### Your Favorite Drill ###

As several others have suggested, playing the ghost is an excellent 9-ball drill. It'll definitely increase your run out percentage. Start by racking 3 balls, the 7,8, and 9. Break the balls and give yourself ball in hand. If the 9-ball goes on the break, spot it or replace it somewhere else on the table. If anything else goes in, it stays down. I don't like to spot other balls because your are penalyzing yourself for making balls on the break.

If you run out you win the game. If you combo the 9-ball in, you win the game, although it's best if you go for the run out when it's available. If you miss, the ghost wins. Keep track of your winning percentage. Play 10 games. When you when 60% of your games, repeat the drill with 4 balls, the 6,7,8, and 9. When you run 4 balls 60% of the time, add the 5 ball. Keep adding a ball until you are able to run out with 9, 10, or even all 15 balls without missing 60% of the time. This is a great drill to improve your 9-ball game.
 
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Good Post

I'll play the ghost just to get some warm up time. But since I put a table in my house I am now willing to do drills and found them to be very challenging. I have been collecting different drills that sharpen what I think may be a weak point in my game. One thing worth doing is play someone that is challenging. Pay close attention to the shots you find reoccur in your game that you feel uncomfortable. Quickly sketch them out in a notepad. Don't have to be an artist. Use the notepad edges as the table and just place the balls for the shot you want to repeat. There were a few shots that I was scared to death of and now feel confident playing them. Drills are really are more personal thing than one in general. I guess you can use the drills you find easy to reinforce your strong points, but definitely practice variations of the shots you know you're week on. No point in addressing the shot during an action match.
Hope that helps.
 
SJM posted this, though I think his was slightly different. But anyway, pocket the 1 ball and hit the 2 with the cue ball. When you hit the 2, set it up again without the 2 and try to hit the 3. And so on... For me, the 6, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 are very hard.

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Another good drill is throw the 1, 2 and 3 ball on the table. Take ball in hand and pocket the 1. Then throw the 4 ball on the table and pocket the 2 ball. Keep doing this and see how far you can get. Its a good drill for learning to think 3 balls ahead.

Another drill I do

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Another drill. Run all of the balls and try not to touch any rails. Then, try it and the cue ball can only touch 1 rail. Then try and the cue has to hit 2 rails. Then try all banks.

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The Wagon wheel- 8 or more balls in a circle with the cue ball in the center. Pocket all balls keeping the cue ball within the circle.

DeWalt drill- Buy it at Sears... comes in 14.4 volts also.

Playing the ghost in 9 ball is tough because the ghost NEVER misses. I've haven't played anyone who never misses.

Here is a drill/game that I use to practice. I think it's better than just throwing out balls to pocket.
I rack 9 balls. 3 striped balls in front and the rear of a 9 ball rack with the 1 ball in the center (where the 9 ball would be) and the 2 and 3 balls as the wing balls.
I break trying to pocket the center ball and to spread the balls as I would playing 9 ball.
All balls that pocket on the break spot back up and I then give myself ball in hand.

The object of the drill/game is to pocket the 1,2 and 3 balls in sequence but having to pocket two striped balls before each one. Pocket any 2 striped balls and the then 1 ball. Next pocket any 2 other striped balls and then the 2 ball. Finally pocket the last 2 striped balls and then the 3 ball.

The 1,2 and 3 are worth 1 point each. Any miss or scratch ends the run and you have to rerack and start another rack. I try making a total of 15 points in 5 racks.

You do not have to contact the OB directly as in 9 ball so combination shots are OK and sometimes your only option. If you try to break up clusters on your first shot you may not get shape on the 1 ball and your run ends for that rack with no points.
 
The drill that Greg put up in post 19 is a good one. The first two to three balls are easy, but if you are not carefull with your position by the fourth ball are in trouble. Also try rearranging the balls to change the drill.
 
Ralph Kramden said:
DeWalt drill- Buy it at Sears... comes in 14.4 volts also.
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I like the DeWalt drills also. I like the sound. I like the way they stop. The 18v gets too bulky for me, however.

Fred <~~~ loves drills
 
CrownCityCorey said:
I like to just w-h-a-c-k this shot in a few times in a row.

It tells me if I executing my routine properly or not.

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Yep, I like that shot too. I hit a few slower paced shots on both sides of the table, then like you, whack a few on both sides. It gets my sight and alignment "right" much faster.

Rod
 
Drew said:
Tough drill...I can barely ever finish it. If you can do it this way...try shooting them all into the same pocket.


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That's very similar to a drill I do. I freeze 6 balls against the rail around the end of the table and cut them into the corners. The sharper the angle, the prettier the shot!
 
RiverCity said:
3 balls in rotation.
Chuck
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I like the 3 ball rotation too but I use it when I walk into a place and have 15 minutes to warm up.

My favorite drill requires an you to imagine a huge 'X' on the table, corner to corner, center. Put OB and CB, each 2 diamonds on one of the axis' creating a long straight in shot to the corner. Stroke it trying to leave the CB within a ball width of where the OB was...e.g. stop shot. Now do it again on the other axis. Keep working the shot around the table for different looks/lighting/distractions...keeps the boredom down. My best is 50 in a row, and I cudda done more but I was hungry. I'm burning my 'stroke' into my subconscious and it's helped a lot.
 
Rod said:
Yep, I like that shot too. I hit a few slower paced shots on both sides of the table, then like you, whack a few on both sides. It gets my sight and alignment "right" much faster.

Rod
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Ditto.

Fred
 
cueball on the head spot

aim to center diamond on the foot rail

shoot with varying speed and English to scratch in all 6 pockets.

great way to learn how to bend kicking angles..
 
A good 8-ball drill is to randomly position 7 balls of the same group (stripes or solids) and the 8-ball. Practice running out without missing. If you can't run 7 and the 8-ball consistently, do it with less than 7 balls.
 
A few I do before playing
-Putting all the balls randomly on the table, running out stripes then solids, if I miss I start over.

-To practice safties and kicking I break a 9 ball rack then play safe on the one, if I hit it I play safe again till I get ball in hand, then I shoot the 1 down, and continue doing the same to all the balls.
 
Drill/Practice

I like to throw fifteen balls on the table and run out until i get bored. Another one I love to do is play the one pocket ghost. sometimes i like to play one pocket against myself as well.
Now if I am in a tournament and only have a certain amount of time to practice I will throw balls out and shoot all difficult shots, that seems to make most of my shots easy during the match.
 
Cornerman said:
I like the DeWalt drills also. I like the sound. I like the way they stop. The 18v gets too bulky for me, however.

Fred <~~~ loves drills
Click to expand...

You beat me to it...bastid

Voodoo~~~more fond of Makita
 
cueball on the head spot

aim to center diamond on the foot rail

shoot with varying speed and English to scratch in all 6 pockets.

great way to learn how to bend kicking angles..
Click to expand...
good drill .................


Thanks guys and wait more :D
 
I get real bored with practice drill real fast. However, i have found a new set of drills that i am having fun with. i have been using the Progressive Drills set up by Bob Jewett and the Billiard Academy. He offers this free intro that i have been using. here is the download if your interested.http://www.sfbilliards.com/basics.pdf
I hope to attend the academy sometime in the future and go thru the program. Anyways good luck and main thing have fun.
 
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