Improving through different games effective?

SeabrookMiglla

SeabrookMiglla

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hi all,

I am new to this forum and to the game of pool, this website has some great insight so you will probably see me around. I have been playing pool regularly for a little over six months now and have recently been participating in 9 ball tournaments at a couple of local pool halls.

my question has to do with the effects of improving my game in 8 and 9 ball by playing other games such as carom billiards or snooker. I usually spend most of my time playing 8 and 9 at most pool halls, but when i see the opportunity to play billiards or snooker i usually play for a couple of hours. Most pool halls i go to dont have these tables, but some do.

i have noticed that playing snooker really helps my touch and makes me less intimidated with the size of a 9 ft table. With billiards, ive noticed its really got me thinking ahead about how the balls move when they collide/bank. Although the rules, tables, balls, cues and just general strategy of these games greatly differ.

I like all of these games and it just depends on my mood when deciding what to play, but honestly i like 9 ball. whats yalls advice? Will switching tables for a few of hours week improve my game in 8 or 9 ball?

thanks!
 
i am not an instructor
let me put that out there first
but here is my opinion
i beleive it will help because
the snooker table as you said makes the 9 ft table seem small
also you must be more accurate to make a ball
you cant slop it in or cheat the pocket much
caroms will teach you how the cue ball and object ball interact with each other and give practice on making the cue ball go where you want it to to score a carom
also get someone to teach you some diamond systems
you kicking game will thank you
my 2 cents
 
Each game can teach you something. At Snooker for example it shows you that you will not be able to have success without a straight stroke (repeatable :D ) - Snooker without good fundamentals=pain in the ass :-)

Carom is for sure also a good choice- i used to play 3c also in the 80s-90s. It s a great game- especially if you have the chance to compete with good players :-)

and in ANY discipline: A straight stroke is needed, to deliver your cb to the target you want to go :-)

lg
Ingo
 
Thanks for the speedy responses!

The more i play pool, the more i realize just how much there is to it. Its scary lol.

im still getting down the basic fundamentals of the game and trying not to develope bad habits.i know everyone has their own style, but ive been getting caught at a cross roads lately. Trying new stances and spins is whats mainly getting me to second guess myself when im down taking the shot. Sometimes im not sure if im aligned properly for a specific shot, this throws me off as now i am paying more attention to the little things. In regards to spin, i feel i can make those regular "tough" shots that you see (long shots, cuts, rail shots) fairly consistent. Ive still got a lot of work to do, but now my focused has shifted from making the shot to placing the cue ball using rails and spins. Placing the ball is a much harder task, and good players i run into at tournaments know this aspect of the game much better than i do. I think i need to to go through simple drills to learn ball placement. How long should i run drills for?

Any tips?
 
Last edited:
If you have a glitch in your mechanics you certainly have to get that fixed before "running drills".
randyg
 
SeabrookMiglla said:
Thanks for the speedy responses!

The more i play pool, the more i realize just how much there is to it. Its scary lol.

im still getting down the basic fundamentals of the game and trying not to develope bad habits.i know everyone has their own style, but ive been getting caught at a cross roads lately. Trying new stances and spins is whats mainly getting me to second guess myself when im down taking the shot. Sometimes im not sure if im aligned properly for a specific shot, this throws me off as now i am paying more attention to the little things. In regards to spin, i feel i can make those regular "tough" shots that you see (long shots, cuts, rail shots) fairly consistent. Ive still got a lot of work to do, but now my focused has shifted from making the shot to placing the cue ball using rails and spins. Placing the ball is a much harder task, and good players i run into at tournaments know this aspect of the game much better than i do. I think i need to to go through simple drills to learn ball placement. How long should i run drills for?

Any tips?
Click to expand...

What you are describing is a normal phase that players go through when they are learning the game. They reach a point when they realize how much more there is to learn and become overwhelmed. The answer is to keep playing.

The difference between yourself and those players who you refer to who know more than you do is that they have played more pool than you.

Yes, there are different ways to 'keep playing.' You can do some drills, play different games, or just play 9 ball and 8 ball.

The truth is though, that the more you keep playing, the more you will understand yourself at the table and the clearer you will become in figuring out what your game needs.

I'm not a big fan of recommending other people's drills unless I know for sure that it's something a player needs and is ready for. The timing has to be right. You don't want to be attempting a drill that you're not ready for yet. It will only frustrate you.

My suggestion to you is to play the game you love the most, and then play it as often as you can. You may notice a shot that you keep missing or have trouble with position play. Practice that shot. You will have just created a drill taylored just for you.
 
SeabrookMiglla said:
T ... I think i need to to go through simple drills to learn ball placement. How long should i run drills for?

Any tips?
Click to expand...
Here is a handout with some basic drills for positioning: http://www.sfbilliards.com/basics.pdf
If you read through the introduction to Progressive Practice, you should be able to develop your own drills for the shots you want to work on. For example, if you see a good player do a particular shot that you know you can't do, start out with an easier version of the shot that you can make and adjust it to be progressively harder until you reach your current limit, which is automatically 50% if you follow the PP method.

As for how long, that depends on you. When I was starting out, a few hours was not a problem. Some people can't concentrate/pay attention for that long. Practice only as long as you don't get sloppy and careless. Because Progressive Practice allows easy scoring of your drills, it will give you some motivation. Don't forget to move the coin after every shot.

Good luck.
 
Coming from the beginner end of the spectrum, I feel that expanding my game selection somewhat has helped my development, at least somewhat.

(Mind you, I still am rather horrible, and I realize the instructors here have far more knowledge about all of this.)

I began learning, like many people, playing 8-ball. In a league. I still like it, a lot. But I found that once I started also playing 9-ball, it forced me into different types of shots and positional play scenarios, ones that didn't come up as often in league level 8-ball.

I have recently been introduced to 14.1, as well, and I can see how that is going to help me, as well.

Good luck!
 
Thanks for all the feedback, im going to start playing this 14.1 it looks fun. Never really messed with it before, but its always good running many balls.
 
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