Run your first rack

AlexandruM

AlexandruM

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
How much time pasts since you started playing pool until you have managed to run your first 8-ball and 9-ball rack?

I play pool for 3 years, I run my first 8-ball rack on a bar box after 8 months, but 9-ball rack is still very hard to run for me, after 3 years of playing, only 2 times I could do it, and I was lucky then.

Can you recommend any drills to improve position play and shotmake selection?
 
How much 9-ball do you actually play?

If the answer isn't much, then I'd advise you just to play more, and cut down on the 8-ball when you're practicing or just hitting balls. You'll get used to having to let your stroke out more and playing position on specific balls (as opposed to a choice of balls).

Play more 9-ball, and you'll soon pick up on the areas you're struggling with. After that, it's just about deciding how to work on them.
 
This isn't much of a drill but I used to just take 3 balls randomly from the pockets and roll them onto the table and take ball in hand to try to run them out. You'll be forced to improve your position play as you have to go from ball to ball. It sounds simple but for me it was good practice because the table wasn't cluttered with balls so I could plan my path from ball to ball without distractions. Besides, it's easier to focus on just running a couple balls, as opposed to having all of your balls AND the 8 to run, while your opponents balls are also still on the table

For 9 ball practice try rolling out the 7,8,9 ball and running those three. That helped my mental game a lot too for when you play matches whether you're in league, gambling, whatever. :thumbup:
 
I agree with playing position with just 3 balls since that is the essence of rotation games. I started with three balls and every time I was comfortable running them I would add another ball, until I was running 4 balls, 5 balls etc. Now I practice either 10 ball or full rack rotation. Using fewer balls lets you concentrate on getting the right angle without having to worry about obstructing balls and clusters, which you can do once you improve.


Additionally, early on in the development of your game, I would rate stroke mechanics as more important than shot selection. You may know the right shots to take but if you don't have your stroke working you will not be able to execute. The most important shot to develop a good stroke is the straight in shot, increasing the distance between the cue ball and object ball progressively.

Make sure you have a precise plan on every shot. You can run out in 8 ball on a decent spread of balls more haphazardly than in 9 ball because there will be more than one ball you can land on to shoot next. Make sure you don't shoot until you commit to a plan for the shot; if things don't go as expected, try to figure out what error you committed. Don't get hung up on shots while practicing if you make a mistake; if you miss position and get hooked, move the cueball to a position where you have a shot on your next ball and keep working through the rack.

This youtube channel has many good drills for developing position play; see the "L drill", "line game", "circle drill" etc. If you find you have a weakness, for example shooting down a rail, drill those shots in particular.

http://www.youtube.com/user/HotShotsPoolSchool

Lastly, there are many good books on the topic. I'd recommend Play Your Best Pool or Play Your Best 9 Ball by Philip Capelle
 
I agree with the previous responses, but would like to add a little twist.

Play the progressive drills. Throw the 7, 8, and 9 on the table. If you run them out, add the 6 and try again. If you run out again, add the 5. If you don't run that one out, remove the 5 and try the 6789 again. Rinse and repeat.

Eventually you'll get to your goal. You'll at least know where you stand, in terms of running out a full rack of nine.

This drill might not "teach" you anything you don't already know. But if you aren't taking lessons or you don't have access to helpful runout players, this is the next best thing. You'll figure it out.

I believe that starting with the last three and working back down to the full 9 (8, assuming you make a ball on the break) will help you explore the longer or more complicated cue ball paths that are sometimes needed in 9-ball. Each additional ball brings exponential difficulty, but you WILL make progress.

Whatever happens, keep playing, keep trying, and keep learning. If there are runout players around your pool room, swallow your pride, and walk over and ask them for help! Most (not all) will gladly give you tips. 9-ball shape/strategy is different than 8-ball, but you'll pick it up quickly.

If you're running out in 8 ball, it won't be long before you get your first "true" 9 ball break and run. Keep it up; that first 9-ball break and run is right around the corner.

Best wishes,

-Blake
 
Last edited:
about two months since I started playing..to run my first rack of 8 ball, break and run...
 
SloMoHolic said:
I agree with the previous responses, but would like to add a little twist.

Play the progressive drills. Throw the 7, 8, and 9 on the table. If you run them out, add the 6 and try again. If you run out again, add the 5. If you don't run that one out, remove the 5 and try the 6789 again. Rinse and repeat.

Eventually you'll get to your goal. You'll at least know where you stand, in terms of running out a full rack of nine.

This drill might not "teach" you anything you don't already know. But if you aren't taking lessons or you don't have access to helpful runout players, this is the next best thing. You'll figure it out.

I believe that starting with the last three and working back down to the full 9 (8, assuming you make a ball on the break) will help you explore the longer or more complicated cue ball paths that are sometimes needed in 9-ball. Each additional ball brings exponential difficulty, but you WILL make progress.

Whatever happens, keep playing, keep trying, and keep learning. If there are runout players around your pool room, swallow your pride, and walk over and ask them for help! Most (not all) will gladly give you tips. 9-ball shape/strategy is different than 8-ball, but you'll pick it up quickly.

If you're running out in 8 ball, it won't be long before you get your first "true" 9 ball break and run. Keep it up; that first 9-ball break and run is right around the corner.

Best wishes,

-Blake
Click to expand...

I like to do this if I find myself struggling. Starting from three balls and working your way back up not only simplifies your practice, it's also a good confidence builder mid-session.
 
You are right I don't play much 9-Ball, around 2-3 hours per week.
Thanks all for yours advices.
 
Play the ghost too. Start low at like the 4 ball ghost and work your way up. That seemed to really help me with the patterns needed as I found out real quick what patterns were easier than others. I agree with what everyone said above too about cutting back on the 8-ball. I used to hate 9-ball like a year or so ago because I could never run more than 4 balls. However, after learning the proper way to play and some of the patterns needed the run outs became much easier. Now I prefer 9-ball/rotations game over 8-ball. Just have fun with it.
 
This more applies to 8 ball but kinda can be applied to 9 ball as well as far as number of balls on the table. Just throw out one set of colors (solid or stripes) and the 8 ball and run those, no particular order just run them. Intention is to put you in a position of your opponent had ran out to the 8 ball and missed and you are left with your 7 balls and the 8. If you can't run out a wide open table, you don't need to try running out a full rack yet. Once you get consistent running those, throw a blocker ball out to work around, and keep adding one as you get better. That helped my game improve greatly, especially since when I didn't run them out I would get frustrated and it made me want to practice more and more and concentrate more. Now, I don't take easy shots and easy outs for granted as often as most do. Something else I suggest, try learning the table speed before you do anything else. If you don't know how hard to hit your shots then you are never going to be able to play position to run out racks consistently especially 9 ball and the last couple of balls in 8 ball when options are fewer and fewer. To do this, before you hit any shots, hit some lag shots until you are getting an inch from the rail every time, then hit the cue ball a couple rails to get back to the end of the table and get close to the rail.
 
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