Training for a big bar box tournament?

[Da Bank]

My last stand as an APA player is coming up in about a month in the form of a regional qualifier for Las Vegas.


I consider myself to be a pretty solid bar box player because I typically play on a Diamond Pro-Am, and I can make just about any shot on a bar box with relative ease. I do, however, recognize that their are nuances and techniques that differ for bar box from any other playing surface.


Does anyone have any good training techniques or advice for taking my 8-ball bar box game to a higher level? I could also use some key advice and training drills to use for the game of 8-ball... remembering that APGhey does not allow traditional safeties where you can make the ball and call safety. What types of things do you think about when switching to the bar box?

I tend to use a larger tip (13mm) as opposed to my Z2 (11.75mm) on a bar box, is this correct?



Luckily I am doing a pool school training session with SVB in a week or so, and rumor has it that he's pretty good at bar box 8-ball. :thumbup:


Thanks in advance.

 

[CrisDeLaGarza]

My last stand as an APA player is coming up in about a month in the form of a regional qualifier for Las Vegas.


I consider myself to be a pretty solid bar box player because I typically play on a Diamond Pro-Am, and I can make just about any shot on a bar box with relative ease. I do, however, recognize that their are nuances and techniques that differ for bar box from any other playing surface.


Does anyone have any good training techniques or advice for taking my 8-ball bar box game to a higher level? I could also use some key advice and training drills to use for the game of 8-ball... remembering that APGhey does not allow traditional safeties where you can make the ball and call safety. What types of things do you think about when switching to the bar box?

I tend to use a larger tip (13mm) as opposed to my Z2 (11.75mm) on a bar box, is this correct?



Luckily I am doing a pool school training session with SVB in a week or so, and rumor has it that he's pretty good at bar box 8-ball. :thumbup:


Thanks in advance.

Hi Chase,

I'm glad you are coming to Austin for this. They are already planning on covering some issues like this. In the breaking portion of the clinic Shane will go over how to change your break for bar box games vs. big table games. There will also be a portion will the students will be able ask about specific concepts you want to learn more about so be sure to bring it up with him when you are there. Ask him how he changes his stategies or patterns for bar box tournaments.

 

[Da Bank]

Hi Chase,

I'm glad you are coming to Austin for this. They are already planning on covering some issues like this. In the breaking portion of the clinic Shane will go over how to change your break for bar box games vs. big table games. There will also be a portion will the students will be able ask about specific concepts you want to learn more about so be sure to bring it up with him when you are there. Ask him how he changes his stategies or patterns for bar box tournaments.

Awesome! It's gonna be great.

 

[ShootingArts]

I still like to do a lot of practice on big tables

Playing barbox, I still like to do much of my practicing on big tables. One thing about barboxes, you need to practice on the same brand you will be playing on to get familiar with the way it plays. If at all possible play with the same cue ball too. Every difference seems greater on a bar table but that may be just my feeling.

I'm not a strong breaker but I still have to back off of my break on a bar table for best results. The first ball or two to hit a pocket often bounces back out with a full power break and sometimes others never find a pocket.

I'm sure you will get far better and more detailed advice from SVB and others but these are just some general thoughts.

Hu

My last stand as an APA player is coming up in about a month in the form of a regional qualifier for Las Vegas.


I consider myself to be a pretty solid bar box player because I typically play on a Diamond Pro-Am, and I can make just about any shot on a bar box with relative ease. I do, however, recognize that their are nuances and techniques that differ for bar box from any other playing surface.


Does anyone have any good training techniques or advice for taking my 8-ball bar box game to a higher level? I could also use some key advice and training drills to use for the game of 8-ball... remembering that APGhey does not allow traditional safeties where you can make the ball and call safety. What types of things do you think about when switching to the bar box?

I tend to use a larger tip (13mm) as opposed to my Z2 (11.75mm) on a bar box, is this correct?



Luckily I am doing a pool school training session with SVB in a week or so, and rumor has it that he's pretty good at bar box 8-ball. :thumbup:


Thanks in advance.

 

[Robertduke]

The Eight Ball Bible get it.. nuff said..

 

[Neil]

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

 

[BWTadpole]

You tend to have more balls tied up, and less balls open to pockets on a bar table. You have to play tighter position and really stay on the correct side of the ball. Pattern play becomes more important too.

For serious, some key elements to barbox 8-ball are tight position play, cluster-breaking, and good use of other balls. What I mean by that last one is occasionally running the cue ball into another object ball to hold position but not rearrange the table too much, combos, and safeties. On the bar table, you'll have less of an opportunity to get creative with your safes or try to leave your opponent long, so your bread-and-butter safes will always come by locking your opponent tight to a ball or behind a cluster.

 

[Lucky13]

The Eight Ball Bible is the best book written on pool. If you don't have it, your at a disadvantage to someone who does.

 

[softshot]

First and Foremost find out what cueball will be used at the tournament and get one. not all boxes use equal weight cueballs.. and the heavier ones play slightly different..

 

[Richardson]

When i was getting ready to play singles for APA i played the 8ball ghost. Getting down a good break will help you beat most APA players. Also some good speed for safties, i noticed at the regional/national level people played terrible safties.

The cueball idea is good, specially if they are gonna use red circles.

 

[poolcuemaster]

Be smart and make the ball to get highs or lows first inning and then decide if you can run out or not, if there is very little chance roll one of your balls in the pocket at the foot of the table where the eight can be made. This usually means you will return to the table and the ball will usually block one or more of your opponents balls to an easy pocket.

A oldtimer ( now deceased )here in NC APA has had 10 or more teams make it to the nationals in Vegas and was hated by every team they played. He dared his twos and threes to make a ball after choice was decided untill they had blocked the pockets and then called a timeout and gave them the order for the runout. He was a fair six and had a descent seven on the team and they played the same old crap and they weren't unbeatable but they dang sure went to Vegas every session and did win the nationals twice.

All I'm saying is sometimes it is a big advantage to block a couple of pockets and force your opponent to get out of his rythem , and is super nice when you can play him safe behind one of your balls and block a pocket at the same time. I will play safe untill I get ball in hand if that is the easiest way to run out or break up a cluster even if it take a few trys before they foul, just control the table. The 7 foot diamonds at most APA tourneys roll very fast so shoot easy very soft shots and when you set the chalk on the rail don't think about anything but making the ball.

Leonard-APA referee and 7 for many years

 

[havoc]

big lil break

i break from the side rail on the 9's but on the bar boxes i break from the box unless i'm getting jelly roll racks.about a ball and a half to two balls left of the head spot.

i'm low on cash so i've been playing during the day at a local bar.i've been exploiting the drunks so i can play pool for cheap.they like 8 ball with no ball in hand call everything.so my break had to become huge on the box so as not to leave any clusters and keep control of the table so i don't have to pay.

i've been hitting with draw and just making solid contact,almost always making a ball and usually bringing at least 3 balls up table.

if you try this and are losing the cue ball because of the hard draw(ending up on the short rail from where you broke) go a half tip above center.this seems to put draw on the cue ball but won't come back as far.

 

[randyg]

i break from the side rail on the 9's but on the bar boxes i break from the box unless i'm getting jelly roll racks.about a ball and a half to two balls left of the head spot.

i'm low on cash so i've been playing during the day at a local bar.i've been exploiting the drunks so i can play pool for cheap.they like 8 ball with no ball in hand call everything.so my break had to become huge on the box so as not to leave any clusters and keep control of the table so i don't have to pay.

i've been hitting with draw and just making solid contact,almost always making a ball and usually bringing at least 3 balls up table.

if you try this and are losing the cue ball because of the hard draw(ending up on the short rail from where you broke) go a half tip above center.this seems to put draw on the cue ball but won't come back as far.

Really? How can this be? Thanks, randyg.

 

[havoc]

read it here

[/COLOR]

Really? How can this be? Thanks, randyg.

from a physics stand point i don't know.i was looking at some threads about 8 ball breaks and i ran across one where the guy said about doing this and it worked.

i had a tendency for the cue ball to run forward on me and usually ended up in a cluster.

whatever the thread was i think he explained what happens. i'll look for it.

 

[Da Bank]

this is all great advice, i'm glad to see the thread still going. I'm mildly skeptical about the putting top on the ball to get draw theory, haha. :thumbup:



This tournament is going to be played on valleys and I have the cueball I'll be using.


Do you think there is merit to strictly adhering to playing on a box for the week or few days before the tournament?

 

[sfleinen]

http://8-ballbible.com/

The Eight Ball Bible get it.. nuff said..

The Eight Ball Bible is the best book written on pool. If you don't have it, your at a disadvantage to someone who does.

Absolutely great advice -- probably the best doctrine for bar-box 8-ball ever written. One can read more about this great work here:
http://8-ballbible.com/

Hope this is helpful!
-Sean

 

[sfleinen]

[...deletia...]
I tend to use a larger tip (13mm) as opposed to my Z2 (11.75mm) on a bar box, is this correct?

[...deletia...]

Luckily I am doing a pool school training session with SVB in a week or so, and rumor has it that he's pretty good at bar box 8-ball. :thumbup:

Thanks in advance.

Da Bank:

All things being equal (e.g. tip type and radius), a larger diameter tip -- like the 13mm you're already using -- tends to give you more surface-contact-area with the cueball upon contact, over a smaller diameter tip. On a bar-box with sometimes funky cueballs (e.g. oversize/overweight/magnetic), this is a necessary adjustment to be able to more thoroughly "grab" that heavy or magnetic cueball, due to the larger compressed surface area contacting the cue-ball at the moment of impact.

(Again, that's with all other things being equal -- i.e. tip type/make/model, tip radius, etc. Apples to apples, oranges to oranges; no use in comparing, say, an 11.75mm ElkMaster with a 13mm Sniper.)

Hope this is helpful!
-Sean

P.S.: lucky you to be receiving instruction from Shane Van Boening! Yep, a top-flight bar-box player, and I'm sure he'll share some pointers with you to improve your bar-box game immediately.