how many balls have you hit?

evergruven

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
just thinking about my time served on a pool table
years I've played, years I haven't
what life was like and
how I felt about the game
fun to think about

and after some sure(ly inaccurate) pondering
I came up with 30,000..just a bit off from a mil:grin:

that said
I appreciate and enjoy the game
more than ever
right now

thanks to you all once more
for helping me feel that way
 

garczar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
just thinking about my time served on a pool table
years I've played, years I haven't
what life was like and
how I felt about the game
fun to think about

and after some sure(ly inaccurate) pondering
I came up with 30,000..just a bit off from a mil:grin:

that said
I appreciate and enjoy the game
more than ever
right now

thanks to you all once more
for helping me feel that way
That's roughly 3,400 games of 9ball. I think i played that many the first three years i played. My total has to be up there by now. Maybe half-a-mil.
 

mikemosconi

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Dallas West made a 14.1 training video in the late 1980s and in it he runs 100 balls off the opening break and says that he estimated that he had already shot one million balls in his playing career!
 

Speedie

Registered
Enough that I can make pretty much any shot on the table. Not enough that I can do it at the first attempt, consistently.
 

CGM

It'd be a lot cooler if you did.
Silver Member
Way more in the last 4 years than the other 40 years combined. I wish I would have fallen in love with this game earlier.
 

eastcoast_chris

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Quick guesstimate calculation...

3 times a week, I hit 100 balls (total estimate, but likely close) = 300
x 52 weeks =15,600
x 35 years = 546,000

Could be way off (on the low side)

So likely not at the million number but definitely more than half way there.
 

DelawareDogs

The Double Deuce…
Silver Member
Quick guesstimate calculation...

3 times a week, I hit 100 balls (total estimate, but likely close) = 300
x 52 weeks =15,600
x 35 years = 546,000

Could be way off (on the low side)

So likely not at the million number but definitely more than half way there.

Following this model:

3x a week, I hit 200 balls roughly, not accounting my down time from rage quitting:wink:
so I'll make it a modest 75 balls/wk.

x 42 weeks (for the times I know I don't play.....)
x 25 years play time (since 9years old) then account for the years I completely didn't play at all........ so 15 years to be modest.....


47,250 balls hit - it seems like a fair number. my guess is I'll need to ramp that up over 100,000 to get over the depressing 540 FR number looming in my 196 robustness. :frown:
 

Patrick Johnson

Fish of the Day
Silver Member
How many balls does it take?

If it takes 10,000 hours to become expert, we'd have to hit 100 balls an hour (36 seconds each) to reach 1 million shots in that time. That's just about possible, I think, if we don't waste time between racks.

Even at a constant 4 hours a day, 5 days a week, 50 weeks a year, that would take 10 years.

How many of us think we've hit a million balls? I think I have over the past 15-20 years.

pj
chgo
 

couldnthinkof01

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
How many balls does it take?

If it takes 10,000 hours to become expert, we'd have to hit 100 balls an hour (36 seconds each) to reach 1 million shots in that time. That's just about possible, I think, if we don't waste time between racks.

Even at a constant 4 hours a day, 5 days a week, 50 weeks a year, that would take 10 years.

How many of us think we've hit a million balls? I think I have over the past 15-20 years.

pj
chgo

I was under the impression that 10,000 hours was
to just become competent.
If we use jiu jitsu as an example. When you get your
black belt under a masters training you are said to
have a good understanding of the basics.
The fundamentals.
Thats roughly 10 years, 6 days a week.

If I dont count banging balls alone or with friends.
Only dedicated practice or serious competition.
I have probably only hit 100,000ish.
Got long ways to go.
I might be dead before I ever get there.
 

pt109

WO double hemlock
Silver Member
I gotta have a million balls hit at snooker.
Might be close to that at pool.
Maybe a hundred thousand at 3-cushion.

I worked at a pro shop for 6 years...so if I add golf balls...it’s ZILLIONS

pt...when I played a round of golf I tried to hit as few as possible
 

couldnthinkof01

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
It isn't universally accepted as truth, but the author who proposed it (Malcolm Gladwell) says it's to "master" a skill.

pj
chgo

Ha! I could not for the life of me remember where that
came from. I have that book somewhere on one
of my bookshelves.
<<<<< shoulda known bedda
 

ChrisSjoblom

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
just thinking about my time served on a pool table
years I've played, years I haven't
what life was like and
how I felt about the game
fun to think about

and after some sure(ly inaccurate) pondering
I came up with 30,000..just a bit off from a mil:grin:

that said
I appreciate and enjoy the game
more than ever
right now

thanks to you all once more
for helping me feel that way

At this point I'm not sure. I keep losing count. How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop? :wink:
 

Bob Jewett

AZB Osmium Member
Staff member
Gold Member
Silver Member
About the 10,000 hours. The author of the original study disagrees with some of what the Gladwell books say.

And it's not just playing or knocking balls around -- it's 10,000 hours of directed practice, like working on specific weaknesses and doing drills that force you to think through game situations, and with a coach to keep you on the right track.

I suspect there are under 100 such 10,000-hour pool players in the world.

Bob <-- who has knocked the balls around for at least 10,000 hours
 
Top