How to practice by yourself...

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What is everybodys opinion about practicing alone, what has worked for me is to just throw 9 balls on the table and take ball and hand and just practice running out. It just gets soooooo boring sometimes and I'm just looking for new ideas. I play at lunch 3 or 4 days a week and I would like to see what other people do.
 
Well, if you went to pool school or took a few lessons from a BCA Advanced/Master instructor you'd have some mother drills to work on, setting goals and working to achieve something definite. As an alternative, I've found that placing a small target (round 5" piece of paper... bullseye) on the table where you want the cue ball to be for the next shot really makes you aware.

Bob Hennings "Pro Book" also has 16 basic shots that you can master and develop into a higher level for position. If you learn and own those shots and their variations I guarantee you'll improve...Tom
 
I like to set up shots that I miss a lot under pressure. Shoot them over and over again until they feel natural. I practice certain safeties that come up a lot too.

If given the option though, I'd much rather get cheap action than play alone. I just can't keep my head in it for long without getting sidetracked.
 
after i play and practice and work on whatever i wanted to work on, i play a 9ball game i made up using points that i really like.

I assign points to different things, like:

break and runout 3 points
break, ball in hand and runout 2 points
1 miss and ball in hand to runout 1 point
2 misses, rerack no points

if i can combo the 9 anytime during the rack and respot and run, 1 addtional pt


and then i will just set a point amount and play til i hit it........like "im going to run 20 points tonight before i quit"

puts a little pressure on me, i get to work on my break, and i get to plan some too. Like if i have an unrunable table, bad clusters or something....i will play to break them out and then i still get another turn at the table. I admit this game doesnt do a thing for my defense but its more fun to me than just playing the ghost, cuz i can get in a groove.
 
Spend a specific amount of time on one of the fundamentals, say 10 min. this breaks it up. Also. try to shoot every shot in a few racks pocket speed. this will help.
 
This is my warmup routine..

1-6 leave the cue ball in its original position, set one ball at a time, progressing with each shot, once you make it to ball number 6, use this ball to get on the 7,8,9, then run them out in roatation.. SAME with 10-15 use the 9 to setup on 10, 6 straight in shots, progressing with distance, then its roatation..

if you bump into another ball, miss or scratch you start over..

this exercise is great to warm up, and really works your positional skills and pocketing..

CueTable Help

 
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one thought

throw out 15 balls.

play every shot without spin.
play every shot with top spin.
etc, etc, etc..

don't worry about shape or making the balls.
just watch the cue ball and how it reacts based on
the cut angle and the rails.

play a rack or two using each spin.
-cOOp
it would help if you knew where you need to improve the most.
 
Just play the ghost and keep score... you can start out with smaller racks such as 6 ball and progress up to 7, 8, 9, and 10 ball as you begin to consistently beat each ghost. Over an extended period of time you can easily reflect on how much you've improved by referring to what ghost you were playing a few months ago and how you performed against it as a gauge to how you are playing now. Playing the ghost will also improve how you perform under pressure situations and requires you to maintain your focus the entire time you are playing. When I play the ghost, the hours just seem to fly by but when I'm just banging balls around I seem to get bored more quickly.
 
depends on what your game is..... take what you play competitively and extrapolate that to its hardest form...

if your game is 8 ball... practice straight pool

if your game is 9 ball practice 15 ball rotation.

throw in a healthy dose of drills and penalize yourself for minor errors.


practice harder than you play
 
branpureza said:
Just play the ghost and keep score... you can start out with smaller racks such as 6 ball and progress up to 7, 8, 9, and 10 ball as you begin to consistently beat each ghost. Over an extended period of time you can easily reflect on how much you've improved by referring to what ghost you were playing a few months ago and how you performed against it as a gauge to how you are playing now. Playing the ghost will also improve how you perform under pressure situations and requires you to maintain your focus the entire time you are playing. When I play the ghost, the hours just seem to fly by but when I'm just banging balls around I seem to get bored more quickly.
Click to expand...
i used to love playing the 9 ball ghost...playiing race to 9 for 200 was my specialty.. used to win more than lose...course that was about 10 years ago before i got a job..now i cant beat the 6 ball ghost!!!..frustating as hell!!!
 
branpureza said:
Just play the ghost and keep score... you can start out with smaller racks such as 6 ball and progress up to 7, 8, 9, and 10 ball as you begin to consistently beat each ghost. Over an extended period of time you can easily reflect on how much you've improved by referring to what ghost you were playing a few months ago and how you performed against it as a gauge to how you are playing now. Playing the ghost will also improve how you perform under pressure situations and requires you to maintain your focus the entire time you are playing. When I play the ghost, the hours just seem to fly by but when I'm just banging balls around I seem to get bored more quickly.
Click to expand...

I agree... playing the ghost is probably the best practice regimen when alone.

Ray
 
Just for clarification, how does one "play the ghost"? I have a pretty good idea how it works, but can someone clarify the rules?

Do you play ball in hand after the break?

If you fail to run out, is that a "loss" or do you get a second chance?

Just wondering about the specifics...
 
Ive tried drills i cant stand them though. playing the ghost is the only thing i can do for more than 30 straight
 
Practice, Practice, Practice !!!

softshot said:
depends on what your game is..... take what you play competitively and extrapolate that to its hardest form...

if your game is 8 ball... practice straight pool

if your game is 9 ball practice 15 ball rotation.

throw in a healthy dose of drills and penalize yourself for minor errors.


practice harder than you play
Click to expand...

My advice to people obsessed with practicing is this. If you are over
10 years old, and you've been playing pool for at least 6 months, if you
can't stop, draw, or follow your cue ball, give it up man. Your time would
be better spent practicing badminton or horseshoes, or some game where
you can get some real action. JMHO.

Dick,

Although I must admit, I've spent countless hours practicing my drinking
with NO visible sign of improvement.
 
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I've found that placing a small target (round 5" piece of paper... bullseye) on the table where you want the cue ball to be for the next shot really makes you aware.
Click to expand...

An advanced version of this is to put coins on the cushions where you expect the CB to hit as it travels to your target position (and maybe use a coin on the surface for the target too, if you don't mind just coming close). Put the rail coins right on the edge of the cushion so they'll jump if you hit just right.

This is great for learning not just where the CB ends up but the exact path it takes to get there - and it gets you into the habit of walking around and checking the angles and paths. Your safety play will also improve.

pj
chgo
 
Str8PoolMan said:
Just for clarification, how does one "play the ghost"? I have a pretty good idea how it works, but can someone clarify the rules?

Do you play ball in hand after the break?

If you fail to run out, is that a "loss" or do you get a second chance?

Just wondering about the specifics...
Click to expand...

Playing the ghost is simple. Rack the balls then break 'em. Remove "X" amount of the lowest numbered balls, where "X" depends on your skill level. Take ball in hand, attempt to run out the remaining balls in rotation.

If you run out, you win. If you fail, the ghost wins. Most people play a race to a certain number, 9 for example. If the ghost reaches 9 before you do, you lose the race.

This is a good game for several reason. It caters to any skill level, and it gives you a specific goal to accomplish.
 
s0lidz said:
Playing the ghost is simple. Rack the balls then break 'em. Remove "X" amount of the lowest numbered balls, where "X" depends on your skill level. Take ball in hand, attempt to run out the remaining balls in rotation.

If you run out, you win. If you fail, the ghost wins. Most people play a race to a certain number, 9 for example. If the ghost reaches 9 before you do, you lose the race.

This is a good game for several reason. It caters to any skill level, and it gives you a specific goal to accomplish.
Click to expand...

Thanks. That's how I figured it worked, but just wanted to have it verified.

I appreciate it.
 
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