First try at straight pool

ghost121

ghost121

All I get is six words?
Silver Member
Hi

Newbie here. I started playing pool three weeks ago. I have been playing 9ball so far. However, straight pool seems like a really pure form of the sport and therefore very appealing to me. I have read up on the rules and plan to go practice tomorrow for the first time.

What's a realistic goal first time out?

I will post my best run on Thursday. I realize it's not going to be much.


Thanks.
 
Make it your goal to have a plan when at the table, and to get real good position on your next ball in that plan. Don't worry about numbers as that can be counter productive.
 
Just pay attention during your practice and study the cue ball, so you can learn its paths. and get a feel for simple position.

I Highly recomend the book by phil capelle

"PLAY YOUR BEST STRAIGHT POOL"

try to play small patterns of groups of balls, and dont worry about playing this the right way, just get a feel for cue ball movement and angles.


Straight pool will teach you everything you will ever need to know about pool for every game!


Good Luck
Steve
 
Last edited:
Hi

Couldn't post as planned because the forum was down.

Tried straight pool yesterday for the first time, like I said, and found it very enjoyable and also very difficult. I ran 14 five times, 15 once and 16 once. Scratched on the 16 with the balls open. Wasn't an obvious scratch either. I opened a cluster nicely and spun off into a pocket. Too much power. Lesson learned.

I identified a few problems:

Potting is easy but positional play is tricky. The table I played on had a dead head rail rubber. Made it difficult to move the cue ball up and down when needed. Will try another table next time.

Picking a break ball and key ball is okay, but I missed ideal cue ball position a lot of times and failed to get into the pack properly when I potted it. Other times I tried to use too much power and split the pack wide open but then missed the shot.

I played for three hours straight. That was at least 30 minutes too long. Lost concentration.

Next time I play I will run 20+ I LOVE THIS GAME!

thanks for the advice,

Steven
 
As a fellow beginner in straight pool, I can honestly say I'm jelous you ran those kinds of numbers your first try!

:)
 
Tried again...

Second practice didn't go so well.

I honestly thought a 20+ run was possible after my first try, but I failed to even duplicate the results from session one. Best I managed was 14 twice and one 13. I had a least a dozen around the 10 mark. I am disappointed but also more realistic in what I will be able to achieve as a beginner. I am also embarrassed at thinking it would be easy to run 20+ That seems a way off right now...

This time seemed harder because I was thinking about too many things, putting too much pressure on myself instead of just playing to get a smooth rhythm going.

Other mistakes I made were hitting the break shots too hard and playing way too fast. My stroke quality felt poor.

What did help was practicing a variety of break shots from different positions. Surprising how easy it is to miss when you are concentrating on the break though...

Anyway, most of my runs broke down around 10. Usually because of missed position resulting in no shot being available. I have ordered the book Steve suggested, so hopefully, that will help me adopt a more structured approach.

I also wanted to ask other straight pool players here what typically happens when you practice? I have no playing partners so don't know how many balls I should be making at each 'try'. Typically, anything around 10 is easy but then I mess up and I am struggling to get higher runs. I have watched the videos, but I am more interested in your 'average' practice sessions.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can offer their advice and experiences, I'm feeling a little isolated with this right now.

Steven
 
ghost121 said:
Tried again...

Second practice didn't go so well.

I honestly thought a 20+ run was possible after my first try, but I failed to even duplicate the results from session one. Best I managed was 14 twice and one 13. I had a least a dozen around the 10 mark. I am disappointed but also more realistic in what I will be able to achieve as a beginner. I am also embarrassed at thinking it would be easy to run 20+ That seems a way off right now...

This time seemed harder because I was thinking about too many things, putting too much pressure on myself instead of just playing to get a smooth rhythm going.

Other mistakes I made were hitting the break shots too hard and playing way too fast. My stroke quality felt poor.

What did help was practicing a variety of break shots from different positions. Surprising how easy it is to miss when you are concentrating on the break though...

Anyway, most of my runs broke down around 10. Usually because of missed position resulting in no shot being available. I have ordered the book Steve suggested, so hopefully, that will help me adopt a more structured approach.

I also wanted to ask other straight pool players here what typically happens when you practice? I have no playing partners so don't know how many balls I should be making at each 'try'. Typically, anything around 10 is easy but then I mess up and I am struggling to get higher runs. I have watched the videos, but I am more interested in your 'average' practice sessions.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can offer their advice and experiences, I'm feeling a little isolated with this right now.

Steven
Click to expand...

You are doing well for a beginner at 14.1. Again, refer to my post #2, don't worry about numbers. Take the game 1 shot at a time to try and get perfect on your next ball in your plan. The numbers will come, but you need to have a plan and execute well on every shot.

At the moment, I am willing to bet you are missing at 10 because you got bad on ball #9, which in turn put you bad on ball #10. "OR" you are playing poor patterns which dig you a hole.
 
The advice about not trying to run a number is very, very good. I was stuck at 23 for what seemed like forever, started to not worry about it as much and ran a 33 - only reason I even know what I ran is because I used the counter on my table to signify how many balls were left in the first rack I ran. If you would've asked me after the 3rd ball in that run how many I had, I would have had no clue.

I have also noticed that this game really magnifies the "ups and downs" that you will have as a player. One week I'll be averaging 7-10 and the next I'll be lucky to make a ball!! I think this is part of learning and will hopefully lessen to some extent with more experience.
 
ghost121 said:
Tried again...

Second practice didn't go so well.

I honestly thought a 20+ run was possible after my first try, but I failed to even duplicate the results from session one. Best I managed was 14 twice and one 13. I had a least a dozen around the 10 mark. I am disappointed but also more realistic in what I will be able to achieve as a beginner. I am also embarrassed at thinking it would be easy to run 20+ That seems a way off right now...

This time seemed harder because I was thinking about too many things, putting too much pressure on myself instead of just playing to get a smooth rhythm going.

Other mistakes I made were hitting the break shots too hard and playing way too fast. My stroke quality felt poor.

What did help was practicing a variety of break shots from different positions. Surprising how easy it is to miss when you are concentrating on the break though...

Anyway, most of my runs broke down around 10. Usually because of missed position resulting in no shot being available. I have ordered the book Steve suggested, so hopefully, that will help me adopt a more structured approach.

I also wanted to ask other straight pool players here what typically happens when you practice? I have no playing partners so don't know how many balls I should be making at each 'try'. Typically, anything around 10 is easy but then I mess up and I am struggling to get higher runs. I have watched the videos, but I am more interested in your 'average' practice sessions.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can offer their advice and experiences, I'm feeling a little isolated with this right now.

Steven
Click to expand...

those things are what always make this game harder.

you should check out Grady Mathews break shots and key balls video.
 
Thanks guys, I appreciate the encouragement.

I will go with the advice about forgetting numbers. And I think my main problem is definitely not recognizing patterns and digging myself into a hole. The book Steve recommended should help with that.

So far, after I break the pack open I stop and pick a break ball. Then I pick a key ball, and, if it's obvious, a set ball. The trouble is, my positional play is lousy so I end up having to change my mind when I mess up. That's what I mean by having too much to think about. With all that in my head, I forget to execute my stroke properly and gradually speed up to the point where my play is poor.

The plan for next time is:

forget about numbers
slow down
execute each shot carefully
play position on the next ball to get good on the one after that
stop getting uptight about my slow progress
enjoy it

That sound realistic?

thanks again,

Steven

ps: Some background. I have never played pool before but I used to play snooker about 10 years ago. That's probably why I can make most shots, even the tough ones, because the pockets feel bigger than what I was used to. It might also explain why positional play is difficult for me. Ball size, weight, cloth characteristics and rail rebound conditions feel totally different from what I remember of snooker. Also, at 46, my eyes aren't what they used to be even though I wear contacts. Okay, no more excuses....
 
Last edited:
ghost121 said:
Thanks guys

The plan for next time is:

forget about numbers
slow down
execute each shot carefully
play position on the next ball to get good on the one after that
stop getting uptight about my slow progress
enjoy it

That sound realistic?

thanks again,

Steven

....
Click to expand...

There ya go!

just add one more thing to the list, go after trouble balls and clusters as early as possible.
 
Dont forget to open up pockets and lanes. I see so many guys in my straight pool league that leave those pockets closed up and the lanes closed up its ridiculous.
 
I think also what you have to do with, eliminating your problems on the table, is to figure out a path to getting to those areas. If you go astray and have to work away from it, because you got out of line on position figure out another group of balls that you can play to work your way back to that area.

instead of using just one shot with a crazy stroke to get on it, and really on luck or guessing the speed of the shot to get there. it is always better to work in groups i feel!

Good Luck !:dance:

Steve
 
To follow up on what Steve just said - I'm reading "Play Your Best Straight Pool" at home and just got passed the part that talks about "Linking balls".

Linking balls are basically balls that help you go from one group to another. For instance if you have 4 balls down table, a ball hanging in the jaws of a side pocket, and the rest of the balls near the rack area, the ball near the side pocket would be your "Linking" ball.
 
Keep playing as long as you enjoy !

Just keep doing what your doing. Position play will get better and better
with time. Your asking good questions and it's obvious your thinking
alot about what your doing. Enjoy the game most of all. Just Play,Play,Play !
 
Thanks for all the advice and encouragement.

The 'Play Your Best Straight Pool' book has arrived and I will start reading it this weekend.

I have also tried second generation Predator 314 and Z shafts on my Schon. The 314 instantly felt very good. I now feel I can make any shot from anywhere if I get my technique solid. My break has also improved massively. I no longer miss the break shot when using power and can now open the balls with a lot more control. Once I get to the point of playing the end game properly, that should be a big help.

My problem is still positional play. It's still terrible. No feel for the weight of the ball or speed of the cloth. Clearly the weak point of my game right now.

Practice needed!

Steven
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top