Big table 9 ball help

A

accustatsfan

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I've been playing nothing, but bar table for the last 14 years (geographical circumstances) and its made me lazy. I read the thread about Bar table vs Big table, but nothing in there except better "cueing" (working on that) seems to help.

I'm familiar with strategy what's giving me trouble is their are a lot of 3-5 diamonds (distance from cueball to object ball) shots you have to make.

Any practice ideas (I'm not looking for playing the ghost ideas) for these longer shots? I consistently make the under 3 diamond shots its the longer shots that every once in awhile will drive me crazy particularly if there's a lot of cueball movement.

I've been practicing long straight in and spot shots and I know with time things will even out, but I'm to old to spend 3 or more years figuring it out.

I was wondering if there's a smarter (easier) way to go about this?

thank you for any help.
 
accustatsfan said:
I've been playing nothing, but bar table for the last 14 years (geographical circumstances) and its made me lazy. I read the thread about Bar table vs Big table, but nothing in there except better "cueing" (working on that) seems to help.

I'm familiar with strategy what's giving me trouble is their are a lot of 3-5 diamonds (distance from cueball to object ball) shots you have to make.

Any practice ideas (I'm not looking for playing the ghost ideas) for these longer shots? I consistently make the under 3 diamond shots its the longer shots that every once in awhile will drive me crazy particularly if there's a lot of cueball movement.

I've been practicing long straight in and spot shots and I know with time things will even out, but I'm to old to spend 3 or more years figuring it out.

I was wondering if there's a smarter (easier) way to go about this?

thank you for any help.
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Put the cueball on the headstring (or around there) and shoot 30 degree cut-shots into the corner pocket. Start with balls about a diamond away and continue increasing the distance. Do the same thing with straight shots. Although everything else is important too, these are the two angles that come-up most often so it's important to be comfortable with them. Sorry to say it but the only way to get comfortable is to practice until your arm falls off.
 
accustatsfan said:
I've been playing nothing, but bar table for the last 14 years (geographical circumstances) and its made me lazy. I read the thread about Bar table vs Big table, but nothing in there except better "cueing" (working on that) seems to help.

I'm familiar with strategy what's giving me trouble is their are a lot of 3-5 diamonds (distance from cueball to object ball) shots you have to make.

Any practice ideas (I'm not looking for playing the ghost ideas) for these longer shots? I consistently make the under 3 diamond shots its the longer shots that every once in awhile will drive me crazy particularly if there's a lot of cueball movement.

I've been practicing long straight in and spot shots and I know with time things will even out, but I'm to old to spend 3 or more years figuring it out.

I was wondering if there's a smarter (easier) way to go about this?

thank you for any help.
Click to expand...

For starters, you already know your biggest problem. ;) Time to stop be "lazy" and start being as precise as you can on each and every shot.

Second, quit letting the "distance'" throw you mentally. The table is only two feet longer. It's not like your on a ten footer or a snooker table.

Third, the biggest problem you should be having is leaving yourself where you can't really reach the shot properly. Bar table, you can reach almost anything. So, your pattern play has to adjust to allow for making sure you can reach the cb.
 
accustatsfan said:
I've been playing nothing, but bar table for the last 14 years (geographical circumstances) and its made me lazy. I read the thread about Bar table vs Big table, but nothing in there except better "cueing" (working on that) seems to help.

I'm familiar with strategy what's giving me trouble is their are a lot of 3-5 diamonds (distance from cueball to object ball) shots you have to make.

Any practice ideas (I'm not looking for playing the ghost ideas) for these longer shots? I consistently make the under 3 diamond shots its the longer shots that every once in awhile will drive me crazy particularly if there's a lot of cueball movement.

I've been practicing long straight in and spot shots and I know with time things will even out, but I'm to old to spend 3 or more years figuring it out.

I was wondering if there's a smarter (easier) way to go about this?

thank you for any help.
Click to expand...

If you can't make longer shots than 3 diamonds it probably means your mechanics are off and you are not hitting the ball where you should. Small table and large pockets will end up making people think they can play, but once they move to a real table, things fall apart.

Find a good player and check your fundamentals. If you can play every day, it may not take 3 years to learn to play again once you find out what needs to be fixed in how you shoot.

Don't keep practicing on your own, you need to break down your game to start improving.
 
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Thank you for the replies trust me it all helps. you never know where you're going to find that one "thing".

After I posted the thread I practiced on my table I noticed I was leaning on my back foot making sure I had more weight set on my front foot I was seeing the line a lot better still have speed control problems, but I know how to fix that.
 
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Lee Brett's video: "The Secret Art of Pool" has a long shot aiming method that has worked very well for me.

Mike
 
Find a shot with some distance and/or some cut. Hit it soft until you make it. Then increase power more and more til you have a natural feel of a good stroke. From there increase distance and/or angle and repeat. Very tedious but it worked for me after 10+ years as a bar banger. Also short rail forgiveness on barboxes will make you the laziest the fastest. Get over that by aiming more into the throat of the pocket rather than the hole itself. All in all, practice practice practice. 9 foot diamonds definetly separate the men from the boys.... Hope it helps
 
Also. When I played on a barbox, to avoid getting cluster f*cked I worried more about getting perfect shape and used wayyyyy too much English. On a big table think more ahead (at least 3-4 balls) and use the table to move around naturally instead of throwing the cue off the rails with overdone left and right english. Keep it simple and just stay in left or right of object ball to get on next object ball.
 
Sounds like you're on the right track. Ultimately it boils down to delivering the cue as straight as you can.
There's "straight enough for most barbox shots"... "straight enough for most 9 footers"...
and then there's "damn straight" which is good for long shots on 9 footers and even 10 footers.

You want to get a damn straight stroke.

This drill was very helpful for me, a pro instructor used it spot problems in my stroke.
Set up 4 balls in a row across the spot, then remove the middle 2 balls, so you have "goalposts".

Put the cue ball on the spot (helps to triple check the spot is perfectly centered).
Shoot the cue ball hard straight down the center line, so it goes across the spot, back up
between the goalposts, bounces off the headrail, then through the goalposts again.
This tough and even a pro might only hit 1 in 3.

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What you'll notice is when you miss, you usually miss on one side. Like you keep
hitting the left goalpost every time. This will help give a clue about how your fundamentals are off.
Then it's up to you to fix it.

The instructor stressed "whatever works for you" a lot, so the fix depends on your
personal problem and some solutions will be more comfortable than others.
You might turn your upper half more at the hips. You move move your feet and turn your whole body.
You might just move your back hand in or out a little, or curl your wrist.

In my case the fix that works best and doesn't feel terrible is to curl the wrist.
So when I have a long difficult shot and I just want to cinch it, I curl inward a bit and then
aim and fire as usual. I do this also for breaks. For other shots I just do my usual
"good enough" stroke.

Do the drill, figure out which direction you send the cue ball, and then try different fixes.
 
Thank you to everyone for the helpful advice I've been going through the replies and making a practice plan.

I practiced again today and I think my main issue (I know better than to piss off the pool gods by saying I got it) was getting lazy and leaning back on my back foot.

I know from reading other threads there's not supposed to be a difference between bar and 9 foot tables, but that extra 2 feet (Neil's post thank you) can really play mind games with me.

Thank you again for all the helpful advice. I'm far from being a pro (no desire to be one) I'm just a person who wants to maximize my playing ability.
 
One benefit of a big table: a lower percentage of shots require an awkward bridge near a cushion.

Three positions that cause trouble are OB's on the head spot, foot spot, and center of the table. Practice getting position on these balls. And practice pocketing these balls from various angles and distances.

Bert Kinister's video #55 has a great technique for pocketing long shots.
 
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