How to maximize improvement

Since the question asked what would I do then here goes.
Perfect home table setup, cameras stuff like that and it must have space. Since i already have the training material that I would want I would just right into it. It would be a 3 days on 1 day off routine. The 1 day would be spent reviewing videos and material (vid are of me naturally and material mean dvds also)

Schedule
Day 1-3: Practice in the morning, find a tournament at night or match up with someone (gamble).
Rest Day: Review my practice and review material to make more drills.
Repeat Routine.
Now it would be more like 3 months of a specific detail with a little of something else from the 4th month a i transition to the next skill. Not cramming everything into a week for 52 weeks, I have to feel confident in something before moving on to the next.
Oh and then explain to my daughter that someone on AzB gave me this wish so i can improve my skills as much as i can but i only had 1 year and that's why I missed her birthday and xmas
 
I would...

Straightpool_99 said:
Here's a hypothetical thread. Say you have 1 year in which to make the biggest possible improvement in your play. You are not allowed to hire an instructor, otherwise there are no limits on your time or money. How would you go about it?
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I would figure out what is most important for the games I am playing and I would work on those things by making up specific drills for those skill sets.

I would take up One Pocket and watch youtubes and spend time playing myself in which I played both sides of the match. When I did not do a shot right I would set up and shoot over until I completed the shot several times practicing cueball, cueball cueball.

I would youtube fundamentals and practice those. I would work on my planning preshot, stroke routines so that they are the same each time and institute a pause before the final stroke allowing myself to feel cue ball travel distance.

I would practice speed control off of balls and caroms setting goals and making myself repeat those goals.

I would practice banking and bank angles for standard and Passover bankshots.

I would spend time working on English Spin applications and that alone then combine that ability with cue ball control playing the ghost 9 ball then return that ability back to One Pocket making sure I understood my destination point for the cue ball and learn to put it there.

That is what I would do.
 
I would analyze the game of great players. Maybe set the balls up the same after the break and break down what you do compared to how they played the layout. Master kick shots and safeties. Playing the ghost means nothing. Players win by running racks they should and out thinking their opponents when they cant.

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1 year is not enough time, although I say this because I work full time. This fall will be the start of my 5th year playing pool. 3 months after I started shooting in a crappy league with a friend I got a Gold Crown for the basement. On average I play 6 nights a week for 2 hours a night for the last 4 years. The leagues and most tournaments around here are 8 ball so I practice by shooting both sides of 8 ball against myself. If a safety is my best shot I play a safety then shoot out of it. I practice shots that I tend to struggle with, I practice kicking, I shoot long diagonal straight in stop shots to check my stroke, and I frequently do speed drills. I would much rather lag for break but everyone flips coins instead, maybe someday I will win a lag. I have a Break Rak to practice breaking, it was worth every penny, I have Dr. Daves DVDs and a few others, I watch a lot of stuff on the interweb. I shoot league 2 nights a week and frequently play in tournaments. I am improving but not at the rate I would like. My 4th year of playing and the 2nd year entering our BCA state tournament (March 2015) I won B singles, the year before I finished in the 12th-16th bracket.
 
Work on your fundamentals, build a consistent routine and a repeatable stroke. Without an instructor you can video tape yourself and compare your fundamentals to the orthodox style found in Mark Wilson's Play Great Pool or in Dr. Dave's BIlliard University DVDs. Use very basic, straight in shots for developing your fundamentals.

Drill specific shots that are at the edge of your abilities. For maximum improvement, shoot one shot for a solid hour and pay attention to every aspect of the shot. When you miss, take note of why you missed and adjust accordingly. Push yourself in this area and keep practicing more difficult shots as you get better. A great source for many types of shots can be found in Dr. Dave's VEPS.

Play for 4-6 hours between drills, as your brain needs time to soak up the new skills. Try to match up with the best players that you can find, and play a variety of games: 8-ball, 9-ball, one pocket, straight pool, and bank pool to name a few. Pay attention to the shots they shoot and why they chose those particular shots.
 
The fastest way to improve is to buy a small pocket size notebook and every time you go back to your chair diagram the shot you missed. Then when you practice set up the shots you missed and shoot them until you can make them ten times in a row. When you go to sleep the shots will be put in your long term memory.
 
xplor said:
The fastest way to improve is to buy a small pocket size notebook and every time you go back to your chair diagram the shot you missed. Then when you practice set up the shots you missed and shoot them until you can make them ten times in a row. When you go to sleep the shots will be put in your long term memory.
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This is the best advice I've ever heard. I've wanted to do this in the past and I guess I'm just too lazy:(
 
Straightpool_99 said:
Right. You have unlimited table time. How do you spend it?
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By using my cue to hit the cue ball into an object ball towards a pocket. Whether I do this by repetition, or randomly selecting shots, the objective is to practice hitting balls and moving the cue ball where it needs to go.

There is no ultimate way to improve, everyone learns and thinks differently. When you realize that, you will be able to focus on where you need to be proficient.
 
Take half the balls and line them up across the middle of the table. Put the other half in the kitchen and shoot hardish stop shots for 4 hours every day. Do nothing else until you've made the CB light.
 
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