the L drill

[henho]

I've been practicing the L drill lately.....it is driving me bananas. I seriously believe it is easier for me to run a rack or two of 9ball then to do this drill.

A few questions: is this drill considered "easy" for good players, meaning that a pro or a skilled player such as the instructors on this site can do the drill without much difficulty?

Also, is there a "Correct" way to do the drill, meaning, position should be played in some consistent manner? Should you go one rail for every ball, or maybe two rails around on occasion?

Interestingly, this drill is both monotonous and somehow maddeningly addictive for me; I've been doing it all day, without wonderful results, and yet I can't stop doing it!

 

[no-sho]

I've been practicing the L drill lately.....it is driving me bananas. I seriously believe it is easier for me to run a rack or two of 9ball then to do this drill.

A few questions: is this drill considered "easy" for good players, meaning that a pro or a skilled player such as the instructors on this site can do the drill without much difficulty?

Also, is there a "Correct" way to do the drill, meaning, position should be played in some consistent manner? Should you go one rail for every ball, or maybe two rails around on occasion?

Interestingly, this drill is both monotonous and somehow maddeningly addictive for me; I've been doing it all day, without wonderful results, and yet I can't stop doing it!

IMHO it is pretty easy but and I say but again I think it has to do with your skill level. If you're struggling with cue ball position then it can be very difficult. Always play the cue ball to the next needed zone. If you end up out of the zone it is hard to recover!
You can play it with only one rail or if you want two rails and if you get a little to straight you can draw it back to the rail and out. The important thing is to complete the drill.
As you get better with your cue ball control you can play how you want, only 1 rail, only 2 rails....
I have problems with other drills and I never practice but I can do the L!!!

no-sho

 

[FLICKit]

One of the keys to the L drill is that people often try to get an angle too close to straight on... Instead of the proper way, which is to maintain a near 45 degree angle.

The wrong tendency is to try to put inside english to get to the next ball with the early balls near the pocket. Instead, surprisingly, use outside english, allow the cue ball to travel nearly straight across the table towards the opposite rail. This means you have to cut the next object ball into the pocket, but when you do, it'll be much more natural position to the next ball.

And of course as your object balls get further up table, you will have to stop using the outside english, and get less than a 45 degree angle, more like 30 degrees or below, to set up more natural shape for the next object ball.

EDITED: Ooops... I was thinking of a different L drill..... In the famous words of Rosanna Hosanna Dana.... Never Mind

 

[predator]

I've been practicing the L drill lately.....it is driving me bananas. I seriously believe it is easier for me to run a rack or two of 9ball then to do this drill.

That's because running an average rack IS easier than this drill setup with 15 balls for most players who don't have super tight position play. Just don't fall out of position zone and try not to be near the cushion.

I need about 10-15 tries on average for this L drill with 15 balls, while I usually clear 25-30% of open 9ball racks. All on familiar tables in practice of course.

 

[FLICKit]

That's actually the power of good drills...

Many of them surprisingly seem easy but are significantly more difficult than they appear at first glace. And, one of the big reasons is that they often expose sublte nuances that haven't been distinctly enough defined in one's game. The exposure and repitition of the drills, forces one to be much more refined in how to handle those situations, which serves for better play in the long run. It's nice to see a position come up, where you can say, I had a drill very similar to this which I've shot numerous times (knowing and avoiding all the potential pitfalls very clearly before you even shoot).

 

[Franky]

If you're using two rails for shape, you are way out of line in this drill. Its a one rail or no rail drill. Two rails is crossing your position zone!

The easiest way is to keep an angle to send the cueball to the foot rail after each of the balls in the first half of the L (someone already mentioned this). It is much harder to use no rails and simply draw back for position on most/every ball. On big pockets, I find this drill somewhat easy as you can cheat.

 

[Andrew Manning]

Andy Lincoln can show you the way. Note that he sets his up in a specific alternating order and then runs them in rotation. He uses a variety of positional shots, but gets a favorable angle every time. That's the part that doesn't work out so well when I try it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTCYlsKGxe0

-Andrew

 

[Thunderball]

Can someone "qtable" this drill with a brief discription.I'd love to give it a try.

I'm on dial up so the vid is no help.

 

[cigardave]

I'll try to do it with words...

The set-up: Position the 1-ball at the mid-point of the foot rail cushion. Position the 2-ball just above the 1-ball (in a line with the foot spot). Position the 3-ball thru the 7-ball in the same line with the 1-ball and 2-ball, placing the 7-ball on the foot spot. Spread out the balls that you have placed such that the 1-ball, the 2-ball, the 3-ball, and the 4-ball are spaced closer together than are the 5-ball, the 6-ball and the 7-ball. The 5, the 6 and the 7 need to be able to go in a close corner pocket so that is why they are spaced out more so than the small-numbered balls.

Next, place the 8-ball next to the 7-ball but not on the same line as the others, but rather next to the 7-ball on the foot string (to the left of the 7-ball). Place the 9-ball thru the 14-ball spaced evenly between the 8-ball and the side rail. The 14-ball gets placed on the long rail cushion.

Now you are ready to start shooting. With BIH, place the cue ball on the outside of the "L" of the object balls... placing it to make the 1-ball in the "inside of the L" corner pocket. Pocket the 1, trying to get position on the 2-ball in the same pocket. Next shoot the 3-ball in the same pocket... and so on. Complete success is making every ball in the same corner pocket.

Some try to use all 15 object balls but I find that it works best using just 14 of them.

Oh... if you miss a ball, start again from the initial set-up (with the 1-ball)... and another point, contacting any object ball with the cue ball other than the one that you are shooting is verboten. Basically, the "L" stays in its shape as you make one ball after another (in sequence).

Make sense?

 

[Bob Jewett]

Can someone "qtable" this drill with a brief discription.I'd love to give it a try.

I'm on dial up so the vid is no help.

Here's an article about it and some variations. It is also described in Ewa's "Idiot's Guide" book.
http://www.onthebreaknews.com/Jewett3.htm#December04

I think the way Andy Lincoln did it in the video posted above is pretty impressive, but not for beginners. (He played the odd balls first, then came back the other way with every other ball that was left and then went back again.

 

[Juda4936]

Draw Drill

"Franky
If you're using two rails for shape, you are way out of line in this drill. Its a one rail or no rail drill. Two rails is crossing your position zone!

The easiest way is to keep an angle to send the cueball to the foot rail after each of the balls in the first half of the L (someone already mentioned this). It is much harder to use no rails and simply draw back for position on most/every ball. On big pockets, I find this drill somewhat easy as you can cheat."


I have never used a rail in this drill
I may be doing it wrong, but I felt it is a draw and leave drill, if I get so far out of line I just start over

 

[CaptainHook]

I grew up doing that drill with the balls is a semi-circle around the corner and side pocket, we called it " The Horn"

 

[Thunderball]

Thanks Bob and Dave...I'll give a try tonight.Looks like something new to cuss about lol.

 

[raybo147]

Andy Lincoln can show you the way. Note that he sets his up in a specific alternating order and then runs them in rotation. He uses a variety of positional shots, but gets a favorable angle every time. That's the part that doesn't work out so well when I try it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTCYlsKGxe0

-Andrew

I thiught you had to do the balls in order from the top rail! Andy sold out!! Seriously I think this drill requires some touch and speed control so maybe it could get frustrating for novice players. Great drill though

 

[TheWizard]

Here's a challenge for you guys out there who can do this drill, it's the "Double L" drill

Have 2x full rack L Drills set up at each end of the table, but in opposite corners, and try and run out all 30 balls without missing and also by playing position from the last ball of the 1st drill, to the 1st ball on the second drill

I have completed this challenge a good number of times and it is a very good drill to use for getting in stroke and to start running balls, especially if you're a straight pool shooter

Give it a shot and let me know how you guys do with this

Willie

 

[Inaction]

You must have huge pockets on that table, or a ball return.

 

[Cuebuddy]

I started practicing the L drill about 7 years ago. At first it frustrated me until I started to keep score. I would log 10 attempts and then average my score, some days I would try this 40 times. After 10 attempts I would count up balls made and if I came up with 47 in ten attempts my score would be 4.7 balls. That made the drill much more interesting and yes even addictive, because I could measure myself accurately. I watched my average go to 10.7 balls in about 3 weeks. I still practice this drill now and then and it only takes a couple of attempts to bring my score back up. I rarely miss one of the shots in a real game that this drill duplicates. I have a friend her name is Samm Diep and on her website she recently talks about this drill and said she is also hooked on it.

 

[TommyT]

This is the way!!

Check out this video. You will see the correct way to do this drill.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTCYlsKGxe0

TommyT

 

[koston08]

The L drill is not an easy drill but it taught me a ton. It took me two days to do it the first time, then I got much better at it. This teachs speed control, english, a variety of one and two rail shape, cue ball path control, etc. After I did this drill a bunch I think it made me a better player. Remember to set it up for both sides.

 

[Scott Lee]

The particular order that Andy set up was described as a contest on the CueTable site. Contestants had to post their videos to win a prize. As Andy mentioned, it took many tries to get it done perfectly.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

I thiught you had to do the balls in order from the top rail! Andy sold out!! Seriously I think this drill requires some touch and speed control so maybe it could get frustrating for novice players. Great drill though