Effective practice time.

cue4me said:

Something I remember from education classes back in college was that to get the most effective learning for new physical skills is that they should be performed in 20 minute increments for approximately 3 weeks. It had to do with the difficulty in remaining focused for a longer period of time. Of course everyone learns at different rates and some may not take the 3 weeks to master the new skill.

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BC21 said:

I guess it's different for different people. Certainly what a pro level player calls "practice" though is probably not the same type of practice an aspiring B or C level player calls practice. Even a good A player will have a different practice regimen than a top level pro or any B or C player.

Over the last couple of decades, there have been quite a few great studies done on learning and development of skills and talents with regards to study/practice time. The research indicates that short practice/study sessions, focused on a specific goal, produce the best results for most people. This is because typically it's difficult to keep 100% focus for long periods of time. And when it comes to learning, or developing skills, quality of practice usually trumps quantity.

A good example is studying for a final exam.... You can spend 5 hours studying the day before the exam, or you can spend 30 minutes a couple of times a day over a period of 5 days leading to the exam. That 5 hour study session will seem good and strong, 100% focused, for some of that time, but not for all the time. The mind will wonder, distractions will creep in, thoughts that have nothing to do with what you are trying to study. So that5 hours may look and sound great, but the quality of actual study time isn't ideal.

With dedicated 30 to 40min sessions, however, you stand a better chance of remaining 100% focused on what you're doing for that entire time. It's quality time. And you might find an hour or 2 is all quality for you, when others might do better with shorter time periods.

The same study habits have shown to be effective in developing skills in sports. Practice is more useful if you are 100% dedicated/focused on the task. If you feel yourself slipping into boredom, or losing focus, take a break. Go eat, watch tv, read a book, whatever.... The worse thing you can do is beat in the time, nonchalantly, simply because you told yourself you were going to practice for 2 hours, or 5 hours, or whatever predefined time limit you chose. If the quality of practice drops, it's time to quit, take a break and come back to it later when you can give 100%.

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BC21 said:

Here is neat little practice drill that incorporates down the rail cut shots and position play. Shoot the balls in order, 1 through 10, without hitting any other balls. It took me 3 tries (about 20 minutes total time) to do it. It's not super tough because I placed each ball about 2 inches from the cushion. But the shots are very common in every game, so I like it this way. You could make it tougher by moving the balls closer to the cushion.

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duckie said:

While long runs seems to get the most attention, there is nothing like a good safety battle in straight.

I look forward to them and actually practice safety’s on myself. Since most practice runs, I usually come out on top in a safety battle.

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RDeca said:

I will say ...that i can't wait to get rid of the kamui brown soft tip and swap it for a triangle LePro or Water buffalo..I'm cheap tho and I'll play it till its down to the nub. Hoping I like it more in the last quarter of the tip. We will see.

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brigeton said:

I'm in about the same boat as the OP. I started playing again last year after a few years off. I watched Mark Wilson's clinic about 6 weeks ago and started trying to incorporate that into my game.
Lately I have just been rolling all 15 balls out on the table and shooting them in, sets of 5 racks or 75 balls as suggested by Brian from FX billiards. It takes me about 45 or 50 minutes to do a set and I do about 10 sets a week keeping score on my misses. My misses have steadily come down each week for the last month and my stroke is starting to feel much smoother. I work on speed drills or something else a little in between.
Before the lockdown I was playing local bar tournaments and finishing in the money about 1/2 the time. There are several players there about the same speed as me and a couple that are clearly better. I'm hoping that with my practice during the shutdown I will narrow that gap a little.
By the way, I'm 67 but in pretty good health and I don't think my age is really holding me back.

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Gatz said:

If you can't deliver the cue straight, nothing else matters. I ALWAYS practice my stroke mechanics first, until it's being delivered in a straight smooth motion and I stay down on the ball. I usually start off with straight in shots drawing the ball to end rail, stun is to easy. I find draw will show the in perfections of your stroke, at least for me anyway. If I'm hitting this to my satisfaction I start making the shots very difficult (like the video posted) I agree with SVB's comments, "Practice tough shots". Once they come up in a match, it's all butter. In fact I love when they come up because you instantly become confident in making them, you're prepared.

Once I'm satisfied with my results I move onto breaking and playing as if I'm playing another opponent. If I break wide open with a shot I try to run out if I break with no shot I'll push or play safe. I've played racks where I'm playing safe and kicking on myself for 10+ mins. I probably get 2-3 hours of solid focused practice every "OTHER" day.

I will continue to practice for hours if my focus level is still there. I try to stretch it more and more. If I find myself down or not into it I just stop all together.

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Tennesseejoe said:

I have a home billiard room, am 76 years old, and I walk past my table 10 or so times a day. I always shoot one shot because it makes me concentrate. Some times it becomes a practice session. If I am not consistent with straight in shots, I can not be consistent with any other shot. This is my routine...


Put an object ball a few inches past the side pocket and one inch off of the rail. Then put the cue ball on the head string also one inch off the same rail rail. With the cue ball, using a stop shot, shoot the object ball straight in corner pocket. This will show if you are missing consistently on one side or the other. The problem is either in your aim or your stroke. Now use different speeds to see if that is the problem. Do this until you are proficient.

The next step is to try one type of English on this shot, such as a little low/right. You should be able to make the shot and leave the cue ball spinning in place. Do this until you are proficient. Now practice with another combination of English. Good luck.

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CocoboloCowboy said:

Most people hate practicing, it is boring, repetive, and is not fun. It's like trying to diet, but if your over weight, you had better try a life style change. Life style change works to loose weight, and keep off.

The funny thing is about practicing is, one you work on your weaknesses. Say banking, banking shot become easier.

Most people who play pool good or great practice a lot. One of the better players I know works real hard on stroke. Cue ball placement post shot. He is always practicing doing drills.

If you practice one thing you do poor, and start burning out. Practice another skill that is weak. Soon you will see improvement, and that should be mental payback for time invested in practice.

You can spend lot of money on instructional DVD, but you got to watch em. It's like viewing a movie, if you watch it only one you miss stuff. You got to watch, and rewatch to see everything better.

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JessEm said:

I practice a couple hours a day. 95% is 8-ball against myself on a 7'. Rack after rack, negotiating through traffic. I'm kinda chasing break and runs. If I don't make a ball on the break I kinda lose interest in the rack. But keep shooting until the next rack, albeit haphazardly with lesser care on my shots, which can become somewhat counter productive.

I *should* be doing more drills, there is however five basic shots I practice. Stop, draw, follow, stun run, and stun back. From about 1/2 table distance, dead straight into the corner. About 10 of each to warmup, or whenever shot selection starts getting blurry.

There's not substitute for practice OR playing matches.

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duckie said:

Just turning 66, it is nice to see others in my age range with the same experience about playing really good pool. I was wondering if I was the only one.

One of my beliefs about practice is this.......if you are making all the shots......then you aren’t practicing the right shots.

There are all types of shots in pool......I mean a lot.....especially if you play more than one type of pool game.

For example........a simple cross bank shot into a pocket......Now, try a double cross bank.......

Put one OB on the table.....then practice kicking at it....

And so on......

One drill that will really help in developing CB speed control is pocket speed drill. This is stroking the CB in such a manner that just enough energy transferred to the OB so that the OB speed is just enough to make the pocket. It’s a hard drill cause it requires you to slow everything down which requires better muscle control than stroking faster.

Something not discussed is down time. Not playing at all for a period of time. To totally forget about pool.

I’ve found that when I do this......when I return to playing....my game is better.

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mikemosconi said:

If you stay in good health, physically fit, are blessed with some good genes in terms of delayed normal aging factors, you can play real well into your eighties. I am also 67 and , I am now playing the best pool of my life, even though I no longer have an in home billiard room. Retirement from the normal daily work requirements can free the body and mind to adopt to higher levels of achievement in many areas- thankfully one of them is the game of billiards! I have played against a few guys in their eighties over the past few years and it still takes a strong B level game to beat them on a scale of A B C D.

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Tin Man said:

Good post and great replies.

If I had to draw up a pie chart for most players I'd say it should look something like this:

50% sparring, playing with friends a little better or similar speed
25% competition, tournaments or matching up
10% practice
10% watching pro players
5% miscellaneous (reading books, AZBilliards, etc)

If players have the opportunity to compete against the world's best then they can do this all through competition without much solo practice. Mostly playing, watching their opponents, and trying things in between sets and chatting with other pros.

For most players they do benefit from some practice. The problem is too many people forgo competition thinking they can practice their way to perfection or greatness. But let me tell you, you fun faster when someone is chasing you, and you simply develop faster in competition than you do on your own.

That all said, I've got a great deal of respect for practice. Particularly as you become better than those in your surrounding area. Then you have to push yourself and focused practice can be better than playing weaker players. I've seen other players get to the next level through hard practice and I have as well.

But you can't let go of competition. It is all important and gives clarity, purpose, and motivation to keep growing.

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