Why can’t I just get better?

[Willowbrook Wolfy]

Getting better at 9 and worse at 8. It’s frustrating as all hell. I could always run out 8 ball tables like nothing. Now I can’t run any. It’s that damn thing called shape. I used to just break out and bash all the balls in 8. Bend them to my will. Now stupid here is trying to go around 4 balls into a 3” window for next shot instead of just going through them. What to do what to do…..

 

[De420MadHatter]

If you could run out 8 ball likes it was nothing, by not playing shape, then I would quit playing shape while playing 8 ball.
Running out like nothing is the the end result regardless, so if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Me thinks you're full of doodoo.

 

[Willowbrook Wolfy]

Well no I forgot to post question on there. What do you all think is more important for 8? Shape or moving the balls around? I like to set up for multiple shots in 8. And improvise. So shape isn’t that important.

 

[easy-e]

Well no I forgot to post question on there. What do you all think is more important for 8? Shape or moving the balls around? I like to set up for multiple shots in 8. And improvise. So shape isn’t that important.

Playing position on multiple balls is a pretty good strategy.

 

[9BallKY]

8 ball and 9 ball require small windows for position at times. Sometimes playing 8 ball you can run into balls and still have shape on another ball and you don’t think to much about the fact that you hooked yourself on the ball you were actually trying to get shape on.

In 9 ball when you do that you are normally the rack boy for the next game. Both games can be tough to play, you have to learn to respect them in their own way

 

[Ģüśţāṿ]

How many hours per day do you practice?

 

[Jimmorrison]

I hope this thread doesn’t go to shit, would really appreciate some good input. I don’t quite finish off enough racks. My game has taken a couple of nice jumps, since I started working on it. Unfortunately, that’s not much of an accomplishment, considering where I was at. For instance, saw the FX Billiards acid test, decided to shoot it. Could barely make an effin ball, got maybe half of them back to the rail. Half hour later, I’m 29 out of thirty, with all of them back to the rail. It does no good, there is no benefit. You don’t have a half hour! How the hell do you get it done, on your first trip?

 

[Straightpool_99]

I hope this thread doesn’t go to shit, would really appreciate some good input. I don’t quite finish off enough racks. My game has taken a couple of nice jumps, since I started working on it. Unfortunately, that’s not much of an accomplishment, considering where I was at. For instance, saw the FX Billiards acid test, decided to shoot it. Could barely make an effin ball, got maybe half of them back to the rail. Half hour later, I’m 29 out of thirty, with all of them back to the rail. It does no good, there is no benefit. You don’t have a half hour! How the hell do you get it done, on your first trip?

I don't know what the fx billiards "acid test" is, a preliminary search gave no conclusive results. I presume it's some sort of draw shot drill?

You should choose drills that work on the areas at which you are weak. So the fact that you are struggling is a good sign. It means this part of your game needs work. HOWEVER, if you are not making progress, you are probably doing something fundamentally wrong, and to make matters worse you are setting those bad habits in concrete, by repeating them over and over. Videotape yourself, and watch carefully or upload it and let others watch it. If that doesn't show anything too conclusive, try setting up a draw shot into a small pocket and gradually increase the distance, shot by shot. The moment you feel yourself starting to struggle, try to notice what is happening in your stroke.

If it's a drill which requires lots of draw, and you are missing and/or not getting as far back as you want, I can make some educated guesses, without even seeing you play. I'm guessing that you are jerking your cue back, which either throws your entire stroking line off or messes up your back-to-forward transition in your stroke. This can both cause you to miss your object ball target and your cueball target (tip position). If that is not the case, you are likely either throwing your shoulder in to the stroke to get power, or dropping your elbow too much or prematurely. There could be other things, but I'd check for those things first if I were you. Hope this helps you.

 

[tim913]

Shape is not everything, it’s the ‘only thing!’

 

[TheBasics]

Getting better at 9 and worse at 8. It’s frustrating as all hell. I could always run out 8 ball tables like nothing. Now I can’t run any. It’s that damn thing called shape. I used to just break out and bash all the balls in 8. Bend them to my will. Now stupid here is trying to go around 4 balls into a 3” window for next shot instead of just going through them. What to do what to do…..

Willow, Howdy;

Sound like you are trying to shoot 8 ball like ya do 9 ball. Two different games. Need different type
of thinking for each one. Yup they do have cross-over moments but you need to drop a different
'program card' into the master controller. With 9 you have a variety of shots that that necessitate
rolling long distances to get on the next ball. A lot of 8 ball is shorter shots although there are longer
shots as well. IMHO, SPEED control is the main thing that helps control the CB. You can know where
to hit the CB to get it where you might want it to be but if you don't have the correct speed it will
either come up short or roll on by. Get to know your speed settings then see how you are doing.

hank

 

[bbb]

I haven’t read any of the responses
but sometimes if you don’t get better you have to accept you can’t get silk out of a cows ear

just sayin

 

[Jimmorrison]

Willow, Howdy;

Sound like you are trying to shoot 8 ball like ya do 9 ball. Two different games. Need different type
of thinking for each one. Yup they do have cross-over moments but you need to drop a different
'program card' into the master controller. With 9 you have a variety of shots that that necessitate
rolling long distances to get on the next ball. A lot of 8 ball is shorter shots although there are longer
shots as well. IMHO, SPEED control is the main thing that helps control the CB. You can know where
to hit the CB to get it where you might want it to be but if you don't have the correct speed it will
either come up short or roll on by. Get to know your speed settings then see how you are doing.

hank

I would say yes, speed is King. Watch the really good players, there speed just barely gets them there. Often a little too much angle, maybe a little uncomfortable. They don't go long, that's death, wrong side of line. They know they are gonna make the cut.

 

[Willowbrook Wolfy]

Willow, Howdy;

Sound like you are trying to shoot 8 ball like ya do 9 ball. Two different games. Need different type
of thinking for each one. Yup they do have cross-over moments but you need to drop a different
'program card' into the master controller. With 9 you have a variety of shots that that necessitate
rolling long distances to get on the next ball. A lot of 8 ball is shorter shots although there are longer
shots as well. IMHO, SPEED control is the main thing that helps control the CB. You can know where
to hit the CB to get it where you might want it to be but if you don't have the correct speed it will
either come up short or roll on by. Get to know your speed settings then see how you are doing.

hank

(I totally agree to different programs part)…..As the saying goes though—“Sometimes you gotta get worse to get better”…

And Im starting to understand why some really good 9 ball players hate playing 8 ball now.

 

[MitchAlsup]

Also note: if you miss a ball and it stays in the pocket, it is good in 8-ball and horrid in 9-ball.

 

[book collector]

I hope this thread doesn’t go to shit, would really appreciate some good input. I don’t quite finish off enough racks. My game has taken a couple of nice jumps, since I started working on it. Unfortunately, that’s not much of an accomplishment, considering where I was at. For instance, saw the FX Billiards acid test, decided to shoot it. Could barely make an effin ball, got maybe half of them back to the rail. Half hour later, I’m 29 out of thirty, with all of them back to the rail. It does no good, there is no benefit. You don’t have a half hour! How the hell do you get it done, on your first trip?

Nice jumps, is a way to describe pool achievements, nobody ever goes away for a week and comes back a lot better player, even if they went to a pool school.
It takes time to disseminate, and learn to apply new knowledge. Here it is don't miss this part.
Make darn sure you are hitting the cueball where you mean to, and putting on the spin you are trying or not. If you aren't doing this , you are usually wasting your time.
I have watched thousands of people never get better because of those reasons. I did it for years myself.
There are so many instructional videos out there, utilize them.
Get a practice routine that incorporates ,stroke , speed, spin, cuts, banks, position drills . If you are doing it for money, go do something else, you have a better chance at being a major sports figure than a top level pool player. When you get beaten, and you will, ask yourself how they did it. When you win , try to analyze your game vs theirs.IF you play pool , stay away from the snooker and 3 cushion tables until you are semi pro level. It is just too difficult to go back and forth with the size and weight of the balls and how they react when you are just learning.

 

[CocoboloCowboy]

Getting better at 9 and worse at 8. It’s frustrating as all hell. I could always run out 8 ball tables like nothing. Now I can’t run any. It’s that damn thing called shape. I used to just break out and bash all the balls in 8. Bend them to my will. Now stupid here is trying to go around 4 balls into a 3” window for next shot instead of just going through them. What to do what to do…..

Maybe you just in slump, ever Efrin Reyes misses.

So do most top Pro players, see it all the time on U-Tubes.

 

[maha]

its easy to stop thinking after your first shot and then you play out the rack without changing your planning as it goes along.
every time you get out of shape your whole plan for that rack changes.

 

[Willowbrook Wolfy]

Nice jumps, is a way to describe pool achievements, nobody ever goes away for a week and comes back a lot better player, even if they went to a pool school.
It takes time to disseminate, and learn to apply new knowledge. Here it is!

I missed the next part(), but love that write up. This is part that applied most to my situation.

 

[Swighey]

Methinks that 9 Ball is a tougher game but it requires a smaller skillset. This shows up less at the elite level where dry breaks and clusters are rare in 8 ball, and there are fewer decisions where a shot needs to be both offensive and defensive at the the same time. But at the "regular good" level it's not uncommon for player A to be better than player B at 9 Ball while player B is better at 8 Ball. Also, "keeping it simple" is different in each game.

 

[Poolmanis]

On 9-ball cuts have normally a lot more angle than 8-ball. Because cueball needs to travel more.
Thats probably reason if your 8-ball game took step down
Try practice some thick stun shots, short roll shots and small distance draw shots. Try focus on speed. That should help a lot simple close game speed that is required to get good accuracy on high level 8-ball play.