Are you a straight pool player just wondered?
What's so great about the "Brain-Washing" drill?
- Thread starter PhilosopherKing
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Are you a straight pool player just wondered?
Primary game of choice at the moment is 8 ball with a budding interest in 1 pocket. I came up playing 9 ball when I first started. I learned about pocket speed and the recent interest in 1 pocket has helped me realize just how soft you can shoot a shot to get it to go in and still get shape.
Good luck with that... :frown:
Yes, that's obvious, but you're missing my point:
The drill is often introduced to novice players as a simple, beginning exercise. I believe most lack the knowledge, mindset, and skills necessary to really benefit from it. In fact, it may do more harm than good.
I have to agree with the OP that for 9ball, it is a waste of time. 9ball doesn't require "precision". Get on the right side of the ball? - yes. But do it precisely? - no. And since the order of the balls you want to pocket are determined(in 9ball), you end up moving the cb more because the pattern might be all over the table. In this brainwash game, your moves are small and you're free to choose ANY pattern you like.
I've even seen very good 14.1 players who've had to change the way they see a 9ball table because their 14.1 mindset hampered them.
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The drill is more than stop shots. It involves draw, stun, follow, stun run through and stop shots, getting a good angle to move to the next shot and good speed with the cue ball. A beginner will benefit by learning to control the cue ball. It is frustrating at first, but after you run your first rack, you then feel like you did something. Then try to run two then three. It brings you game up quickly if you stick with it. There are other ways to practice position shots for rotation games, but this drill is fantastic and also help your thinking process and concentration.
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How goods very good. Most players who are very good use the right approach for whatever game they are playing. There are people who play 9 ball style 14.1 and then there are people who play super simple 9 ball. I have seen superb players who have a very tight cue ball when playing on a bar box, the same guys playing on a 9 foot loosen up a little and play the cue ball closer to the next shot. I asked one of these guys about it he said distance did not matter to him on a Valley bar table if he could see it he would make it thus very short cue ball travel however the same guys said on a big table balls are missable so you need to be on the right side and not have a ton of long shots so he used the rails a lot more and got closer to the next shot.
The drill is valuable to people who have learned to do it, I have not shot it for a while so I will do some brainwash drill today. My preferred drill has the balls set up the same every time. I place a ball at the intersection of the diamonds so I have 3 balls lined across the table in 5 lines starting at the head string and ending at the foot spot. I personally think that this structured approach would help anyone even a novice. You could then say how do you do on the structured brainwash drill. If the answer is I usually go for 5-7 balls then they are abler to make balls but have little cue ball control, if it is like under 5 then they be a lower level player. If they are like I get to the the last 2 or 3 balls almost every time then they play pretty good but not a master and then if they say they mastered it and run it 2 or 3 in a row a lot then they are doing many things correct for periods of time they have pocketing and basic fine control down pat and can stay mentally focused they are a player. If you shoot the brain wash drill with lots of clusters it is really tough for most any novice. Perhaps the original poster will try my structured version and let me know if they think that has any value.
You sir are exactly right.
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The drill is primarily about planning your pattern, therefore it is a think puzzle. Everything ultimately rests on execution and therefore you have to know how to bunt the cb, but if your pattern is wrong it won't happen.
The 14.1 players i saw playing 9ball(150 ball hi-run) were playing too precisely and it wasn't until they opened up their angles that their game improved. Being too precise means you narrow your window and room for error.
The 14.1 players i saw playing 9ball(150 ball hi-run) were playing too precisely and it wasn't until they opened up their angles that their game improved. Being too precise means you narrow your window and room for error.
I understand that 9 ball is more about "zone" than "precision", but can you not see the benefit of precision? No doubt this drill isn't the best for a 9/10 ball player, but I don't see how anyone could knock the usefullness of having that ability in your game. I have a feeling if you polled a few pros the majority would say they are going for precise shape, and not a zone.
It's like the common person says when they watch high level pool, "they have nothing but easy shots"
I know what the drill is, and and I know what it isn't.
I can't imagine an inexperienced player ever running a full rack. They simply don't have the tools to do so.
As such, out of frustration, he or she will often remove a number of balls and practice a much abriviated version.
At this point, the exercise runs the risk of devolving into little more than short, mindless stop-shot patterns.
This may cultivate a harmful and difficult-to-overcome "get straight- in" mentality.
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I know what the drill is, and and I know what it isn't.
I can't imagine an inexperienced player ever running a full rack. They simply don't have the tools to do so.
As such, out of frustration, he or she will often remove a number of balls and practice a much abriviated version.
At this point, the exercise runs the risk of devolving into little more than short, mindless stop-shot patterns.
This may cultivate a harmful and difficult-to-overcome "get straight- in" mentality.
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This is your opening remarks for this thread.
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.
Now get lost.
So you're still holding to your stance that this drill is a fast way to nowhere for 9/10 ball players?
I would agree with you about this not being the first drill I would show someone starting the game. It strikes me as more of an intermediate and above level drill. But, I believe that even someone who plays primarily 9/10 could benefit from the skills you would develop by doing the drill.
I mindlessly practiced this drill for hours when I first started playing... As a result, to this day, I have to battle a subconscious desire to always get straight-in.
Advanced 9-ball/10-ball players can learn alot from it. Novices can get hurt.
So you admit brainwash isn't the best game for 9ball. If you're going to expand your argument to include "any game helps" then this discussion becomes moot.
OTOH, brainwash is a good practice for 14.1 because 14.1 involves more precise moves and massaging of the cb. But for 9ball, players should be on the 3c table, imo. I'll even include this argument, that brainwash is just for practice. It is not competitive. 3c or 14.1 at least are competitive games and allows a player to maintain an edge. I would say a player would consider tinkering with brainwash as practice, and as such would never get involved enough to make it matter.
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I stated all the way through that this probably isn't the best drill for 9/10 ball players. The OP said that the drill is a fast way to no where for a 9/10 ball player.
Of course brainwash is just a drill, which is why he called it the "brain-washing drill". It's not a competitive game, at least not externally. As someone else said, if you set up the balls in a repeatable pattern, you can compete with yourself while practicing. I'm not a huge fan of drills, as a matter of fact I very rarely do drills, not that I don't see the benefit, I just don't have the time with my work schedule to get to practice.
I will make a point in the next few days though to get out and put in some time with the brain-damage...err brain washing drill. :grin: