Billiard University (BU) playing-ability-exam scores and ratings

kaznj

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
This sounds great. I am looking forward to practicing. I would like to see the BU doing a road school like the pool schools Randy and Scott do.
 

dr_dave

Instructional Author
Gold Member
Silver Member
This sounds great. I am looking forward to practicing.
Please post your score (and videos if you have a camera) after you get comfortable with the exams. Also, let us know if you think the rating based on your score is an accurate description of your level of ability.

I would like to see the BU doing a road school like the pool schools Randy and Scott do.
In the future, we hope to have BU Boot Camps scheduled in many cities at different times of year. The only event we have planned so far this year is the Annual BU Summer School Boot Camp to be held in July in Fort Collins, Colorado. Bob and I are hoping some AZB'ers will attend the inaugural event this year.

Regards,
Dave
 

BRussell

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Do you think the row corresponding to your score in the rating comparison chart is an accurate measure of your ability?

It put me higher than I expected. But I probably didn't do all of the drills correctly - I know I misunderstood the progressive drill scoring, because I scored my first shot as a 4 every time, when it should have been my next shot's starting point. So I would have had one more shot to score. And i did the drills separately rather than at one time. Probably doing them consecutively would be tougher.

Thanks again for a great practice routine, and for all of the other materials you have available.
 

dr_dave

Instructional Author
Gold Member
Silver Member
It put me higher than I expected. But I probably didn't do all of the drills correctly - I know I misunderstood the progressive drill scoring, because I scored my first shot as a 4 every time, when it should have been my next shot's starting point. So I would have had one more shot to score. And i did the drills separately rather than at one time. Probably doing them consecutively would be tougher.
Detailed instructions for how to take the exams are in the BU Exam Instructions document and in the exam documents, which include the shot diagrams. For those who don't know, all of the exam documents and score sheets needed to take the exams are available here at no cost: BU Exam Resource Page

For people who don't like to look at documents, the following videos provide complete examples of each shot in both exams, along with how to score them:
NV D.4 - Billiard University - Part 4: Exam-I Overview - demonstrations and scoring of the Fundamentals Exam
NV D.5 - Billiard University - Part 5: Exam II Overview - demonstrations and scoring of the Skills Exam

Please post your score after you take the exams properly and I'll update it on the results page. Also, do you have a video camera? If you do, record and post videos of your exams, and you can be one of the three who gets a free pool diploma.

Thanks again for a great practice routine, and for all of the other materials you have available.
You're very welcome. Please help spread the word.

We hope other AZB'ers out there try the exams and take us up on the free diploma offer.

Best regards,
Dave
 

justadub

Rattling corners nightly
Silver Member
This looks great!

I cant wait to get started. (Tho I guess I'll have to, until I get a chance to print off the materials at work, home printer on the fritz, hey)

I really think that if I can allow myself the time to work on these drills, it will be a great help. Really looking forward to it, thanks to you and all the rest of the faculty for putting it together and sharing with us.
 

kaznj

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
You are providing a great service to the pool community. I would like to thank you for your contributions.
I played with some of the shots today. I didn't do as well as I would have liked,but I enjoy practicing with drills like this.
You have quite the cast of characters on your faculty. I have worked with Randy G, Jerry B, and Mark F. All are great teachers. I hope you get to the New Jersey area in the near future.
 

JC

Coos Cues
Great drills Dave! I notice you suggest having music playing in the background to validate the no edit but beware, you tube will automatically mute your video if certain songs are playing owned by a couple of the studios. This has happened to me on many occasions and I was just shooting pool with a playlist going from my computer to keep me company. And to make matters worse you will get an e mail from them about copyright infringement which means nothing but could make some folks nervous.

I prefer the Avery clear vinyl reinforcement circles #05722 over the white ones. They are thinner I think and almost invisible. Less than 4 bucks for 1000 of them. You can leave them all over the place and barely notice them when you move from drills to games. Sometimes you have to move your head around to catch a glare in order to even find them. I made a permanent 10 ball rack using my magic rack as a template with these and it works great just like the slug doctor. They are tough as hell and if one gets worn or damaged you can replace just that one to keep the whole rack in good order. I started with a normal spot that I punched a hole in the center and used the circles to make the rest (ok I got the idea from Stan Shuffet). Racks are immediate and tight and these clear circles are no factor to shoot over unlike the magic rack or the white circles which can skid a ball if hit just right.

JC
 

Neil

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Dave, do all the drills have to be on one video, or can you do each "set" of drills on a separate video? Camera I now have only records for 25 min.
 

dr_dave

Instructional Author
Gold Member
Silver Member
... how does equipment variability come into play, e. g. bucket vs. tight pockets, 7 vs 9 ft tables, etc?
Here's a quote from the BU Exam Instructions document:


A 9’ table is recommended because the exams and rating system were designed for a regulation-size table. To receive a Doctorate diploma, both exams must be taken on a 9’ (or larger) table; however, a smaller table size (e.g., 7’ or 8’) is allowed for a Bachelors or Masters diploma.


We also collect table and pocket information (pocket point-to-point size and shelf depth) with the diploma application form, and publish this information with the scores on the official page that lists people's results. This will provide useful context along with the scores.

For this AZB thread, I thought people would just share their score, but they can also list the table info if they want to (for example, if they are proud of the fact they got a great score on a 10' table with 4" pockets!).
I forgot to mention that there is a factor in the score related to table size. If you take Exam I on a table smaller than 9', you're not allowed to take the Doctorate version of Exam II even if you score high enough on Exam I. In fact, this happened to me during my run at the exams (as summarized in the Exam I overview video). I got a 74 on Exam I, which falls in the Doctorate range (70-100), but since I took the Exam on an 8' table, I wasn't allowed to take the Doctorate version of Exam II. I had to take the Masters version instead, which has few points available. If I had taken the Doctorate version, I'm sure I could have earned more points than I did with the Masters version (even though the difficulty level is tougher with the Doctorate version), so doing the exams on a smaller table can limit your total score some.

Thanks again for the good question,
Dave
 

dr_dave

Instructional Author
Gold Member
Silver Member
This looks great!
Thanks!

I cant wait to get started. (Tho I guess I'll have to, until I get a chance to print off the materials at work, home printer on the fritz, hey)
I look forward to seeing your score (and videos if you have a camera).

I really think that if I can allow myself the time to work on these drills, it will be a great help.
I agree completely. I personally feel like I stepped my game up a notch after all of the practice I got during the filming of the DVDs and while practicing before filming my official runs at the exams. And ever since then, it always amazes me how often I see the exam drill shots come up while I'm playing matches. When you see a shot that looks familiar and you have specifically practiced, it sure seems a lot easier.

Really looking forward to it, thanks to you and all the rest of the faculty for putting it together and sharing with us.
You're very welcome. I'm excited that it is finally out there after working so hard on it for so long (especially the DVDs).

Catch you later,
Dave
 

dr_dave

Instructional Author
Gold Member
Silver Member
You are providing a great service to the pool community. I would like to thank you for your contributions.
I played with some of the shots today. I didn't do as well as I would have liked,but I enjoy practicing with drills like this.
After you practice some more, please post your score and let us know how well you think the rating matches your perceived level of play. And if you have a camera, please consider posting videos.

With all of the recent threads dealing with player-rating games (Fargo, Playing the Ghost, Q-Skills, etc.) and video cameras, I though a lot more AZB'ers would be willing and excited to take the BU exams, post results, and maybe post videos. Hopefully, more people will participate over time.


You are providing a great service to the pool community. I You have quite the cast of characters on your faculty. I have worked with Randy G, Jerry B, and Mark F. All are great teachers.
The BU is blessed to have such a "dream team" of professors. They were very helpful and provided excellent insight and advice while Randy Russell and I were developing the exams and rating system. Here they are again, to give them the credit they deserve:

BU_professors.jpg

I hope you get to the New Jersey area in the near future.
I don't travel much to teach, but if you ever want to visit beautiful Colorado, I'd be happy to work with you. Bob Jewett, Randy Russell, and I are offering the first annual BU Summer School Boot Camp this July. If you can swing it, try to come.

Best regards,
Dave
 

dr_dave

Instructional Author
Gold Member
Silver Member
Great drills Dave! I notice you suggest having music playing in the background to validate the no edit but beware, you tube will automatically mute your video if certain songs are playing owned by a couple of the studios. This has happened to me on many occasions and I was just shooting pool with a playlist going from my computer to keep me company. And to make matters worse you will get an e mail from them about copyright infringement which means nothing but could make some folks nervous.
I'm glad you mentioned this. I will look into this.

The exam videos I posted (Exam I and Exam II) have the music running continuously. I got an e-mail about it from YouTube indicating the videos might not be playable in certain countries, but I don't think the audio has been muted (I can still hear it when I play the videos, but they are my videos). Could you or somebody else check the videos for me and let me know if the audio is muted? Thanks.

I prefer the Avery clear vinyl reinforcement circles #05722 over the white ones. They are thinner I think and almost invisible. Less than 4 bucks for 1000 of them. You can leave them all over the place and barely notice them when you move from drills to games. Sometimes you have to move your head around to catch a glare in order to even find them.
Thanks for the suggestion. I actually prefer the white (I have both), because I want them very visible, especially in videos people post.


I made a permanent 10 ball rack using my magic rack as a template with these and it works great just like the slug doctor. They are tough as hell and if one gets worn or damaged you can replace just that one to keep the whole rack in good order. I started with a normal spot that I punched a hole in the center and used the circles to make the rest (ok I got the idea from Stan Shuffet). Racks are immediate and tight and these clear circles are no factor to shoot over unlike the magic rack or the white circles which can skid a ball if hit just right.
That's a great idea. Thanks JC (and Stan).

Thanks again for you input,
Dave
 

dr_dave

Instructional Author
Gold Member
Silver Member
Dave, do all the drills have to be on one video, or can you do each "set" of drills on a separate video? Camera I now have only records for 25 min.
Neil,

You can break up the video in as many pieces as you need to, but try to limit it to as few as possible, maybe 2-3 videos for each exam. If you feel like it, you can combine the videos in video editing software (e.g., the free versions of Windows MovieMaker or Mac iMovie); otherwise, multiple videos are fine.

I look forward to seeing your score and videos. Maybe you can be the first to earn one of the free diplomas.

Best regards,
Dave
 

Neil

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Neil,

You can break up the video in as many pieces as you need to, but try to limit it to as few as possible, maybe 2-3 videos for each exam. If you feel like it, you can combine the videos in video editing software (e.g., the free versions of Windows MovieMaker or Mac iMovie); otherwise, multiple videos are fine.

I look forward to seeing your score and videos. Maybe you can be the first to earn one of the free diplomas.

Best regards,
Dave

I know you said that scores on less than 9' don't allow for the doctorate. Have you considered taking the pocket size and shelf depth into consideration on that? Doesn't a 4 1/8" pocket with a 1 1/4" shelf relate to a 5" pocket with a 1 1/4 or 1 1/2" pocket pretty well? (that is, 7' vs 9')

Also, anyone know the best way to upload videos to youtube? My camera has a memory card that I put in the computer to upload to my computer. That only takes a minute or two. However, when I go to upload that to youtube, they say it will take 8-9 hours!!?? I have it on my comp. as jpeg.
 
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JC

Coos Cues
I forgot to mention that there is a factor in the score related to table size. If you take Exam I on a table smaller than 9', you're not allowed to take the Doctorate version of Exam II even if you score high enough on Exam I. In fact, this happened to me during my run at the exams (as summarized in the Exam I overview video). I got a 74 on Exam I, which falls in the Doctorate range (70-100), but since I took the Exam on an 8' table, I wasn't allowed to take the Doctorate version of Exam II. I had to take the Masters version instead, which has few points available. If I had taken the Doctorate version, I'm sure I could have earned more points than I did with the Masters version (even though the difficulty level is tougher with the Doctorate version), so doing the exams on a smaller table can limit your total score some.

Thanks again for the good question,
Dave

I'm actually a bit surprised by the liberal pocket size and short shelf on your table. Some folks might call it an 8 footer with "buckets". I always envision Willy Mosconi running 526 balls on a table like yours. Is there a reason you practice and play on a table with these characteristics instead of a more challenging one? It looks like your room has quite a bit of space for a nine footer.

Also a question about the stop shot drill in exam 1. It looks like you have the line directed off center slightly to allow you to roll over to the rail instead of shooting right to the back of the pocket? This makes a few of them not true stop shots. Had the rail not been there to bounce back off of the cue ball looks like it would have rolled out of the zone. Was this line off center or were you cheating the pocket to achieve this? Or did you just miss the stop shot? I thought stop shots stopped, not rebound off the rail? Did you use a laser to line it up? Inquiring minds want to know.

JC
 

Cory in DC

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I took Exam I on a 9' Diamond pro-cut and got a 65.

F1 (cut shot): 10
F2 (stop shot): 10
F3 (Follow): 8 -- I think I would usually get a 10 on this.
F4 (Draw): 6 -- The draw part of my stroke was pretty good, but I failed to hit the OB squarely enough a few times and went wide (instead of long or short)
F5 (Stun): 7 -- I got stuck on Shot 3 a few times.
F6: 6 (Pocketing) -- Need to practice this one! Especially shot 4.
F7: 8 (Wagon wheel) -- I missed #1 twice! This is where I lost all my points. I should be able to get 8 out of the first four shots.
F8: 10 (Grid target) -- I think I set this up as a thinner cut than the sketch, which seems to make it a lot harder (but it makes Shot 5 easier).

On Exam 1, I think would average about 75-80 after maybe 2 or 3 more tries. I would expect to get 60-70 on Exam 2 with a bit of practice. I might just barely be able to defend my dissertation, so to speak.

Thanks for posting this.
Cory
 

dr_dave

Instructional Author
Gold Member
Silver Member
I know you said that scores on less than 9' don't allow for the doctorate. Have you considered taking the pocket size and shelf depth into consideration on that? Doesn't a 4 1/8" pocket with a 1 1/4" shelf relate to a 5" pocket with a 1 1/4 or 1 1/2" pocket pretty well? (that is, 7' vs 9')
Again, we thought about several ways to do this, but none of them seemed useful or simple enough. I think having the equipment info posted with the BU scores is enough to provide the necessary context (see the page listing the official graduates). How difficult pockets play depends on many factors (point-to-point size, shelf depth, pocket wall angles, condition of the rubber and cloth on the pocket walls, humidity, etc.). I've seen some fairly big pockets play fairly tight, and some fairly small pockets play fairly loose. IMO, it would be too complicated to try to quantitatively incorporate all of these factors into the scoring system. That's why we just decided to list the equipment information along with the scores, and require a 9' (or larger) table for the Doctorate. This keeps things simple and yet still encourages people to take the exams on tough conditions (for pride, and to achieve the highest level of diploma).

Also, anyone know the best way to upload videos to youtube? My camera has a memory card that I put in the computer to upload to my computer. That only takes a minute or two. However, when I go to upload that to youtube, they say it will take 8-9 hours!!?? I have it on my comp. as jpeg.
Are you sure the videos are stored as JPEG, and not MPEG? That sounds like too long a time (unless you have a phone modem from the1970's). Hopefully, somebody out there will have some advice for you. Do you have somebody local you can ask for help?

I hope you get it working. Are you going to be the first Doctorate of Pool?

Regards and good luck,
Dave
 

Fatboy

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Doc Dave watched all the videos on youtube , one suggestion. at the beginning of the 1st video you pitch the BU and what it is, does and why. thats the 3 key points to sell your wares. good job. Problem is at the beginning of the other 4 you repeat too much of that pitch. I know you have to have a explanation at the beginning of each video because people might not watch them in order or all at once-like i did. But its too redundant and should be edit down a bit on 2,3,4,5. Still explain Bu but in a more succinct manor.

more importantly i like the "target pool" concept, i shoot practice drill likes that, i pot the ball thats automatic, i'm more interested in where the CB stops, shooting drills like that, is my favorite tpye of practice and effective when i'm working on pool and not mu stroke or other things.

over all yes very good, i hope it does well for you

best
eric:)
 
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