I'm not the biggest fan. In fact, I think it's a fast way to nowhere, especially for 9-ball/ 10-ball players.
If I'm wrong, help me to see the good in it.
If I'm wrong, help me to see the good in it.
What's so great about the "Brain-Washing" drill?
- Thread starter PhilosopherKing
- Start date
I know not of that which you write.
Scatter the balls away from the rails. Run them without hitting a rail with the cueball.
In order to run a rack with out the CB touching a rail, you have to be extremely precise on your CB control, never getting on the wrong side of the subsequent OB.
Such control does not lead to "going nowhere".
[Concerning the bolded part...] And therein lies the difference in thinking between short-rack rotation players and pattern-game players. Short-rack rotation players are fond of "moving the rock around" -- hitting all kinds of rails for the purposes of "zone position play."
Pattern-game players -- and full-rack rotation players, for that matter -- play to a much higher degree of precision. Not zone play, but actual position play, to within a ball's width. When you have all the balls on the table -- especially with full-rack rotation -- you have to play to a much, MUCH higher degree of precision than 9-ball. Sometimes you're playing position for a small window to get at the next ball, and you have to navigate between all that congestion on the table.
That's where the brainwash drill comes in. By focusing on doing that which is counter to what the average 9-baller thinks, you're focusing on much tighter position play. By focusing on not hitting rails, you're focusing on how to leverage getting that cue ball to and through small windows, instead of letting it run all around like a 9-baller would.
It's a different mode of thinking -- probably foreign to a lot of short-rack rotation players. But it's a mode of thinking that is crucial if you want to be able to actually execute runouts where you'd normally try to play safe, or where that otherwise loosey-goosey cue ball control would get you in trouble.
-Sean
I can't remember ever seeing a pro running out a full 9-ball or 10-ball rack in such a way, even when the opportunity presented itself.
I think it's a little dangerous to train yourself to get close to straight-in over and over again.
I think it's a little dangerous to train yourself to get close to straight-in over and over again.
Thank you. You've made your point.
I suppose you could do it either way. I think bumping is okay if you're doing it with an exact purpose.
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It can pontentially lead to an unnecessarily limiting thought-process. I guess it depends on the game and the player's skill level... Some players use stop shots as a crutch.
I don't know if crutch is the word.
If there a single shot that won't let you down it's the stop shot. Get used to it, practice, etc. maybe the single most important shot in the game. If I had a choice in any game I would rather have a stop shot as the shot before the money ball than any other shot.
steven
Joe T
Well-known member
I believe the purpose is to make you a smarter player and brainwash yourself into seeing the best possible patterns in 8b and 14.1 faster and more effectively. Only way I see it helping in rotation type games is you will be smarter if you took the time to be very good at the drill (meaning you could get out about half the time) and that that will help, other than that I wouldn't recommend it for rotation type games.
It may be reliable, but is it always the right choice?
Some guys mindlessy stop... stop... stop until they find themselves in the middle of "nowhere" or can no longer avoid the inevitable.
I do not think the brainwash drill is for 9 ball players. I saw it introduced in Jim Rempe 14.1 video. I am sure you do not need to do it as you probably play great already. I actually spent nearly three weeks once doing nothing but the brain wash I told myself I would not do anything else until I completed 100 successful brain wash drills. I feel I learned a lot of control doing that you might think the time was wasted.
A better drill for you would be a 25 inch diameter circle in the middle of the table centered on the center spot. Throw three balls in each quadrant of the table always play the cue ball back into the large circle mid table picking which part of the circle would be advantageous for the next balls try to run out. I just invented that little drill right there for you it is the anti brain wash drill focusing on the middle of the table a key point of top short rack play.
Now here is a game played by some of the best player I know including one Mr Dennis Hatch. When Dennis was growing up he had make like a 150 balls playing straight pool ever day not run a 150 just basically make that many balls. That is using skills similar to the brain wash and not valuable as you mentioned earlier. However he also had to make a 100 points playing cowboy a game played with 3 balls. I am not sure that the official rules were followed but the jist of the games was you put the 1,2 and 3 balls on the head center and foot spots. Ball in hand behind the string make any ball in any pocket but on the same shot the cue ball has to hit one of the other 2 balls. When you make a ball it spots back back up 1 on the head spot, 2 on the center spot and the 3 back on the foot spot. So basically make a ball and then collide the cue ball into one of the other two balls. In the game you get points based on both the balls hit the 1 and the 3 you get 4 points. I think Dennis counted that as 1 pt not the ball value he made a 100 of those every day. There are 2 nationally known Indiana players who learned that from Dennis's dad Gregg. The both attested to the playing of cowboy jumping their game up quite a bit. The guys I know started counting a shot as a success only if they made the ball, hit another ball and kept the cue ball on top/very near the second ball thus direction and speed were worked on. Cowboy is best played with a partner who does the respotting as the player shoots and roles reverse upon a miss.
If you want to improve your short rack rotation games play some cowboy, you wanna be a straight pool player shoot some brain wash drills. You wanna be a champion do both and think there is always something you can learn from anything. If you want to be a banger continue to put down what champions tell you to do to improve.
Dana Stephenson from Indy
A better drill for you would be a 25 inch diameter circle in the middle of the table centered on the center spot. Throw three balls in each quadrant of the table always play the cue ball back into the large circle mid table picking which part of the circle would be advantageous for the next balls try to run out. I just invented that little drill right there for you it is the anti brain wash drill focusing on the middle of the table a key point of top short rack play.
Now here is a game played by some of the best player I know including one Mr Dennis Hatch. When Dennis was growing up he had make like a 150 balls playing straight pool ever day not run a 150 just basically make that many balls. That is using skills similar to the brain wash and not valuable as you mentioned earlier. However he also had to make a 100 points playing cowboy a game played with 3 balls. I am not sure that the official rules were followed but the jist of the games was you put the 1,2 and 3 balls on the head center and foot spots. Ball in hand behind the string make any ball in any pocket but on the same shot the cue ball has to hit one of the other 2 balls. When you make a ball it spots back back up 1 on the head spot, 2 on the center spot and the 3 back on the foot spot. So basically make a ball and then collide the cue ball into one of the other two balls. In the game you get points based on both the balls hit the 1 and the 3 you get 4 points. I think Dennis counted that as 1 pt not the ball value he made a 100 of those every day. There are 2 nationally known Indiana players who learned that from Dennis's dad Gregg. The both attested to the playing of cowboy jumping their game up quite a bit. The guys I know started counting a shot as a success only if they made the ball, hit another ball and kept the cue ball on top/very near the second ball thus direction and speed were worked on. Cowboy is best played with a partner who does the respotting as the player shoots and roles reverse upon a miss.
If you want to improve your short rack rotation games play some cowboy, you wanna be a straight pool player shoot some brain wash drills. You wanna be a champion do both and think there is always something you can learn from anything. If you want to be a banger continue to put down what champions tell you to do to improve.
Dana Stephenson from Indy
I didn't mean to ruffle any feathers. If I offended you, I'm sorry.
I often see this drill being introduced to beginning players. I don't think it's meant for them without supplementation. That's all I'm getting at.
The brainwash drill is a great drill to improve your pattern play. It's most helpful for improving 14-1 and 8-ball skills, but it can also help the 9-ball game as well. It trains you to find patterns where you can run balls with as little cue ball movement as possible. It's a very productive drill and a fun drill too.
And my guess is that you never will see a pro do it in competition. Do they do it while practicing drills? I'm sure some of them have/do.
I don't think the objective is to get straight in. I think it's a great drill, maybe less effective for your typical nine ball players who like the flashiness of going 4 rails around the table.
That same 4 rail highlight reel shot could have been a short follow possibly if the previous leave would have been more precise. As much as you think it's dangerous to get close to straight in, I think it's more dangerous to have to send the cue ball around the table to try to get shape.
Just my $.02
You obviously have not mastered the drill.