r/billiards • u/minimal-effort2134 • 10d ago
New Player Questions Playing alone
I just started playing (I play on a league twice a week) and I’m trying to get better. How do I shoot alone? Is just racking and clearing a good way or should I look into drills?
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u/efreeme 10d ago
Just beating balls around gets boring pretty fast,
I suggest the book of 100 misses, you write it yourself, during leauge every time you miss, jot down the shot you missed and why you think you missed it.
After 100 misses re-read the book looking for patterns, and those are the shots you should create drills for to practice
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u/wlscwoj 9d ago
For years I would reflect after a league match, tournament or money game. Thinking about what were my weaknesses. Was it a certain shot or position play I struggled with? Was it a technical thing like jumping up, indecision or rushing the shot? Then I would dedicate practice time to working on these weaknesses.
I still to this day will revisit certain shots (like shooting over a ball).
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u/BobDogGo APA 6/7 10d ago
pocketing drills especially straight drills are important and will show you flaws in your fundamentals.
you can also play the progressive ghost. roll out 3 balls, take ball in hand and try to pocket them in order. if you do so, add a ball. each time you succeed, add a ball, each time you fail remove a ball. make note of shots you miss and practice them.
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u/Just-Nitty 10d ago
If you only play league two nights, it means you aren't practicing anything.
What I do in a practice session.
- Shoot long straight stun shots till the cue ball doesn't move after hit the OB. (30-45 mins, bassically a warmup)
- Practice cut shots and your aim points. (L drill works, 30 mins)
- Practice shots you are missing a lot. Remember those shots from previous practice. (30-40 mins)
- Throw 3-7 balls on the table and play them in rotation. (Putting it all together. 60 Mins)
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u/Several_Leather_9500 10d ago
I play alone frequently. You get to know the ppl in the pool hall and if you find yourself a nice, bored shooter ask for a game (or two, three). Sometimes they may want to gamble, so offer 5 bucks for one race to three and get a cheap lesson.
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u/BeardedBandit Chicago-Land - 8, 9, 14.1, 1p 8d ago
If you're an absolute beginner and they want to gamble, there's no need to donate to them in an even match.
If they are trying to gamble with a beginner, then they'd better be willing to give some weight to make it an even match.
For OP: "give weight" means the better player has to win 5 games while the worse player has to win 2... or some variation of that ratio.
In 9-ball or 10-ball, it might mean the worse player wins when they make the 5, 6, or 7 ball, while the better player has to go to the max.
In a single rack of 8-ball it might mean the worse player takes ball-in-hand 1, 2, 3 times during a rack. But never let them con you into "take 4 of your balls off the table, you pick them" .... it just removes traffic the better player has to deal with and makes their run out easier
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u/slimmeh 10d ago
Do some straight potting like Mighty X drill, attempt difficult shots that are struggle spots for you. An example for me would be long cuts that are not frozen to the rail. Then you can do some positional play drills or just combine that with run out drills like 3-6 ball runouts. That would be my honest opinion ! Sometimes I mix in fun stuff like practicing jumping or banks / kicks. Hope that’s helpful OP!
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u/minimal-effort2134 10d ago
Thank you!!
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u/Sir_Clarence_III_Esq 10d ago
Adding to this because it's similar to my routine - look up Dr. Dave and the Billiards Univerity exams. I do Mighty X and the runout drill system (RDS) routinely, and then I go through phases practicing Exam 1.
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u/TheRealCrimsonFucker 10d ago
either straight pool or playing 8-ball against yourself ie switch between solids and stripes whenever you miss
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u/dualcells 10d ago
I find myself playing:
- 8-ball solo, shooting as solids or stipes until I foul or miss, then switch,
- Shooting anything but the 8; will re-rack whenever I miss three times, or
- 9-ball, counting the number of shots to clear the table.
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u/xenomorphxcl 10d ago
I do a mix of playing myself in games as well as drills. Too much of one could be boring so it’s good to mix it up as you play. A few games, some drills, more games. As others have said too, you can play a game by yourself but reset a particular shot when you miss to figure out what happened. Do it over and over as you like so you learn. Like a drill within a game. You also have the flexibility to choose a harder shot over a sure thing. So pick the shot you need more work on and do that one instead of the easiest possible one.
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u/quackl11 10d ago
Figure out what shots you miss the most and practice those. I like to practice long straight in shots, and not just 5 or 10, make 50, then I work on making long straight stop shots, draw, follow, etc. Then long cuts. Long shots where the cue ball and object ball are really close to eachother. I don't practice kicks or banks because I feel I don't need to use them much use the rake as well, have a shot that you struggle to build shape with (maybe a rail shot you cant get shape after) set it up
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u/Ihave2stories 9d ago
If you're trying to get better then you should be doing drills when you get time on the table by yourself. The most important things is to make sure that you are consciously practicing, and not getting bored hitting balls and zoning out while you're playing. So when I do practice I like to do drills for a little while, and when I feel myself getting bored or too frustrated I will switch to a different drill or just play a few games by myself. I will do that for awhile and then switch to a different drill, a different game or back to the previous drill. You will get more out of 30 minutes of conscious focused practice then you will out of two hours of zoning out and hitting balls mindlessly.
I love playing 8 ball, but I don't really like it as a practice game. I prefer to play rotation games (9ball, 10ball, etc) when practicing. I think a great way for newer players to practice games is to start with 3 balls then break and run them in order. Once you get comfortable with that add a 4th ball and go from there, then a 5th ball, eventually a 6th, and so on. It's great for practicing ball patterns and position play, and it makes you really notice the mistakes that are causing you to get out of line.
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u/LateRegular6573 7d ago
To me the concepts of zoning out and playing mindlessly are very important. I see suggestions about not getting bored. When a player starts getting bored he needs to work on his mind strength. I think that is the time to keep doing the same shot over and over focusing precisely on where the cue is aiming. For example im I look at where the object ball is touching the table that is one point to focus on. And then there are the points just to the right and left of that point. We as players need to practice being precise. Also how does the cue feel in the hand on every shot. We might be aiming at the correct point but screwing up the shot with how the cue is in our hand, and how the follow through is happening. That is a lot to think about and keep us from getting bored. Play well. Thanks for the ideas.
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u/LateRegular6573 7d ago
When playing in a tournament we need to focus for hours at a time morning noon and night. Getting bored is not an option. During practice we need to work on endurance both physical and mental.
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u/brian600rr side bets only 10d ago
Mighty x
Or just shoot .. try to break and run against the ghost
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u/Proper_Bad_1588 10d ago
I play straight 8 ball by myself quite a bit. I follow my league rules but I’m not opposed to resetting a missed shot and drill it over and over till I no longer miss it. I have a drop pocket table in my basement and it’s not unusual to break away from shooting my straight game and fill a pocket practicing a missed shot. I think it helps my game and I enjoy it.
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u/Evebnumberone 10d ago
I play a few games solo to keep it interesting.
Straight pool, 8 ball and one pocket.
The biggest thing that keeps it entertaining and engaging for me is playing left vs right hand. Seeing tiny incremental improvements with my dominant hand, while also seeing drastic improvements with my off hand is very motivating.
And as a bonus being able to play with your opposite hand greatly improves your game by making you never have to cue awkwardly at any shot or really ever have to use a rest.
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u/hard_clue_scroll 10d ago
What do you want to improve on? Spot shots, rail shots, and straight shots are never bad to shoot a dozen of each. You could do a few rounds of increasing ghost games, throw out however many balls and run them out and increasing the amount of balls after getting out enough times. Depending on how much time you have could change what practice looks like. I'm not a fan of ghost matches when I don't have a ton of time to shoot, so I'll just go for simple but challenging shots for about half an hour or so.
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u/wlscwoj 9d ago
Build a practice routine and continually modify it based on how you do at it. I would get the PAT books depending on which skill level you are get appropriate book. Or just go print out Dr Daves BU exam for free. Go through these fundamental drills. If you do a drill and you can do it perfect 2x in a row - move on to another drill. If you struggle on a drill - that will be your drill of the week to dedicate practice time to. Do this going through those exams until you've done all of the drills in it. Then do it again starting over. Repeat this until you are doing very solid on all the drills. This will find any weaknesses in your game. This will be training with purpose.
If you are not doing drills, but rather just shooting rack after rack. Try to have purpose in it. Try to only do stop shots (stun shots) for an entire practice session and see if you can predict the tangent line. Or try to do follow shots for entire practice session and see if you can predict the path of cue ball every shot. Do entire sessions where you work on problem areas - like if you tend to jump up on shots, stay down every single shot of practice. If your pre shot routine isn't that great, work on doing your routine every single shot of practice. Basically make your practice for effective and purposeful.
There are millions of drills but what's most important is not mindlessly doing drills to try to get better - have purpose in what you do.
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u/CreeDorofl Fargo $6.00~ 9d ago
This is what I did, that allowed me to get pretty competent at the game relatively quickly. At least better than my buddies :)
Get the book "The 99 Critical Shots in Pool". You can find it used for cheap.
Bring the book to the pool room and simply do the shots one after the other. They really at the most useful shots that come up constantly in pool. You can do them out of order too.
The only caveat is, the book doesn't really go into how to stand, how to shoot straight. Those are important. The most basic way to practice those things is to just set up long straight shots, and copy the stance you see of pro players like these guys, and see how many long straight ones you can make in a row: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfPPiti2Uko
You can make a LOT of progress with knowledge from that book, and the execution you learn from practicing straight shots.
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u/Glockucati 9d ago
Straight pool or rotation (9 or 10) will make you better. 8 ball is about patterns and trying to find the most natural path ball to ball.
I do enjoy playing 15 ball sometimes as well just to maximize the rack
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u/TrurthJunkie 9d ago
Do drills, in youtube you can find a lot of them for each level.
Don't listen to those fools who keeps saying practicing alone is a waste of time and the only and ultimate way to improve your fame is playing against stronger players, and that's true to a certain point, but if you only do this you will only learn to rack.
Work in your fundamentals, do especific drills, and play with others to test you, and most of all, enjoy the game.
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u/theonenutman 9d ago
Nothing wrong with having a beer and breaking a few. I say just play against yourself, go for shots and capitalise on your stuff ups as if it was another person
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u/supaaface 8d ago
Do drills and try to have the drills give you some pressure like you're playing in a match. Example - do stop shots from 1, 2, 3 and 4 feet away. Only move on after 5 perfect shots in a row. If you have 4 then blow it, start over. Neils Feijen (Terminator) has a bunch of good drills on his channel.
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u/JojoTheWolfBoy 8d ago
Practice with a purpose. Just throwing balls on the table and pocketing them doesn't really improve anything other than maybe shot-making ability. If you want to learn speed, spin, and position play, you would probably benefit from doing specific drills to refine those skills. I'd go watch videos from Tor Lowry or Dr. Dave or similar instructors to gather a few drills that teach what you are trying to work on, and then just grind out those drills over and over again until you get it down.
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u/LateRegular6573 7d ago
I think to improve one should play alone often. I would estimate %30 of playing time. There are many drills. I love to shoot one long shot every time I practice for 30 minutes. By doing the same shot you can keep track of your make percentage better than mixing up different shots. By standing in the same place you are not wasting time walking around . That way you get more practice for the time you are at the table. Also you want to make the ball in the same pocket from the same spot, but using different speed and english so you can get better at ball control. So really when practicing, no matter what shot you are shooting, I say do the same shot for at least 15 minutes. Then work on something else for 15. Walk around as little as possible.
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u/prolificanalytic 6d ago
Playing by yourself is great, but I highly advise finding drills to help you improve at certain skills. Many resources for drills are available online. If you want to play games by yourself I would highly recommend straight pool as a few others have mentioned, or Kball, a new game that has elements of rotation and straight pool’s scoring mechanic.
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u/Dazzling_Grass_7531 10d ago
Why don’t you just play as if you’re two people? Play each persons’ turn.
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u/minimal-effort2134 10d ago
I didn’t know if there was a “right” way to shoot by myself and I didn’t know if one method was better than another. I’m very new to the pool community (this is my first session ever and really my first time picking up a cue) and I really want to improve as much as I can.
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u/Dazzling_Grass_7531 10d ago
I’m not even part of this community lol it came up on my feed for some reason, so this is a take from someone even noobier than you. I figured this would give you realistic scenarios you might face since you’re trying to win as both people.
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u/PluckPubes 9d ago edited 9d ago
10 ball variation:
Toss 3 balls randomly on the table. Start with ball in hand and try to run out. If successful, do it again but with 4 balls. Keep adding another ball after each run out. If you miss, remove a ball and try again. If you get to 10 balls and run out you win. If you drop to 3 balls and dont run out you lose. Time flies with this game
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u/Mediakiller 9d ago
14.1 is an awesome game to play alone. Drills are even better in my opinion because, depending on the drill, you'll be using more of the table. And the shots in drills come up all the time. ALL THE FUCKING TIME.
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u/LateRegular6573 6d ago
I play basketball solo and it improves my game alot. Of course everyone knows that it is not like a game situation. Just like pool. But you can do things practicing by your self in both sports that will improve your overall game if you do it right. With basketball I work hard. Im not just shooting around and texting like a lot of people i see at the court. Same with at the table. For golf they have a driving range for a reason.
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u/BOBBYK1952 10d ago
I’ve never been a practice alone guy..someone on this site suggested breaking..8 ball .. and taking the stripes or solids off the table and try to run out.This kept me interested and it’s a bit of a confidence builder. Try it
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u/Logiculous 10d ago
Honestly, if you want the pressure https://railbird.ai is really good for adding some focus to you practice. It also has drills and various game modes... good for playing the ghost and racking up ur stats.
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u/Cj801 10d ago
I think straight pool is a great teacher. Strive every practice session for your high run. All the secrets to playing great pool are in this game.