Are there any books with 8 ball patterns?
- Thread starter Bobkitty
- Start date
Tor Lowry The Big Book of Pattern Puzzles is fantastic. Exactly what you are looking for.
Thanks for the information. I've just now ordered it for my ICA projector system. Go to ICAtraining.com. Best learning system on pool.
There are a some here, with video demonstrations:
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I've read both of those, but thanks. I want patterns I can figure out myself. And hopefully with the author's answers.
Best game to learn 8 ball patterns is straight pool IMO. In 8 ball you only need to worry about 7 balls + the 8- play enough 14.1 antd those 8 balls are fairly easy to align properly. You are avoiding going into balls unless it is necessary, you are playing ball to ball position instead of area position zones, you are generally playing ball to ball within each third of the table, you have a key ball at the end of each pattern to get you to the next group of balls, etc. etc. Your end pattern leads to a shot on the 8 ball in an available pocket(s).
You are correct in that. My teacher says the same thing. He is an amazing 14.1 player. No one I know plays it though....
Mastering Pool, by George Fels.
You don't need an opponent.
Just try and run balls. The higher your runs, the better you are getting.
Lou Figueroa
I don’t believe it was ever in book form…..
But is Jimmy Reid’s stuff available streaming or anything? It used to be dvd and he had an 8 ball one.
But is Jimmy Reid’s stuff available streaming or anything? It used to be dvd and he had an 8 ball one.
This, absolutely.
It is no coincidence that a good 14.1 player is a good 8 ball player.
They are both a game of patterns and focus that enables you to stay at the table.
Both games are more similar than one might think, clearing pockets paths, eliminating clusters at the right speed.
Take any 2 pros playing 8 ball on YouTube. Pause after the break. Find the pattern to the puzzle. Hit play and be humbled.
Guaranteed to help anyone.
Guaranteed to help anyone.
Great advice. Thanks!!
In Jim Rempe's "How to run a rack in Straight Pool" at the end is a great drill for this. Scatter a rack of balls, nothing closer than about 4 inches from the cushions. Then, take ball in hand and run the balls without letting the cue ball hit a cushion. Not easy, and will show you the patterns if you do it enough. All I practice is straight pool, and after a while the patterns just appear, you don't have to look for them. They can change on every shot, however-
-dj
-dj
8 ball pattern play should be fairly simple, in theory, not the actual table layouts you get in a game that are random and never ending.
Look at the clusters, look at the 8 ball, see what has less issues and just play backwards from the 8 and a few key balls as to where to start. The pattern play just comes into play from those basic few things, keeping away from going into balls if possible, keeping the shots as short as you can (no moving around table end to table end), don't pass up shooting a ball if it may be harder to get back to it later, picking the balls that will lead to an easy 8 ball at the end. I think just those 6 or so basic ideas can form the basis of any pattern play, they dictate what to shoot based on the bad things that can happen if you play the other shot.
I have always used the general good things to do vs memorizing positions of the balls to plan and play the shots and just apply the basic theories to whatever the layout happens to be. I also use Buddy's famous "don't play position if you got it" saying, it's in my head whenever I see a shot I can shoot that may be a little bit tougher than another one, but if I save it for later it can be even harder or impossible from some other angle. Better to shoot a 85% shot you are lined up for than wait to get it to a 95% shot but only have a 30% chance of getting to that better position later, if that makes sense hehe.
Actual set up patterns would just give examples of the dangers to avoid or how to deal with them, but the basic few theory ideas just need to be there to apply them in any situation. If you know clusters are bad and you don't want to leave the hard shots till last, that is true in just about any game layout (with exceptions when you need to play safe and use those clusters for that). Most games for non-pros also change sometimes shot to shot when someone plays bad position on a ball.
Look at the clusters, look at the 8 ball, see what has less issues and just play backwards from the 8 and a few key balls as to where to start. The pattern play just comes into play from those basic few things, keeping away from going into balls if possible, keeping the shots as short as you can (no moving around table end to table end), don't pass up shooting a ball if it may be harder to get back to it later, picking the balls that will lead to an easy 8 ball at the end. I think just those 6 or so basic ideas can form the basis of any pattern play, they dictate what to shoot based on the bad things that can happen if you play the other shot.
I have always used the general good things to do vs memorizing positions of the balls to plan and play the shots and just apply the basic theories to whatever the layout happens to be. I also use Buddy's famous "don't play position if you got it" saying, it's in my head whenever I see a shot I can shoot that may be a little bit tougher than another one, but if I save it for later it can be even harder or impossible from some other angle. Better to shoot a 85% shot you are lined up for than wait to get it to a 95% shot but only have a 30% chance of getting to that better position later, if that makes sense hehe.
Actual set up patterns would just give examples of the dangers to avoid or how to deal with them, but the basic few theory ideas just need to be there to apply them in any situation. If you know clusters are bad and you don't want to leave the hard shots till last, that is true in just about any game layout (with exceptions when you need to play safe and use those clusters for that). Most games for non-pros also change sometimes shot to shot when someone plays bad position on a ball.
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Amen- Excellent answer!
Larry Schwartz. Just review all his columns in BD. Larry knows! He happens to have been a top speed Eight Ball player too.