I have known many players who practice on a regular basis for many years, but do not seem to improve. Most of them are generally hard-headed and don't listen to much advice.
There is a good way to practice, and a bad way.
When you first get on a table by yourself, what do you do? Do you throw nine balls out on the table, and try to run them out, do you play 14.1, do you work on drills and certain shots? Most importantly, when you practice, do you try? I can't count how many times I see many different players on a table by themselves, banging balls around, not even getting down on the shot because they are so lazy and bored.
Things like that develop bad habits. Minor bad habits unnoticed can develop into major bad habits which are noticeable, but take a long time to correct.
I would like to point out that in my hustling days, anytime I walked into a poolroom and saw a player practicing 9-ball by himself, I knew he was a chump. What does practicing 9-ball teach a player? It teaches 9-ball at it's lowest form. 9-ball teaches normally simple patterns, and position play is usually general-area. As an example, a rifle sharpshooter will not improve his accuracy by shooting at targets right in front of his face. Although he may become very good at shooting targets a foot away from him, when the time comes that he needs to shoot something farther away, he has trouble.
Practicing drills are always good, but should not be your routine for your entire practice session. Drills get insanely boring, which causes lack of interest, which nullifies the ability to learn effectively. Chances are anyone who practices only drills will have a fairly short practice session.
Playing 14.1 is also a good way to practice, but playing it too often can cause one to forget how to force-draw the length of the table.
In all my years of playing professional pool, the best type of solo practice that has helped fine-tune my game is playing my ghost in 15-ball Rotation. The way to practice this is to rack the balls with the 1 in the front and 15 in the middle. Break, and take ball in hand on the 1 ball. Try to run all 15 balls in order without missing. If you miss, rack them again and start over. This game teaches you everything. Precise position-play, shotmaking, combinations, banks, caroms, kicks, masse, breaking, racking, and slapping yourself when you miss the 11-ball. I started practicing this many years ago, when I could barely get thru the first 3 or 4 balls. Eventually I started to run out on every occasion. From there my game just went up, and way-up.
This game makes 9-ball look so easy it's almost sad.
Good luck!
There is a good way to practice, and a bad way.
When you first get on a table by yourself, what do you do? Do you throw nine balls out on the table, and try to run them out, do you play 14.1, do you work on drills and certain shots? Most importantly, when you practice, do you try? I can't count how many times I see many different players on a table by themselves, banging balls around, not even getting down on the shot because they are so lazy and bored.
Things like that develop bad habits. Minor bad habits unnoticed can develop into major bad habits which are noticeable, but take a long time to correct.
I would like to point out that in my hustling days, anytime I walked into a poolroom and saw a player practicing 9-ball by himself, I knew he was a chump. What does practicing 9-ball teach a player? It teaches 9-ball at it's lowest form. 9-ball teaches normally simple patterns, and position play is usually general-area. As an example, a rifle sharpshooter will not improve his accuracy by shooting at targets right in front of his face. Although he may become very good at shooting targets a foot away from him, when the time comes that he needs to shoot something farther away, he has trouble.
Practicing drills are always good, but should not be your routine for your entire practice session. Drills get insanely boring, which causes lack of interest, which nullifies the ability to learn effectively. Chances are anyone who practices only drills will have a fairly short practice session.
Playing 14.1 is also a good way to practice, but playing it too often can cause one to forget how to force-draw the length of the table.
In all my years of playing professional pool, the best type of solo practice that has helped fine-tune my game is playing my ghost in 15-ball Rotation. The way to practice this is to rack the balls with the 1 in the front and 15 in the middle. Break, and take ball in hand on the 1 ball. Try to run all 15 balls in order without missing. If you miss, rack them again and start over. This game teaches you everything. Precise position-play, shotmaking, combinations, banks, caroms, kicks, masse, breaking, racking, and slapping yourself when you miss the 11-ball. I started practicing this many years ago, when I could barely get thru the first 3 or 4 balls. Eventually I started to run out on every occasion. From there my game just went up, and way-up.
This game makes 9-ball look so easy it's almost sad.
Good luck!
