Practice
- Thread starter Muxy
- Start date
Personally, I don't worry that much about shots anymore. When I practice, I'm constantly tuned into whether my basics are all sound. I used to teach martial arts and learned then that you start out learning the basics and then you get into the fancy stuff but when you really want to get to the top, you focus back on the basics. I'm checking my stance, bridge, grip, the movement of my stroke arm and constantly making sure that the rest of my body does not move as I'm shooting the ball. I'm also making sure my line of aim is right.
I used to do this one alot key is you have to punish yourself on any drill, this one start with ball in hand sink everything in corner pocket (top left) if you miss,scratch or touch another ball set them up again (I use cue ball as a spacer) and start over.
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Muxy said:
I think very good practise for beginners and average players is the IEO, Internet Equal Offense. It's very simple way to keep track of your skills if you're not a great player yet.
Here's the ruleset in a nutshell:
15 ball rack, break the rack open behind the head string, spot all pocketed balls, take a ball in hand behind the head string and shoot the balls in any order like in straight pool. Doesn't matter if you scratch on the break. Start shooting and if you manage to reach the end of the rack, play it like in 14.1 and with 1 ball remaining, make a 14 ball rack and continue with a straight pool break shot. But, the maximum run is 20. If you reach 20, you'll score 20 points on that inning. If you miss before that, you'll score the balls made and then you make another rack and start over. If your run ends with a scratch, you don't have to deduct any points.
Shoot 10 innings and add your score up. 200 points is the maximum. If you reach 50, you're already above beginner. Average players will reach 50-100 points and good players will reach 150. Pros will have scores near 200. And also mark up your scores, because they tell you a lot. If you have 20's and a few scores less than 5, you have already the skill to play well. If you can't get past 15, you have problems with setting up the break shot.
Well, one set of IEO every week will tell you how your skills are developing. Because this game is mainly about pocketing balls.
see a qualified instrcutor (not necessarily a BCA instructor) to help fine tune your fundamentals.
as far as drills and shots, you only need three books
byrne's book(he has a few, all are good) has plenty of shots
99 critical shots in pool (as the title says, 99 shots)
billiards workbook (12lbs of drills, nuff said)
those books will keep you drilling, shooting, and kicking yourself in the ass for quite a while.
VAP
as far as drills and shots, you only need three books
byrne's book(he has a few, all are good) has plenty of shots
99 critical shots in pool (as the title says, 99 shots)
billiards workbook (12lbs of drills, nuff said)
those books will keep you drilling, shooting, and kicking yourself in the ass for quite a while.
VAP
Nice, but annoying one. Shoot balls 1-6 in numerical order to pocket A. No kisses or banks allowed. From 5 to 6 is annoyingly difficult unless you get perfect on the 5-ball.
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Make balls 1 to 9 to opposite pockets A and B. No kisses allowed. You need to get to "above" the following ball, otherwise you're going to hit the other balls. Very good exercise for fine controlling the cueball with inside english and follow.
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Make balls 1 to 9 to opposite pockets A and B. No kisses allowed. You need to get to "above" the following ball, otherwise you're going to hit the other balls. Very good exercise for fine controlling the cueball with inside english and follow.
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Muxy said:
Any practice session needs to effectively mimic the environment that you are practicing for. If you just practice drills, you will get real good at performing drills, but I doubt that any of that would assist you in developing a competitive edge in your league or in tournaments.
Many players spend so much time working on shots, the fundamentals, pocketing balls.... but they neglect preparing themselves mentally for competition. I can speak from experience, that it is not the last shot you missed, it the way that you process it mentally when you are in the heat of battle. If you are not strong mentally, you will probably dwell on the first mistake that is made - which will lead to more mistakes and a continuation of your drop in confidence. On the other hand, if you have done some training in your mental game, you will stay focused and process the mistake properly in its correct context. This is what separates champions from contenders. This is what is separating Allison Fisher from Karen Corr at the present time.
I am not saying that you should abandon drills. What I am saying is that many players keep looking to the east for a sunset. You can practice that long cut shot you missed the other night until your hands bleed. Until you conquer the situation mentally, you'll repeat the thoughts, emotions and actions related to it (fear, anxiousness, hesitation, doubt). Its a combination of mental and physical practice. If you need some ideas on how to strengthen this area of your game, send me an e-mail or get with me on Yahoo IM in the evenings and I will gladly pass them along to you free of charge.
here's a good drill for the 8 month mark. setup a straight
in long shot...obj ball 1 diamond past the side pocket and
cue ball about 1 diamond from the rail. Get all 15 balls
and make them all back to back. If you miss one, you get
to start over from 0. This is a good drill to build up your
nerves too. You might be surprised in finding yourself a
little shaky on #14 and #15.
peace
-Egg
in long shot...obj ball 1 diamond past the side pocket and
cue ball about 1 diamond from the rail. Get all 15 balls
and make them all back to back. If you miss one, you get
to start over from 0. This is a good drill to build up your
nerves too. You might be surprised in finding yourself a
little shaky on #14 and #15.
peace
-Egg
I've just started on the BSACA videos (link below), so can't comment on the entire set. But the first two videos are the best thing I have ever found to instruct on a proper stroke. May want to buy the first DVD, then buy more if that helps you. I peeked at some of the more advanced videos and these guys have everything down to an exact science! But I need to work on my stroke for now, so concentrating on the first two videos. (Years of bad habits to break 
)
The second link below, 99 Critical Shots is an excellent book for helping you to know if you have a shot or not. If there is a shot possible in that cluster of balls, this book will help you to recognize it. This also is a great source for many "fundamental" shots.
Dr Dave's. DVD is the best source of "fundamental" shots I have found. This will teach you how not to scratch, basic ball behavior, and how to get the cue ball to go where you want. The things you learn from this DVD can be applied to every shot.
Then Jimmy Reid's DVDs put it all together, especially "The Art Of 8 Ball". He takes you through running racks from breaking to selecting which set of balls, to selecting your first shot, then leaving yourself good position for the next shot - all the way to shooting in the 8 ball.
So far as the above fundamental shots, I made my own diagrams of each shot to practice. Then I don't need to go searching through the DVDs or books for each shot. I can just go to the first sheet, practice that shot, then flip to the next sheet.
And if you buy videos, don't watch them like a movie. Watch a little, take notes, make diagrams, practice, then watch a littl more.
Someone recently pointed out that there are three different kinds of practice...
1. Shots - knowledge, and execution - drills, setup shots.
2. Runouts - concentration and patterns - break and ball in hand, or toss 'em out and run.
3. Competition - pressure - matchups or tourney play.
BSACA DVDs
http://www.geocities.com/zimsrack/BSACAvideos.html
99 Critical shots in pool
http://www.poolndarts.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/Catalog.Category/categoryID/126.cfm
Dr. Dave's "Illustrated Principles of Pool and Billiards" DVD
http://www.engr.colostate.edu/~dga/pool/dvd_description.html
Jimmy Reid's "No Time For Negative" and "The Art Of 8 Ball" DVDs
http://www.freepoollessons.com/video/index.shtml
)The second link below, 99 Critical Shots is an excellent book for helping you to know if you have a shot or not. If there is a shot possible in that cluster of balls, this book will help you to recognize it. This also is a great source for many "fundamental" shots.
Dr Dave's. DVD is the best source of "fundamental" shots I have found. This will teach you how not to scratch, basic ball behavior, and how to get the cue ball to go where you want. The things you learn from this DVD can be applied to every shot.
Then Jimmy Reid's DVDs put it all together, especially "The Art Of 8 Ball". He takes you through running racks from breaking to selecting which set of balls, to selecting your first shot, then leaving yourself good position for the next shot - all the way to shooting in the 8 ball.
So far as the above fundamental shots, I made my own diagrams of each shot to practice. Then I don't need to go searching through the DVDs or books for each shot. I can just go to the first sheet, practice that shot, then flip to the next sheet.
And if you buy videos, don't watch them like a movie. Watch a little, take notes, make diagrams, practice, then watch a littl more.
Someone recently pointed out that there are three different kinds of practice...
1. Shots - knowledge, and execution - drills, setup shots.
2. Runouts - concentration and patterns - break and ball in hand, or toss 'em out and run.
3. Competition - pressure - matchups or tourney play.
BSACA DVDs
http://www.geocities.com/zimsrack/BSACAvideos.html
99 Critical shots in pool
http://www.poolndarts.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/Catalog.Category/categoryID/126.cfm
Dr. Dave's "Illustrated Principles of Pool and Billiards" DVD
http://www.engr.colostate.edu/~dga/pool/dvd_description.html
Jimmy Reid's "No Time For Negative" and "The Art Of 8 Ball" DVDs
http://www.freepoollessons.com/video/index.shtml
Muxy said:
I like the "L Drill" shown in post 3 or 4. I also like the "Circle Drill" where a dozen or so balls are placed in 3 foot diameter circle in the middle of the table & short draw shots are used to pocket all balls in any pocket.
The "Long String Drill" is good practice too. Place the 15 balls equal spaced on the Longstring. you can pocket all the balls on one side of the table. You cannot cross the Longstring with a ball.
Bert Kinister's Ladder & Six Point Star are great videos & drills for cue ball position. The MIGHTY X is great for building a straight stroke.
What level are you?
If intermediate and want to become advanced, get Bob Byrnes book on pool and pay attention to the 9 or 10 practices shots showing how to move the cue ball up and down the table.
Absolutely turned me from B to A.......back in the day. Spend about 20 minutes on each shot and you'll know them for life. Great shots to use as "points of reference" on how to get where and the simplest way to do it.
If intermediate and want to become advanced, get Bob Byrnes book on pool and pay attention to the 9 or 10 practices shots showing how to move the cue ball up and down the table.
Absolutely turned me from B to A.......back in the day. Spend about 20 minutes on each shot and you'll know them for life. Great shots to use as "points of reference" on how to get where and the simplest way to do it.