8-ball practice

danick70

danick70

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Silver Member
I found an article in BD by Larry Schwartz & he suggests a practice for 8-ball:
break'em, take ball in hand, run out either side then run the other side & make the 8, no misses.

He rates your level as follows out of 10 racks:
pro - 10
advanced - 6 to 8
intermediate - 3 to 5
beginners - 1 or 2

I've been doing this on a 9'er for a couple of days now & I can't get more than 2 out of 10 with no misses; I finish the racks(as a gauge)when I miss & average 1,2 sometimes 3 misses to finish the rack.

It's very humbling, I was top shooter on my bca team last year & I'm just a beginner
 
When I first start warming up I do a variation of this, I throw all the balls on the table, run one side out, then the other, then the 8. I guess I should really be racking and breaking, but when practicing by my lonesome its addicting throwing balls up and running out.
 
What if you get zero?

I don't think that a beginner could run 15 balls 1 or 2 times out of ten.

It seems to be a good a base to see where you stand and something to make shooting alone a little more interesting.
 
I'm not so sure even a pro can run 10 racks like that in 8-ball w/o missing. There has to be at least one rack, probably more where either stripes or solids are tied up big time and just about unrunable. That's why they invented safeties. I'm far from a pro, but I'll give it a try tomorrow. Maybe I'm not giving the pros enough credit. One thing you can do that you wouldn't do in a real 8-ball game is break the other balls up while your shooting the 1st set of hi or lows. Even so....Johnnyt
 
danick70 said:
I found an article in BD by Larry Schwartz & he suggests a practice for 8-ball:
break'em, take ball in hand, run out either side then run the other side & make the 8, no misses.

He rates your level as follows out of 10 racks:
pro - 10
advanced - 6 to 8
intermediate - 3 to 5
beginners - 1 or 2

I've been doing this on a 9'er for a couple of days now & I can't get more than 2 out of 10 with no misses; I finish the racks(as a gauge)when I miss & average 1,2 sometimes 3 misses to finish the rack.

It's very humbling, I was top shooter on my bca team last year & I'm just a beginner
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The first 7 are the hardest! :D I think I would go to a 7 footer, LOL. I actually won three 8-ball tournaments last week and got 5th in another one. I will have to try this drill.
 
one thing I've always done when practicing 8ball is to play against yourself.

basically, you break if you make a ball, keep shooting untill you run the rack or have to play safe.

if you have to play safe, lock yourself up.... basically i always looked at it like i was playing Efren or some world beater who if i didnt lock them up, they would get out.

Then, shoot out of the saftey as though some World beater locked you up, and you need to play safe back or leave them a impossible shot so you can get back to the table. basically your playing against yourself. But you need to do it like your playing a world beater.
 
danick70 said:
I found an article in BD by Larry Schwartz & he suggests a practice for 8-ball:
break'em, take ball in hand, run out either side then run the other side & make the 8, no misses.

He rates your level as follows out of 10 racks:
pro - 10
advanced - 6 to 8
intermediate - 3 to 5
beginners - 1 or 2

I've been doing this on a 9'er for a couple of days now & I can't get more than 2 out of 10 with no misses; I finish the racks(as a gauge)when I miss & average 1,2 sometimes 3 misses to finish the rack.

It's very humbling, I was top shooter on my bca team last year & I'm just a beginner
Click to expand...


With 15 balls cluttering a table you will have situations where you have multiple problem balls (I would say around 4-5 times out of 10). Even a pro would have problems getting out 10 times out of 10 with BIH.
 
I believe most here would be practicing eight ball for APA, BCA or some league. If this is the case then they are probably playing eight ball on the bar table.

If this is the case then they need to put them-selfs into eight ball situations. Never mind breaking the balls. You can practice the break separately. Just throw the balls on to one half of the table, take ball in hand and try your run from there. This way you will encounter the things you need to practice, such as tight position play, breakouts, combos, caroms and creative safeties, These are the things you will see in eight ball games. When the table is wide open it's just a matter of pattern play and most players with fair skill levels can deal with that.

If your practice is on the big table, do the same with all the balls thrown on just one half. This is like playing on the bar table.
 
I do something similar, but agree with the running of 15 balls being a bit much. I actually do it with a short rack of 8 ball. 4 solids, 4 stripes, 8 in the middle racked like in 9ball. Break, then ball in hand to run out each side. Makes it much easier to run out then doing 15 balls (still not easy) and doesn't get as frustrating.

Brian
 
Am I reading that right?

It seems to me it would be better to shoot the 8-ball after the first group is cleared rather than saving it for the end of the second group. JMHO.
 
I can't wait to try the regular rack and the short rack version in this 8-ball practice, but it's cold as a witches boob here in Tampa, and my table is on the screened patio. 28 degrees for Tampa in the morning...wtf, I might as well go back to NY. Johnnyt

PS: I don't want to hear how cold it is in your state. You deserve it for living there...I do not in Sunny Florida.
 
Cuebacca said:
It seems to me it would be better to shoot the 8-ball after the first group is cleared rather than saving it for the end of the second group. JMHO.
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that's what was in the article I read? It would seam beneficial to try & set yourself up for the 8 after the first 7.
 
danick70 said:
I found an article in BD by Larry Schwartz & he suggests a practice for 8-ball:
break'em, take ball in hand, run out either side then run the other side & make the 8, no misses.

He rates your level as follows out of 10 racks:
pro - 10
advanced - 6 to 8
intermediate - 3 to 5
beginners - 1 or 2

I've been doing this on a 9'er for a couple of days now & I can't get more than 2 out of 10 with no misses; I finish the racks(as a gauge)when I miss & average 1,2 sometimes 3 misses to finish the rack.

It's very humbling, I was top shooter on my bca team last year & I'm just a beginner
Click to expand...

I don't agree with that scoring system at all. I think a lot of pros were so gifted, they don't understand what a beginner really is. They might think anybody can pick up a cue and start pocketing balls.

I had my mom and my aunt over the other day to play pool. They played a game of 8-ball that lasted an hour because neither could make a shot. That's a beginner to me. That's how I started (not quite that bad for me, but not far from it).
 
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I agree with others. It's a great drill, but the rankings are out of whack. A beginner is hardy ever going to run out even one side, not to mention both sides.

I've been doing somthing similar ever since I got my home table and started trying to really improve and shoot properly.

I break and leave the cue ball where it is and run out whichever side looks easiest (as in a game), AND sink the eight ball. Then I kind of randomly roll the eight ball back onto the table and run out the other side including the eight ball.

Advantages:
1. You practice sinking the money ball
2. You practice running out a crowded table after the break
3. You practice punishing an oponent for almost running out and leaving all of your balls on an open table.
4. It's fun and a good way to measure your progress.

Taking ball in hand is a good way to make it a little easier and to get a good start on a pattern. I may start doing that.

Tom
 
I'm certainly no pro or in Larry Schwartz class but I can't agree with that. There are a lot of variables in 8ball. Clusters being one example. I've always considered myself to be a decent 8ball player. I will have to try this and see how I do.
 
Scott Lee said:
28???:eek: :eek: :eek: Sure hope it warms up PLENTY by the time I get down there, for the month of April!...I'm thinking about 70-80 will be just right! :D

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
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It will be fine in April. Very good time to be in Florida. Daily rains don't start until mid May, no hurricains, and temps from 80-85. Johnnyt
 
Sounds like to much offense and not enought defense to me. I play every rack like I would if I were playing someone. I play safties on myself and really treat it like I'm playing another good player. In other words if the out isn't there I don't take some crazy shot that I wouldn't normally take. Safties are so important in 8 ball that it's a skill that has to be part of your daily mind set if you want to play it at a high level.
 
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