I have some theories I'd like to test on 20-30 ball runners

Straightpool_99

I see dead balls
Silver Member
Are you stuck on 20-30 ball runs? Try this excercise for 2 weeks and tell me the results:

1. In the half of the table where the rack is, scatter all the balls with no ball touching any others. Don't try to disperse them perfectly, just randomly.

2. Put one ball in an ideal break position and one in a perfect key ball position. These are now chosen and cannot be altered during the run. You MUST use that key ball and that breakball when going into the next rack.

3. Run all the balls WITHOUT having the cueball touch any other ball than the one that's being pocketed. You can use all 6 pockets. Go into the next rack and run as many as you can. Preferably the same way as much as possible.

4. Combinations are allowed, but should be avoided as much as possible. No caroms! Avoid jumps and other trick shots. That's just cheating yourself out of the lesson.

5. First shot is ball in hand from the kitchen.

TIPS for those who struggle:

1. ALWAYS choose a rail target when playing position, even if the cueball won't come close to touching a rail! When the cueball DOES touch a rail, choose a rail target that is to be contacted, AND a railtarget that is to be "approached" on the next rail.

2. Stay as far away from the other balls as possible! Play into large open areas. Do not try to get cute. Use the rail targets to imagine the balls path.

3. Identify problem areas and "blocker" balls that need to be removed and get them as quickly as possible.

4. Stay off the rail at all times. If you have to play close to a rail, make a plan to get away without losing position.

5. KNOW where the cueball is going, don't guess! If you don't know exactly what the cueball will do, do something else. BUT ALWAYS PLAY POSITION INTO AN AREA WHERE YOU HAVE A CHOICE OF DIFFERENT SHOTS, IF THAT IS POSSIBLE.
 
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ChrisinNC

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Are you stuck on 20-30 ball runs? Try this excercise for 2 weeks and tell me the results:

1. In the half of the table where the rack is, scatter all the balls with no ball touching any others. Don't try to disperse them perfectly, just randomly.

2. Put one ball in an ideal break position and one in a perfect key ball position. These are now chosen and cannot be altered during the run. You MUST use that key ball and that breakball when going into the next rack.

3. Run all the balls WITHOUT having the cueball touch any other ball than the one that's being pocketed. You can use all 6 pockets. Go into the next rack and run as many as you can. Preferably the same way as much as possible.

4. Combinations are allowed, but should be avoided as much as possible. No caroms! Avoid jumps and other trick shots. That's just cheating yourself out of the lesson.

5. First shot is ball in hand from the kitchen.

TIPS for those who struggle:

1. ALWAYS choose a rail target when playing position, even if the cueball won't come close to touching a rail! When the cueball DOES touch a rail, choose a rail target that is to be contacted, AND a railtarget that is to be "approached" on the next rail.

2. Stay as far away from the other balls as possible! Play into large open areas. Do not try to get cute. Use the rail targets to imagine the balls path.

3. Identify problem areas and "blocker" balls that need to be removed and get them as quickly as possible.

4. Stay off the rail at all times. If you have to play close to a rail, make a plan to get away without losing position.

5. KNOW where the cueball is going, don't guess! If you don't know exactly what the cueball will do, do something else. BUT ALWAYS PLAY POSITION INTO AN AREA WHERE YOU HAVE A CHOICE OF DIFFERENT SHOTS, IF THAT IS POSSIBLE.
Sounds like a great drill, but considering all 15 balls starting out are only on 1/2 of the table, your rule number 3 - not running in to any other ball than the ball you are pocketing, sounds like it will be pretty hard to accomplish without superb cue ball control and leaving just the correct angle on almost every shot - particularly for players who have trouble running more than 2 racks. I'll give it a try and report back - thanks.
 

Pushout

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Similar to Jim Rempe's drill, only using half the table? Not sure how that would go but it's worth trying, I guess.
 

Straightpool_99

I see dead balls
Silver Member
Already see an improvement!

Glad to hear it.:smile: I think for a lot of people, the shooting ability to run more balls is there but they go into the balls unnecessarily and don't properly plan out their runs. The drill was an experiment to see if by adressing those two things, the ability to run balls would be improved. Personally I use something similar to train Chinese 8 ball, and I try to use this kind of thinking for all my straight pool runs. If you play 8 ball, make sure to try it for that game as well. I think having the mindset of not touching the balls helps with concentration as well as actual execution. It's been great for my 8 ball playing, I'll tell you that. Once the balls are open, be it any pool game, I don't touch them unless I absolutely have to.
 
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kollegedave

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I won't be able to get to this for awhile, but I am going to try it. I am not sure if I am a 20 - 30 ball runner, but I think I am. I feel like I can fall out of bed and run 20, occasionally, I pop off for something in the 50's. I have been stuck at this level for awhile, so I will give your drill a shot.

Dave
 

bral

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I'll give this a try. I have just started to incorporate a little 5.1 into my practice, as I do think that (end of rack) is where my lack of precision bites me the most.
 

sparkle84

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I'll give this a try. I have just started to incorporate a little 5.1 into my practice, as I do think that (end of rack) is where my lack of precision bites me the most.

I think what 99 is advocating will help people somewhat but it might not help your end of rack problems. Consistently having end rack problems is usually a result of bad decisions earlier in the rack.
 
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Straightpool_99

I see dead balls
Silver Member
I think what 99 is advocating will help people somewhat but it might not help your end of rack problems. Consistently having end rack problems is usually a result of bad decisions earlier in the rack.

This is a good post.

I think the key to get a run started is to make a good first shot. The first shot is often what makes or breaks a run. You need a pocketable shot that gets your cue ball under tight control.

This no-touch drill is designed to get you to think about your cueball from the very beginning and keep a sharp focus throughout. How often haven't we all had a great breakshot and then relaxed a little bit and gotten stuck somewhere? I can't speak for anybody else, but personally I've done that about a million times.

Even if you find the drill itself not useful, for whatever reason, I think a reasonable substitute drill to do is to practise the first shot after a break from behind the line. Shoot a breakshot, take ball in hand behind the line and try to play position on a secondary break or problem ball without touching anything else. Play position for a secondary breakshot and rebreak. It's almost the reverse of the 5.1 he's been practising. In the substitute drill he's focusing on the first 2 or 3 shots, rather than the last 5. If you combine that with 5.1, you're focusing on the biggest hurdles of the game. The first and the last shots.

Or you could just play the game normally, of course. I realize that not everybody shares my ideas of the game and practise. That's ok. I'd like to thank everyone for testing this drill for me and satisfying my curiosity. Personally, I love making drills, trying very challenging things, rather than just play. I believe it helps me improve faster, but I realize not everyone is like me.
 
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bral

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Thanks, I think that will be helpful, I do value practice / drills. It's not uncommon for me to get into the 20's in sparring sessions, and my high run is 36. I feel like I'm close to getting my game to the next level but it's likely a combination of things that will have to improve to get there. More focused practice ahead!
 

acousticsguru

player/instructor
Silver Member
Great exercise that reminds me a bit of my slightly less demanding "backwards" drill that I do with students, and of which I posted a video a few years back:

https://youtu.be/CSWkz7eWrMI

Love your contributions – glad to see you're keeping the torch burning!

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________

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