Tools for Learning Pool

J

jims111343

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I am going to start posting helpful info for Bangers through Pros. Just a paragraph or two. But always solution-orientated

As time allows, work on your weakest asset. Maybe you do not break well, cannot jump or masse well, draw shot weak, position just so-so? Go to work on it. There are many how-to books on pool for technical assistance. Get more than one opinion from a variety of resources. Be better prepared than your opponent. Sometimes when you play, your weak shots do not come up, other times it seems like every time you get up you are staring at something you are not really ready for. Work on these things more than your opponent does. Jim S.
 
Good one, Jim. I'll add to that. Practice the shots you hate the most until you like them. Chances are you aren't good at the shots you hate.
 
Good posting Jim!

you have to be better in any part of the game than your opponent is.
May it be the willing, the shotmaking, the position-play...etc etc. etc.

Working hard pay always back :-)
 
Whenever I think about this topic, I'm reminded of a scene in a TV show or movie (can't remember exactly) where the character is trying to do something and after doing it perfectly he says, "That was great! Now what did I do!?"

I keep a notebook/journal and after every league match or practice session, write down whatever seems relevant. I write down things that worked e.g., "practiced shot X on page Y (yeah, I number my pages) and it came up tonight and that put me on the hill." I write down things that didn't go well and have to practice. I write when I win or lose. I use the journal to try to figure out why I play well one night and not well the next:

11/2/12 -- played like crap tonight, wasn't taking my time on shots, let the annoying music and conversations creep into my consciousness. My opponent kept leaving my safe unintentionally, and I was letting that bother me.
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I also write down misc. things I come across, passages from books, notes from lessons, any arbitrary thing that I want to reference quickly.

Before my matches, I go back and read some of the notes to put myself in the right frame of mind.

After I practice shots I hate and start hitting them with better consistency, I write down what I'm doing to achieve that. Then before a match, I absolutely read over those sections.
 
tools for Learning Pool

Tools for Learning Pool

‘After the game,’ “What caused me to lose?” Did you miss a shot/ strategy/ move?” Why did you miss it? Drill these. Also shots you see the pros play. Write it down. During the game have a friend write down any shot you missed executing. When I talk about drills this is all I am referring to. Drills from a book may be very good for you, or not. What you can know for sure is that if you already attempted it during a game, you are ready to do it well.
Afterwards go off by your self or with an ally. Set up the first shot you played and missed. Consider gradients in learning. Keep the shot angles the same but reduce the distance. Shoot the shot until it is yours. Maybe a couple of times or 50 times, whatever it takes for you to be able to shoot it with understanding and confidence next time you compete.
You can keep a notebook with 3 to 6 table drawings on per page. A 2 to 1 rectangle with 6 pockets. When you do something ‘less’ than you should, write it down. It just takes a second, and you are just sitting anyway. Also, later write about your
performance. Thoughts, feelings, outcome, what you reacted to. Stuff like that. Write it down and keep it. Jim S.
 
Tools for learning Pool
Have a friend take a video of you playing pool. Do it like a movie but also have your friend take it from behind showing your grip and if you are moving the cue stick straight or not. If not you are missing more than you should for your skill level, but it is easy to fix. Take some from your exact front as well to see what your tip is doing. Then you can set up for a shot about 1 and ½ diamonds from the rail you are standing at. Like for a break shot. Place a medium sized mirror on the floor below your stroking arm so when you are in your stroking position, you can see the mirror, look down and start to stroke. It is so easy to see any inconsistencies it is unbelievable. Correct them!
 
Hey Fran,
Not real clear as to why you would ask me that. However, my mission statement, which is the first sentence of this thread, is clear. Nothing divisive, nothing negative, just pool solutions. Hopefully someone who realizes they need instruction will look at this thread.
Jim S.
 
hey fran
you were the first person to respond to the thread.........:confused:
 
jim...Probably because this is the "Ask The Instructor" forum, and to us here you have no instructional credentials. Please present yours, and be acknowledged. If you have none, then you are just pontificating...and you can do that quite well in the Main Forum. Not saying your "information" is wrong (with the exception of how to evaluate a video...which requires a "trained" eye).

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com

jims111343 said:
Hey Fran,
Not real clear as to why you would ask me that. However, my mission statement, which is the first sentence of this thread, is clear. Nothing divisive, nothing negative, just pool solutions. Hopefully someone who realizes they need instruction will look at this thread.
Jim S.
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Scott,
I did not write anything as to the disposition of the video. Please take another look. I leave it up to the shooter to take it to an instructor or try to fix the problem himself. I do not know who might avail him or her self of this info is why I would not give any such advice. Different skill levels, money issues, attitude, stuff like that.
As to my credentials, I help out people daily in the room I go to. Other than that I will let my writing speak for it self. Jim S.
 
Tools for Learning Pool

You can develop a plan (goals) for your game. Have a plan. Work the plan. Get a new plan. Like; work on a particular break shot with specific results. Maybe have a friend rack for you for a period of time. Do it `till you understand it better and are getting better results. Next time work on something else. Working on one thing at a time, gradiently, will yield amazing progress in a very short time. If you are average, in your pool room, in as little as a few months you may be one of the best in your area. But don`t stop there. You do not have to spend a lot of time in order to get lots of improvement. Setting and reaching for goals is not new. It has always separated the good people from the great people.
 
jims111343 said:
Hey Fran,
Not real clear as to why you would ask me that. However, my mission statement, which is the first sentence of this thread, is clear. Nothing divisive, nothing negative, just pool solutions. Hopefully someone who realizes they need instruction will look at this thread.
Jim S.
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Just wondering is all, Jim. You can post anything you like anywhere you want as long as the forum moderators permit it. I was just asking if you had a question for instructors. I started thinking about threads like yours and CJ's in this forum and realized that we can all start posting our ideas on how to play pool in this forum and then it wouldn't be an ask the instructor forum anymore.

That's why the rest of us have refrained from using this forum as our own private dissertation on how to play pool, but there will always be someone who doesn't respect boundaries.
 
Fran, Do you think there is something private about a forum????
I think Ask the Instructor is the perfect place to find out what you do not know about pool.I have pages of pertinent material for anyone who wants to learn. Other than that viewers may elect to get some good paid instruction by a live, helpful, person or group, or avail themselves of me. Free and wonderful.
PM is for cat fights, not someone else`s thread.
Also with all due respect, Jim S.
 
Watch pro-pool videos. There is an incredible amount of them, for free, on the Internet. YouTube and Youstream.com. Don`t just watch them, get involved. Study them!!!! Do not watch bangers. Pick a favorite pro player and emulate him. Do not look at emulation as a negative, it is not. It will eventually wear off leaving you as yourself but with increased understanding and ability. Try stroking and approaching the table like him. Go to school as to what shots and strategies he is using (Also that is why you do not want to watch a lesser shooter. They pick out the wrong things to do, often.).
 
I agree with the instructors.

If I want general info I go to the main forum.

If I have a question for an instructor this is where I post.

This thread should be moved
 
Tools for Learning Pool
Keep a pool journal. Mostly you will want to write things you are noticing about your game when you are alone. It is a personal thing for only you. Writing things down helps to clarify your development. Re-read it often. You can really help yourself puzzling over your own old stuff. Answers and cognitions will be forth coming. Just be honest with your self.
Notice something right. Expect improvement. Demand excellence.
 
Tools for Learning Pool
Play in leagues, tournaments, for money, in front of a crowd or camera. When ever you test your self you have an opportunity to best your self. Each of the different circumstances above take their toll on a person. And you pay it usually in increased stress and fear. The best way I have found to deal with it is to love it. That’s right, feel the anxiety and/ or fear but do it anyway Look directly at what ever is bothering you and not only confront it but enjoy it as well. It worked for me. Imagine your self coming out on top, everybody bragging on you. Or, you can spend years grinding it out trying to deal with outside influences bothering you. This is a short-cut I used in my life and pool game. Try it out. Anything you can do to test your self, gently, will help you.
 
FranCrimi said:
Good one, Jim. I'll add to that. Practice the shots you hate the most until you like them. Chances are you aren't good at the shots you hate.
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I've heard more league players tell me something along the line of, "Oh, I can't set up for that draw shot...I don't shoot draw shots." So, I say, "You can learn to shoot draw shots, ya know." "No, I don't shoot draw shots."

Ten years later, I see them shooting at the same level as before.

It's kinda sad, in a way, to love this game so much yet refuse to give it the tough love it deserves.

Jeff Livingston
 
jims111343 said:
Fran, Do you think there is something private about a forum????
.
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Yes, it is not your property, but others'. It isn't yours to change, but it is yours to use as the owners intend it to be.

fwiw,

I like your ideas about learning, btw.

Jeff Livingston
 
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