Practice

I'm lucky enough to play in a pool hall, at $10/hr, 6 days a week.

Practice routine: Fargo, IPAT, Progressive Practice Drills.

Chadk said:

i am lucky enough to be able to have a table at home and get to shoot at least 5 days a week. Maybe more.
I have the VEPP's series and a few other video's. I do have the "Little White Donuts" and have a couple of drills laid out on the table i'll shoot occasionally.
However, about the only practice I can seem to want to do is play 8 ball against myself. This is by far the most enjoyable practice for me and I can play 8 ball against myself for hours and hours. My game is certainly showing signs of improvement. My first session of league was the last one of 2011 and I went 5-11. So far this session I am 5-0, but I just moved up a SL starting tonight.
Could I be getting more out of the practice time at home? How do you practice?

Click to expand...

Play straight pool ...keep trying to beat your high run.
You'll learn a billion shots, you'll gt the feel of match pressure, and you'll
have an attention span for staying at the table.

To me, straight pool is the tai-chi of billiards.
Many fighters of different disciplines have tai-chi in common.

You are going to get 100 different answers to this question, but ultimately, this is a nut that you have to crack on your own.

For me, I never ever practice eight ball. But then again, I pretty much never practice by playing ANY games. I just work on the shots that I need to master. Maybe a few racks against the ghost in 9 or 10 ball, but I don't even do that very often.

I can shoot the same shot over and over again and still stay interested. Other people can't seem to do this so they have to mix it up differently. It sounds like you most enjoy playing 8 ball. So, if I was you I would find a way to keep 8 ball as part of my practice routine, but mix it up by paying attention to what mistakes you make while playing it (positional or shot making). In between racks, take a break and work on the shots that you messed up - shooting them over and over again until you feel like you won't mess them up again.

Another thing you will want to pay close attention to if you are playing a lot of 8 ball is your shot making skills can be overlooked. If you are playing decent 8 ball you really don't have to shoot many difficult shots. So make sure you are working on your shot making ability so that when your opponent leaves you a tough shot you can jump up to the table and fire it in.

I've tried keeping track of different practice routines and/or finding different ways to score my practice sessions but I've come to the conclusion that this sort of practice is more of a hindrance to my improvement than an aid in it. The more I engage that analytical part of my brain the worse I play. So I keep my practice very simple. I just work on my fundamentals and I work on tough shots - that's it.

I never miss a thread about practice. I always find it interesting to hear what people spend their practice time on.

Good luck with your continued improvement.

pt109 said:

Play straight pool ...keep trying to beat your high run.
You'll learn a billion shots, you'll gt the feel of match pressure, and you'll
have an attention span for staying at the table.

To me, straight pool is the tai-chi of billiards.
Many fighters of different disciplines have tai-chi in common.

Click to expand...

Agreed, my summary is here:

http://www.billiardsthegame.com/straight-pool-is-the-games-best-teacher-391

mohrt said:

Agreed, my summary is here:

http://www.billiardsthegame.com/straight-pool-is-the-games-best-teacher-391

Click to expand...

Excellent article.
One more thing I'd like to point out about straight pool.
I've seen people practice 9-ball or 8-ball and think they're doing okay.
They tend to remember their successes.

When you play straight pool, the game always tells you the truth.....
...how many did you run?

When I had a table in my garage for a few years and practiced regularly I liked to play Fargo and 8 ball and 9 ball against the ghost. I payed attention to certain shots/leaves I struggled with and would then spend time on those.

I found Fargo the best way to challenge myself to do better and better.

If/when I get another table I will probably practice the same way as before but also add more time with bank/kick systems/practice and safety play.

Don't ignore misses...

Chadk said:

i am lucky enough to be able to have a table at home and get to shoot at least 5 days a week. Maybe more.
I have the VEPP's series and a few other video's. I do have the "Little White Donuts" and have a couple of drills laid out on the table i'll shoot occasionally.
However, about the only practice I can seem to want to do is play 8 ball against myself. This is by far the most enjoyable practice for me and I can play 8 ball against myself for hours and hours. My game is certainly showing signs of improvement. My first session of league was the last one of 2011 and I went 5-11. So far this session I am 5-0, but I just moved up a SL starting tonight.
Could I be getting more out of the practice time at home? How do you practice?

Click to expand...

I like to play games against myself also, but it's very important that when you miss, you re-set the shot until you've made it at least several times. Misses need to be buried in your memory bank by successful shots, otherwise the next time you see a similar shot your memory bank will bring up the miss, and you'll likely miss again.

Donny L
PBIA/ACS Instructor

I either start or end my session with brainwash. I practice groups of 50 balls in kicks, banks, combinations, caroms, jumps, safeties & using the crutch.

Chadk said:

i am lucky enough to be able to have a table at home and get to shoot at least 5 days a week. Maybe more.
I have the VEPP's series and a few other video's. I do have the "Little White Donuts" and have a couple of drills laid out on the table i'll shoot occasionally.
However, about the only practice I can seem to want to do is play 8 ball against myself. This is by far the most enjoyable practice for me and I can play 8 ball against myself for hours and hours. My game is certainly showing signs of improvement. My first session of league was the last one of 2011 and I went 5-11. So far this session I am 5-0, but I just moved up a SL starting tonight.
Could I be getting more out of the practice time at home? How do you practice?

Click to expand...

I practice my Mother Drills every day. Then I throw in a session on Banks & Kicks. I also like to spend a session on aiming.

My twenty minutes go by pretty fast.

randyg

Most of the practice in 14.1 starts with a set up break shot not a full rack.
Vary the start shot to learn different breaks.

pt109 said:

Play straight pool ...keep trying to beat your high run.
You'll learn a billion shots, you'll gt the feel of match pressure, and you'll
have an attention span for staying at the table.

To me, straight pool is the tai-chi of billiards.
Many fighters of different disciplines have tai-chi in common.

Click to expand...

great post, straight pool is the best game for practise, set goals for yourself as far as high scores and try to bet them.



SVB said in an interview he just practises break and run's for hours then will pick the shots he hates the most and practise them, like shooting off the rail.

Chadk said:

So question on the Straight Pool Break. How do you approach this break when practicing. I think straight pool is a called shot break?????? What is my objective on the initial break?

Click to expand...

The straight pool break is basically a safety shot. Google it and you can find some examples. Here is one.....


http://www.forums.easypooltutor.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=9997

Good luck! :thumbup:

Chadk said:

Straight Pool Break, Ok I've heard the Straight Pool thing before. I also Like the Fargo game. pretty close to the same.

So question on the Straight Pool Break. How do you approach this break when practicing. I think straight pool is a called shot break?????? What is my objective on the initial break?

Click to expand...

Your objective for the initial break is to meet the requirements of the opening break (2 balls plus the cue ball need a rail after contact) and not leave your opponent a shot. Essentially you are calling a safety. The classic opening break is to place the cue ball near the head string between the rail and the head spot and clip the corner ball. The idea is to send the struck ball to the foot rail and back to the stack and the other corner ball to the side rail and back. The CB goes two rails and then up table.

Typically when practicing the opening break one isolates this shot and practices only this, racking over and over. Alternatively you can run a rack trying to set up a break ball, but then re-rack all the balls and play the opening break each rack. The advantage of this method is it will give you some safety play practice as well.

Here's an almost perfect opening break (at 1:05) by Efren in a match against Jim Rempe, so good that Rempe responded by taking an intentional foul:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1R1P8MDZpNk

Chadk said:

Straight Pool Break, Ok I've heard the Straight Pool thing before. I also Like the Fargo game. pretty close to the same.

So question on the Straight Pool Break. How do you approach this break when practicing. I think straight pool is a called shot break?????? What is my objective on the initial break?

Click to expand...

Just start with your favorite break shot.
Here is two examples of how they do it at the DCC and the SBE.

Thorsten..https://www.google.ca/url?url=http:...ontest&usg=AFQjCNFJjbuxbB3hjqBYhLieqS2eN5WvLw

..and John Schmidt..https://www.google.ca/url?url=http:...ontest&usg=AFQjCNHFI5cvrNDXWN2pCZN75gT7BDBQ_g

If I had room for a table at home, and actually had a table...me thinks the old lady would not let me out of the house as much.

Pick what you consider is an easy shot but make sure it involves distance so it requires some precision... now set it up and shoot it 100 times.... If you can't run 100 of what you consider is an easy shot how will you ever run 100 in 14.1?????