Guess I’ll start playing one pocket. Help needed.

BobTfromIL

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I recently heard Tom Wirth doing some commentary and it was great. Believe it was the onepocket.org event.
 

noMoreSchon

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Learn to lose a point. Hardest lesson for me. I hate going backwards, with that said it is

the best shot sometimes. Watching people shoot a shot where it puts the opponent in a

trap while losing a point is something spectacular, and one of the finer things that is lost

to me in 1hole. But am in the same boat as you, and learning the game.
 

GoldCrown

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
I recently heard Tom Wirth doing some commentary and it was great. Believe it was the onepocket.org event.

Listening to Tom talk about 1p is an experience. Anything he says about the game is worth while. He knows exactly what he is talking about. And every aspect. Such as playing the score. Always know the score. Risks against stronger and weaker players. Turn defense into offense. Trap!!! Use the mitt. Get a ball on each side of your pocket. Protect the balls in front on your pocket. TRAP! Do not leave the cue in the open when turning over the table. Has been said by many Tom should be in the 1P HOF. For his performances and sharing his knowledge. Tom’s main objective at this time is to teach and keep OnePocket alive.
 

Bob Jewett

AZB Osmium Member
Staff member
Gold Member
Silver Member
Besides Tom Wirth's book, there are some other books on one pocket if you are a reading sort of guy, including Fels, Koehler, and Robin.

There are lots of good videos with better and worse commentators. Sometimes you will want to turn off the sound. Try pausing the video until you have decided what you would shoot for puzzling shots. For creative, aggressive shots, watch Tony Chohan. Do not try the shots he plays in a game until you can either make the shots or corner hook your opponent inside his own pocket.

But your real education is on the table. You will see shots and will say to yourself, "That's just not possible," or, "That had a chance in a million of turning out that well." You will often be wrong, and the only way to really see why you were wrong is to work with the shot on the table.
 

DWreckTheBoss

Registered
Josh Roberts is one of the most educational one-pocket commentators if you can find any matches where he's doing commentary. He breaks down the question of *why* a certain shot is the right shot and certain shots are bad choices in more detail and depth than most others. He knows the game super well and is really good at verbalizing his reasoning.

I know he does some commentary on the Freezer's One Pocket tourney from last year which has a bunch of matches up on youtube; I'm not sure about what other matches might feature his insights.

I have to agree with Andrew Manning. Josh Roberts is one of the best one pocket commentators I have watched. Any stream with him is worth watching a few times. One pocket will definitely show you weaknesses in your game. It can be humbling. Good luck
 

Runner

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I'll add a few more..

ALWAYS know the score..

Eliminate the threat..

Whenever possible, leave your opponent froze on a rail, he'll
have less CB control.

As mentioned, sometimes to win, you need to lose a point, intentional
scratch.. I liken this to sacrificing a pawn to gain advantage in chess.

Catcher's mitt... dial in your speed to snug the CB... Efren is deadly at this.

Patience,patience.. I've seen more games blown where a guy has 7
and gets impatient, takes a bad shot and sells out.

Banks, banks, banks...
 
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TRWpool

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
Hi, My ears were twitching and my nose was itching so I knew someone was talking about me or my book "One Pocket: A Game of Controlled Aggression".
Thanks for the plugs guys.

There has been a lot of good advice offered in this thread.
Yes, by all means buy my book, It is a great investment in advance of playing the game or taking lessons from a knowledgeable One Pocket instructor. There are not many good OP instructors around so be sure to find someone who knows what they are talking about and who communicates well with YOU.

Don't just watch videos of matches. That's fine and good as long as the commentary is of a high level. JJ is as good as it gets. There are others. Billy I.for example.You might want to check out a number of You Tube channels devoted to One Pocket instruction. My channel is called "One Pocket: A Game of Controlled Aggression" and I have several instructional videos all devoted to the game. I'm periodically added videos, so subscribe and get notified when new vids are uploaded.
You will have to search hard and wide to find any really good YT channels devoted to OP instruction but I'm sure someone other than myself has some good information which will help in your development.

Good luck and welcome to the greatest pool game ever invented.

Tom
 
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gypsy_soul

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Thank you, I’ve registered over there waiting on approval to pose same question.

I'm headed to Windrock Mountain Bike Park in a month it's 30 min from Kingsport. PM me and I'll swing through and play some at night / afternoon after riding sir ..... I'll be there 3 days .
 

BobTfromIL

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Tom, really enjoy your youtube stuff and your book, learned a lot from it but still have a long way to go. Thanks for posting it.
 
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