Shoot a Million Balls? Give me a break.

[jjohnson]

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.

 

[DeeDeeCues]

If it took me 30s to make a ball, I'd kill myself.

Machine gun Lou ran 150 in 22 minutes. Do that math.

 

[garczar]

Most people, apparently not all, know that that saying is not meant to be taken literally. Its HALF-A-MILLION balls dude, everyone knows that. Sure a mentor/helper is nice but no player ever got to champion-speed without massive time on table. No one is getting there just by 'thinking like a genius'. NOT happening.

 

[MitchAlsup]

Shoot faster--I generally take a shot every 5-odd seconds.
That alone cuts you time to 2 years.

Practice longer--several 1 hour sessions per day with rest in between.
Now you are down to 1 year.

 

[sixpack]

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.

The book by Malcolm Gladwell - “Outliers” suggests that it takes on average about 10,000 hours of good practice to become world class at something. So you are right on track here.

There are about 2,000 work hours in a year. (40 hrs/week). So roughly 5 years of treating it lie a job.

The main reason people need to start young is because free time to do something like pool is difficult to carve out.

I guarantee you that every pro level player with a job has had years of their life that their main interest was pool. Even if they had a job during that time it was pool every waking hour that wasn’t work.

 

[Zerksies]

I worked in a pool hall for a few years. I would probably do 12-15 hour days

 

[Bob Jewett]

If it took me 30s to make a ball, I'd kill myself.

Machine gun Lou ran 150 in 22 minutes. Do that math.

And in his record run of 832 balls, Jayson Shaw ran the first rack in under two minutes.

But if you're playing against someone your speed, you're going to be sitting half the time.

On the other hand, when I was learning, there were lots of 12 hour days and all night sessions. My shots per week was pretty high.

As far as learning the game, I think it takes far less than a million shots to get close to your potential best if a lot of your table time is spent on directed practice. Not many players bother with such practice.

 

[Island Drive]

Op.... I hit balls for a good 20 yrs straight, 30 hrs a week. Roughly 32,000 hrs of play, how many did I hit?

 

[tim913]

Op.... I hit balls for a good 20 yrs straight, 30 hrs a week. Roughly 32,000 hrs of play, how many did I hit?

You hit a ton!

 

[jjohnson]

Shoot faster--I generally take a shot every 5-odd seconds.
That alone cuts you time to 2 years.

Practice longer--several 1 hour sessions per day with rest in between.
Now you are down to 1 year.

You're a funny guy. What was your win/loss? How many balls did you make, how many balls did you miss?
How many shots do you / did you, know / not know what the hell you were doing?
I suppose the idea is if you don't know what you're doing or have limited knowledge, by just practicing you will get better.
Then why do most people reach a plateau and never get better no matter how much they practice?
Because they don't know what the hell they're doing.
Somewhere between when they step up to the table and let 'er fly, something is missing.
Always something.
But they can't figure it out.
And unless someone tells them what it might be, they never will.
Then again, if that sort of knowledge were free or cheap, you'd have known.
So someone is controlling that knowledge.
Or, very few people are willing to just give it away.
"Will pay for help."
If you can find someone who gets you to the next level then the money spent is worth it.
Good luck...

 

[Frosty]

Well, you can perceive it any way you want, but the truth is that there are no shortcuts available to become truly great at this game. You say two hours a day for 11+ years seems a “grind” to you? Really?

To all but perhaps a handful of savants, every truly great player I’ve ever seen or known had an extended period of time in their life where they were totally immersed in this game. In my younger years, up to 8-10 hours a day was common for me, for a great number of years and I never thought of it as a grind at all. I think that’s also because not only do you have to put in the time, but you have to truly love it.

I’ve seen many on here post how they find it hard to maintain focus after several hours. I think that’s where the love of it comes into play. When you truly enjoy what you’re doing, it’s easy to dedicate that kind of time. I’m in my 60’s now and I still play 4 to 6 days a week, generally 5-7 hours each session. The amazing thing about that to me is that I’m still like a little kid at Xmas on the days I wake up to go play. I can’t wait to get there and I’m sad when it’s time to leave.

 

[MitchAlsup]

You're a funny guy. What was your win/loss?

At the bar my win rate is between 80% and 90%

How many balls did you make, how many balls did you miss?

My typical run is 6-7 balls

How many shots do you / did you, know / not know what the hell you were doing?

I take more time on these, make about 80% of 3-rail shots, 70% of jumps, and get lock up safeties routinely.

I suppose the idea is if you don't know what you're doing or have limited knowledge, by just practicing you will get better.

There is a point in your learning where "just shooting balls" is the aim.
There is a point later on when decreasing mistakes to under 1 per rack is the goal.
{{Where a mistake is failing to pot or failing to get position}}

Then why do most people reach a plateau and never get better no matter how much they practice?

They don't keep notes on what they missed and then practice them at practice time.
But mainly most league players are there for the comradery and drinking.

Because they don't know what the hell they're doing.
Somewhere between when they step up to the table and let 'er fly, something is missing.

I have a friend that tries to keep his shot time under 3 seconds.

Always something.
But they can't figure it out.
And unless someone tells them what it might be, they never will.

In his case, He does not care.

Then again, if that sort of knowledge were free or cheap, you'd have known.
So someone is controlling that knowledge.
Or, very few people are willing to just give it away.
"Will pay for help."
If you can find someone who gets you to the next level then the money spent is worth it.
Good luck...

There is a big difference between not listening and not bothering to hear.

 

[Black-Balled]

Most people, apparently not all, know that that saying is not meant to be taken literally. Its HALF-A-MILLION balls dude, everyone knows that. Sure a mentor/helper is nice but no player ever got to champion-speed without massive time on table. No one is getting there just by 'thinking like a genius'. NOT happening.

Typical horrible advice from you.it is actually 496,832 balls…FAKE NEWS ALERT

 

[Black-Balled]

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.

4hrs a day for 4.5 years happened LONG ago for me.

 

[Black-Balled]

4hrs a day for 4.5 years happened LONG ago for me.

And I still stink

 

[Patrick Johnson]

At best, it takes 30 seconds to make one shot.

"At best"?

Do you have to wake your opponent up every time it's their shot?

pj
chgo

 

[jjohnson]

At the bar my win rate is between 80% and 90%

My typical run is 6-7 balls

I take more time on these, make about 80% of 3-rail shots, 70% of jumps, and get lock up safeties routinely.

There is a point in your learning where "just shooting balls" is the aim.
There is a point later on when decreasing mistakes to under 1 per rack is the goal.
{{Where a mistake is failing to pot or failing to get position}}

They don't keep notes on what they missed and then practice them at practice time.
But mainly most league players are there for the comradery and drinking.

I have a friend that tries to keep his shot time under 3 seconds.

In his case, He does not care.

There is a big difference between not listening and not bothering to hear.

I see. I don't know what the action is like at bars these days. If you frequent a single bar or only a few, your level of play is well known.
Are you in it for the money? Many years ago, there was action on bar tables. $5 ring games in 1975. You could make a living, maybe, with your stated skills. Over decades, who knows, you might have a mattress stuffed with a million bucks.
Have you reached a plateau? Over how many years? Just a player for recreation?
Why not go for the regulation tables and the big tournament money?
They say, love conquers all. But your game may still have plateaued.
You sound satisfied.
Good.

 

[jjohnson]

"At best"?

Do you have to wake your opponent up every time it's their shot?

pj
chgo

"At best"?

Sounds like I'd quit you after about 5 minutes.

pj
chgo


Even most of the pros are not racing around the regulation 9-ball table. And I'm not talking about the pros. I'm talking, conservatively, about someone with none or limited knowledge and experience pretty much starting from scratch to begin with. Of course over time they will become more familiar with the game. But over time, 30 seconds per shot is a reasonable mean or average. Of course, sharks want their opponents to play fast. Faster is better because an opponent that plays fast is more likely to miss shots. Sharks don't like players who are unshakable.

 

[Chopdoc]

The book by Malcolm Gladwell - “Outliers” suggests that it takes on average about 10,000 hours of good practice to become world class at something. So you are right on track here.

There are about 2,000 work hours in a year. (40 hrs/week). So roughly 5 years of treating it lie a job.

The main reason people need to start young is because free time to do something like pool is difficult to carve out.

I guarantee you that every pro level player with a job has had years of their life that their main interest was pool. Even if they had a job during that time it was pool every waking hour that wasn’t work.

The classic 10,000 hour rule.

It actually roughly applies in formal medical training when you do the calculation.

Medical residency is 80 hours a week for 3 years. That's 12,480 hours.

Take out vacations, sick time, etc.

 

[thebark]

Its my guess that any player over 700 started playing before 15 and some kind of mentor before 20. Hit all the balls you want but if you didn.t learn it young you will never be truly great. You can still be good.