Practiced This A Millions Times, But........

D

DrCue'sProtege

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
ok, posters, below is another classic example of my messing up shots that i have practiced a million times.

was playing earlier today, before the storms, and ended up with this spread after the break. i hit the cue ball with about a tip of right english, pocket the '1' Ball, and come around for the '2' Ball.

i wanted to land around Point A. if i was short of Point A, i could have then drew back downtable off the '2' for the '4' Ball. if i would have been slightly past the '2' Ball, i could have come off the rail and across table for position on the '4' Ball.

but what did i do? went a little too far, to around Point B, and ended up with nothing.........

DCP

CueTable Help

 
I dont know what kind of standards you hold yourself to but they seem tough to me.

Even the top pros get out of line and miss easy balls.

I read your posts mainly to find out what not to get upset about. Its pool and none of us are perfect. When I miss position or miss a shot theres a
good chance that I should have been able to do it. I cant get bent out of shape when I mess up like that. I just try to make note of it and make a note of maybe why it happened and then move on. The game at the middle levels is all about adjusting and gaining consistency.

Take it easy on yourself and try and limit the same mistakes over and over and you will get it. It sounds like you are putting in the time.
 
Next time use low inside with a medium speed stroke. The low english will make the cue ball deflection angle deeper while the inside english will kill the cue ball when it hits the rail.
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
but what did i do? went a little too far, to around Point B, and ended up with nothing.........
Click to expand...

And your question is???

You're not the only one who misses position on complex layouts. Learn from it and try to do better the next time.
 
I, of course, never miss position like this as my shot selection and control of speed, spin and CB direction are always perfect.

If, by chance, I should someday miss one as you did above and the CB ended in position B, I would just shoot a good safe, and go sit in my seat and beat myself up while my opponent took a turn.

Actually from my perspective position A is not that great either. I'd rather be about a foot short of A near the 7 with the opposite angle on the 2 and play three rail position for the four.
 
I think he is asking for other ways to play the shot. Playing with high outside is going across the line of the position zone, whereas playing with inside comes into the long part of the positional zone so any number of speeds would do.
 
PoolSharkAllen said:
You're not the only one who misses position on complex layouts. Learn from it and try to do better the next time.
Click to expand...

To this I will add : pratice your safety shots. I mess up many runnable tables in competition. I certainly do not loose all of these games, because I play safe after I botch position. Unfortunately this does not fit in with DCPs mindset of practicing 9 Ball run-outs. After several years of seeming to not taking good advice from many posters, I wonder why DCP would start now, but I hope he does.

Dave
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
ok, posters, below is another classic example of my messing up shots that i have practiced a million times.

but what did i do? went a little too far, to around Point B, and ended up with nothing.........

DCP

CueTable Help

Click to expand...
Again, if you're looking for some kind of answer...

This is a "across the zone" position pattern. And you should realize that. If you've practiced it a million times, then you wouldn't have overrun it... unless... you're playing on a different table. And different tables play differently. On "across the zone" position patterns, it's simply a matter of speed control and getting used to the table. So, the answer is to make sure you know the speed of the table and...

ADJUST ACCORDINGLY!!!!

Also, there's no obvious reason to use outside english on this shot. I like either using no english, or slight check (inside in this case). And the more I think about it, the more I like checking the cueball.

That being said, the final position isn't the end of the world, and it might be better than position A anyway. Cut the 2-ball in the upper right corner and go back and forth downtable for the 4-ball. This is nearly a free two-way shot.

Fred
 
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Cornerman said:
Again, if you're looking for some kind of answer...

This is a "across the zone" position pattern. And you should realize that. If you've practiced it a million times, then you wouldn't have overrun it... unless...

but i have practiced this shot a zillion times! it was one of the first shots that Tom Rossman recommended i practice several years ago during our first practice session. its one of Bert Kinister's shots on his 60 Minute Workout tape.

using inside english on this shot???
that would make the initial pocketing of the '1' Ball a much more difficult shot as far as i am concerned............

DCP
Click to expand...
 
Seriously, try to have some fun. It's pool and you're supposed to enjoy it. Every day you seem to post saying how frustrated you are with this or that. We all need to vent sometimes but this doesn't sound like you enjoy playing pool.

It's hard to play well when you don't enjoy what you're doing...think about it.
 
StevenPWaldon said:
Another fascinating post from DCP.
Click to expand...
Exactly :rolleyes:

Is this the same table that you practiced this shot on "a zillion times"? Perhaps it is faster. Perhaps the table is slower and you hit the shot harder and still over shot it. Perhaps none of us are really gonna know why you went past is so why are you complaining to us about your game that you think is failing.

Seriously though. I screw up a shot like this once a week but you dont see me posting about it asking why why why why???

Try paying more attention to your good shots rather then dwelling on the bad ones.

I am currently reading a booking called "Pleasures of Small Motions" A lot of people here recommended it for me. I suggest you read this book. It will help your outlook and save us time trying to explain why you did something wrong.
 
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DrCue'sProtege said:
Cornerman said:
using inside english on this shot???
that would make the initial pocketing of the '1' Ball a much more difficult shot as far as i am concerned............

DCP
Click to expand...

Exactly. Great players make shots like that. There are many other ways to look at this shot, there is also the option of stunning the one into the corner and perhaps using the 9 as a stopper. I don't like that option because you may block the 7 from going into that pocket, or possibly tie up the 4. You may or may not get a combnation from that, but 2 red flags is enough for me to abandon that option.

You need to realize that there are different ways to manipulate the cue ball and get proper position. If I was facing this shot, I would shoot it in the way I described in my first post. If you are not able to make the shot in that fashion, then perhaps you need to practice that. The worst thing that can happen is that you will learn something.

The 1 ball is not the hardest shot in this rack. The position from the 2 to the 4 is the tough shot, along with your position from the 5 to the 6. All the hard work in this rack will begin with the 1 ball and getting correct on the 2 ball. The ONLY way to do that is by using inside engish (like Fred has stated) to control the cue ball speed off the first rail - or to kill the cue ball. If you continue using running english you will more than likely always come too far.
Click to expand...
 
DCP said:
but i have practiced this shot a zillion times! it was one of the first shots that Tom Rossman recommended i practice several years ago during our first practice session. its one of Bert Kinister's shots on his 60 Minute Workout tape.

using inside english on this shot???
that would make the initial pocketing of the '1' Ball a much more difficult shot as far as i am concerned............

DCP
Click to expand...
You need to try and cross between your point "A" and the foot spot to give yourself a chance to get a good angle on the 2 without passing it by completely. A little low might do. The outside english makes the speed more touchy. Hit it firmer with more low and less or no outside.

Slow rolling inside could bring you straight up the table if it would miss the 9. Harder low inside can kill it short off two rails. As far as it being harder with inside, try shooting some straight in shots with "inside" and "outside", lol, and see which is harder. Then adjust for a little cut angle and use a lot of english and see which is harder.

unknownpro
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
Cornerman said:
Again, if you're looking for some kind of answer...

This is a "across the zone" position pattern. And you should realize that. If you've practiced it a million times, then you wouldn't have overrun it... unless... you're playing on a different table. And different tables play differently. On "across the zone" position patterns, it's simply a matter of speed control and getting used to the table. So, the answer is to make sure you know the speed of the table and...

ADJUST ACCORDINGLY!!!!
Click to expand...

but i have practiced this shot a zillion times! it was one of the first shots that Tom Rossman recommended i practice several years ago during our first practice session. its one of Bert Kinister's shots on his 60 Minute Workout tape.
Click to expand...
I added the important part of my post that you cut out. This was the answer you were looking for. And again I have to ask if you are really looking for answers.

The shot that Bert teaches in 60 minutes is the path through the center of the table. If you use the same path, but want to stop the ball somewhere short of the center of the table, you MUST adjust your speed or shot to come up shorter. It's really that simple.

DCP said:
using inside english on this shot???
that would make the initial pocketing of the '1' Ball a much more difficult shot as far as i am concerned............
Click to expand...
Again, I must ask if you're truly looking for answers. If using inside english on this shot is tough for you, you should be practicing it a million times until it's within your comfort range. You don't need much english at all to hold up the shot. Obviously, the outside english running on the cushions wasn't easy for you, or else you would have gotten position.

The shot is two-fold: making the ball and making the position.

Fred
 
OK so again, what's your point? You managed to f*ck up a shot that you have practiced "a zillion" times (I'm assuming that's even more than a million). If it's one of the shots that Tom Rossman reccommended you practice, and it's on Kinister's videos and you've practiced it a "zillion" times.... and STILL you mess it up,....

....I think you need to take two weeks off, then quit.

DrCue'sProtege said:
Cornerman said:
Again, if you're looking for some kind of answer...

This is a "across the zone" position pattern. And you should realize that. If you've practiced it a million times, then you wouldn't have overrun it... unless...

but i have practiced this shot a zillion times! it was one of the first shots that Tom Rossman recommended i practice several years ago during our first practice session. its one of Bert Kinister's shots on his 60 Minute Workout tape.

using inside english on this shot???
that would make the initial pocketing of the '1' Ball a much more difficult shot as far as i am concerned............

DCP
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
unknownpro said:
You need to try and cross between your point "A" and the foot spot to give yourself a chance to get a good angle on the 2 without passing it by completely. A little low might do. The outside english makes the speed more touchy. Hit it firmer with more low and less or no outside.

Slow rolling inside could bring you straight up the table if it would miss the 9. Harder low inside can kill it short off two rails. As far as it being harder with inside, try shooting some straight in shots with "inside" and "outside", lol, and see which is harder. Then adjust for a little cut angle and use a lot of english and see which is harder.

unknownpro
Click to expand...
LMAO That's the funniest thing I've heard all day.
Hmmm, maybe inside and outside english are the same thing. Only the contact points are slightly different due to throw.
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
ok, posters, below is another classic example of my messing up shots that i have practiced a million times.DCP
Click to expand...

DCP,
Your situation brings up 2 interesting phenomena.

First; practice is different than playing. In practice we can warm up, then stay at the table (our home table that we know like the back of our hand) and shoot until we are tired of it. In a match, we must continuously go back and forth from chair to table; often having to make tough shots first thing back to the table.

The second phenomenon is even more interesting. Many people will believe that speed control is something that depends only on the playing conditions of the table. While this is true to some extent; realize that speed control even more depends on the consistency of your stroke delivery.

An interesting observation from Mark Wilson after I related my difficulty in adjusting to the fast (Simonis 760) conditions on his tables at the Billiards Bullpen. He said that he knew the speed of these tables intimately after playing on them daily for years. He believed that Efren could come into that room (never having seen those tables) and have better speed control than Mark within 20 minutes - all because his stroke is so perfectly reproducible.

If you are working on your stroke properly and effectively; then these shots will be succeeding a higher percentage of the time in the future. If you are just shooting them over and over, with no thought to maximizing the precision and repeatability of your stroke; then improvement may elude you.

Come on up to Indy sometime and we'll play.
 
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