1 pocket question......

OTB

I DIDN'T DO IT!!!!
Silver Member
I have a young man that comes into my store and he wants to learn how to play one pocket, I have never really played one pocket. Can he learn/practice on a bar box??? I do not have regular access to a big table for him?
 
I have a young man that comes into my store and he wants to learn how to play one pocket, I have never really played one pocket. Can he learn/practice on a bar box??? I do not have regular access to a big table for him?

I think he can learn concepts and sort of how shots work but at one pocket very small differences in reaction can greatly change shots. Also, one pocket is often played on the toughest table in a room which makes leaving the rock froze to the Brunswick a good safety. On a small table with generous corner pockets that move likely loses.

So... if he is a raw beginner, he can learn very basic beginner stuff but he has to get to a big table as soon as possible.

Here is a basic piece of advice that I got about 50 years ago that still works: if you bank a ball and the ball ends up less than a diamond from your pocket, it's probably still a good shot. Perfect your banking speed.
 
I have a young man that comes into my store and he wants to learn how to play one pocket, I have never really played one pocket. Can he learn/practice on a bar box??? I do not have regular access to a big table for him?

No he has to practice on regulation table, mainly because in one pocket games, cb tends to be further than a bar table length a lot of times.
 
I think one of the best ways for him to learn is by watching videos of pro matches on youtube.com. He'll have a quick headstart if you tell him that it's more important where the CB lands than the OB, i.e. it's a defensive game.

I remember the first couple of games I watched in which the pro (Reyes, Pagulayan, etc) would "overhit" the table-length bank where the OB ball missed the pocket and rolled 3/4 way back up the table. It took a while before I realized than the shooter's primary objective was to put the CB on the rail.
 
No he has to practice on regulation table, mainly because in one pocket games, cb tends to be further than a bar table length a lot of times.

Agree completely. Get some accustats videos with billy i danny d and grady, listen and watch. Thats the last game you want to develop a feel for on a bar box.
 
One Pocket can be played on any table. The issue is that you can't leave them long (end rail) and expect them to pass up a shot. The other changes in defense selection is that banking is too easy so you can't leave those shots. So what's left? You have to play the stack. In that you only have the option of leaving the ball tied up in the stack. And, you have less room to maneuver the cue ball. For a beginner it's much less enjoyable to play. But the upside to Bar Box One Pocket is that you will become a force in smart safety play. Mosconi learned to play by shooting potatoes off the kitchen table into bags on the floor. Truth or Fiction?
 
One other major problem is that lots of bar tables bank goofy. In my experience, learning how to bank on a Valley is worse than useless if you want to transfer to a regulation table.
 
And yet another problem is who are you going to find ( once you become accomplished enough at the game) to play on a bar box. If you take em to a 9 ft. table, you're gonna be in trouble.
 
OTB...Have him contact Bossman69 here (Lance Cowles) via PM. Lance is an expert one pocket instructor, and is very fair with his rates. He also has two 9' Diamond Pro tables in his poolroom behind his house in Battle Creek. It's a little bit of travel, but well worth the trip. The kid can't help but learn the right way to play one pocket.

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com

I have a young man that comes into my store and he wants to learn how to play one pocket, I have never really played one pocket. Can he learn/practice on a bar box??? I do not have regular access to a big table for him?
 
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