Playing vs. others is a lot more fun once you know what you are doing.
When I got back into pool, I quickly got bored of playing eight or nineball at home by myself. Why? I wasn't really learning anything.
I soon started looking for tutorials and good drills to systematically build up my game. I much to prefer to spend my pool time practicing, and practicing specific things. That's the best way by far to get better.
I play a few games after some practice sessions, but mostly to measure my progress.
You sound like someone practically minded. And when you can see your progress, you derive a greater sense of
satisfaction. In turn, that gives you more enjoyment because what you are striving to do, i.e.,get better, is happening
right before your eyes. And being able to measure your progress lets you know how really good you are becoming.
At the same time, you can readily see times when your stroke is off and you can compare how you are doing with
what I refer to as your index. This lets you easily compare how you are shooting against your average and your personal best. It’s amazing how enjoyable drills can be when one has the mental stamina and practice approach.
I think I have a drill you’d enjoy. It’s been a favorite of mine since the early 2000’s. I call it triple S…..Spot Shot Shape.
Place a OB on the spot and take CB in hand in the kitchen. Pick either CP and pocket the OB letting the cue ball come to rest wherever it is. Place a OB on the spot and play it to the same CP and every time to pocket the OB you play the next shot where the CB lies. You never move the CB until you miss, and you will rattling an OB sooner or later. Okay….
How many can you pocket in a row? And when you do miss, repeat this same drill to the opposite CP. How many can
you pocket in a row? Do it 10 times in a row? Establish an average for both CPs. When you miss, you get zero rather
than one and see what your average is after 10 attempts. Betcha you have a pocket you favor. Most people over cut
the first OB attempt after switching pockets. Establish an average for both CPs. Keep in mind after the initial spot shot, you are placing shape on the spot and all subsequent OBs have to go in the same pocket. Why is this even helpful?
If you have ever played in a cash ring game, you know how important it is to consistently pocket the spot shot if it’s the 5 or 10 ball so the better you get at it, the more cash you’ll rake in. You develop more cue ball speed and position play because you really want the CB to play as close to 1/2 table shape as possible and avoid heading toward the head string resulting in harder shots to make and regain position. Whenever you do this exercise drill, even before playing in a pool tournament, you can see if you are performing near, better or worse, than your average for that CP. You have instant feedback and see if you are stroking with the right CB speed, getting desired position, are you over cutting ot undercutting your misses, are your stop and draw strokes working, etc? And when you are on a run, it builds your confidence enormously and when you aren’t meeting your averages, figure out where and why you’re missing.
When you’ve done this drill hundreds of times, and at my age I’ve done it more than I can reliably estimate but
probably more than any most readers would ever do, you can quickly spot any issues fast. Sometimes it will be
the table your playing but you know there’s a list of factors that can affect how you feel, focus & concentrate and
ultimately perform. But when you are intimately familiar with how you have previously commanded the ball to act
doing this drill, you reach back to your innner self and try resurrecting that stroke feeling. Let’s face the hard truth.
It always comes down to your pool stroke and some days it seems better than others. A great pool player makes the
most of his off days in competitive play by not trying to shoot his way back into form but instead playing smarter shot selection for what is working that day. There’s is nothing wrong with using center ball, stop shots and smooth follow
strokes when English seems to betray at the worst of times. Doing this drill puts you in touch with your familiar stroke.
Anyway, the drill seems easier than it is when you have high expectations which start after you start pocketing a dozen
or more OBs in a row as your average. Remember any one time can set a personal best, a new single high score but your average is what you want. So it requires keeping notes. After doing it as often as myself, and for more advanced
players, you stop being interested in your average. Instead, you substitute you highest score ever attained because it
becomes what you should do the next time doing the SSS drill and anything less is annoying and just unacceptable.
I introduced this to a friend getting ready to compete in a pro tournament. It was amazing to see his progress and indeed, he did have a favorite pocket too. One of the things that was beautiful to see is how perfectly he’d roll an OB into the pocket on a backward cut shot when he lost position and regained his table run. By tournament time, he was averaging 35 on the LCP and 33 RCP and watching him perform this drill was so enjoyable. I can’t do more than a dozen on a good day with my bum shoulders but watching him shoot was like a live tutorial that you want to cheer.
greatergood.berkeley.edu
