Speed Control Drills
- Thread starter DrCue'sProtege
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Play a game of 9-ball (or any game you like) against the ghost and setup a target for the cue ball to land in after each shot. If the cue ball doesn't land in the intended target zone then re-setup the shot and try it a few more times until you've mastered it. Once you're satisfied with the shot you can move on to the next shot.
This is a good way to figure out which shots you need to work on more than others.
I've found that a piece of sewing thread works pretty well for a target. You can mold it into various shapes for your target zones and it doesn't affect the cue ball much. Or you can just point with your finger to the target spot on every shot and try to get close.
This is a good way to figure out which shots you need to work on more than others.
I've found that a piece of sewing thread works pretty well for a target. You can mold it into various shapes for your target zones and it doesn't affect the cue ball much. Or you can just point with your finger to the target spot on every shot and try to get close.
video
The no rail spot shot discussion came up a few years back. Thomas, td873 on here, posted video of I think ten spot shots with no rail hit. Been a long time and it could have been five shots but I seem to remember ten, all in a row of course!
Hu
The no rail spot shot discussion came up a few years back. Thomas, td873 on here, posted video of I think ten spot shots with no rail hit. Been a long time and it could have been five shots but I seem to remember ten, all in a row of course!
Hu
Of course there are a couple of gaffs that either make it easy or impossible. Fortunately no one on AZB would post gaff videos.
And td's video was probably legit -- the shot's not that hard if you have it dialed in. Efren's stop the cue ball dead shot is a little harder.
Depending on where you want to start.
Basic set up: Put a ball on intersection of the first diamond short rail and first diamond long rail from corner pocket. Put another ball at the intersection on the opposite short rail corner pocket. Start with ball in hand. Make first ball into its corner, then shoot other ball into it's associated corner. pocket. Keep spotting balls once they are made. See how long you can keep going before missing.
Level 2: Keep cue ball below the 3rd diamond up.
Level 3: force the cue ball off a rail after each shot, again keeping cue ball below 3 diamond (of half table if you want)
Level 4: place 2 more balls on the other end of table at same intersections. Shoot at corner each in succession clockwise or counterclockwise. Again Spotting each ball after pocketing. Again see how long you go around without missing.
Level 5: Same as level 4 but zig zag from end to end. This forces longer table follows for the cue ball.
Optional - put a 3rd and/or 4th ball on head spot and foot spot. Make them the last balls in the rotation again spotting them.
2nd order of difficulty: Start with the setup of each balls at intersection of 2 diamonds along long rail, one diamond on short rail. Repeat levels 1-5.
Again, each ball must be made into its associated pocket.
You could mix up by putting one or two balls on the rails. To make it more challenging. randomly add dead balls into the mix that you have to play around (you cannot hit them after the object ball is pocketed with the cue ball).
Another exercise comes from Tor Lowery in this video. (not really a drill, but a good way to challenge yourself to see how you are improving.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgdrAwaaCBU&t=536s
Basic set up: Put a ball on intersection of the first diamond short rail and first diamond long rail from corner pocket. Put another ball at the intersection on the opposite short rail corner pocket. Start with ball in hand. Make first ball into its corner, then shoot other ball into it's associated corner. pocket. Keep spotting balls once they are made. See how long you can keep going before missing.
Level 2: Keep cue ball below the 3rd diamond up.
Level 3: force the cue ball off a rail after each shot, again keeping cue ball below 3 diamond (of half table if you want)
Level 4: place 2 more balls on the other end of table at same intersections. Shoot at corner each in succession clockwise or counterclockwise. Again Spotting each ball after pocketing. Again see how long you go around without missing.
Level 5: Same as level 4 but zig zag from end to end. This forces longer table follows for the cue ball.
Optional - put a 3rd and/or 4th ball on head spot and foot spot. Make them the last balls in the rotation again spotting them.
2nd order of difficulty: Start with the setup of each balls at intersection of 2 diamonds along long rail, one diamond on short rail. Repeat levels 1-5.
Again, each ball must be made into its associated pocket.
You could mix up by putting one or two balls on the rails. To make it more challenging. randomly add dead balls into the mix that you have to play around (you cannot hit them after the object ball is pocketed with the cue ball).
Another exercise comes from Tor Lowery in this video. (not really a drill, but a good way to challenge yourself to see how you are improving.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgdrAwaaCBU&t=536s
I swear that is not possible!
Shooting a spot shot without the cue ball touching a rail....
Actually it can be done and is a great speed control drill. Make sure the cue ball is the same weight as the object ball. Put the cue ball on the head string close to the long rail. If you aim the object ball to the short rail side of the pocket it helps. Just slow roll the cue ball.
You will be amazed how often you can make it after you make it once.
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Thomas
I have spent some time with Thomas on and off the table. Definitely one of the good guys and confident enough that if he couldn't do it he would admit he failed.
I do agree though, much easier to make any shot when you have dialed it in for awhile than when the shot is a one time thing and may cost dearly if you miss.
Hu
Of course there are a couple of gaffs that either make it easy or impossible. Fortunately no one on AZB would post gaff videos.
And td's video was probably legit -- the shot's not that hard if you have it dialed in. Efren's stop the cue ball dead shot is a little harder.
I have spent some time with Thomas on and off the table. Definitely one of the good guys and confident enough that if he couldn't do it he would admit he failed.
I do agree though, much easier to make any shot when you have dialed it in for awhile than when the shot is a one time thing and may cost dearly if you miss.
Hu
This, I made it on my 5th try and a few times after that. It's simple math, if you hit less than 50% of the OB the CB will travel further than the OB, if you hit 50% they will travel identical distances, more than 50% and the CB will travel less than the OB.
Not sure what you thought you put up, but that wasn't a no rail spot shot.
Some kind of a cut shot?
Some kind of a cut shot?
Priceless. I do the same thing, along with the 4 railer starting from a corner pocket (my pocket if playing 1hole), then hitting the 4th rail 1 diamond up from my opponent's pocket and drifting cb toward end rail.
Huh, the video had a thin cut (OB 1 ball off the diamond and CB 1 ball off opposite diamond then cut in corner) and the spot shot, I edited said video but it must have saved the wrong half!
I will fix it later today.
So here's the spot shot but the quality went to shit? I'm at work and don't connect to wi-fi here and I tried uploading and it would have taken days so I emailed then uploaded via computer, somewhere the quality got FUBAR'd. I'll mess with it later.
Oh, and I find it funny that in the first video you don't even get to see me make the shot because it cut the wrong half of the video
Talk about failing...
https://youtu.be/eLPrHmmmpKc
I learn speed by time in on the table playing my game. Imo, that's the best way to keep the speed practice fully randomized. Unless your speed is way off, the drills aren't as good as just playing.
Did I get on the right side of the ball? Came up short or long?
Speed, imo is a finesse thing that comes from being completely conscious of where the leave should be and feeling that shot speed as it happens.
Did I get on the right side of the ball? Came up short or long?
Speed, imo is a finesse thing that comes from being completely conscious of where the leave should be and feeling that shot speed as it happens.
I'll have to disagree here. I tried it that way when I started seriously playing pool again 2.5 years ago. I did not advance a lot. DrDave's exams is what I introduced next into my practice. It took a little while but then I had slowly gotten a feeling for speed again.
Just shooting games will bring up so many different situations that IMHO it is a lot harder to learn from them. This may be great if you are already a pretty good player. If your speed is off quite a bit I think repetition is the way to go. Once you nailed down the shots in Dave's exams it is a lot easier to apply that to random shots. I am sure other drills mentioned here would accomplish the same thing.
I know that drills are a lot less fun but I believe without structured drills advances are MUCH slower.
In this case I feel a lot more competent to answer the question BECAUSE I am not such a great player. And I have to go the long and tedious way. Someone who is already good enough to come within a few inches with his speed on most shots is a different animal altogether.
I think you're both right. Practice at home to learn speed shots (1 rails, 2 rails, etc.) then practice pre-match to learn the specific table.
I'm a big fan of drills.
I wouldn't consider myself great by any stretch. But that's how I got the feel for speed. When your leaves get better you don't get into so many different situations. Calm that CB down, see those patterns and it gets much easier with less crazy shots. I know how to get to where I want to be and I look for ways to make it easier by seeing the patterns. I'd say in the last couple years my vision of patterns has improved the most.
I've heard it said that once the basic fundamentals are learned in pool, it all comes down to speed. When I play a game myself or against an opponent speed is always on my mind. It's the last thing that's left in my PSR. When I get down on the shot, my practice strokes are mainly about feeling out speed.
I have been doing Tor Lowry's pool player skill level test a bit and it can be considered a speed drill. If you know how to get where you want. Its a lot about getting on the right side of the next ball. I think of it more of a progressive ghost drill. Anytime you're trying to run balls in succession it's gonna test your speed.
The main stream of original drills are great for improvement, no doubt. The problem is some has shot these same drills thousands of times and they lose substance. Like having sex with the same woman for over 20 years. You love them, but skipping a night or two is the norm at that point. Changing things up at times keeps the mind creative, keeps interest and you at the practice table longer.
One of the features of progressive practice drills is that they remain challenging and put you at the edge of your comfort zone. Lots of drills fail in that regard. Also, you never shoot exactly the same shot twice in a row.