AZers -- HELP with practice

frankncali

frankncali

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Okay so its 2010 and I have decided to do something I haven't done in years...... standard practice. Actual planned sessions not just shooting.

So I need some help with what to practice.. I like and believe in progressive practicing so that is a must at least for most of it.

I have a practice partner and we are going to do this 2-3 times a week on average. Playing on 9foot CGIIIs or CGIVs.

Playing partner is a C- and I am a B+. If anyone knows me and thinks I have myself overrated please say so. I need to know so that I can accurately evaluate progress.

Most players always talk about wanting to get better and I have always thought that about 3% actually put in any kind of serious practice/training.

What should I/we do? We would like for sessions to be about 2 hourish long. Too long might bore us.

I think between the many posters here I can get a good practice routine developed and see what happens.

I would greatly appreciate the help and will post some results along the way.
 
My lord I'm going to have to take another atenolol. :smile::smile::smile::smile:
 
OK I turned off avatars for a moment:). I practice a lot mainly because there is not many people to play where I live. I have found it necessary for me to be able to measure myself as I go. This helps me keep my interest level high. I use concentration drills, position drills. and shooting drills. I have never " practiced with another player " only with myself so I am also interested to here what others suggest. I know that since I have been playing Einstein nine parts of my game that needed help have vastly improved.
 
Have u ever haerd of 99.If not this is how it gos.u break the balls(9b)if u make a ball give yourself 2pnts .Take ball in hand and try to run out.If u succeed give youself 9 more points, if not count balls pocketed.99 is a perfect score in 9 racks.If U make a ball on the brk and run 7 balls ur score would b 9 ETC...Their is a ranking system on this if u want to c where u rank.If u r interested look up the game and get the ranking
BRK. Balls pocketed . score.
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It's extremely difficult to improve your game while playing someone that's not your equal or better (better is, well, better)

IMHO, you'll be better off doing tried & proven practice routines by yourself, at least for 1/2 of your practice time, then spend the other half playing one hole or straight pool with an equal/stronger player.

-von
 
Yeah, I can't get past one line, without looking at your avatar.
 
OKay so I got rid of the distraction of the hottie!! :grin:

Lets get down to biz..

I am not going to be playing with my practice partner only practicing together. Support breaking up boredom etc

Keeping track (progrssive practice) is what I am looking for.

I might try a coupld games of 99 or mix it into a session.

What drills are good for progressive practice. PAT shots maybe??

I have a couple drills for stroke straightness... anyone else have any.

I think as the year goes I will need to adjust practice routine to keep it fresh and revelant to our needs.
 
1/2 to 1 hour of straight pool each practice session. You can monitor progress by how quick you can eclipse your previous high run. Concentration and cue ball control will improve.
 
Make sure your stroke is straight. That's all you really need to do. Every shot is a straight shot, and once you have it mastered, everything else becomes easy. Sensitivity and touch increases over the years and is something that just can't be faked.

Practice shooting a shot down the long rail. Practice following the ball into the hole, stopping the ball, and drawing it back into the hole close to you.

Put the CB at the fifth diamond and the OB at the second diamond and an 1/8" off the rail.

Before you do all that, make sure your setup is flawless. Stance, grip, and most importantly, 'get to know your cue'.

When you have mastered that, learn to work your way around the table making the balls with as light a touch as possible. Beginners and intermediate players often times like to power the balls in to feel more powerful to satisfy their ego. It is much more classy to stroke the ball in smoothly and with grace. Over time, you will begin to classify sections of your shot as if you lived inside the cue, balls, and table itself.

Do or do not. There is no try.:wink:


Good luck
 
On page 103 of Byrne's New Standard Book of Pool & Billiards is a whole chapter on practice methods. Very good drills.

If you're interested in trying some practice games click on the site in my signature.
 
hey Frank!

I agree that practicing with better is the best way for you to improve.

Playing with a weaker player will bring your game down.

There are a ton of standard drills that you can and should practice by yourself.

I personally don't have the patience and drive to practice drills, that Is why I will always be a C- player, which I am OK with!


Best to you and Happy New Year.

Russ
 
FRANKNCALI: What a noble undertaking. If done correctly you should see great improvement. I Spar twice a week with my best friend, Claude. Claude is not only a great player but has a set of Instructor eyes.

1. Before each Sparring match we both exchange a game plan on what we are individually trying to accomplish. We keep our match to about an 1 1/2 hour duration. After the smoke clears, we sit and critique each other's performance according to the plan. Outside eyes are huge. I take Claude's information back to the Training table and work on my shortcomings for about 20 minutes max.

2. Remember: If you are Playing, you are not Practicing. One can not truthfully Play and learn very much about themselves.

3. Practicing and Playing are two different mind sets.


I hope all works well for the both of you.....SPF=randyg
 
My teammates and I play these games which can be documented to gage improvement and are fun; bowliards, sparta, golf & skill golf.
 
Practice

I don't unserstand all these comments about the weaker player, nonsense. The following is just an opinion: Like everyone else your goal should be to want to improve in the shortest time. To do so, find a qualified instructor in your area that you and your buddy can go back to every two months or so. I would say the first goal is for that person to give you a good view of your strength and weaknesses. Spend 80% of practice on eliminating the weaknesses out of your game. Most people spend a lot of time practissing stuff they are pretty good at because it is satisfying they feel good about the results of the practice session it's just that it doesn't really translate in your game or tournament play as you have only reinforced the good points and not brought your all arround game up to par.

Good luck and who cares how good or bad your practice partner is, you are lucky enough to have someone to comiserate with on your way up.
 
randyg said:
2. Remember: If you are Playing, you are not Practicing. One can not truthfully Play and learn very much about themselves.

3. Practicing and Playing are two different mind sets.


I hope all works well for the both of you.....SPF=randyg
Click to expand...

I respect what you say about practicing and playing being two different mind sets. But I do think by playing you can learn a lot about yourself.

Here is my outlook.

Practicing the same shots, over and over and over... is good. You learn a lot. Doing the same drill, after drill, after drill... is good. You learn a lot.
But it does get somewhat boring at times.

Playing the same games, over and over gets somewhat old also.
I do enjoy practice sessions, but I find that in playing different games, I learn WHAT to practice.

I've seen a lot of players practicing what they know, but they would be much better off practicing what they should have known.

We all have our opinions. Yours is good. Different strokes for different folks. :grin:
 
here is an article from Billiards Digest. Written by Bob Jewitt, on making your own progressive practice drills.

article

Making up your own can be a great way to get both players more involved in the game and give them each a bigger "buy in" to focusing on the drill as they feel some "ownership" to the drill because they collaborated on the goals and specific nuances.
 
practice specific shots.

line up a shot and decide where u want the cue ball to land. make it one rail, two rail, or 3 rail shape, whatever u want. then try and land the cue ball right where u wanted for like 15 minutes, on both sides of the table. then do the same shot but move the final cue ball spot about one diamond up or down the table so the shot changes slightly.

ask around for good shots to practice. here's one to get u started that upped my game by itself.

CueTable Help



then try landing the cue ball just off the second and first diamond, as well as the center of the table where u shot from.
 
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