practicing without a table

PKM

PKM

OB-1 Kenobi
Silver Member
What kinds of things can you do at home if you don't have a pool table? I have a large desk that is about the right height, so I at least try to take a few practice strokes and concentrate on getting my mechanics right. I think I'm going to pick up a cue ball so I'm not just stroking at air and I can practice with addressing the ball. I should figure out a way that I can hit it into something.

I suppose there's not much else, but anyone else try to do something for practice?
 
One thing that you can do is work on your stroke by using a glass bottle. Lay the bottle on a table sideways. then try to stroke into the opening of the bottle without touching the rim. This is something I used to do to help make my stroke smooth and accurate.
 
vicdotcom said:
One thing that you can do is work on your stroke by using a glass bottle. Lay the bottle on a table sideways. then try to stroke into the opening of the bottle without touching the rim. This is something I used to do to help make my stroke smooth and accurate.
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I always used a plastic 1 Litre soda bottle. Throw a handful of pennies in it to keep it from rolling around.

Another thing I do which might border on insanity is take a flat rectangular surface and lay a couple quarters on it. Let one symbolize the object ball the other the cue ball. Lay one down anywhere, then try to place the other touching it so that the two line up with the corner. I keep moving the coins around and changing the angles. Does lining up discs transfer to spheres? I think so. It seems to work for me.
 
The great golfer Gary Player knew when he was in college that he was going to make his living playing golf.

When he couldn't get out to play, each night he would pull out each club in his bag and practice his swing.

Sometimes, as many as 300 practice strokes with one club to groove his swing.

When I was young and I couldn't get to a pool table, I used to tape lunch bags on the sides of our dinner table for pockets with oranges for balls and use a broom stick for a cue.

I got where I could draw my orange a little bit.

With great passion, weird ideas are sometimes hatched.
 
In front of the bathroom mirror. Sounds funny heh? But you can practice your stroke - and see if you have everything in the correct position and your follow through is there. You know practice is getting the muscles to do the same thing every time.
 
The Joe Tucker stroke trainer is for sale on this site. Looks like it would help. If you have enough desire and commitment to actually do 200 or 300 practice strokes at home, on the desk, with a pop bottle or the Tucker Stroke trainer, then you'll be a good player some day. I don't believe an average person can become a top player... you have to have special talent to be a TOP player.... special talent AND a shit load of willingness and determination. But, you can get real good if you're willing to practice for several hours a day.
 
I'm not so sure people can't be top players. Ralf Souquet, I've heard, was a shortstop for a while in touraments. Danny Diliberto on his DVD even talks about how he was one of the people you ''wanted'' to draw because he wasn't a top player.

Nowadays, however, he's a monster on the table in multiple disciplines (14.1, 9-ball, 8-ball). He's consistently ranked in the top 10 in the world, and by many accounts it would seem this is due to hard work and practice. I've also heard Earl doesn't like Ralf too much because (among other reasons) he's not one of the natural talents of the game. But with a World Championship, a US Open, a two BCA Opens (the only repeat champ), and a string of other prestigious wins under his belt it has become clear he's one of pool's elite.

But back to the post at hand: one of my biggest aids has been a mirror. You can check your body's alignment, stroke, and follow-through. It's also interesting to see which eye you naturally place you cue under -- and if that might attribute to any problems with alignment.

When I started playing pool, no one ever sat me down and taught me fundamentals. When I started to get serious about the game, one night while I couldn't get pool out of my mind I got in front of a full-length mirror and pulled out my cue. What I saw was absolutely horrendous and I changed my stance, stroke and ''pre-shot routine'' 100 percent -- to the point that now I've received compliments on my stroke and fundamentals.

So. Yeah. A mirror.

JimS said:
The Joe Tucker stroke trainer is for sale on this site. Looks like it would help. If you have enough desire and commitment to actually do 200 or 300 practice strokes at home, on the desk, with a pop bottle or the Tucker Stroke trainer, then you'll be a good player some day. I don't believe an average person can become a top player... you have to have special talent to be a TOP player.... special talent AND a shit load of willingness and determination. But, you can get real good if you're willing to practice for several hours a day.
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Danny D. was also an excellent boxer and a fine bowler. He is said to have run 300 balls one day and then gone on to bowl a 300 game later that same day. He would appear to have had special talents. And where's the proof that the mechanical Souquet is not also a natural talent?

But it's an argument nobody can win. It's a matter of subjective opinions that cannot be objectively proved plus we all want to believe we can be a top player if we worked hard enough... at least I want to believe it because I'm sure that the ONLY reason I can't beat Efren is because I can't devote enough time to my game. But if I just had the time..... :D
 
You really need a table ,

You really do need a table to develope a good stop shot stroke at different speeds and distances because your eyes see different legnth shoots differently and the only way to develope the stroke over changing distances is trial and error basicly but.......
Many road players will admitt to stroking practice useng a bottle and usually a soda bottle. One of my friends used to do 100 clean strokes into a soda bottle when he was back at the room at night on the road with Johny Archer years ago.
I rember him saying it was a ***** if you were even a little off because you only counted clean strokes, not the kind of guy you want to have a stroking contest with!

Nick :)
 
i play virtual pool on my PC (you can buy it from celeris.com). it won't help with your stroke or mechanics, but its pretty good for training your eye to see the angles and its a fun game
 
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