Does anyone play better after lots of practice
- Thread starter Pangit
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Lots of practice? Yes, definitely. Lots of playing with friends? Not so much. I always try to play hard, but subconsciously I tend to lower my level of play a bit when facing weak opposition. When I randomly bang balls around, that to me is nothing but a waste of time. No measurable benefit, what so ever.
The benefits of practice are not as long lasting as I'd like. They tend to disappear slowly, when I don't practice frequently enough. It's hard to play for pinpoint position etc. and your mind tends to be lazy and slack off whenever it can (at least mine does).
The benefits of practice are not as long lasting as I'd like. They tend to disappear slowly, when I don't practice frequently enough. It's hard to play for pinpoint position etc. and your mind tends to be lazy and slack off whenever it can (at least mine does).
tigerlam92
Registered
Absolutely, if practice means drilling. Much less if banging balls and games with friends.
The biggest thing I feel that practice gives to you is that you wont be surprised. After seeing/shooting a shot several times (maybe hundreds/thousands) you get a better idea of the outcome of your effort. When you see a familiar shot arise, you'll know already if you're weak/strong at that shot. This will either tell you that you need to buckle down and focus, or that you should have no trouble at all. Too much practice will burn you out. Too little practice, and you wont remember enough. If you're serious about pool, I would rather practice too much than too little. Good Luck!
I think I've taken a couple weeks total off in the past 3 years of playing pool. After each break I came back at the same level if not better. The last 4 or 5 day break I took, I came back lights out. Just couldn't miss. Lasted about two weeks, just killing everything in sight.
Seems like the longer I am continually playing every day, the more noticeable it is that the periods I am shooting better than usual are longer, and the periods where I am shooting worse than normal are shorter. I just noticed this trend about a year ago. Slumps are days and "shooting well" is lasting weeks now. So I think that is a good thing.
Lesh
Seems like the longer I am continually playing every day, the more noticeable it is that the periods I am shooting better than usual are longer, and the periods where I am shooting worse than normal are shorter. I just noticed this trend about a year ago. Slumps are days and "shooting well" is lasting weeks now. So I think that is a good thing.
Lesh
That's funny, because I've taken off 3 months, 1.5 months, and then 3.5 months and experienced the same thing. Except, and this might have to do with my taking longer breaks, it took about 2 weeks to get back to form. Within a month I was better than I was before I temporarily quit.
My breaks were reluctantly taken because of a shooting shoulder ailment that I had been dealing with for 3 years. Good news is I just moved back to NM from NC and my shoulder feels wonderful. Since we're in the midst of monsoon season, I don't think it has anything to do with the humidity. I believe it has to do with my mattress. I went from a hard, flat mattress to a cheap air mattress with an inclined headrest. Amazing that all the frustration I dealt with was in all likelihood due to what I was sleeping on. A cheap air mattress from Walmart, which I only bought to save money, solved my woes
But as for the OP, practice most definitely helps. I'm now focused on challenging positional play shots using a napkin for a target, but I also enjoy the classic L drill. At this point in my development as a player, I feel attempting to land the cue ball within a certain small area is most useful. It hones accuracy and speed. But I would say 75% of my time at the table is shooting alone.
Really depends on what you're practicing. I spend the first hour or so shooting straight in shots to iron out my fundamentals, then drills or ghost races. I don't think it's possible to reach full potential through practice alone. You have to throw yourself in the fire and figure out what combination of intangible factors (sleep, mental preparation, temperament, etc.) works best for you. Competition is where you really see the results of your practice, and what areas you should utilize your practice time focusing on.
I play better with more table time obviously but I can only get out of a slump if I go to the poolhall by myself and figure out what I'm doing wrong.
If I'm having a bad day and I'm playing matches with a friend, it doesn't matter if we play 1 hour or 8 hours, I'm not gonna get out of that slump.
If I'm having a bad day and I'm playing matches with a friend, it doesn't matter if we play 1 hour or 8 hours, I'm not gonna get out of that slump.
If by practice you mean just banging balls and not worrying about making the ball or making position: then no practice will not help.
If you mean concentrating on each shot and making your fundamentals work: then yes.
If you mean concentrating on each shot and making your fundamentals work: then yes.
I've been working on bringing my game back for a couple months and its come around significantly. Won a tourney a couple weeks ago.
For me it was about retraining my focus and maintaining that focus for many shots.
I practice three ways. One, drop all the balls on the table and pot any ball. During this I play conscious of my technique and pre-shot routine. Second, I play eight ball(my game of choice). Third, drills I have catered to my weaknesses.
I do these rotationally, start w pot any ball 30-45 balls, then eight ball, then drills. I keep mixing it up.
Take breaks watching pro matches and pay particular attention to how they move the ball.
For me it was about retraining my focus and maintaining that focus for many shots.
I practice three ways. One, drop all the balls on the table and pot any ball. During this I play conscious of my technique and pre-shot routine. Second, I play eight ball(my game of choice). Third, drills I have catered to my weaknesses.
I do these rotationally, start w pot any ball 30-45 balls, then eight ball, then drills. I keep mixing it up.
Take breaks watching pro matches and pay particular attention to how they move the ball.
Practice does very little for your game if you are practicing bad fundamentals (or whatever it is you are practicing). Some people think using HAMB by itself will take you to the next level, but of course that is not the case. Also keep in mind there is a difference from training and practicing. Good luck OP.
Practicing
The old saying "Perfect Practice means Perfect Performance" is a waste. Nobody is Perfect.
But, Methodical Practice with a goal in mind, can result in better performance.
Good Luck out there...
That is so sad...
The old saying "Perfect Practice means Perfect Performance" is a waste. Nobody is Perfect.
But, Methodical Practice with a goal in mind, can result in better performance.
Good Luck out there...
No! Pool is the one sport devised by man that in the history of the world, not a single person has ever become better by practicing. All other sports ever invented have shown significant increase in ability by practicing diligently. Pool is still a mystery to science. As, no matter how diligently one practices, or how long, one never seems to improve at all.
Science has given up on just why this is. They are now moving on to easier things to figure out, such as dark matter.
this saved me a lot of typing
Yup, everyone
Don't care what speed you play, everyone plays better with lots of practice !!!!
Don't care what speed you play, everyone plays better with lots of practice !!!!