Practicing One Shot

[DrCue'sProtege]

does this ever happen to anybody else? the other day i missed a shot during a rack of 9 ball, and i practiced it for almost 2 hours. since then i've not had that shot come up once.

i always hear about a player missing a shot and then practicing it for several hours. somebody said Natural Talent is practicing a shot for ten hours. but its normal for me to practice a shot (or two or three) for a few hours, then days go by and i never have that shot again.

happen to anyone else?
DCP

 

[merylane]

ive seen varner miss a shot and after the match go practice it until his next match.

 

[Bob Jewett]

but its normal for me to practice a shot (or two or three) for a few hours, then days go by and i never have that shot again.

The problem is to find the right shot to practice, and when you do practice it, make the shot general enough that you are guaranteed to see the shot frequently. One approach is to note all the shots you have trouble with and first practice the repeaters.

 

[DaveK]

... make the shot general enough that you are guaranteed to see the shot frequently...

This is an excellent suggestion. If I may expand ... I use the Pro Book for shot reference, and it defines shots 'in the middle' (my words) then shows the "boundaries". Shots outside of the boundaries cannot be made (I believe that players with differing abilities to apply spin and power will have different shot boundaries as a result). Anyway, I've found that I miss some of thes shots repeatedly, but typically I will do better on one side of center of the other. So, it may turn out that your missed shots, once generalized, may show that you too miss only some of the angles.

Dave

 

[mjantti]

I'd say you don't need to practise missed shots that were easy or too difficult. Probably you just moved on the easy missed shot and you don't need to boost up your confidence on the hanger. I usually practise missed shots if they are maybe 50-50 shots or a shot with difficult position play. And I shoot the same shot over until I get 3-7 consecutive successful shots with confidence. There is no use of shooting very difficult shots over and over again, you just lose confidence there and tighten up thus making it more difficult getting comfortable...