How would you rate my speed based on this video?

iusedtoberich said:
Way to put yourself out there:) I put you at a mid C player. (I'm right with you...)

At the shot at 4:05, did you think the CB was going to run into the 8? I can't figure out what you were doing there?

You seemed to be decent at making shots, but some of your pattern play was way off. You were setting yourself up to be straight in (even with BIH), instead of setting yourself up for an angle.
Click to expand...

He wasn't even taking the time and lying down to shoot it. He tried to whack it out and hoped that the 3 ball would go down table and something good would happen. And it almost did.
 
You're fortunate enough to get alot of good feedback on this one. If you focus alot on the points where several of us posters basically agree on, your speed should improve quickly. Good luck!
 
NervousNovice said:
Not a B.

...snip...
9:48 If you wanna hit the other side of the corner (with the chalk), you need much more spin and actually hit it softer. You spin it off the 1st rail, not draw it off.
...snip....
Click to expand...

I could be wrong but I think he was going for the 4 rail reverse route (the one pocket shot) to land the CB somewhere near the 9 and shoot the 8 in the corner its closest to. That's the shot I saw immediately once I saw where he got on the 7. The video made it look like he was laying perfect for it. It also looks like the way he was cuing it he was hitting the left side of the CB. I think if that's the shot he was playing, it did not have enough left spin, and was hit too high. Its a tricky shot though.
 
iusedtoberich said:
I could be wrong but I think he was going for the 4 rail reverse route (the one pocket shot) to land the CB somewhere near the 9 and shoot the 8 in the corner its closest to. That's the shot I saw immediately once I saw where he got on the 7. The video made it look like he was laying perfect for it. It also looks like the way he was cuing it he was hitting the left side of the CB. I think if that's the shot he was playing, it did not have enough left spin, and was hit too high. Its a tricky shot though.
Click to expand...

Possibly. Need a very fast table.
 
I would say 'C' rating. If you didn't scratch so much I could see a C+. Your shot making is B/B+.

I think it is a stretch to call what you are doing 'practice'. I don't see how hitting balls like this is going to make you better. You have to really want to get better and put in the hard work. I don't see that happening here.

On the next video place a small piece of paper down where you want the cue ball to land for the next shot so we can better see your intended shape.

Also - if your racking the back 2 balls tight the 9 ball shouldn't move out of the rack.

Joules
 
C to C-. No idea where the cueball is going on the break. No real idea where the cueball is going after each shot except perhaps a general direction. I'm not much on the ball in hand after the break "ghost" thing either. You'll never get that in competition nor have any desire to develop cueball control on you break.

Work on controlling the rock not only on your break but on your shots, it will cut down on your scratches. Choose paths where the cue ball is traveling through the center of the table as you can't scratch taking those lines. Slow down & evaluate the rack & choose a path through instead of the firing from the hip. Good shotmaking though.
 
Seriously... C-

How many C- players can run out more than 3% of the time???

I admit it was careless, but C- is quite the stretch.

I plan on making another video later after the kids are in bed, and will actually try rather than "practicing "


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
nineballsafety8 said:
Seriously... C-

How many C- players can run out more than 3% of the time???

I admit it was careless, but C- is quite the stretch.

I plan on making another video later after the kids are in bed, and will actually try rather than "practicing "


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I put myself as a C+ to a B- on my best days. I base this on 20 years of gambling with lots of players from Open speed to banger speed in the Philadelphia area. For reference, my best runs are losing to the 9 ball ghost 6-7 on a 9' GC with 5" pockets, and a 30 ball run in straight pool on that same table. That ghost run was my best. Usually I get about 2 games won on a race to 7.
 
nineballsafety8 said:
Seriously... C-

How many C- players can run out more than 3% of the time???

I admit it was careless, but C- is quite the stretch.

I plan on making another video later after the kids are in bed, and will actually try rather than "practicing "


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

WOW. wish I had seen this video before I staked you against Rhea ;) I kid I kid.

I'm not going to rate the video, as much as your last sentence. Practicing should be game like conditions, you have to practice like you play. I had coaches and other players look at me funny, cause I'd dive for balls while at baseball practice, dozens and dozens of times. They were like, dude, you're gonna kill yourself, it's just practice.

My answer was always, Well, how can I do that in a game, if I don't practice it here. The timing needed to dive and be in the air while trying to catching a hard hit batted bouncing baseball is not exactly a "gimme". OK, I got very good at it. My back, not so much now ;)
 
IMHO this speaks volumes. If you don't try when you practice, what is the point.

Practice Lazy.....Play Lazy.

Ratings I won't get into that, but I will summarize your session this way.

Played 10 total games

Won 3 lost 7

2 wins were 9 on the break.

You ran 1 rack in 10.

I belive if you put forth a better effort next time those stats will be better.

nineballsafety8 said:
Seriously... C-

How many C- players can run out more than 3% of the time???

I admit it was careless, but C- is quite the stretch.

I plan on making another video later after the kids are in bed, and will actually try rather than "practicing "


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Well sports fans, no new video tonight. Maybe later this week.

I had just set the phone on the tripod, and the wife walked through the door and told me to get dressed, we are goin on a date.

Happy wife, happy life.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
peteypooldude said:
Your not playing 3 balls ahead and it's causing you to use spin instead of the correct angle.
Take a minute and look at where everything is laying
It will make a huge difference
Click to expand...

I only watched a couple of racks, and I haven't read the rest of the comments, but this is the main thing I would comment on as well.

You need to be more precise in your position play. Running out on a table that's easy to run out on, and not during competition, can give you a false sense of how well you play.

I would recommend that you pay closer attention to the layout of the table, and make a conscious effort to play precise/correct position on each shot to make sure you're in line throughout the runout. Once you can pocket balls and run the table it's all about refining your cueball control and your position play.
 
nineballsafety8 said:
Seriously... C-

How many C- players can run out more than 3% of the time???

I admit it was careless, but C- is quite the stretch.

I plan on making another video later after the kids are in bed, and will actually try rather than "practicing "


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...


Yes, seriously. Well I actually said C to C-. As someone else has stated you won 3 racks of 10 and 2 of 3 wins are 9 on the break on an 8' table with ample size pockets. As I stated you seem to have good shot making ability but there isn't any cue ball control on your break or through the racks, just general directional shape, this leads to the scratches & as a force of habit will keep you from improving. As will a lack of thought of what you're trying to accomplish in your hurriedness, just slow down, pick a path and execute it.

Learn to control the rock, that is this game. I see SO MANY threads on aiming on this forum & for beginners that's a subject of value but once you're not a beginner anymore it's about the rock. If you learn to control it there are no hard shots. You clearly have some potential but it requires work, good luck.
 
The first thing that came to my mind was that old joke with the father and son bull standing up on a bluff looking down at a herd of cows grazing. The son says to the dad, lets run down there and screw a few cows dad. The father says, lets walk down there and screw em all.

Next thing I thought , this is what smashing balls in 9 ball can do to you. Practice straight pool.

Finally I thought c+ player with no good reason not to be a b+ player other than having a case of the youngitis. Its a common pool ailment that cures itself in time.

Pick an exact spot for the CB on each shot, slow down and put the CB where tou envision it.

You start doing that and you're going to be tough. Straight pool develops precision. IMO, stop smashing balls around and practice with purpose.
 
I don't want to sugarcoat this, because then there would be no point. I think a C rating is fair, but you definitely have potential to be much better with some work.
Why this rating:
Pocketing/shotmaking pretty good, shows that you have potential. Not much to say, really.
You have bad cueball control on the break, not only that but you don't check the rack and get bad spreads sometimes. When you play against the ghost, find a speed where the rack opens up and you make a ball. If neither happens you need to change your speed or breaking position.
Position play is suspect, because:
1. Bad planning. You don't plan things out and get on the wrong side of balls because of it. This, by far, is the biggest flaw in your game.
2. Little stuff like not playing proper position on the combination balls, not breaking out clusters the right way etc..
3. You come dangerously close to scratching on shots where you have no reason to and you actually do scratch sometimes.

If I were to suggest something for you to improve it would be to do drills. 9 ball can be to forgiving of a game sometimes, and you can get away with doing things wrong and recovering. Doing strict, difficult drills will show you just how much you've gotten away with until now. I recommend Bert Kinisters stuff.

If you can't bear to do drills, I'd recommend you play straight pool. More than any other game straight pool will teach you to think things through, because in that game EVERYTHING that can go wrong, will go wrong. If you don't plan things out in straight pool you will lose again, and again until you learn.
 
Last edited:
I would rate you a C+. Tough to tell from a video shot on your home table, especially as it's an 8 foot (Oldhausen?) with pretty generous pockets. No way you're a C or C-..."C" is a huge area encompassing most players from casual to fairly accomplished. Good stroke, great alignment. Not sure I agree with the "shoot too fast" stuff, everyone has their own pace, and you've got a rhythm, but they have a point. Don't get too wrapped up in precise leave yet...focus now on the post collision line the CB will take and look for a landing zone just past or just short of (depends on the angle needed for the following shot) the shot line for your next shot. IMHO, your biggest issue is kind of letting the CB go where it wants, without a lot of thought about where it needs to go. That's why you're rolling short or long of ideal position--and that's on a table you know very well. If you haven't checked out Tor Lowry's video on CB control (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9uzCq1ZT6o&list=PLBv3F0nhWQEnimXWpkgwg6-_o4fGEVnXZ), do so...pretty cool stuff that even advanced players forget about until they're horribly out of stroke and need to re-green their game.

Mad respect for putting yourself out there like this, with an unedited video. You'll get some idiot responses and hopefully some good advice. :smile:
 
Last edited:
Tons of respect to you for posting this.

I live in DC, very close to you and I would feel OK about playing you even. Hint Hint

I think of myself as C to C-
 
I would say around a C to C- as well, possibly a bit higher with more effort. I consider myself a C to C+ and play similar (APA7 in 8 ball, 8 in 9 ball), but I better positioning and better cue ball control on the break.
 
Is it a coincidence the video starts with the only runout you make?
I know when I play the ghost the temptation is always there to not
actually start the set until I win a game, essentially giving myself 1
on the wire.

I would say from what I see here you played at C- speed but indeed
have most all the tool to play at B- speed in, say, a month or 2.

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