When you practice 6-8 hours a day what do you guys work on?
r/DCP
r/DCP
Practicing 6-8 Hours A Day
- Thread starter DrCue'sProtege
- Start date
I would work on shooting myself.....seriously, I can only practice about 45 minutes before I just get tired of looking at the balls.
It's another story if I'm in action, then I can play for 10 hours straight
It's another story if I'm in action, then I can play for 10 hours straight
I start off with 1-3 racks of 8ball, maybe move a few with my hand to get loose.
Then 3ball rotation
4ball rotation
Then I play 3ball with dollar bill sized cue ball targets and re setup until I complete 5in a row, repeating with a new pattern for a while then the same on 4ball
A few hrs go by
Take a lunch break
8ball ghost a few racks (playing safes)
Set up whatever shots I missed until I can make 5in a row (this could be a break out, safe, or missed ball)
Then I go back to 3-4ball drill, the key is to pick every position area and pocket before you shoot the first ball! No improvising as you go!!!!
Time goes by fast, plus it's challenging!
This will sound weird but I prefer this over playing people anymore!
Then 3ball rotation
4ball rotation
Then I play 3ball with dollar bill sized cue ball targets and re setup until I complete 5in a row, repeating with a new pattern for a while then the same on 4ball
A few hrs go by
Take a lunch break
8ball ghost a few racks (playing safes)
Set up whatever shots I missed until I can make 5in a row (this could be a break out, safe, or missed ball)
Then I go back to 3-4ball drill, the key is to pick every position area and pocket before you shoot the first ball! No improvising as you go!!!!
Time goes by fast, plus it's challenging!
This will sound weird but I prefer this over playing people anymore!
7 ball rotation works of me. Start out with a full 15 ball rack shooting what ever I want and them just throw out 7 balls. I start with BIH sort of in that I don't give myself a gimme but place the cue ball where getting shape is somewhat challenging. If I hook myself I play a safe and then throw balls out until 7 are on the table.
I can do this for up to 1 1/2 hours and by then I am bat shit crazy.
I can do this for up to 1 1/2 hours and by then I am bat shit crazy.
6 to 8 hours would be a pretty good week for me. I practise until I start feeling tired then I quit. Bad practise is worse than no practise. Bet I'm not the only old dude that feels this way.
When I used to play alot my routine consisted of different drills followed by playing the 9 ball ghost.
Took between 1:45 - 3 hrs depending upon how quickly I successfully completed the drills.
No way my shoulder could take 6+ hrs of solo pool.
Took between 1:45 - 3 hrs depending upon how quickly I successfully completed the drills.
No way my shoulder could take 6+ hrs of solo pool.
The following is all done on a super tight table or a normal table with pocket reducers in.
Long shots with big stroke, straight in or with a a small cut, struck hard. Do this to get in stroke an find the pocket. I usually warm up with this almost every time I know I'm gonna be shooting for at least an hour. I normally do this until I feel like Im getting the results I want consistently. If I'm gonna be shooting for a while I will do this a bit longer... maybe for like 30 mins or so.
In a longer session I will move onto continue working on shot making but also getting position on another specific ball. Basically putting an OB out there and another ball to play position on. I dont really have a timeframe for how long I do this. I just do it until I start seeing positive consistent results.
In a shorter session I move on to shooting the 9ball ghost just rack by rack, no sets. If I'm at the poolhall this is on the super tight table. If I'm at home this is with the reducers removed because its a major pain in the ass to attempt to play a game with them in the way and balls do not react properly when you miss and they bounce of of them. I rack and break every rack. Noting where I like to place certain balls in the rack as most tourney around here and when matching up they are rack your own. It's good to know a few good ball placements that will help you string some balls/racks.
If that goes well I move on to playing the 9ball ghost a few sets. Noting dogged shots (not hard shots that were missed, but stupid shit like missing an easy ball or screwing up shape massively).
If at the poolhall I sometimes get into some cheap action to help sharpen up the desire to win a bit more. Having something to lose, other then pride, really helps you raise the bar a bit, or dog it even more. The more matching up you do, the better your chances of not dogging it in the future.
So that's basically it for me. Sometimes I go practice a specific shot that I know I dogged. One that I feel I should make almost every time I get to the table. I'll shoot that ball 100 times in groups of 10 and note my results so I can see if I'm improving on it.
Hope this helps some. See my disclaimer.
Long shots with big stroke, straight in or with a a small cut, struck hard. Do this to get in stroke an find the pocket. I usually warm up with this almost every time I know I'm gonna be shooting for at least an hour. I normally do this until I feel like Im getting the results I want consistently. If I'm gonna be shooting for a while I will do this a bit longer... maybe for like 30 mins or so.
In a longer session I will move onto continue working on shot making but also getting position on another specific ball. Basically putting an OB out there and another ball to play position on. I dont really have a timeframe for how long I do this. I just do it until I start seeing positive consistent results.
In a shorter session I move on to shooting the 9ball ghost just rack by rack, no sets. If I'm at the poolhall this is on the super tight table. If I'm at home this is with the reducers removed because its a major pain in the ass to attempt to play a game with them in the way and balls do not react properly when you miss and they bounce of of them. I rack and break every rack. Noting where I like to place certain balls in the rack as most tourney around here and when matching up they are rack your own. It's good to know a few good ball placements that will help you string some balls/racks.
If that goes well I move on to playing the 9ball ghost a few sets. Noting dogged shots (not hard shots that were missed, but stupid shit like missing an easy ball or screwing up shape massively).
If at the poolhall I sometimes get into some cheap action to help sharpen up the desire to win a bit more. Having something to lose, other then pride, really helps you raise the bar a bit, or dog it even more. The more matching up you do, the better your chances of not dogging it in the future.
So that's basically it for me. Sometimes I go practice a specific shot that I know I dogged. One that I feel I should make almost every time I get to the table. I'll shoot that ball 100 times in groups of 10 and note my results so I can see if I'm improving on it.
Hope this helps some. See my disclaimer.
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That's a long time to practice, especially if your not used to it and could actually be counter productive.
Longest I can go, if not playing someone else is about 3 hours.
I play my game of choice for about 3-5 games then switch to a drill I've catered to my faults and do that about 3x, then cycle it again using different drills throughout.
If I see a miss shot come up a few times during game play I'll do a drill to that.
I wish I could play that long. Since having a dog the last three years I have a tough time stringing 3 games together w out a rope or toy being pushed into my leg. Helps me ignore sharking techniques I guess
Longest I can go, if not playing someone else is about 3 hours.
I play my game of choice for about 3-5 games then switch to a drill I've catered to my faults and do that about 3x, then cycle it again using different drills throughout.
If I see a miss shot come up a few times during game play I'll do a drill to that.
I wish I could play that long. Since having a dog the last three years I have a tough time stringing 3 games together w out a rope or toy being pushed into my leg. Helps me ignore sharking techniques I guess
Mike
I practice 20 minutes a day.
Then I might play for a couple of hours.
randyg
I practice 20 minutes a day.
Then I might play for a couple of hours.
randyg
Randy,
I knew you and Scott teach that you should play in about 15-20 minute increments because of what you guys perceive to be the concentration factor. Correct?
However, if I practiced for 6-8 hours in two sessions of 3-4 hours, i'd have no problem keeping my concentration.
r/Mike
6-8 hours a day??? Wish I had that kind of time!!! My lower back usually tells me that practice is over after about two hours. Although I often ignore it if I’ve got an entertaining cash game going on.
I sit on the couch and pretend my opponent is on a 300 pack.
Thats a very long time for practice. I cant hold my concentration for drills longer than 45 min to an hour. Take a 10 min. break than maybe another set.
Straight pool I can play alone for a good couple hours at a clip.
Good luck with all that.
Straight pool I can play alone for a good couple hours at a clip.
Good luck with all that.
I don't practice more than 20 minutes or so, because I'll start to compromise my focus.
If I start practice without focus I get sloppy, & don't want to take that to the game table.
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I'd say time spent practicing depends on your level of play, I guess.
How much practice do you think any top player in their sport has put in? I started typing names but the list was getting too long.
You have to ask yourself what am I trying to accomplish during my practice and is the practice I am doing working to that goal?
If I'm not playing for money, I'm practicing in games w other people. Whether my opponent knows it or not, don't care, don't mind losing if I learn something.
Funny thing, I'm working at maintaining my focus for long periods of time. That's been my practice, I don't have hours of time though. I find I miss shots most because of lack of focus.
Of course, what do I know, I'm not a pro. I just see what they do.
You practice 6-8 hours a day, or more, you'll learn the power of sustained focus, or in a different way of thinking of it, it will become less of a need to focus so much cause you've done it so much. Already been there, done that, beyond a thousand times.
Which is it?
There are people who have a passion and there are people who have a passion that ignites them that they can't think of anything else.
I've always thought the latter might be a bit off. But it leads them to places sane people will never see.
How much practice do you think any top player in their sport has put in? I started typing names but the list was getting too long.
You have to ask yourself what am I trying to accomplish during my practice and is the practice I am doing working to that goal?
If I'm not playing for money, I'm practicing in games w other people. Whether my opponent knows it or not, don't care, don't mind losing if I learn something.
Funny thing, I'm working at maintaining my focus for long periods of time. That's been my practice, I don't have hours of time though. I find I miss shots most because of lack of focus.
Of course, what do I know, I'm not a pro. I just see what they do.
You practice 6-8 hours a day, or more, you'll learn the power of sustained focus, or in a different way of thinking of it, it will become less of a need to focus so much cause you've done it so much. Already been there, done that, beyond a thousand times.
Which is it?
There are people who have a passion and there are people who have a passion that ignites them that they can't think of anything else.
I've always thought the latter might be a bit off. But it leads them to places sane people will never see.
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I'm no instructor, not even close, but considering I thoroughly enjoy both competing and extended practicing I can honestly say the mindset and levels of concentration between both (at least for me) are apples and oranges. Way different.
When competing, it is a massive mental blow watching someone take one of your mistakes and turn it into a win and then a break and run and possibly more. I have my own way of dealing with that but that's another story.
I know you are hard on yourself based upon your posting history, I am hard on myself as well when I practice, but a dogged ball in a match with another person hurts even more. I think it's because the punishment for it happens right away and unlike the ghost (where punishment is swift too) you have to sit there and endure it.
However, much like a package or just a single break and run or even a night of playing well will continue to fuel that desire for the game and want you to come back, with the right mindset, the stupid mistake will do the same thing. You will want to prove it to yourself and your opponent and any rail birds that you are not that person that does dumb shit like that.
I know you don't compete with other people much and I know you put a lot of time in on your table as it is. Your table sounds tough too from the way you have described it in previous threads. I'm sure you play well and can run out. I can't say this enough though... you really need to get into some form of regular competition, whether it be league, cheap action or a random tourney... It will only help you.
See my disclaimer.
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The 20-40min focus maybe true for the average attention span, I don't know! But I grew up racing motorcycles and motocross was 40min of extreme focus but when I raced enduro and hare scrambles (woods racing) it was 4hours at a time! Believe me when I say that during those 4hours if you didn't have extreme mental toughness and focus you would find yourself wadded up against a tree! Average speed was 30mph during these races and you're dodging trees that your handlebars won't go straight through, you're also staring at rocks and ruts quickly picking the best lines to navigate.
I'm no NASCAR fan but I would think those guys use extreme 4hour focus!
That being said I believe focus can be learned! It may not be easy for some but never generalize by saying 20-40min is the most! 6-8 hours of practice is not 6-8hours of focus ether. There's a lot of time spent setting up, racking, etc. pay attention but focus only on the shot at hand!
I'm no NASCAR fan but I would think those guys use extreme 4hour focus!
That being said I believe focus can be learned! It may not be easy for some but never generalize by saying 20-40min is the most! 6-8 hours of practice is not 6-8hours of focus ether. There's a lot of time spent setting up, racking, etc. pay attention but focus only on the shot at hand!
Could of easily done 6-8 hours when I was 17-20 years old. I’m not that old at 29, but am having trouble just practicing for 2 hours at a time. Regardless, back then I used to just throw the balls on the table and run out rotation style for an hour or two. Then set up specific shots I’ve had trouble with and just continue to shoot those repeatedly until I got a better feeling. After that I would then set up specific position shots I know I had trouble on and repeat until I got a better feeling as well. After all that, I would play the ghost in 9 ball. Always had trouble beating the 9 ball ghost but could easily beat the 7 ball ghost.
So yeah...10 years or so ago I could easily practice for long periods doing exactly what I described above. I think age and stamina really affect the duration that people can practice though. Obviously there are exceptions, but to most people I think as you get away from the youth ages (15 - mid20s) the long practice sessions get incredibly harder. Meaningful practice sessions anyways...
So yeah...10 years or so ago I could easily practice for long periods doing exactly what I described above. I think age and stamina really affect the duration that people can practice though. Obviously there are exceptions, but to most people I think as you get away from the youth ages (15 - mid20s) the long practice sessions get incredibly harder. Meaningful practice sessions anyways...