhaps not.

2. You do seem to understand which balls connect with eachother, giving you more control over the cue ball and smaller movement, but some times when you have a long(ish) shot you seem to go a little crazy and hit it too hard and with the wrong english. I noticed this in your earlier videos as well. The shot on the one being the prime example. You last shot on the 7 was perfectly doable, had you not put inside english on it. I'd take my medicine here, hit it with straight draw and taken the longer shot, I might have even put a touch of outside on it to make sure what happened to you, could not possibly happen. The angle on the breakshot is alpha and omega. I'll take a long shot with an angle over any length of straight in. For a side breakshot, the further the break ball is away from the rack, the more angle you generally need on it. Play on tighter pockets for a while, and you'll know why.

3. Once the balls are all open, take a pause, walk around the table and make a plan for the end pattern. Remember that the end pattern is there to make the ending of the rack as close to idiot proof as possible, not just to look smart or knowledgable. The 7 and the 14 are both dreadful key balls to the 8. The 12 was your only good one. Had you not bumped the 14, the 7-14-8 could have been, not good, but defensible if you could set up well on the 7.

 

[qolbrand]

You have learned some lessons well, and others not at all. I don't mean to be overly critical, but you have to work on your end pattern plans.

1. You cleared up most of the problem balls at the correct time, and in the beginning of the rack I can't really fault the way you went about things. Granted I might have done things differently, but it's a matter of taste really.

In your first rack you made a classic and fundamental mistake. When you have a ball close to the rail and you have to move the cueball down table, you never try to get low on it. Stay high, make sure to have an angle so you don't end up in the position of death: Straight in with both balls near the rail. Walk over there to find out where you want to get. You might be surprised at how high you can stay and still have a good shot with control. You got out of trouble this time, the next time...perhaps not.

2. You do seem to understand which balls connect with eachother, giving you more control over the cue ball and smaller movement, but some times when you have a long(ish) shot you seem to go a little crazy and hit it too hard and with the wrong english. I noticed this in your earlier videos as well. The shot on the one being the prime example. You last shot on the 7 was perfectly doable, had you not put inside english on it. I'd take my medicine here, hit it with straight draw and taken the longer shot, I might have even put a touch of outside on it to make sure what happened to you, could not possibly happen. The angle on the breakshot is alpha and omega. I'll take a long shot with an angle over any length of straight in. For a side breakshot, the further the break ball is away from the rack, the more angle you generally need on it. Play on tighter pockets for a while, and you'll know why.

3. Once the balls are all open, take a pause, walk around the table and make a plan for the end pattern. Remember that the end pattern is there to make the ending of the rack as close to idiot proof as possible, not just to look smart or knowledgable. The 7 and the 14 are both dreadful key balls to the 8. The 12 was your only good one. Had you not bumped the 14, the 7-14-8 could have been, not good, but defensible if you could set up well on the 7.

thanks man. i think i’m realizing that i dont get to just snap my fingers and be a straight pool player. i can practice all the different theories and order of operations and end patterns and make the damn balls, but not all at once. if i could, i would have by now.

the end patterns do seem to be what i struggle with the most.

When i very first started playing this game, i would play a combination of 9.1 and take 5 over and over and over again. i think i’m probably due for another session of that.

And yes, bumping the 14 was my ultimate demise there. I wanted to use one of those balls by the corner as the key and the 7 as the k2.

its hilarious to me that when i turn my brain off i get better scores, but it doesnt feel like im learning anything or getting better. Still, i gotta hope that going through these cycles of trying really hard and missing everything somehow seeps in so that when i turn my brain off and shoot, i’m making better decisions in the long run.

 

[Bob Jewett]

...
the end patterns do seem to be what i struggle with the most.
...

Here is an exercise that Alex Lely teaches for end pattern mastery:

Set up a nice break shot and shoot it. Remove all but five object balls. This makes you think about the four ball sequence to get on the break shot. Run the balls -- hopefully, as you planned -- and shoot the break shot. After the break shot, again remove all but five object balls. If you miss, start with a new rack and break shot. See how many racks you can complete before five or ten misses.

 

[qolbrand]

When i very first started playing this game, i would play a combination of 9.1 and take 5 over and over and over again. i think i’m probably due for another session of that

i had a half hour to play today, so i squozed in some of this.

i missed many easy balls. but it was a fun change of pace.