The five ball ghost

[Rhea]

I've been warming up to go back out on the road again next year. My bankroll is healthy again and I have a lot of time to practice before I go back out. I am buying a truck soon from a good friend of mine.

I can now consistently beat the four ball ghost and have been practicing with the five ball ghost lately. I can see that my shape and speed needs some polishing up to get back where I left off earlier this year when I was at the top of my game.

One thing I noticed is you can't break the five balls soft or two of them tie up too often. I've had a little more success with a medium break but I'm still only getting to the hill with the five ball ghost and can tell I'm not ready for six ball yet.

I'm trying to envision my run outs prior to the shots but since my speed is still off a bit I end up out of line from what I imagine. Any advice on ghost play or performance enhancing drills would be quite welcome at this time and much appreciated.

 

[Charlie Hustle]

Let me know when your coming thru Houston again.

 

[Colonel]

Let me know when your coming thru Houston again.

I smell a robbery

 

[Johnnyt]

Break with a full 9 ball rack and take the 5, 6, 7, 8 off after the break. This way you get to practice your break also. Johnnyt

 

[Pidge]

I've been warming up to go back out on the road again next year. My bankroll is healthy again and I have a lot of time to practice before I go back out. I am buying a truck soon from a good friend of mine.

I can now consistently beat the four ball ghost and have been practicing with the five ball ghost lately. I can see that my shape and speed needs some polishing up to get back where I left off earlier this year when I was at the top of my game.

One thing I noticed is you can't break the five balls soft or two of them tie up too often. I've had a little more success with a medium break but I'm still only getting to the hill with the five ball ghost and can tell I'm not ready for six ball yet.

I'm trying to envision my run outs prior to the shots but since my speed is still off a bit I end up out of line from what I imagine. Any advice on ghost play or performance enhancing drills would be quite welcome at this time and much appreciated.

A simple drill for improving getting the right side, soft draw shots, and stun shots would be to set 9 balls up along the second diamond, long rail to long rail, start with the cue ball mid table and shoot them in order. The key is to try get the CB back to centre table so you aren't stretching.

You are wanting to go on the road with a healthy bankroll and you aren't ready to play the 6 ball ghost yet? To me that says one thing, that bankroll wont be too healthy in a very short period of time.

If you are wanting to improve I would suggest putting that healthy bankroll to better use and spending it on lone table time, and quality instruction. If I was in your situation I'd take a year, maybe longer out save up a crap load of cash, get as much help as I can on improving and then if you really have your heart set on hitting the road, only do that when you are at a speed that you can afford to drop a little and still compete against 90% of bar players and still win. Hitting the road at your level imo is a recipe for disaster.

That being said, if you decide to still go ahead with it happy shooting and I wish you the best of luck.

 

[bbb]

A simple drill for improving getting the right side, soft draw shots, and stun shots would be to set 9 balls up along the second diamond, long rail to long rail, start with the cue ball mid table and shoot them in order. The key is to try get the CB back to centre table so you aren't stretching.

You are wanting to go on the road with a healthy bankroll and you aren't ready to play the 6 ball ghost yet? To me that says one thing, that bankroll wont be too healthy in a very short period of time.

If you are wanting to improve I would suggest putting that healthy bankroll to better use and spending it on lone table time, and quality instruction. If I was in your situation I'd take a year, maybe longer out save up a crap load of cash, get as much help as I can on improving and then if you really have your heart set on hitting the road, only do that when you are at a speed that you can afford to drop a little and still compete against 90% of bar players and still win. Hitting the road at your level imo is a recipe for disaster.

That being said, if you decide to still go ahead with it happy shooting and I wish you the best of luck.

i agree 100%

 

[Bassmaster]

A whole lot of people that play pool regularly cant beat the 6 ball ghost...Its all about smart matches up....for the cash..and good spots.

Healthy bank roll...can mean different things to different folks..thus the need to matching up smart even more important.

 

[sonny_burnett]

Popcorn time!

 

[takeitdown]

I've been warming up to go back out on the road again next year. My bankroll is healthy again and I have a lot of time to practice before I go back out. I am buying a truck soon from a good friend of mine.

I can now consistently beat the four ball ghost and have been practicing with the five ball ghost lately. I can see that my shape and speed needs some polishing up to get back where I left off earlier this year when I was at the top of my game.

One thing I noticed is you can't break the five balls soft or two of them tie up too often. I've had a little more success with a medium break but I'm still only getting to the hill with the five ball ghost and can tell I'm not ready for six ball yet.

I'm trying to envision my run outs prior to the shots but since my speed is still off a bit I end up out of line from what I imagine. Any advice on ghost play or performance enhancing drills would be quite welcome at this time and much appreciated.

You are joking right???

 

[BasementDweller]

A whole lot of people that play pool regularly cant beat the 6 ball ghost...Its all about smart matches up....for the cash..and good spots.

Healthy bank roll...can mean different things to different folks..thus the need to matching up smart even more important.

I love that old story about 6 ball Bob. I'm sure everybody remembers that guy. He was the guy that couldn't quite beat the 6 ball ghost but boy did he sure know how to match up. He toured the country and made a killin. He robbed every D player in the country out of 17 dollars.

As legend has it, once after sneaking around the midwest for six months, 6 ball Bob made it home and emptied his pockets and much to his amazement he found -- 13 dollars -- in quarters of course, half a stick of juicy fruit, some chalk crums, and the tip to his playing cue. It was only at that point that he discovered that he had been playing for that past few months without a tip!

Boy that guy could play some below average pool.

 

[Aaron_S]

One thing I noticed is you can't break the five balls soft or two of them tie up too often. I've had a little more success with a medium break but I'm still only getting to the hill with the five ball ghost and can tell I'm not ready for six ball yet.

If you are getting two balls tying up consistently, I say roll with it. If you want to eventually beat the 9 or 10 ball ghost, dealing with clusters is something you will have to learn. Just rack so that the 2-ball isn't one of the balls in the cluster - that way you have at lest two whacks at separating them.

I usually tell people to go straight from the 4 to the 6-ball ghost, then on to the 9-ball ghost. I don't see much value in breaking the 5 or 7 ball rack. Or do like Johnny said and break 9-ball and take some off.

Aaron

 

[Sloppy Pockets]

If I was in your situation I'd take a year, maybe longer out save up a crap load of cash, get as much help as I can on improving and then if you really have your heart set on hitting the road, only do that when you are at a speed that you can afford to drop a little and still compete against 90% of bar players and still win. Hitting the road at your level imo is a recipe for disaster.

Good advice IMO. Sounds like you are about a year of hard work away from being ready. Why rush? You are still young, plenty of time to develop your skills. Being able to consistently beat the six ball ghost will give you many more options to match up and yet still fly under the radar. And a bigger bankroll won't hurt things a bit.

Good luck whatever you do. I know you've caught a ton of flak from lots of folks here for the life decisions you've made... most likely from folks who have made a lot worse decisions themselves. My Mama taught me tolerance. Be who you are, and do what you want to do. You only go this way once. Make the most of it.

 

[KoolKat9Lives]

I love that old story about 6 ball Bob. I'm sure everybody remembers that guy. He was the guy that couldn't quite beat the 6 ball ghost but boy did he sure know how to match up. He toured the country and made a killin. He robbed every D player in the country out of 17 dollars.

As legend has it, once after sneaking around the midwest for six months, 6 ball Bob made it home and emptied his pockets and much to his amazement he found -- 13 dollars -- in quarters of course, half a stick of juicy fruit, some chalk crums, and the tip to his playing cue. It was only at that point that he discovered that he had been playing for that past few months without a tip!

Boy that guy could play some below average pool.

A Cheerio crumb just lodged in my right nostril. Thanks Basement Bob.

 

[Colonel]

A whole lot of people that play pool regularly cant beat the 6 ball ghost...Its all about smart matches up....for the cash..and good spots.

Healthy bank roll...can mean different things to different folks..thus the need to matching up smart even more important.

Knowing how to match up is paramount, I'll give you that but going on the road with the ability level admitted to in the original post is suicide, that's just reality, cope with it any way you wish. If you're not putting packages together on a regular basis you will get busted.

 

[macguy]

I've been warming up to go back out on the road again next year. My bankroll is healthy again and I have a lot of time to practice before I go back out. I am buying a truck soon from a good friend of mine.

I can now consistently beat the four ball ghost and have been practicing with the five ball ghost lately. I can see that my shape and speed needs some polishing up to get back where I left off earlier this year when I was at the top of my game.

One thing I noticed is you can't break the five balls soft or two of them tie up too often. I've had a little more success with a medium break but I'm still only getting to the hill with the five ball ghost and can tell I'm not ready for six ball yet.

I'm trying to envision my run outs prior to the shots but since my speed is still off a bit I end up out of line from what I imagine. Any advice on ghost play or performance enhancing drills would be quite welcome at this time and much appreciated.

When you say "Go on the road" what is your objective? Just to go out and have a little fun or to amass a larger bankroll. What is your methods, are you a guy who plays all comers or are you a careful hustler?

I can't help but be curious, as someone who spent years doing it, many years ago. It seems today the term "Go on the road" is almost unknown now. I can't see how one would really make any money any more doing it. There was a time when you could, in fact it was a good paying job.

 

[hang-the-9]

I love that old story about 6 ball Bob. I'm sure everybody remembers that guy. He was the guy that couldn't quite beat the 6 ball ghost but boy did he sure know how to match up. He toured the country and made a killin. He robbed every D player in the country out of 17 dollars.

As legend has it, once after sneaking around the midwest for six months, 6 ball Bob made it home and emptied his pockets and much to his amazement he found -- 13 dollars -- in quarters of course, half a stick of juicy fruit, some chalk crums, and the tip to his playing cue. It was only at that point that he discovered that he had been playing for that past few months without a tip!

Boy that guy could play some below average pool.

LOL

I don't see how anyone that can just beat the 4 all ghost can go out and try to play for money. I mean you basically will go into a pool room and look for money players then before they even walk over to you, you need to start begging for a spot. That's a bit embarassing in my view.

I can play even with or beat the 7 ball ghost and the last thing on my mind is planning to tour the states playing for money. Hell, I just got my ass handed to me in a tournament by a guy I never seen, he did not miss a single shot, only mistake he did was scratch on a break. I missed twice and lost 3-0. And this is a tournament where I can place in the top 3 just about at will. I go gambling with stange people and there are likely to be those guys in every room.

 

[Straightpool_99]

..................

 

[eddie0776]

I wish you all the luck in the world, but if you can't beat the 9 ball ghost I don't think you need to go on the road at all. I am not sure how well the people play where you are planning on going, but if you are not one of the top players in your area then I don't think you are going to make it very far. Normally people go on the road when their area has dried up and they can't get a game fairly easy. I would imagine if you are having trouble with the 6 ball ghost then you should be able to match up with just about anyone in your area pretty easy. Do you not have people lining up to play? I would love to see folks that play your speed looking to gamble even cheap sets. If you decide to hit the road come to GA and we can match up. What happened to that backer you had for FL? I never heard what happened, was his name Mike by chance?

 

[peteypooldude]

I've been warming up to go back out on the road again next year. My bankroll is healthy again and I have a lot of time to practice before I go back out. I am buying a truck soon from a good friend of mine.

I can now consistently beat the four ball ghost and have been practicing with the five ball ghost lately. I can see that my shape and speed needs some polishing up to get back where I left off earlier this year when I was at the top of my game.

One thing I noticed is you can't break the five balls soft or two of them tie up too often. I've had a little more success with a medium break but I'm still only getting to the hill with the five ball ghost and can tell I'm not ready for six ball yet.

I'm trying to envision my run outs prior to the shots but since my speed is still off a bit I end up out of line from what I imagine. Any advice on ghost play or performance enhancing drills would be quite welcome at this time and much appreciated.

Spend a couple weeks with CJs TOI it's a very strong tool and something you'll revert back to more than you would think . I like the systems because it gives me more than 1 way to look at the shot and it's becomes very natural. CJs method is great for speed control but you have to spend a couple weeks using just that and after that it will be another tool in the box

 

[TATE]

I'm trying to envision my run outs prior to the shots but since my speed is still off a bit I end up out of line from what I imagine. Any advice on ghost play or performance enhancing drills would be quite welcome at this time and much appreciated.

You don't need to get better. You need to win more. They are two different things. You can win more, a lot more, without really shooting any better than you do now.

First advice, change the way you play the ghost. When you have those tied up racks, practice putting yourself in position to make a winning safety. Become an expert in safeties. Tied up balls are a great opportunity to win. When you see tied up balls, don't think "oh crap, now what" think "great, now I can lock up my opponent with a really easy safety and win". There are only a couple of shots you need to know and you will find yourself winning many more games that involve tied up balls.

2nd advice: Learn all the basic 5 or 6 safeties and learn how to execute them well. The skills required will also help you in other ways. You will learn real speed control of both balls.

3rd advice: Practice the "traveling" racks. Practice those one, two and three rail position shots to get from one side of the table to the other reliably, every time. Make your traveling position a habit. This is critical to master in rotation games. Practice going around and between obstructing balls with 2 and 3 rail shots to learn the paths. 3 rail shape is often the easiest yet many payers avoid it.

The safety and strategy game is your next level. The ball pocking and fine position play will come back with practice, but you need to master the complete game to achieve your full potential.