Shoot a Million Balls? Give me a break.

ShootingArts said:
you couldn't just go out and buy another.
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Cole had Joss East make cues for him. They had his specks on file. It was interesting when I saw Cole 6 months after buying my cue from him. His comment was, "I wouldn't be able to shoot with that cue now." So cues made to the same specks all have a personality.
 
jjohnson said:
At best, it takes 30 seconds to make one shot. So a million balls takes 30 sec. times 1 million balls equals 500,000 minutes.
500,000 minutes divided by 60 minutes per hour equals 8333 hours.
Let's say you practice for 2 hours per day, every single day.
8333 hours divided by 2 hours per day equals 4167 days.
4167 days divided by 365 days per year equals 11.42 years.
2 hours per day may not seem like much but for every single day for 11 years? That's a grind.
Jim Rempe was born in 1947, started playing at age 6. He turned pro at age 22. He won his first major tournament in 1971. The rest is history.
How about you? A million balls? Maybe at best, 30-40 years? Start playing at age 15? Hey. You hit a million, maybe by 50.
I was told that no one gets as good as Cole, as quickly as Cole without a mentor. And I bet Sax never told Cole to hit a million balls.
And I was told that no one in the Bay Area (San Francisco circa 1966) could beat Cole when he was 16.
Any instructor that says, "Hey bud. Hit a million balls. Stick with me."
Run, don't walk?
You could become a champion in just a few years if you can think like a world class genius.
Or if someone who already knows takes you under his wing.
Good luck.
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I would suggest starting out with One Pocket and each time you mess something up, practice that one thing until you can't fail
and the ascent to better playing would be faster and the other games be a lot easier.

One Pocket is the answer!
 
jjohnson said:
Tommy Kennedy is another good example. He not only shoots for center of pocket but minimizes everything that can be minimized to eliminate error prone degrees of freedom.

It is laughable how some "knowledgeable" pool experts trash talk Hopkins and Kennedy because of their style of play when these two champions are 2-time U.S. Open 9-Ball winners among several other titles.

Even the great Cole Dickson banked long thin cut shots off the rail on their way to the pocket because that was necessary if you wanted to make the ball. But his position was so tight unless there was good reason, he shot center pocket.
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Funny how you keep arguing when you agree with me. I shoot center pocket unless there is good reason not to. Of course most of the time there is good reason not to. The object ball is two inches from the pocket. The choice is to shoot center pocket and use a lot of spin to get the cue ball where you want it or cut the object ball and let the cue ball have natural roll and angles to go where you want it. Only a dummy would shoot center pocket. Everyone else would take the easier shot. That is an extreme example but many shots work on the same principle, not shooting for center of the pocket is the easier shot.

Pocketing a ball is almost always easier than getting shape on the next ball so focus most of your effort on perfect position. Whatever lane the object ball needs to be on going into the pocket is fine as long as the cue ball goes where it needs to.

Hu
 
right on the nose, hu

and no top pro shoots center pocket when he can get better or easier position by using other parts of the pocket for that, with still the same basic chance of making the ball.

and many or most times it is better to have a chance to miss the ball than not get position.
 
maha said:
right on the nose, hu

and no top pro shoots center pocket when he can get better or easier position by using other parts of the pocket for that, with still the same basic chance of making the ball.

and many or most times it is better to have a chance to miss the ball than not get position.
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I shoot to any part of the pocket that the ball will fit in that will give me greater odds of getting the position I want.
 
There is probably no reason not to play the biggest pocket for a more convenient angle. Still, I think precision is too much work for jocks - especially since there is no general requirement to hit perfect lines. Funnier still, if the pockets stiffen ever so slightly, they go into snooker mode.
 
HawaiianEye said:
I shoot to any part of the pocket that the ball will fit in that will give me greater odds of getting the position I want.
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Me too - but when I weigh the increased odds of missing the shot against getting easier position I usually end up going for center pocket.

pj
chgo
 
maha said:
the more perfect your lines are to get the position on the balls past the next one the more often you get out.
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AFAIC it's just a competence issue. The execution of pool is very flexible. Perfect shape or less than ideal shape will get you out. Missing won't.
Flying a helicopter next to a cliff. Not at all safe. Done if it's required.
 
Unless it is the last ball, there is no sense in making one ball. I'm never going to pocket a ball if it doesn't give me a runout or a chance to play a lockup safety Efren couldn't get out of.

Most folks past banger level understand that pocketing a ball without any way forward is a benefit for the other player. Even in eightball you have cleared traffic out of their way. That is why I give minimum focus on pocketing the object ball. It has to fall for the angle off of the object ball to take me to the next point I plan to hit. On the rare occasion where I make the object ball and miss shape it pisses me off because that means the shot went south at the planning stage. If I miss, I am almost certain to miss the object ball and shape. I prefer it that way. Old eyes and creaky joints creating executional errors are preferable to mental errors. Mental errors mean you were whistling in the wind when you bent over.

Hu
 
I bet I've shot millions of balls!!
For a time period of about 12-15 years, I played anywhere from 10-14 hours a day.
I think its entirely possible for those of us who are crazy passionate for a bit. :)
 
Wybrook said:
I bet I've shot millions of balls!!
For a time period of about 12-15 years, I played anywhere from 10-14 hours a day.
I think its entirely possible for those of us who are crazy passionate for a bit. :)
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When you do the math plugging in reasonable times for racking and running balls you will find you probably run a million balls in less than five years. You could very easily have hit three million balls or more. When Danny Medina and I were playing on a seven foot coin op table I noticed the mechanism warming up! Games were going by in close to speed pool times. Table time per hour was very expensive at fifty cents a game.

Hu
 
ShootingArts said:
When you do the math plugging in reasonable times for racking and running balls you will find you probably run a million balls in less than five years.
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Walk in the park. A million shots in 5 years would take a leisurely…

4 shots a minute
50 minutes an hour (60 minus racking, etc.)
4 hours a day
5 days a week
50 weeks a year (2 weeks fishing allowance)
x 5 years

4 x 50 x 4 x 5 x 50 x 5 = 1,000,000

pj
chgo
 
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if just practicing a lot more shots per minute.

still doesnt matter how many you shoot if you don't have good eye hand co ordination. you only get to be about average.
 
maha said:
if just practicing a lot more shots per minute.

still doesnt matter how many you shoot if you don't have good eye hand co ordination. you only get to be about average.
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It's not eye hand coordination it's eye brain hand coordination, if your eye is giving your brain the wrong sight picture you will struggle, learning your vision center is the key to helping your game.
 
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