I understand that while playing the 9 ball ghost, it is break and runs, right? If playing the 3 or 4 ball ghost, do you still have to break the balls, or can you just pread the balls out on the table and go from there. This seems like a dumb question as I am typing it, but I have had people tell me to start by running 3 balls, then 4, then 5, and to just spread them out instead of breaking them. I assume that while playing the ghost though, you actually have to break.
Playing the ghost.
- Thread starter mantis99
- Start date
Yeah, typically "playing the ghost" means breaking and taking ball-in-hand. Runout is a win, any miss is a loss.
That said, of course you can play it any way you see fit, including just spreading the balls randomly without breaking, or even setting up various patterns.
That said, of course you can play it any way you see fit, including just spreading the balls randomly without breaking, or even setting up various patterns.
don't worry about the ghost in the learning process. A great way to learn is to throw 3 balls out and run them off. I learned this way, and never realized til later why my teacher used 3 balls. 9ball is 3 sequences of 3 balls....you are ALWAYS playing 3 ball patters....shoot this ball to get to here, so I can have an angle to get here...do it 3 times you ran a rack.
after 3 balls gets too easy....go to 4, 5, 6 etc.
I usually made a game of if I can run 3 balls 10 times I would go to 4/5/6 etc.
good luck,
Gerry
after 3 balls gets too easy....go to 4, 5, 6 etc.
I usually made a game of if I can run 3 balls 10 times I would go to 4/5/6 etc.
good luck,
Gerry
Jon Kucharo taught me a great practice game.
Play the ghost starting with some number of balls that you think you can run 95% or more of the time.
Rack them (in any configuration that comes to mind) & break, spot any balls made, take BIH, and try to run out. A soft break is cheating.
If you get out, add one ball and do it again.
If you don't, take a ball away and do it again.
Your goal is to see how many balls you can consistently break & run against the ghost. This can be a VERY humbling...but not many practice routines can put as much pressure on you as this one will.
To give you a measure of your game, Jon had no trouble hovering in the range of 12-14 balls.
Play the ghost starting with some number of balls that you think you can run 95% or more of the time.
Rack them (in any configuration that comes to mind) & break, spot any balls made, take BIH, and try to run out. A soft break is cheating.
If you get out, add one ball and do it again.
If you don't, take a ball away and do it again.
Your goal is to see how many balls you can consistently break & run against the ghost. This can be a VERY humbling...but not many practice routines can put as much pressure on you as this one will.
To give you a measure of your game, Jon had no trouble hovering in the range of 12-14 balls.
This is a very common and very effective way to practice, usually called "progressive". You set a goal, then increase the difficulty if you reach it or decrease the difficulty if you don't. The goal can be to run a certain number of balls in rotation as described in this thread, or to run a number of balls in any order (like 14.1), or all the solids from a mixed group of balls (like 8-ball). But it can also be used for drills, such as drawing the CB a certain distance after pocketing an OB (increase or decrease the distance for successes or failures), etc. Bob Jewett's SF Billiard Academy has some diagrams and instructions for several progressive drills.mosconiac said:
The progressive part makes it interesting, continuously challenges you and keeps track of your progress. It's the most flexible and effective way I know of to practice - you can make up a progressive drill on the spot to work on a specific problem.
pj
chgo
housecue said:
If you are playing a rotation game, then yes.