Milestone for me, Whoo-ah.

gdc25

gdc25

I call 'em like I see 'em
Silver Member
Just for something different, over the past 3 weeks I've been playing the nine ball ghost in an APA race to 75 (or until my wife goes to bed, whichever comes first) every evening. Last evening I finally beat that ghost 75-71.

I'm sure this is childs play to most of the folks on here, but damn that felt good.


now feel free to pile on.
 
Awesome job. Never thought about doing a long race like that before. I think I'll have to give it a try. Another thing I've taken a real liking to is playing on a snooker table with regular sized balls. I just took the remaining six balls off the tray of another practice table and played six ball. I can tell you I was happy as hell to run a rack of 6 ball on a 5x10 with 3" pockets.
 
out of curiosity...

Are you playing APA rules? Or are you breaking then taking ball in hand and starting your run from there? I only ask because I know APA has that ridiculous no push-out rule. I like the idea of playing the APA ghost though, you get to practice 9-ball and straight pool all at the same time ;-)

Steve H
 
I'm taking ball in hand after the break. Any balls left on the table after a miss goes into the ghosts score. I do take 9 on the snap instead of re-spotting, at least for now.
 
just an update, the ghost is one vindictive SOB..

kicked my rear last night 75 - 43 :frown:
 
gdc25 said:
I'm taking ball in hand after the break. Any balls left on the table after a miss goes into the ghosts score. I do take 9 on the snap instead of re-spotting, at least for now.
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so 75-71 is score in ball count? or game count?
 
center pocket said:
so 75-71 is score in ball count? or game count?
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I'm assuming it's ball count. If he breaks and runs to the 7, he gets 7 points and the ghost gets 3. So beating the "apa ghost" 75-71 means he's averaging about 5 balls a rack, since the score was pretty even.

The second post with him getting to 40 something means he averaged 3-4 balls per rack.
 
center pocket said:
so 75-71 is score in ball count? or game count?
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score in ball count.


brandoncook26 said:
I'm assuming it's ball count. If he breaks and runs to the 7, he gets 7 points and the ghost gets 3. So beating the "apa ghost" 75-71 means he's averaging about 5 balls a rack, since the score was pretty even.

The second post with him getting to 40 something means he averaged 3-4 balls per rack.
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correct, I'm terrible but i'm okay with that.


Every once in a while I do something other than drills to measure my progress and this is one of those things. A year ago I couldn't come close to winning a single match.

Posting the results on here is a way to keep myself grounded and focused. Admitting my short comings to a group of fellow pool addicts forces me to work harder because who wants to admit that they average 3-4 balls in a rack of 9?
 
Don't worry, we all gotta start somewhere. I'd rather see you do sets though and give yourself the 4/5 and out. Just for the fact that in APA you don't get to break if you don't make the 9, it's based on a point system like 14.1, and losing 4-6, 4-6 isn't a big deal if the first game you won 8-2.

When you give yourself a money ball, it will help improve your focus when it matters. The way you're doing it now, there is no real money ball because you get to break no matter what and you can make up for 2/3 mediocre games with one good one. For instance my example above your up 16-14 but playing the ghost in a set your down 1-2 in a race to say 5. Big difference between the two ratios. One you win the other you lose.
 
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One more thing:

If you are trying to sugar coat your practice so you don't look bad...DON'T

Learn how to take a beating, get back up and ask for another. Then take another beating, clear your head and ask for another. Then after another beating and another and another and another for months maybe a year or two. Then come back here and tell me how many balls you average in a 9ball rack. I promise it will be more then 3 or 4.
 
I thought about the fact that if you don't make the 9 you don't break in 9-ball. I guess I should have said that I've been playing the ghost in a modified APA race. Good point about the money ball as well.

I didn't think I was trying to sugar coat anything but maybe I was. I take my beatings on a regular basis. (is it wrong when you start to enjoy it?)

Thanks for the input.
 
If i were you i'd try the 7 ball ghost, in a race to 7.

Use the same rules you've been using, but i think it would push you a little more. Apa ball count is misleading, it takes away that pressure to make the money ball. You feel alright since you got 8 but in anything else not Apa you would lose that game.

I practice alone often, you gotta throw in some ways of experiencing pressure or you'll fold in competition when it counts.
 
gdc25 said:
correct, I'm terrible but i'm okay with that.

Every once in a while I do something other than drills to measure my progress and this is one of those things. A year ago I couldn't come close to winning a single match.

Posting the results on here is a way to keep myself grounded and focused. Admitting my short comings to a group of fellow pool addicts forces me to work harder because who wants to admit that they average 3-4 balls in a rack of 9?
Click to expand...

I wasn't trying to make you look bad, I apologize if that's what you thought. I was trying to answer the other question in simpler terms.

Averaging 4 or 5 balls per rack is respectable. I'm not going to sugar coat it and say it was great, but it is much better than you were doing a short time ago.

I would also suggest, like the other poster, to start playing the ghost. You can start with the 6 ball ghost and play a race or ahead set (I prefer the ahead). When you are consistently beating it, move to the seven ball ghost. It will give you confidence to improve.

Likewise, if you keep losing to it, move down a ball. If you can beat the 7 ball ghost, I believe you can compete in almost any amateur tournament.
 
From the sound of it, you probably should play the 5 ball ghost. I had a few players try that drill scoring the same. They can run racks and thought the drill sounded easy until they tried.

Another good practice is to start with a 9 ball rack, try to break and run. If you miss remove a ball, rack and break again. Do this until you run the table then you add a ball for next rack. This is a good practice to see how you would rate. A pro would probably flop between 10-13 and avg 11. Anything over 11 is real real tough.
 
I like Jason's suggestion above. I've done something similar for a long time by playing 3-ahead sets starting with the 6-ball ghost. Win 3-ahead, and you move up to the 7. Lose, and you move down to the 5...and so on. I like that it really puts some pressure on you in the games when you're either 2 ahead or 2 down.

Also, Dr. Dave's 9 ball evaluation drill sounds pretty similar to what you're doing. You may find the scoring/description helpful: 9-ball evaluation Drill
 
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