Shane Van Boening took the Billiard University (BU) Playing Ability Exams!

Dr. Dave,

What about a TDF grading factor that can put the score in a better perspective?
Is that possible to even factor in?

Great to see Shane take on the exams.
 
BRussell said:
It seems like there are two ways to think about the tests: One is a natural "pop quiz" where you don't really practice them and just rely on your ability to score as well as you can. In testing they call that an aptitude test, which is (supposedly) like the SAT or GRE, or an IQ test. This seems like it's how Shane was tested here.

The other way to treat these tests is to practice the skills, learn and improve, and then take the test with full knowledge of all the drills. In testing that's more like an achievement test, like a final exam for a class.

Shane may not get the highest possible score or beat everyone else by as much as expected given his ability, but he's taking it in a different way than probably most of the other scores that are listed.
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Excellent observation.
 
pwd72s said:
Very enjoyable...A tip of my hat to Dr. Dave for all he does on his posts here. Dr. Dave, you'll never know how many people you have helped improve their game..
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Thank you. All of these positive comments make me feel like the time I put into this stuff is well worth it.

Have a great weekend,
Dave
 
BRussell said:
It seems like there are two ways to think about the tests: One is a natural "pop quiz" where you don't really practice them and just rely on your ability to score as well as you can. In testing they call that an aptitude test, which is (supposedly) like the SAT or GRE, or an IQ test. This seems like it's how Shane was tested here.

The other way to treat these tests is to practice the skills, learn and improve, and then take the test with full knowledge of all the drills. In testing that's more like an achievement test, like a final exam for a class.

Shane may not get the highest possible score or beat everyone else by as much as expected given his ability, but he's taking it in a different way than probably most of the other scores that are listed.
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Very well stated!

I like the "achievement test" approach, where you work hard and practice, and then show us the best you can do. Having said that, the "pop quiz" approach (as with Shane) is interesting too.

Regards,
Dave
 
Cardigan Kid said:
Dr. Dave,

What about a TDF grading factor that can put the score in a better perspective?
Is that possible to even factor in?
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I actually originally created the table difficulty factor TDF system (with the help of many others) specifically for this purpose, but then I later realized that it was much too difficult to do so in a meaningful way without having a huge amount of data for a large amount of players with results from a wide variety of pool tables that could be used to better correlate the TDF factor weightings with actual performance and table data. And even then, the results might not correlate well, especially for players of different levels. That's when we decided to just publish TDF data with BU scores so people could put the numbers in perspective themselves.

For more info, see the Table Difficulty Factor (TDF) document.

Cardigan Kid said:
Great to see Shane take on the exams.
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Agreed!

Catch you later,
Dave
 
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Keith Jawahir said:
dr_dave said:
I aim to swerve,
Dave
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And bend banks too? :D
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Good one.

I actually took a stab at the Bank Bend Challenge this week. I will post the video soon to give everybody a low mark to pass for the money.

Attempting to bend banks consistently and accurate and enough to come close to beating the challenge if not very easy, but I hope some people end up going for the cash (if not the $2000, at least the $200).

Catch you later,
Dave
 
dr_dave said:
I actually originally created the table difficulty factor TDF system (with the help of many others) specifically for this purpose, but then I later realized that it was much too difficult to do so in a meaningful way without having a huge amount of data for a large amount of players with results from a wide variety of pool tables that could be used to better correlate the TDF factor weightings with actual performance and table data. And even then, the results might not correlate well, especially for players of different levels. That's when we decided to just publish TDF data with BU scores so people could put the numbers in perspective themselves.

For more info, see the Table Difficulty Factor (TDF) document.

Agreed!

Catch you later,
Dave
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Ok, then I just settle for the civil service exam treatment where they add points for military service, etc.
For every .01 over 1.00 TDF just add a point to the final score?
And the same in reverse. :thumbup:
(My table is a 1.08 so I'm 8 up before a shot is fired:D)

Seriously though, thanks for the insight and the hard work. Stats make sports great, and you are making this sport all the better with all the added statistics.
 
It's interesting that SVB missed a bunch of those rail shots, because he says in this interview that his biggest weakness is shooting off the rail. It's in about the middle of the video.
 
BRussell said:
It's interesting that SVB missed a bunch of those rail shots, because he says in this interview that his biggest weakness is shooting off the rail. It's in about the middle of the video.
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I was also a little shocked by this because he missed several of them badly. At first I thought he might of had a vision center or tip alignment issue when elevating, but then I thought he was just losing his focus because he wasn't doing as well on the Exam as he wanted to. He did pocket the last and long hit over the obstacle ball, and I did notice him focus a little more on that shot. So he might not have a problem with his fundamentals on these shots. He might just not always give them the attention and focus they require.

Regards,
Dave
 
While I have not taken the exam yet I do practice many of these drills and have watched videos of others taking the test. I really enjoyed watching Shane take the test and think he is a good sport for having it taped. No doubt he can score higher and if he has time, I'll bet he will be back to put up a big number. I'm sure he is not trying to be but he is a great ambassador for the game of pool.
 
Thanks for sharing this Dr. Dave, it's great to watch Shane humbly attempt the test! Keep posting awesome stuff!

Sent from my XT1049 using Tapatalk
 
So glad to see a pro do this, I had asked Darren to do so to which I will withhold his reply.
Thanks Dave for getting Shane to do this and thanks Shane for doing it.
 
dr_dave said:
Shane Van Boening recently took the Billiard University (BU) Playing-Ability Exams. Here are his videos:

Exam I - Fundamentals

Exam II - Skills

Here's how Shane scored:

F1:10 + F2:10 + F3:10 + F4:8 + F5:8 + F6:7 + F7:16 + F8:15 = 84
S1:10 + S2:15 + S3:14 + S4:14 + S5:7 + S6:4 + S7:1 + S8:3 + S9:5 + S10:4 = 77

BU Score = Exam I:84 + Exam II:77 = 161 (Doctorate of Pool)

If you want to try the exams and see how well you can do compared to Shane, everything you need is available for free on the BU website.

Enjoy, and good luck,
Dave

PS: If you try the exams, please post your scores (and videos if available) on the AZB BU sticky thread, as other AZB users have done.
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Hi Dave, thank you very much for posting this. I really like the drills. Are these good drills to do on a regular bases, or should a player who wants to get better always look for new drills to try out? I see that the drills start out easy, and get more difficult. I would love to be able to master even the most difficult of your drills someday.

I imagine that Shane did not really take the test too seriously, because there was really nothing on the line (just a guess). I think he plays much stronger and more accurate when in competition. It just did not seem like Shane was giving the test his best.

Thanks again for posting this. I look forward to doing this test, and practicing these drills regularly. I hope these drills will help me improve my game. They look like really good drills.
 
Thank you DR Dave and Shane for allowing this test to go public. If you notice Shane was one and two stroking most shots. That to me says he wasn't trying 100%. I think if there was money for the highest score, his score would be much higher ;).
I do think it's a great test and would like to see more of the top pros of the world take it in a 6 man round robin. Appleton, Ko, Shane, Shaw, Alex, and one more...WITH CLOCK. I think they would be very interesting scores. Thanks again for doing all you do and all the work you put into teaching this great game. Johnnyt
 
dr_dave said:
I actually originally created the table difficulty factor TDF system (with the help of many others) specifically for this purpose, but then I later realized that it was much too difficult to do so in a meaningful way without having a huge amount of data for a large amount of players with results from a wide variety of pool tables that could be used to better correlate the TDF factor weightings with actual performance and table data. And even then, the results might not correlate well, especially for players of different levels. That's when we decided to just publish TDF data with BU scores so people could put the numbers in perspective themselves.

For more info, see the Table Difficulty Factor (TDF) document.

Agreed!

Catch you later,
Dave
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What was the pocket size on the table that Shane tried? And was this first time he shot on the table? The rail and clothes looks a bit fast to me. He definitely looked to have throttled down his stroke and they still seem to overshoot and never undershoot.
 
7forlife said:
So glad to see a pro do this, I had asked Darren to do so to which I will withhold his reply.
Thanks Dave for getting Shane to do this and thanks Shane for doing it.
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I'm surprised by Darren's reaction. He seems to love drills and posts many of them on FB
 
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