Judging your ability

[chefjeff]

How do you know when your a good player?????

(snip)......

Whenever you delude yourself into thinking you're good, you're "good.". Then you can drink at the bar and brag about having made your way through college and bought a home simply by playing pool.

"Back in my day __________" is all you need to know. Then just fill in the blank and--presto!--you're "good."

No use wasting all that time and energy actually playing. Just make it up as you go.

Oh, if someone actually ask you to play? Say this: "Oh I would, but I've been there, done that. And besides, my back isn't what it used to be."

Now back to reality...There's only one way to know: compete with those who are good. You'll know soon enough without asking.

Jeff Livingston

 

[ceebee]

10 Ball Practice Drill x Joe Tucker (as printed in The GREAT Break Shot book)

I use this drill myself in practice and I have used it successfully to rate players, for about fourteen years. There are variations to this drill, but this one is usually very accurate and in the long run, very reliable.

NOTE: If you Scratch on the Break, spot any balls you may have made and continue. Be sure to try the 10 Ball racks you have read about in this book, while you are doing this drill.

Rack all 10 Balls, break the rack, take “ball in hand” and pocket as many balls in numerical order, as you can. When you miss or scratch, start over. Record the number of pocketed balls in each attempt. Play 10 racks for a good comparison, add your score up and divide by 10, that number will be your rating. Repeat your drills with the emphasis on raising that number. (continued)
Example shown below

# 1 Rack 5
# 2 Rack 7
# 3 Rack 6
# 4 Rack 7
# 5 Rack 7
# 6 Rack 4
# 7 Rack 7
# 8 Rack 7
# 9 Rack 6
# 10 Rack 7
Score 63 or 6.3 Look at your rating below.

Pro 70 or above
AAA – 10 65 – 70
AA – 9 60 – 65
A – 8 55 – 60
BB – 7 50 – 55
B – 6 45 – 50
CC – 5 40 – 45
C – 4 35 – 40
DD – 3 30 – 35

This is a great drill to track your scores with. One score does not set a player’s rating in concrete.

You should have a good idea of your true rating, after completing this drill 10 times. Do yourself justice and do not fudge when recording your ball count. Do not start over.

This drill is also a good way to compete against another player. This activity will allow you to handicap your matches accurately, once you have completed several drills. This drill is so accurate, better players will not like it and I cannot blame them. If you record a bad score, that is okay. You can improve as you do these drills. If you only record your high scores, you will not be able to continually play to your rating.

Do not cheat yourself. Correctly record the ball count, see how you really play. 10 Ball is a much more difficult game than 9 Ball. Because fewer balls are made on the break, there are more balls left on the table. There are more clusters; this requires you to have better playing skills and more knowledge.

10 Ball is not just another ball on the pool table; it is another level of skill that requires, better position, better safety play and consistent pocketing of balls in order to maintain a high level of competition.

 

[drivermaker]

Drivermaker,

If you're kicking everyone's ass for the cash, you're either playing crappy opponents or you're Efren. All good players lose. The best ones are not afraid of losing.

Chris

OK...then "Most of the time or a much higher % of the times than you're losing"

 

[TATE]

OK...then "Most of the time or a much higher % of the times than you're losing"

But I agree otherwise. When you get to the point where you have to go out of your way looking for decent opponents because you've beat everyone else, that's progress.

Chris

 

[Heckler]

Hey,

The reason I am askin is not lack of confidence just lack of experiance of american pool disciplines and the average standard of play in the US....

I am an english man soon to be moving to canada and competing at your great game...however I come from an english pool background which I can tell you is VERY different...although I am confident I will kick ass at 8 ball on your bar box tables...a good english pool player will eat that up....

So next question who wants to give me a chance to find out how good or bad I am????

 

[vapoolplayer]

Hey,

The reason I am askin is not lack of confidence just lack of experiance of american pool disciplines and the average standard of play in the US....

I am an english man soon to be moving to canada and competing at your great game...however I come from an english pool background which I can tell you is VERY different...although I am confident I will kick ass at 8 ball on your bar box tables...a good english pool player will eat that up....

So next question who wants to give me a chance to find out how good or bad I am????

well, i say all or nothing...............the lion splits his time in canada.............you'll find out real quick what level you're playing at when you play him...............

VAP

 

[Heckler]

lol

I am up for a game but I know not to go for the VERY best at my first go....lol

Alex is WAY outta my league........

 

[AceHigh]

lol

I am up for a game but I know not to go for the VERY best at my first go....lol

Alex is WAY outta my league........

I'll give Alex the 7
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
if he plays blindfolded and with a toothpick.

 

[PoolBum]

Although I understand what you are saying, I don't necessarily agree. An instructor will give you solid advice; however, they might not even really know how you play.

For example, I went to a well known instructor several months ago and he gave me some good advice, which I have incorporated in my game. However, the manner in which he gave instruction, there was no way he could know whether I was a beginner player or advanced. He watched me shoot several shots and then gave me some "mechanics" advice. There are too many people that play pro level with unorthodox mechanics.

Having an unorthodox playing style is not the same thing as having poor mechanics. Many great players have unorthodox styles; none of them have poor mechanics. You simply can't play well with poor mechanics.

 

[DaveK]

...I am an english man soon to be moving to canada and competing at your great game...
So next question who wants to give me a chance to find out how good or bad I am????

Canada is a big place, but if you get to Saskatoon I can play and/or set you up with a game. There are other folks on the board from a few places across Canada, let us know where you end up ...

Dave

 

[anonymouscoward]

"You go pro when you can dominate locally. When you are top dog at every tournament you go to in your area. Then you are ready to start traveling and hitting other tournaments.", replied Reed Pierce (95 US Open winner) when asked this question.

 

[fxskater]

How do you know when your a good player?????

Depends what you think a good player is. When people ask Rick Marshall if he is a good player (2 time Alberta Champ) he says 'I'm pretty good i guess' Which is not all modesty, he Thinks World Beaters are good players. My Answer: You know you are a good player when you can beat other players that you consider GOOD PLAYERS. In sets not games.

How do you know level you can REALLY compete at???

Play 10 pros 10 races to 9. If you win 1 your likely an A+, if you come close your likely a B. Not an exact system, but you can generally measure yourself against what people tell you are A or B players by playing them. If you win more than 50% against a B you might be approaching a B+ level.

How do you know when your good enough to enter tour events???

Do you have to be good to enter events? Noone told me that. I went out 2 straight in 4 straight events that i was not good enough to play in, but guess what In my 5th event i won my first 2 matches, does that make me good enough?

What are the tell tale signs of not been good enough to compete???

Any thoughts would be appreciated......

When you KNOW you are going to win every match before it is played. I don't neccessarily win every match, but i go into every single one not THINKING i MIGHT win but KNOWING im GOING to win. I honestly feel confidence is your telltale sign.

 

[fxskater]

If you don't like my previous post i have a second method. Go play the best player in your area 3 sets race to 9, then ask him those questions. If he is a GOOD GOOD players he will likely have some answers for you.

 

[recoveryjones]

10 Ball Practice Drill x Joe Tucker (as printed in The GREAT Break Shot book)

I use this drill myself in practice and I have used it successfully to rate players, for about fourteen years. There are variations to this drill, but this one is usually very accurate and in the long run, very reliable.

NOTE: If you Scratch on the Break, spot any balls you may have made and continue. Be sure to try the 10 Ball racks you have read about in this book, while you are doing this drill.

Rack all 10 Balls, break the rack, take “ball in hand” and pocket as many balls in numerical order, as you can. When you miss or scratch, start over. Record the number of pocketed balls in each attempt. Play 10 racks for a good comparison, add your score up and divide by 10, that number will be your rating. Repeat your drills with the emphasis on raising that number. (continued)
Example shown below

# 1 Rack 5
# 2 Rack 7
# 3 Rack 6
# 4 Rack 7
# 5 Rack 7
# 6 Rack 4
# 7 Rack 7
# 8 Rack 7
# 9 Rack 6
# 10 Rack 7
Score 63 or 6.3 Look at your rating below.

Pro 70 or above
AAA – 10 65 – 70
AA – 9 60 – 65
A – 8 55 – 60
BB – 7 50 – 55
B – 6 45 – 50
CC – 5 40 – 45
C – 4 35 – 40
DD – 3 30 – 35

This is a great drill to track your scores with. One score does not set a player’s rating in concrete.

You should have a good idea of your true rating, after completing this drill 10 times. Do yourself justice and do not fudge when recording your ball count. Do not start over.

This drill is also a good way to compete against another player. This activity will allow you to handicap your matches accurately, once you have completed several drills. This drill is so accurate, better players will not like it and I cannot blame them. If you record a bad score, that is okay. You can improve as you do these drills. If you only record your high scores, you will not be able to continually play to your rating.

Do not cheat yourself. Correctly record the ball count, see how you really play. 10 Ball is a much more difficult game than 9 Ball. Because fewer balls are made on the break, there are more balls left on the table. There are more clusters; this requires you to have better playing skills and more knowledge.

10 Ball is not just another ball on the pool table; it is another level of skill that requires, better position, better safety play and consistent pocketing of balls in order to maintain a high level of competition.

Drills are a good measuring stick to let YOU know where YOU stand in terms of your own personal ability.I'm an expert at drills and God has seen me shoot some awesome pool....LOL.By doing drills, one can become a real expert at just that....doing drills.You pretty much learn what you are capable of in those intimate moments with just you and the pool table.

As a practice junkie I now realize that I have to take what I've learned in the drills and be able to perform it when the heat is on.For the most part I'm a 1/2 rank to a full rank below my standard (except for occasional sets) when the heat is on.

So when someone asks me,"How good are you?' Do I answer how good I am in practice or how good I am come match time?

I think the above drill you've listed is a good one,however, probably could tend to be more difficult (for some) with a practice partner. RJ

 

[TATE]

I think the above drill you've listed is a good one,however, probably could tend to be more difficult (for some) with a practice partner. RJ

LOL. I can run 10 and out quite a bit. If I want to convert to 2's and 3's, I just ask my wife to stand there.

Chris

 

[recoveryjones]

Hi Tate, Hope you're keeping well.

Anyways thanks for the support with regards to playing in a crowd.

I seem to win 75% of my matches for table against players of my rating.One A level player declared me as the best "for table" player in the house. Put $10 measley dollars on it and my pride,ego and fear factor kicks in and I can fold like a cheap Wallmart tent

Anyways enough of that negative self talk, next time I play for $$$, I'm going to kick $ome A$$ RJ