$3000 BU Exam Challenge – Draw and Follow Mastery – Enter Online for Free

[dr_dave]

FYI, I just posted a new video that announces the latest Billiard University (BU) Playing-Ability Exam Draw and Follow Online Challenge. New exams assess and give you excellent practice with draw and follow control. $3000 in prizes are available for 10 people and everybody who participates gets a discount on Dr. Dave merchandise. It is free to enter, and you must do so by September 30, 2026. Check it out:

Contents:

• 0:00 - Intro
• 0:38 - BU Exams
• 1:48 - Exam Instructions
• 3:07 - BU Exam VII – Draw Matrix Drill
• 4:22 - BU Exam VIII – Follow Matrix Drill
• 6:38 - More Info

Supporting Resources:

• $3,000 Billiard University (BU) Draw/Follow Challenge
• BU Exams resource page
• 9’ table diamond ruler
• Player Rating table and other info
• Dr. Dave’s discounted Merchandise

As always, I look forward to your feedback, comments, questions, complaints, and requests.

Enjoy!

 

[dr_dave]

Who will be the first to enter?

This should be easy money for a lot of AZB players out there.

 

[David in FL]

Cool!

Is it mandatory to do on a 9' table.

Can I do it on the Diamond bar box on which I play 99% of my league and tournament play?

It seems to me that the principles still apply...

 

[Bob Jewett]

Cool!

Is it mandatory to do on a 9' table.

Can I do it on the Diamond bar box on which I play 99% of my league and tournament play?

It seems to me that the principles still apply...

From the instructions page:

1. An 8′ or larger pool table must be used to qualify for all awards.

 

[David in FL]

From the instructions page:

1. An 8′ or larger pool table must be used to qualify for all awards.

Ah well, the story of my life.

Sadly, not all of us spend much time on big tables any more.

 

[dr_dave]

Ah well, the story of my life.

Sadly, not all of us spend much time on big tables any more.

You can still participate in the Challenge. You just won't be eligible for the cash awards unless it is done on an 8' or larger table.

 

[dr_dave]

FYI, I just posted a new video that announces the latest Billiard University (BU) Playing-Ability Exam Draw and Follow Online Challenge. New exams assess and give you excellent practice with draw and follow control. $3000 in prizes are available for 10 people and everybody who participates gets a discount on Dr. Dave merchandise. It is free to enter, and you must do so by September 30, 2026. Check it out:

Contents:

• 0:00 - Intro
• 0:38 - BU Exams
• 1:48 - Exam Instructions
• 3:07 - BU Exam VII – Draw Matrix Drill
• 4:22 - BU Exam VIII – Follow Matrix Drill
• 6:38 - More Info

Supporting Resources:

• $3,000 Billiard University (BU) Draw/Follow Challenge
• BU Exams resource page
• 9’ table diamond ruler
• Player Rating table and other info
• Dr. Dave’s discounted Merchandise

As always, I look forward to your feedback, comments, questions, complaints, and requests.

Enjoy!

For those interested in what the full drills look like, here are my initial entries:

 

[kanzzo]

Rule question:

With 2 players having the same score - the first to post his video gets higher place?

 

[dr_dave]

Rule question:

With 2 players having the same score - the first to post his video gets higher place?

Correct. See Rule 7 at the bottom of the page here:

$3,000 Billiard University (BU) Draw/Follow Challenge​

 

[kanzzo]

9. You are allowed to participate in both challenges (Exam I and Exam III), but you can receive only one money prize (whichever is the largest dollar amount).

Rule 9 from, you mean Exam VII and VIII? So if I have perfect score in follow I can't win another penny practicing draw?

And why not using the sticky Billiard University (BU) playing-ability-exam scores and ratings?

Had 93 and a 91 in follow drill today, here is my top score so far:

 

[kanzzo]

Would have preferred one Leaderboard for score VII + VIII (180+ as Doctor of Fundamentals or something similar).

This way the payout structure could be flat and still 10 participants winning money but more initiative to practice both challenges.

 

[Badpenguin]

What is the purpose of the 1 - 9 ticks on the diamond ruler?

 

[dr_dave]

9. You are allowed to participate in both challenges (Exam I and Exam III), but you can receive only one money prize (whichever is the largest dollar amount).

Rule 9 from, you mean Exam VII and VIII?

Thank you for pointing out the error. I just fixed it.

So if I have perfect score in follow I can't win another penny practicing draw?

Correct. If you get a 100 in Follow, you are ineligible for money awards in Draw. But with any score less than 100, there is always a chance somebody can top your score, so it still behooves you to lock in a potential winning score in the other drill.

And why not using the sticky Billiard University (BU) playing-ability-exam scores and ratings?

Good idea! I will add an AZB submittals to the AZB BU Sticky Thread. I already added your there.

Had 93 and a 91 in follow drill today, here is my top score so far:

View attachment 905234

Congrats! That is a strong score that will be tough to beat; although, I plan to try at some point.

 

[dr_dave]

Would have preferred one Leaderboard for score VII + VIII (180+ as Doctor of Fundamentals or something similar).

This way the payout structure could be flat and still 10 participants winning money but more initiative to practice both challenges.

I suspect it will be difficult getting lots of people to participate. Requiring both Exams would probably make it even more difficult.

Otherwise, I like the idea.

 

[dr_dave]

What is the purpose of the 1 - 9 ticks on the diamond ruler?

I have used that template when demonstrating diamond systems (like the twice-plus-tenths system) and when testing tables for kick/bank performance, where it is helpful to see diamond distances broken down into tenths.

 

[Badpenguin]

I have used that template when demonstrating diamond systems (like the twice-plus-tenths system) and when testing tables for kick/bank performance, where it is helpful to see diamond distances broken down into tenths.

Ah, duh, I was thinking measurements for some reason.

Next question, is it ok if I lather up my cue ball with some wax for the draw matrix challenge? lol

 

[dr_dave]

Next question, is it ok if I lather up my cue ball with some wax for the draw matrix challenge? lol

There is no rule against that. You still need to have control. I've thought about that too since my table is not very slick and fast; although, the wax might wear off during the drill, requiring adjustment.

 

[kanzzo]

I suspect it will be difficult getting lots of people to participate. Requiring both Exams would probably make it even more difficult.

Otherwise, I like the idea.

It's obviously for you to decide, how you spend your money and how you organize your challenges

From my point of view it's just so sad, that I missed the first BU challenges, was too late on the big one at Covid-lockdown. Kinda waited 6 years for a new BU challenge with prize money - and it feels like after two days in a 4.5 months challenge I already locked in first price and there is nothing more to win

I would definitely enjoy it more to have the challenge modified a little, where the participants need both drills to compete. Then scoring would be more interesting and I don't think it would change the number of participants. (And it's still early enough to make slight modifications in the challenge. So far you have only Eric Simpson participated in addition to us both, and he recorded already both workouts also )

4.5 months is more than enough time for all interested participants to record both drills ;-)

(And you could offer free pdf certificates for all the participants with a scoring system similar to the one in BU I and II. Some kind of "Title" of fundamentals for scoring 180+ and a few levels beneath ;-)

I think it's a great combination of drills that will be used hopefully for years to come. So it would be a nice motivation for every new beginner to score high at the draw/follow fundamentals workout)

 

[dr_dave]

It's obviously for you to decide, how you spend your money and how you organize your challenges

True, but I still appreciate all your excellent input.

I don’t want to make any more changes, hoping the current model might get more people to participate. Many people might find the draw drill too difficult and might be embarrassed to post a video, but this should certainly not be the case with the follow drill.

I hope you decide to post an impressive score for the draw drill also, even though it won’t make you more money (unless somebody tops your follow drill score). Show us what is possible with draw mastery.

I think it's a great combination of drills that will be used hopefully for years to come. So it would be a nice motivation for every new beginner to score high at the draw/follow fundamentals workout)

I thought so too at first, but I’m not so sure now based on the lack of early response. The video has performed very poorly on YouTube. Most people playing pool out there apparently don’t like dedicated practice like this, even though it comes with a chance to win easy money.

 

[kanzzo]

The video has performed very poorly on YouTube. Most people playing pool out there apparently don’t like dedicated practice like this...

It's probably easier to watch an 8 minutes video on your smartphone than to practice draw shots from different distances and with different targets for hundreds of hours

The draw matrix is a tough drill. Without the stop shots I am about 60% at the moment on most of the draws from the matrix challenge. (But I am very positive that I can pop it up to 90% in a few weeks with my draw workout and my goal is definitevly to post a video with a score of 85% (so I have 180+ in both challenges).

My workout is 10x same ball (same distance to cb, same draw distance) for about 10-14 different combinations and all about being able to repeat it constantly. Building muscle memory, practicing hitting the CB on the exact same spot and being able to test "the interchangability" of CB-OB distance and drawing distance. (Your formula is about just adding these two, so 3 diamonds CB-OB and drawing 2 diamonds is about same stroke as distance 4 and drawing 1 or distance 1 and drawing 4.) If feel like on my older draw more spin gets lost with CB-OB distance.

But I found out that the draw from BU I (last position, 6.5 diamonds between CB and OB and drawing 2.5 diamonds is the same as drawing from same spot but with CB on 2. diamond (5 diamonds CB-OB) and drawing 4 diamonds. (that would be acutally spot on with your formula - but having this draw in my workout mix I will improve on the draws for BU I so I can finally steal your magenta highscore in this (BU I) challenge.

If it's true, one just needs to practice 8 different draws (for a sum of 2-9 diamonds). Shouldn't be that hard

I am curious if I will stick to the workout long enough for the mentioned improvement. Life has a tendancy to get in the way of such optimistic tough goals (especially having the challenge already finished for me ). Also I am getting older and need a more physiological way for all the hundreds of draws. (Had lateral epicondylitis (tennis ellbow) last time I overdid it with the 9 diamonds draws from BU I )