Do you prefer practising by using drills or by playing real games?

[RioSevario]

I also am one of those folks that likes to mix both in. I like to drill for 30-45 minutes then shoot a rack or 2 of 9 ball to stretch it out. Then go back to drills. I find that the best way to have pressure is to play someone in a match that matters. Sometimes it is for money other times it is to move on in a tournament. Either way the pressure is real and the higher the stakes the more the pressure.

 

[onepocketron]

In my mind there are three components.

Practice
Training
Playing

Practice - stroke development, eyepatterns, speed control, cueball control

Training - playing the ghost, working on specific shots that are troublesome, i.e working those elements that need refinement based upon the needs of the player.

Playing - Playing the game is the culmination of practice and training, the results of which are used for further practice and training sessions.

Relying on getting your practice in while playing, restricts the player to get the types of repetitions required to make a change in their game.

This was my point with the war analogy, when you play top flight players ONE mistake is enough for you to be sitting down for the rest of the set. At that point you need to learn by observation.

I think this pretty well sums it up. If you are playing with a decent player, you aren't gettting much "practice or training" when you are sitting in the chair.

Practice and training are not to be confused with playing. They are completely seperate.

Practice and training are where you do some drills, get a preshot routine, work on areas of weakness, get a solid foundation on basic fundamentals, and countless other thing. Yes drills get boring fast, so only do them for 10 to 15 minutes, then move on to something else. If you are bored, you aren't getting anything out of it. Keep it interesting. Oh, drills should be "measureable", so you can track your progress.

Playing is applying all of the things you learned and the skills you aquired while practicing and training.

Baseball, basketball, football, and most all other sports, they go to training camp, they practice to hone their skills, and then they play games to try and win, and pool is no different.

There is a lot you can learn from a better player, and I'm not taking anything away from that, as they can teach you a ton. But you have to put in the table time for training and practicing if you really want to exceed.

 

[CreeDo]

It's true you learn more per minute by doing drills.
However it's not IMPOSSIBLE to learn as you play. It's like on-the-job training.
It's less efficient, but it can still get you from point A to point B.

A simple example of this is shooting off-handed. I preach this to every player I know...
it's better than the bridge (though a few situations require the bridge no matter what).

I have gotten good at it, can run a rack off-hand, and I never set aside
a block of time and did drills for this. I simply forced myself to use
my off-hand in situations that called for it.
Could I have gotten proficient at it faster, if I'd drilled?
Probably. But drills get so boring I end up quitting too early.

The important thing is to have a learning mindset.
Don't be afraid to practice unfamiliar shots in a game.
I've had buddies say "I don't want to try that shot, I'll practice it someday and then
I'll start using it in games. Until then I stick with what I know."
After 100 games they still haven't found the time to practice that shot,
whereas I've attempted it dozens of times.

Every game will present the opportunity to try several different things you haven't mastered.
If you milk those opportunities you can learn. Maybe you won't jump 2 speeds overnight
at any one skill, but you'll still improve and it will be relatively painless.

 

[RonnieOSullivan]

When I practice I alternate between straight pool and playing the rotation ghost. In straight pool, I'm not good enough yet to run multiple racks, but I'm getting there.

 

[Scott Lee]

You've got it right...just in the wrong order! LOL It's practice (drills), play, evaluate, practice what you're struggling with, or can't do without thinking. You definitely have to do both. We use the 80/20 rule with students. When you learn something new, spend 80% of your allotted time doing disciplined practice...then 20% playing. After a couple of weeks switch it up...20% practice, and 80% playing. Always finish a disciplined practice session with the reward of some free play.

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com

You have to do both.

Play, evaluate performance, tailor appropriate practice, play, evaluate prerformance......