looking for 100 ball runners

if you are missing balls you should make than its because you arent good enough.
but if you are getting into difficulty its because you are shooting too fast or not taking the time to visualize the layout and learning exactly which balls need to be cleared in what order. no matter how good you are if you are picking the wrong balls to take off early you will get into some unexpected trouble along the way.
being able to run the first 50 balls is shooting ability. after that its how you pick the rack apart.
 
cleary said:
I would talk with blackjack. I think he could do wonders for your mental game as well analyze your current game and find your problems. If you can run 60, you can run 100. Your own mind can be your best friend or your worst enemy.
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I 2nd this. If you can run 60 you can run 100 and Blackjack is a great choice. Johnnyt
 
I can't tell you how to do it, but I can tell how I recently ran my all time best...91 & out.

I was shooting poorly that night and my opponent had me down 147 to 109 going to 200. The final inning started like any other except I suddenly fell out of my funk & into a positive frame of mind. That's it. My only regret is I didn't play for a breakout to snap off at least 100. I just picked off the loose balls at the end to ensure I got the runout.

Of course that is a simplistic answer, so here are some details.
1) I planned further ahead (chose a break ball & key ball immediately after opening the rack),
2) I bent over each shot & stood back up (this gave my mind a chance to get 100% sure I would make the shot as I surveyed where the CB would land before going back & executing the shot),
3) I started focusing on the completion of every shot (in other words, I didn't allow extraneous details to get into my head--where's the CB going?, am I going to bump that ball correctly?,..., I KNEW what was going to happen before I did it), and
4) I made better decisions (I took all risky bumps & CB paths out of the equation) and only shot balls/patterns that I KNEW I could execute.

When I'm playing poorly, I can attribute it to failing at least one of the above. I don't plan ahead, I nonchalant a shot here & there, I'll go ahead and shoot a shot when I'm only pretty sure I will make it, & I will take risks in bumping balls & play position on indivdual balls (not clusters).
 
i used to play in north dallas at clicks on alpha road. i was just learning straight pool and my high run was 21. i saw dick lane playing straight and was amazed and so i went to talk to him. he told me, "if you can run 21, you can run 100. years later and my high run is only 62. i'm convinced however that dick is right. the frustrating part is knowing that the only thing holding us back, is our minds. that my friends is the main difference between someone who runs 50 with difficulty and someone who runs 150 routinely.
 
At the end of the run, you will have a general feeling of satisfaction with what you have done; you won't be thinking "in the third rack, I got really nice position from the 5 to 3." It's no longer about the individual shots... it's about the sum of all the shots together and what they let you create.
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steve: this is exactly right. when i'm playing well, i don't remember the shots and enter a trace-like state. dick lane alluded to this when i spoke to him. he commented about the amazing feeling of being in this state of heightened consciousness when running racks. as a result, some players use tricks to snap opponents out of this "mind groove". we've all heard people say; "that's a lot of green. et..." they are trying to interfere with your pool bliss. when we get close to our high run, we start worrying about missing and THIS is what keeps us from extending our runs. we psyche ourselves out of our bliss.
 
tim913 said:
I'm 54, and I still haven't run 100 balls. My high is 78, and last night I hit 56, but time is running out. Is there something out there that takes you from where I'm at to where I want to be. I practice all the time, but I make no visible progress. I've been to Madison pool school with Jerry, and
Rockford with Bob, but I still suck!! Are there drills or something that really work? I know we can't all be pros, but we should still make progress. How did the pros go from bad to BAD? They had to find something other than the drills, drills, drills. I'd like to hear from some 100 ball runners about what REALLY works..

Thanks
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Tim,

There has been lot's of really solid advice here.

If I had to pick out just one thing that helped me, it would be to watch the better players who have made 100+ runs and then gone back and commentated their own runs.

This allows you to fully comprehend what's really going through their minds: which shot they selected and more importantly,why.

The best examples are John Schmidt, Rempe. Also, you can find Blackjack's analysis of Thorsten Hohman's 98 ball run on Youtube most informative.

Good luck!

Thanks.

Bernie Pettipiece.
 
I was stuck on 88 for the longest time. Then I decided to dedicate myself to running a hundred balls. It took me several weeks of playing full time straight pool, probably sixty to seventy hours to crack the century mark. I finally did it and I started doing it pretty consistently. I even managed to run a hundred in back to back innings, spanning two days.

For me, I think it was a mental block. I worked myself up to 143.

Good luck. Hope you make it. Put a lot of time in and your bound to reach your goal.
 
I ran 102 when i was 19, since then i always ended up somwhere in the 80´s until i broke my high run with a 141. Took me 12 years though. it´s hard to get in that zone and stay focused the whole time. second u have to keep playing the way u did when the run started no matter what the score is. and most important make the right dicisions.

watch as much straight pool tapes of the pros as u can get and while u are watching play the racks in your mind so u see mistakes and your game will improve for sure.

Finally, if u can run 78 it´s no doubt you can and will break the 100 mark !
 
Very good imput Mosconiac, Much rep to you!

I Love that feeling when you are truely in that "Zone" absolute control and know exactly the outcome of a shot before you hit it.


the kind of feeling that only happens when you are completly focussed on every aspect of the game, and honestly this will only occur when you are focussed.

It really is mind bending come to think of it, like talking to the cueball through your cue !

Steve

after typing like this i kinda feel like Tom Cruise ! ! ! he's such a nitz!
 
John Schmidt has an excellent dvd where he runs 100 balls and talks about what he's doing or trying to do while running. He mentions a few seemingly small tidbits of information that just may take you over the top. It's a ggod dvd to have for anyone interested in 14.1.

Just Pm him for details or do a google for his name and 14.1 100 ball run dvd (or straight pool ...).
 
Cue ball SPEED when going into the 14 balls, the direction the struck object balls will take, and getting whitey to an open part of the table that allows you a next shot at these open balls are all going on at the exact same time, they must be considered to continue your run.
 
2 tips that made the difference for me

tim,
first let me start by saying i dont play straight pool anymore. but for the first 10 years i played pool, i didnt know the rules to any other games! i have several runs over a 100 with my 2 highest runs being 182 and 141. But like most people, i was stuck at a wall for a while right around the 50 - 75 mark. there were two things that i did that helped me get over the hump and i hope they will help you as well.
1. whenever your practicing (or even in match play if you can) right down the scenario and shot where your error occured. this can be a shot you missed or the position that you were out of line on. this will allow you to see if there are any consistent flaws. as we put ourselves into higher pressure situations, problems with our strokes become amplified. writing down the error will allow you to know if there are specific areas you need to work on.
2. develope a breathing rythm/system . you always hear about people being in the "zone", well a good breathing system will allow you to put yourself in that zone more often. snooker players use them often. they also help you to give each shot its due attention (focus ) and keep your play at consistent speed. using a good breathing system will allow you to block out the rest of the world and "live within the moment of the game", which is what all great straight pool players do.
these two things made a world of difference to me and hopefully will help you the same way. if you can run 78, you can run 178. shooting a ball in the pocket is the same regardless if its number 2, or number 200.
Tony
 
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