Have you played the ghost a billion sets and it's become too predictable? I have. And with a ghost match coming up for me this weekend I realized what the problem was. You know the ghost is going to run out every rack you dog, but no more. So even if you fall behind 5-2 in a race to 9 you know you'll have opportunities to come back.
To try to duplicate the uncertainty of a tournament match, I created an alternative way to score. You play the ghost to a certain number of racks, say 9. You get to play your rack as normal. If you run out you get a point. If you fail, you don't get a point, but neither does the ghost. You just lost serve. Then it's the ghost's turn. You flip a coin, if it comes up heads the ghost ran out. If it comes up tails, the ghost dogged it and it's your break again.
This is more like a match. You may get lucky and have the ghost dog a few racks in a row. But you also know the ghost could string a few back to back so you can't afford to fall behind a single rack without putting the outcome in doubt.
If you want to simulate a tougher opponent you can adjust the ghost percentage. For a 75% run out opponent throw two coins and if either is heads they ran out their rack. Or for an elite opponent you could use a 6 sided die and they run out unless you roll a 1. Even if you no longer have the best of it this is an interesting way to mentally prepare for playing tougher opponents.
Of course, maybe I just like it because I got really fortunate and beat the ghost 5-1 in my last practice set. It actually took me 9 racks but I caught a nice string of tails!
Anyway, just trying to get ready for my match and thought I'd share.
To try to duplicate the uncertainty of a tournament match, I created an alternative way to score. You play the ghost to a certain number of racks, say 9. You get to play your rack as normal. If you run out you get a point. If you fail, you don't get a point, but neither does the ghost. You just lost serve. Then it's the ghost's turn. You flip a coin, if it comes up heads the ghost ran out. If it comes up tails, the ghost dogged it and it's your break again.
This is more like a match. You may get lucky and have the ghost dog a few racks in a row. But you also know the ghost could string a few back to back so you can't afford to fall behind a single rack without putting the outcome in doubt.
If you want to simulate a tougher opponent you can adjust the ghost percentage. For a 75% run out opponent throw two coins and if either is heads they ran out their rack. Or for an elite opponent you could use a 6 sided die and they run out unless you roll a 1. Even if you no longer have the best of it this is an interesting way to mentally prepare for playing tougher opponents.
Of course, maybe I just like it because I got really fortunate and beat the ghost 5-1 in my last practice set. It actually took me 9 racks but I caught a nice string of tails!
Anyway, just trying to get ready for my match and thought I'd share.