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Help me get better at pool?
UnknownSaint
KasynRegistered User regular
KasynRegistered User regular
So. I've always enjoyed the game casually, my folks just got a table back home, and the complex I moved to actually has a not-so-terrible table here. I figured it's about time for me to improve my pool game. There is plenty of good advice on the interwebs out there and I've done my share of digging, I suppose I would like to get some advice firsthand from people, maybe find out what methods have worked best.
-I'm maybe slightly more competent than your average casual player.
-Lately have been practicing not by shooting around but by just working on consistency with increasingly more difficult (higher angle or distance) shots, but nothing wild. Figured I better be able to make the easy shots 95% of the time before I should go on.
-Any general 8-ball theory and strategy would be nice, outside of actually making shots.
-I need a cue of my own. I'm about 5'11''-6'0'', and like something around 19-20 ounces. I'm not looking for anything fantastic, maybe something around $50 just to practice with and see how serious I want to get. Any help on finding something decent and what my options are would be nice.
-Also wouldn't mind a little set of rack/shitty balls/etc. I realize high quality balls are expensive (lulz) and really wouldn't like to spend more than $50 on this sort of thing.
-Should I invest in any sort of special practice cue ball with the markings and whatnot?
Any help is appreciated! Thanks in advance.
-I'm maybe slightly more competent than your average casual player.
-Lately have been practicing not by shooting around but by just working on consistency with increasingly more difficult (higher angle or distance) shots, but nothing wild. Figured I better be able to make the easy shots 95% of the time before I should go on.
-Any general 8-ball theory and strategy would be nice, outside of actually making shots.
-I need a cue of my own. I'm about 5'11''-6'0'', and like something around 19-20 ounces. I'm not looking for anything fantastic, maybe something around $50 just to practice with and see how serious I want to get. Any help on finding something decent and what my options are would be nice.
-Also wouldn't mind a little set of rack/shitty balls/etc. I realize high quality balls are expensive (lulz) and really wouldn't like to spend more than $50 on this sort of thing.
-Should I invest in any sort of special practice cue ball with the markings and whatnot?
Any help is appreciated! Thanks in advance.
UnknownSaint on
0
Posts
also you can become hiddously undone by diffrent types of pool tables. usa ones have a larger cue ball than the object balls and in the uk teh cue ball is smaller. alot of players pretty much cant play on the one thy arnt used to.
practice your ass off
Basic tips:
Your feet should be shoulder width apart.
Your bridge hand should be a stable platform to shoot from - no wussy bridge hand.
Don't grip the stick too hard with your shooting hand - if you're making a fist around it you're gripping too hard.
Drop the butt of the stick - the cue stick should be level and as parallel to the the table as possible when stroking unless you're imparting a lot of english (having the butt of the stick jacked up will make you less accurate).
Don't hit it so hard - Making object balls go fast makes the pockets tighter. Shoot smooth, less power, more followthrough and the pockets/rails are more forgiving so that marginal shots are more likely to go in. Plus if you miss your balls near the pocket instead of having rebounded 4 ft away.
Followthrough - Don't poke/punch at the ball, not yet. Learn a long smooth followthrough until you know how to shoot. Once you're ok accuracy-wise you can start poking/punching for better ball control and speed control.
Start playing just center-of-the-ball shots. As you get better you can start using high and low english to affect cue ball position. Eventually you can start doing right/left english shots once you know what object balls and the cue ball does when you hit with various levels of power.
Equipment: [Strike]Until you start practicing english[/Strike] You don't need a practice cue ball. It'll likely be more of a distraction than an aid.
Nice balls are nice. not super fancy, but if you have $100-150 to blow it's nice to have, not necessary though.
Stick, it's going to be hard to find a good one for $50, you could probably get a decent single piece for $70-ish. Two-piecer, plan on paying at least 3 digits. If you hunt around and look for deals you might find a two-piece for $100. You want maple, and I like having an Irish wrap. I liked how this one carbon fiber piece played (about $300), but am still playing with a pretty cheap wooden 2 piece ($70, got it back when there were more cue stick providers). The receiver for the joint can be wood, doesn't have to be metal. If you buy a stick, get a "standard" tip.
Edit 8 ball strategy: Don't miss :P. Half the game is the leave, You don't have to be a good shot maker if you have good ball control and can leave your opponent shitty or illegal shots. Play safeties, especially when playing stronger players.
Never break with your own cue.
If you go to a pool hall, use their cues to break, and then use yours to shoot.
As for tips, you say you're slightly better than the average pool player. Unfortunately, I find that it's much harder to get better once you're at this stage. What you should be doing is knowing how the cue ball will behave after making the shot. Placement is very important, so knowing where the cue ball will land and planning for your next shot is key. 9-ball is a good game to test your setup skills.
I've also found (from playing my friends on my college's pool tables) that once you can make shots consistently, your next step is working on cue ball control. It's just as important to give yourself the next shot (or leave your opponent with a harder shot) as it is to actually make your current shot.
If you can make centerball shots, work on your english and follow/draw shots. Being able to intuit how they will affect the shot is key in terms of knowing where your cue ball will go once it contacts the object ball or a cushion.
It's not so popular in America, but billiards (particularly 3 cushion billiards) is a great way to force yourself to learn angles and cue ball control, since that's basically all the game is.
Try playing 'set pieces' that rely on positioning. 3+ placed balls that are all pottable if you can simply focus on ending up with the next one set up. Focus on getting that positioning perfect, not just close.
Focus on an accurate, consistant cue technique. Simple things like hitting the ball down the table and back in a perfect straight line to return to your cue tip is a nice test of that (on a good table)
Consider trying to play some snooker, since it emphasises a lot of skill elements that may well help your pool game too.
For buying a cue a few of my friends and I have all used this site without any problems.
http://www.ozonebilliards.com/
I got a maple 2 piece cue from them for about 60 or 70 bucks and I am very happy with it so far.
Stance is important. If you're not stable you're not going to make your shots. Stance and bridging is all about triangles. You make a tripod with your feet and your bridging arm to steady you when you shoot; keep your feet apart and don't be shy about getting down on the table. Keeping a steady bridge is just as important. Spread those fingers and form a tripod and keep that bridge like a rock. If you use a closed bridge (with the fore or middle finger wrapping around the cue), make sure you're not choking the cue and moving your bridge with the stroke. If you use an open bridge, make sure the valley you're making for your cue is deep/steep enough that it's not shifting too much. Oh, and WASH YOUR HANDS. I can't stress this enough. An oily bridge hand will screw up your game and your cue.
Re. stroke: Make practice strokes! They help. Your actual strokes should look a lot like your practices... I see lots of people make 3-4 beautiful practice strokes and then just jab at the ball, it took me a while to get out of this habit. Follow through with the stroke, and once you shot, don't stand up right away. Stay down on the table for a second unless you need to make way for pool balls. Lots of people starting out tend to stand up before their stroke is actually finished, which will screw you up. Make sure you aren't sawing with your cue, which usually happens when you drop or pick up the butt of the cue mid-stroke. A good thing to look at here is your upper arm. It shouldn't move very much, if at all. Just let your forearm swing at the elbow and keep that upper arm still. You might have to adjust your grip on the cue; don't be afraid to grab it on the forearm or anywhere else. Another thing a lot of people do is bridge WAY further from the cue ball than they need to. The bigger the distance between the bridge hand and the cue ball, the more the cue tip can move off target if the butt of the cue shifts, which makes accuracy go down.
Power! How hard you hit the ball matters a lot. Shooting too hard makes shots less likely to fall and makes it harder to predict where things will end up. Shooting too hard in 8 ball will almost certainly make your misses end up nowhere near the pocket and can easily send that 11 ball bouncing off three rails to pocket the 8, out of turn, in the side. When you shoot in 8, shoot so that if you miss, your object balls stay in the general area they were meant to go. Hanging one of your balls in a pocket is a GOOD thing in 8 ball (making them is better, but anyway). So don't shoot any harder than you have to to make the shot, unless you need to make the cue ball travel for some reason.
English: Don't use it. No seriously. At least not at first. Get a feel for the way the balls move with no english on them and play that way. Natural shape has the advantage of doing exactly what it's supposed to a remarkable amount of the time. Figure out what that is and THEN start worrying about how to order the cue around. Most people (especially starting out) tend to hit a ball with a certain english by default. Once you figure out your accent, keep it in mind. I tend to shoot with a little bottom and I have a killer draw but I'm bad about drawing the damn thing WAY farther than intended. The marked cue balls... eh. Some people like em, I find it distracting.
8 ball strategy is pretty straightforward. Shoot to leave yourself a shot, or barring that, your opponent no shot. Shoot to leave your misses hanging around the pocket. A ball hanging in a pocket is blocking that option from your opponent. And if you have something hanging in a pocket, don't use it up if you have another reasonable shot you can take, but DO shoot it instead of a high risk/low percentage shot, or if using it makes sense to get shape on the next ball. Don't hesitate to play a safety if the rules you're playing by allow it (and it's the right shot).
Cues: 70-80 bucks should get you a decent 2pc. You should probably get a cue case if you don't have one, soft cases are fine. Don't leave it in your car. Ever. EVER. I take mine into restaurants with me if the temperature isn't 60-70 degrees outside and only ever at night. Big temp shifts will warp a cue shaft in no time. (at least the only times I've left the cue in my car in anything other than perfect weather got me warped shafts, ymmv) Weights are easy, most cue shops will weight a cue to spec if you ask; it's a just a bolt that screws into the butt of the cue.
Probably the best thing you can do for your game would be to find a league locally (APA is great for beginners) and join a team and play pool every Wednesday (or w/e day). Playing with people who've been playing for a long time is the best way to learn, and most people are pretty willing to give tips and such. This is the APA website, you probably have a league near you, if that's something you might be interested in.
If you have a nice place to play (not a bar or tavern) maybe invest in a cheap two piece. It's not so much the quality that makes the difference as it is the consistancy and intimate knowledge of your gear. Later on, quality or preference might make some difference. When you can actually feel the difference and know what you need as a player, then its time to invest.
There lots of good tips, so I will just give one of my skill-games. Put the cueball on the break point and shoot it down to the far end. Try to get as close as you can to the far cushion without touching it. Play it from where it lies and repeat. As you get better and better, the play position becomes more and more awkward. You can switch it up to include far end banks, angle bounces, whatever. Be able to roll that ball up to a stop anywhere on the table. Any shot you ever take is an extension of that skill, so its a gooder. Good luck!
Why is this?
@gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
I've seen this done by people with wimpy wooden cues or carbon fiber/composite cues and it makes sense, but I've never seen the point if you have a regular old sturdy one.
Guess it also depends on your break, if you are one of those people who absolutely smash it then you might want to as well, but otherwise meh.
Another tip would be don't forget to practice shots with the cueball on the rail. Easy to forget and these shots can come up fairly often in a real game of 8 ball.
Tips on the break? I like to offset the cue ball from the break point by about 3/4 of an inch. A good smash a smidgen to right of center gives me good sink odds, and occasionally drops the 8.
Anybody else have a start they like?
It's not uncommon for players who bring their own cues to have a break cue and shooting cue(s). Their shooting cues may have shafts with more flex and/or softer tips.
There's nothing wrong with breaking with your shooting cue (I do as I only have one and it has a pretty stiff shaft and a medium tip), but if you use a shaft with a lot of flex it's likely that you're not going to translate as much force into the rack then if you were breaking with a stiffer cue or one-piece. Edit: You'll also end up compressing the tip which will reduce tip lifetime and make roughing it up more difficult.
A word on pocket/shot selection: try dividing up the table into quadrants. Balls located in a particular quadrant go into that quadrants corner. Balls in the middle of the table you can of course elect to sink in the side pockets. Tying up pockets with your balls is good only if your opponent has balls that need to go into that pocket, if he doesn't, sink the easy shot to more easily make shape for the next one.
Sarcastro: Position cue ball 1/2-2/3rds of the way between spot and side rail, strike cue ball with as much draw as possible, aim to strike the the 2nd ball in the rack - 8 ball side pocket opposite the ball you struck.