Any recommendations on adjusting to table speed?

twal

twal

"W"
Silver Member
It seems that it just takes me too long to adjust to the table speed.
I would say it takes me 2-3 games before I really feel like I have it down.

Does anyone have any recommendations to get to know speed of the table faster?

I guess I have always thought I had to “feel” the speed of the table. Again the problem is it takes to long get acclimated to a table.
 
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twal said:
It seems that it just takes me too long to adjust to the table speed.
I would say it takes me 2-3 games before I really feel like I have it down.

Does anyone have any recommendations to get to know speed of the table faster?

I guess I have always thought I had to “feel” the speed of the table. Again the problem is it takes to long get acclimated to a table.
Click to expand...

Here's a trick that should help a lot.

First off, this is assuming you can practice on the table for about 5 to 10 minutes prior to a match. Most shots are played around the same speed as the lag. If your unsure about this, try it on your cut shots and see where you can get playing everything around that speed.

With this in mind, I like to play a few practice lags. Once Im getting close to the end rail I spread the balls across the table and practice shooting them at that same speed. That gives me base stroke to work with.
 
I would say you ajust faster than anyone i know if it only takes you a couple of games. I've seen top players who still had trouble with speed after several hours of playing on certain tables. I wish i could ajust within a couple of games.
 
wow a couple of games? and you want to be able to figure it out quicker? Why? thats faster than most pros. If it takes you 3 games, play the ghost 3 games before your match starts. lol
 
I think you adjust very quickly! That said, here's a drill I was taught that I find useful.

On my home table, I start every practice session with just the cue ball on the head string and shoot it down to the bottom rail, back to the head rail and stop it between the side pockets. If it finishes within 1 diamond either side, it's good. I do this 25 times and figure out how many out of 25 I get right. My average is currently 22 - 23 so 88 - 92% of the time. It's gotten to where I've done it 25 times in a row without a warmup and I've gone as high as 54 in a row.

Once you've gotten to that point, when you go to a new table, try to do the same thing. If your "gauge" is accurate you should be able to tell if the table plays slower or faster than your "normal" table and have a starting point to adjust your speed to this new table.

Works for me. Hope it does for you!

Brian in VA
 
When you find yurself on a table with an uncomfortable speed (either fast or slow):

A) use as little speed as possible
B) use as little english as possible
C) use the shortest possible path to get position
 
Two to three games ain't bad. Most players would say it takes about 30 minutes to get the speed down.

One suggestion - Watch the match before yours on that table. That always helped me. I could watch a guy practice on a table that I was going to play him on and figure out the speed that way most of the time.
 
A lot of good advice so far. I would add to pay particular attention to how the ball behaves towards the end of it's travel. I find some tables where as the cue ball slows down it just keeps going whereas other tables seem fast but when the cue ball does finally start to slow down it throws out the anchor and docks pretty quickly. I think the way the ball behaves towards the end of its journey will have the most significance.

BTW, as others have said, you get it down rather swiftly. :wink:
 
DogsPlayingPool said:
A lot of good advice so far. I would add to pay particular attention to how the ball behaves towards the end of it's travel. I find some tables where as the cue ball slows down it just keeps going whereas other tables seem fast but when the cue ball does finally start to slow down it throws out the anchor and docks pretty quickly. I think the way the ball behaves towards the end of its journey will have the most significance.

BTW, as others have said, you get it down rather swiftly. :wink:
Click to expand...

This is good advice above, plus I would watch closely when you bank a ball, if it seems to speed up or drag a little, some tables can have too lively of rails on them.
 
Excellent Brian! But don't forget about the rest of Mother Drill #5, which is to vary the speed, to land the CB in the other four areas (game speeds 1-5). I'd say I probably adjust faster than almost anybody, because of mastering this drill (using 10 speeds). I feel like I can adjust to any table's speed in less than 5 minutes (less than one game).

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

Brian in VA said:
I think you adjust very quickly! That said, here's a drill I was taught that I find useful.

On my home table, I start every practice session with just the cue ball on the head string and shoot it down to the bottom rail, back to the head rail and stop it between the side pockets. If it finishes within 1 diamond either side, it's good. I do this 25 times and figure out how many out of 25 I get right. My average is currently 22 - 23 so 88 - 92% of the time. It's gotten to where I've done it 25 times in a row without a warmup and I've gone as high as 54 in a row.

Once you've gotten to that point, when you go to a new table, try to do the same thing. If your "gauge" is accurate you should be able to tell if the table plays slower or faster than your "normal" table and have a starting point to adjust your speed to this new table.

Works for me. Hope it does for you!

Brian in VA
Click to expand...
 
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