The two approaches to being a better pool player

[derangedhermit]

Players want to be able to make more difficult shots. People watching think a player who makes a series of tough shots to win a game is playing very well. I think the opposite - that the player is really struggling.

I won't deny that there is a tough situation or two in most racks. But if you are playing consistently precise pool, then usually those can be resolved without heroics. I think I have played well when I have avoided having to attempt any tough shots.

It's like I used to complain about the Dallas Mavericks style of play. No matter how good a jump-shooting team you are, you'll never beat the other team in a series when they are shooting layups.

I was watching a 9-ball tournament on TV a few weeks ago. The few jump shots that were attempted made good TV, but the winners were the ones who were more accurately moving the cue ball from spot to spot, setting up easy shot after easy shot. The best-played games went quickly and easily and apparently effortlessly. It's not simple or easy to develop the ability to control the cue ball like that.

You're making progress as a player if your play is becoming more boring to watch. Don't master those tough shots - avoid them.

 

[LAMas]

Welcome,
Your opponent will not give you easy shots - so you better be able to make hard shots.:wink:

 

[West Point 1987]

I was in a tournament several months ago while on leave in North Carolina...(Mike Davis ended up winning it). I won my first match in a tough hill-hill with a pretty strong player by making a wicked combo that required going rail first and throwing the combo in (it was way off line and almost frozen. Got a lot of applause and congrats, but I told everyone if I really knew what I was doing, I'd never have to shoot a circus shot like that to win. I had at least three shots at breaking that open, but kept narrowly missing it and ended up making every other shot that much harder.

The best players shoot mostly boring, easy, pedestrian shots. That's because the best players work it so the run outs are the easy.

 

[Playin4Dinner]

This thread reminded me of when I was watching the Japan Open final.... Wu vs Ko Pin Yi I think.... A viewer comes into the chat and says "these guys cant do anything" "this cant be the final" "they aren't doing anything hard"

Both players we're staying in line and running racks of 10 ball effortlessly.... I realized that this is exactly how the average person views our beautiful game.... I pm the viewer a video of Florian doing amazing masse/trick shots just to see his reaction...

He says "that's what I'm talking about" "that guy can beat anyone in this tournament"

 

[islandracer]

Great players make it look easy - almost boring, cause they're always staying in line, making the right shape. Same as golf...fairway green, fairway green...then the FEW times they get out of shape, they can make that hard shot and get back in line.

 

[BasementDweller]

Everybody wants the game to look easy when they are playing. Nobody wants to leave themselves difficult shots on purpose. So cueball control is always very important when it comes to winning.

Having said that, when it comes to PRACTICE you really need to strive to continue to improve your shot making abilities. For this reason, I would say that 90 percent of the drills that I see mentioned on this forum are a complete waste of time!

Here is why I say this: Consider the progressive draw drill where you put the object ball about a diamond away from the pocket and then you put the cue ball maybe a diamond away. You then proceed to work on drawing your cue ball back say 1 diamond, then 2, etc. The problem I have with this drill is that the level of difficulty when it comes to pocketing the ball is probably a 1 or 2 out of 10 and all the player is concerned with is working on cue ball control. So you are basically only working on your cue ball control. A lot of drills are this way - it is just a given that you can pocket the ball and you just work on cue ball control. For me, I only have a limited amount of time to practice so I have thrown out all the drills that don't make me focus on pocketing the ball. The L drill (the first drill a lot of us learned) I put in this category as well. It will never be practiced by me again.

The trick is to put yourself right outside your comfort zones -- testing both your ability to pocket the ball and position the cue ball. A lot of the drills can be changed up just a bit in order to make it more difficult to pocket the ball. For example if you do the L drill - put the cue ball right up against the rail and try to get position for the next ball BUT once you get position for the next ball move the cue ball back along that same line right up against the rail again. Finish off the drill like this and you are actually accomplishing something.

If you start doing things this way you will probably miss more shots while practicing but you will gain more confidence in your pocketing ability. My new motto is - avoid the easy shots during practice, save them for competition.

One more thing on this - what causes a player to lose their confidence more, missing balls or missing position??? For me, it is always missing balls. If I overrun position I can lie to myself much easier than if I miss balls. "Oh you just need a few more minutes to warm up and you will have the speed of the table down." But if you start missing shots it becomes “I hope he doesn’t leave me long here or I’m screwed.”

I know this is pretty simple stuff and a lot of people don't agree with me but changing my mindset on this has unlocked my game and I am now improving again. Of course, I'm a nobody. I’m just a guy with a table down in my basement, that really just plays for the love of the game at this point. So take my ramblings for what they are worth.

 

[duckie]

I overheard someone say something so true and so simple. "If you can make a shot from anywhere on the table, then position doesn't matter that much."

The most important skills to practice are the weakest ones you have. You will not always be left with the ideal shot making situation. You get a player that spots your weakness, they will use it against you in safety play. This I have learn the hard way.

I'm not bad a bank player, better than most where I play. I work on this. Same with high angle, long distance side pocket cut shots. There are 6 pockets on the table and being able to use all equally well from anywhere on the table is a advantage that is hard to overcome for the other player.

This ability allows so much more freedom in shot selection and options then always going for that so called perfect position.

However, this does not mean that accurate position play is not needed. This will never be the case. You still need to always control where the CB goes, but being able to hit any pocket from anywhere on the table gives you more choices on where to put the CB for the next shot.

The 8 ball matches I play in are far from boring especially on a couple of the tables that are played on. You get a so so break with a few trouble balls and the game play strategy begins. At times, it is a battle of wills, on who makes the first mistake in game strategy.

 

[The Renfro]

Everybody wants the game to look easy when they are playing. Nobody wants to leave themselves difficult shots on purpose. So cueball control is always very important when it comes to winning.

Having said that, when it comes to PRACTICE you really need to strive to continue to improve your shot making abilities. For this reason, I would say that 90 percent of the drills that I see mentioned on this forum are a complete waste of time!

Here is why I say this: Consider the progressive draw drill where you put the object ball about a diamond away from the pocket and then you put the cue ball maybe a diamond away. You then proceed to work on drawing your cue ball back say 1 diamond, then 2, etc. The problem I have with this drill is that the level of difficulty when it comes to pocketing the ball is probably a 1 or 2 out of 10 and all the player is concerned with is working on cue ball control. So you are basically only working on your cue ball control. A lot of drills are this way - it is just a given that you can pocket the ball and you just work on cue ball control. For me, I only have a limited amount of time to practice so I have thrown out all the drills that don't make me focus on pocketing the ball. The L drill (the first drill a lot of us learned) I put in this category as well. It will never be practiced by me again.

The trick is to put yourself right outside your comfort zones -- testing both your ability to pocket the ball and position the cue ball. A lot of the drills can be changed up just a bit in order to make it more difficult to pocket the ball. For example if you do the L drill - put the cue ball right up against the rail and try to get position for the next ball BUT once you get position for the next ball move the cue ball back along that same line right up against the rail again. Finish off the drill like this and you are actually accomplishing something.

If you start doing things this way you will probably miss more shots while practicing but you will gain more confidence in your pocketing ability. My new motto is - avoid the easy shots during practice, save them for competition.

One more thing on this - what causes a player to lose their confidence more, missing balls or missing position??? For me, it is always missing balls. If I overrun position I can lie to myself much easier than if I miss balls. "Oh you just need a few more minutes to warm up and you will have the speed of the table down." But if you start missing shots it becomes “I hope he doesn’t leave me long here or I’m screwed.”

I know this is pretty simple stuff and a lot of people don't agree with me but changing my mindset on this has unlocked my game and I am now improving again. Of course, I'm a nobody. I’m just a guy with a table down in my basement, that really just plays for the love of the game at this point. So take my ramblings for what they are worth.

You drill to get an accurate success percentage.... You practice to utilize the percentages from drills in running out or playing safe and controlling the tables.... You play like you practice because doing anything else doesn't ever build on itself....

You can drill on hard shots all you want but it is fruitless to shoot them in practice or play when you have established that they are at best 60 percenters....