How to play better one pocket

[bstroud]

In reading this forum and AZ I see a lot of people asking how to play a better game of one pocket.

Here is an example from my past:

When I was 14 I bought the orange Mosconi book for a buck. On page 35 or 37 was a pic of a three ball combo and info on how the third ball would throw the first ball. This was magic to my eyes. For weeks at every opportunity I would practice combos of all kinds to see what would happen. I practiced combo banks to see what would happen. I learned by doing.

How many of you spend 5 or 6 hours a day practicing trick banks, twisters, spin banks? How many of you spend time removing balls from the pocket and using force follow to kill the cue ball and sticking it on the rail. How many of you put up one ball and the cue ball for 6 hours putting them in every conceivable position to see what the best shot is.

Lose a lot of games in the end game? How many of you put up two or three balls and practice shots for hours on end to get the best result.

How about a shot where your opponent has game ball in his pocket and you need to kick behind it with extreme low English and kill the cue ball under the gun? Practice that much?

You can only obtain a certain level by just playing. You must practice alone and try every possible kind of shot until you have mastered them all. One day you will betting your case money and you will need these shots so practice them when the are for free.

Bill Stroud

 

[John Brumback]

In reading this forum and AZ I see a lot of people asking how to play a better game of one pocket.

Here is an example from my past:

When I was 14 I bought the orange Mosconi book for a buck. On page 35 or 37 was a pic of a three ball combo and info on how the third ball would throw the first ball. This was magic to my eyes. For weeks at every opportunity I would practice combos of all kinds to see what would happen. I practiced combo banks to see what would happen. I learned by doing.

How many of you spend 5 or 6 hours a day practicing trick banks, twisters, spin banks? How many of you spend time removing balls from the pocket and using force follow to kill the cue ball and sticking it on the rail. How many of you put up one ball and the cue ball for 6 hours putting them in every conceivable position to see what the best shot is.

Lose a lot of games in the end game? How many of you put up two or three balls and practice shots for hours on end to get the best result.

How about a shot where your opponent has game ball in his pocket and you need to kick behind it with extreme low English and kill the cue ball under the gun? Practice that much?

You can only obtain a certain level by just playing. You must practice alone and try every possible kind of shot until you have mastered them all. One day you will betting your case money and you will need these shots so practice them when the are for free.

Bill Stroud

That Is some great info right there!! Great post. Seems most don't have the time or....are to lazy to practice. Most seem to be looking for shortcuts. Myself, I haven't found any thing better than good hard practice. They can look for systems and all that all they want,but your still going to have to put alot of time In just hitting pool balls. There are no short cuts In MHO.John B.

 

[Viffer]

john let plat 10 ahead one pocket.

 

[beatle]

to get to the top tier you do need to do all the no fun practice things. for most players learning or trying to get better they do not have access to a free table to play on. so paying time at the pool room is expensive to put those hours in.

how many really good players had to pay time to get good?

 

[bstroud]

to get to the top tier you do need to do all the no fun practice things. for most players learning or trying to get better they do not have access to a free table to play on. so paying time at the pool room is expensive to put those hours in.

how many really good players had to pay time to get good?

Well I don't know about other players but I never was given any free time. Of course time was cheap in those days. A dime a game or perhaps 50 cents and hour.

You could also get a hand wash car wash for one dollar. So maybe it wasn't so cheap after all.

It all depends on your level of commitment. Do you really want to be a top player are are you just passing time?

You reminded me of a quote from a Sean Connery movie. " What are you prepared to do?". "And then, what are you prepared to do?".

Bill Stroud

 

[Artie Bodendorfer]

john let plat 10 ahead one pocket.

I think playing playing 50 games ahead would showe somr caracter.

Do you think that anyone could go the distance.

Viffer whats the longest session you ever played?


You have two great qualities you are the weakest player and the diggest bettor. Outside off that your OK.

 

[John Brumback]

to get to the top tier you do need to do all the no fun practice things. for most players learning or trying to get better they do not have access to a free table to play on. so paying time at the pool room is expensive to put those hours in.

how many really good players had to pay time to get good?

Good point there.Never thought of that. I guess you have to take the bad to be good. At my pool room years ago people would put their quarters up on the bar tables and If I could keep winning they would keep playing.That's how I got In alot of free hours. It was a quarter a game then.John B.

 

[John Brumback]

In reading this forum and AZ I see a lot of people asking how to play a better game of one pocket.

Here is an example from my past:

When I was 14 I bought the orange Mosconi book for a buck. On page 35 or 37 was a pic of a three ball combo and info on how the third ball would throw the first ball. This was magic to my eyes. For weeks at every opportunity I would practice combos of all kinds to see what would happen. I practiced combo banks to see what would happen. I learned by doing.

How many of you spend 5 or 6 hours a day practicing trick banks, twisters, spin banks? How many of you spend time removing balls from the pocket and using force follow to kill the cue ball and sticking it on the rail. How many of you put up one ball and the cue ball for 6 hours putting them in every conceivable position to see what the best shot is.

Lose a lot of games in the end game? How many of you put up two or three balls and practice shots for hours on end to get the best result.

How about a shot where your opponent has game ball in his pocket and you need to kick behind it with extreme low English and kill the cue ball under the gun? Practice that much?

You can only obtain a certain level by just playing. You must practice alone and try every possible kind of shot until you have mastered them all. One day you will betting your case money and you will need these shots so practice them when the are for free.

Bill Stroud

Sorry for the Interuptions.JB

 

[Artie Bodendorfer]

Good point there.Never thought of that. I guess you have to take the bad to be good. At my pool room years ago people would put their quarters up on the bar tables and If I could keep winning they would keep playing.That's how I got In alot of free hours. It was a quarter a game then.John B.[/QUOTE

No fun practice things. I always had fun practicing because I was learning. I enjoyed practicing more then playing. Because you can practice and learn the things you dont no. And you can shoot it over and over tell you learn it.

Practicing is fun and if you dont think its fun. I would advice you not to do something that isnt fun. Ask Shane if practicing is fun. You couldnt pay him to get off the table.

Not too many good players had too pay time because thier areant that many good players.

What happened to that posieive saying.

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT. Howe do you improve if you dont practice?

 

[lll]

In reading this forum and AZ I see a lot of people asking how to play a better game of one pocket.

Here is an example from my past:

When I was 14 I bought the orange Mosconi book for a buck. On page 35 or 37 was a pic of a three ball combo and info on how the third ball would throw the first ball. This was magic to my eyes. For weeks at every opportunity I would practice combos of all kinds to see what would happen. I practiced combo banks to see what would happen. I learned by doing.

How many of you spend 5 or 6 hours a day practicing trick banks, twisters, spin banks? How many of you spend time removing balls from the pocket and using force follow to kill the cue ball and sticking it on the rail. How many of you put up one ball and the cue ball for 6 hours putting them in every conceivable position to see what the best shot is.

Lose a lot of games in the end game? How many of you put up two or three balls and practice shots for hours on end to get the best result.

How about a shot where your opponent has game ball in his pocket and you need to kick behind it with extreme low English and kill the cue ball under the gun? Practice that much?

You can only obtain a certain level by just playing. You must practice alone and try every possible kind of shot until you have mastered them all. One day you will betting your case money and you will need these shots so practice them when the are for free.

Bill Stroud

my first question is whats the difference between the orange mosconi book and a reddish one i have in paperback???
dont know how many of you are familiar with the 10,000 hour rule
across many activities chess,music ,sports etc
its been shown it takes about 10,000 hours to master something
assuming you have the talent and practice correctly(my 2 cents)
pros are pros because they were willing to do the things necessary to be great

 

[Roy Steffensen]

Good advice given, and it's basically the same no matter what game you play, either 8-ball, 9-ball, 14-1, banks or one-pocket.

You got to put the hours in making balls and practicing different shots.

If you want to improve quickly, the best advice I can give you is to treat the practice as your job. Take notes of what you do, how often you make a ball, what kind of shots you miss etc. After a while you will see a pattern, cause the notes will show you that out of 150 thin cutshots you have missed 70. Then you need to practice those shots for a while.

If you just bang balls around and only play other people, you will only improve a little, and slowly.

You need to put in hours alone.

If you think it is too expensive, get out of the box and think creative.

I bought a cheap pooltable and was allowed to set it up in a building of a local company where I live. The deal was that the company could use it as much as they wanted on daytime, and if they wanted to use it in the evenings or weekends they had to let me know in advance. I had to do trickshots for them once a year + hold a mini-tournament, and in return I got a key to the building and could practice as much as I wanted, whenever I wanted. A win-win situation.

 

[John Brumback]

my first question is whats the difference between the orange mosconi book and a reddish one i have in paperback???
dont know how many of you are familiar with the 10,000 hour rule
across many activities chess,music ,sports etc
its been shown it takes about 10,000 hours to master something
assuming you have the talent and practice correctly(my 2 cents)
pros are pros because they were willing to do the things necessary to be great

I have heard of the 10,000 hour rule but I didn't know It was other sports
and not just pool. Very Interesting.John B.

 

[bstroud]

Boy do I agree with Artie here.

"Practicing is fun and if you don't think its fun. I would advice you not to do something that isn't fun. Ask Shane if practicing is fun. You couldn't pay him to get off the table. "

Practicing is about as fun as it gets. What makes it fun is a players' curiosity.
Wanting to know what happens in any given situation. I think curiosity is one of the characteristics that separate the good players from the great players.

You shoot a shot and something happens. You want to know why. You want to be able to do it again and again until you perfect it.

I just know it works for me.

Bill Stroud

 

[John Brumback]

Boy do I agree with Artie here.

"Practicing is fun and if you don't think its fun. I would advice you not to do something that isn't fun. Ask Shane if practicing is fun. You couldn't pay him to get off the table. "

Practicing is about as fun as it gets. What makes it fun is a players' curiosity.
Wanting to know what happens in any given situation. I think curiosity is one of the characteristics that separate the good players from the great players.

You shoot a shot and something happens. You want to know why. You want to be able to do it again and again until you perfect it.

I just know it works for me.

Bill Stroud

Yep I agree.If you don't like to practice,your just not going to get real good.
The poolroom where I got started (the owner didn't care) but I would get another cue ball from the other bar table and just stand there for hours shooting those 2 cueballs around.I think I might have learned as much doing that as anything. John B.

 

[lll]

I have heard of the 10,000 hour rule but I didn't know It was other sports
and not just pool. Very Interesting.John B.

here is afew links to alittle more about the 10,000 rule
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outliers_(book)
http://hubpages.com/hub/10-000-Hours--The-Awesome-Power-of-Practice

 

[Artie Bodendorfer]

here is afew links to alittle more about the 10,000 rule
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outliers_(book)
http://hubpages.com/hub/10-000-Hours--The-Awesome-Power-of-Practice

THier is no time limit. Its howe much you learn and who is teaching you.

Time is eralavant.

IF you have the ability a good teacher that reay knowes how too teach. it will not take long.

Certain games take a lot longer because thier is a lot too learn..Howe long do you think it would take me too teach Alex too be the best player in the world?

Or shane we no he plays good but he has a lot too learn. oR Corry Duele

OR Mikon Imonon Does he even play one pocket. A nother player Appelton.

Or Nevile. Do you think it could be done with any off these players. I would even yake Johnny Archer.

Do you think it can be done?

 

[duck]

In reading this forum and AZ I see a lot of people asking how to play a better game of one pocket.

Here is an example from my past:

When I was 14 I bought the orange Mosconi book for a buck. On page 35 or 37 was a pic of a three ball combo and info on how the third ball would throw the first ball. This was magic to my eyes. For weeks at every opportunity I would practice combos of all kinds to see what would happen. I practiced combo banks to see what would happen. I learned by doing.

How many of you spend 5 or 6 hours a day practicing trick banks, twisters, spin banks? How many of you spend time removing balls from the pocket and using force follow to kill the cue ball and sticking it on the rail. How many of you put up one ball and the cue ball for 6 hours putting them in every conceivable position to see what the best shot is.

Lose a lot of games in the end game? How many of you put up two or three balls and practice shots for hours on end to get the best result.

How about a shot where your opponent has game ball in his pocket and you need to kick behind it with extreme low English and kill the cue ball under the gun? Practice that much?

You can only obtain a certain level by just playing. You must practice alone and try every possible kind of shot until you have mastered them all. One day you will betting your case money and you will need these shots so practice them when the are for free.

Bill Stroud

I do. I enjoy practicing all those shots. I enjoy more putting them on people in money games and watching them melt.

A lot of people don't know that when Efren was asked how he knows so many magical shots he said he watches bangers and when they do something unexpected he goes to the table and practices that shot until he can do it on purpose.

 

[NH Steve]

I do. I enjoy practicing all those shots. I enjoy more putting them on people in money games and watching them melt.

A lot of people don't know that when Efren was asked how he knows so many magical shots he said he watches bangers and when they do something unexpected he goes to the table and practices that shot until he can do it on purpose.

I remember Jimmy Fusco saying something like that, too. Learning something from watching fluke shots.

I think the key to the advice bstroud laid out is to focus on something when you practice. Focus on it until you know the ins and outs and limits of the shot -- until you own that particular situation. Of course most of us need to start with common situations -- only the super elite get to where they have mastered the common and the rare, and now they only find new material in the flukes, lol.

 

[Skin]

In reading this forum and AZ I see a lot of people asking how to play a better game of one pocket.

Here is an example from my past:

When I was 14 I bought the orange Mosconi book for a buck. On page 35 or 37 was a pic of a three ball combo and info on how the third ball would throw the first ball. This was magic to my eyes. For weeks at every opportunity I would practice combos of all kinds to see what would happen. I practiced combo banks to see what would happen. I learned by doing.

How many of you spend 5 or 6 hours a day practicing trick banks, twisters, spin banks? How many of you spend time removing balls from the pocket and using force follow to kill the cue ball and sticking it on the rail. How many of you put up one ball and the cue ball for 6 hours putting them in every conceivable position to see what the best shot is.

Lose a lot of games in the end game? How many of you put up two or three balls and practice shots for hours on end to get the best result.

How about a shot where your opponent has game ball in his pocket and you need to kick behind it with extreme low English and kill the cue ball under the gun? Practice that much?

You can only obtain a certain level by just playing. You must practice alone and try every possible kind of shot until you have mastered them all. One day you will betting your case money and you will need these shots so practice them when the are for free.

Bill Stroud

Bill, you left out the spot shot! Now there is a shot that can be dogged under the gun, yet making it is pretty much independent of the equipment except maybe for dirty/sticky balls.

You're going to play like you practice, imo. If you practice sloppy, you'll develop a lot of bad mental habits that will haunt you during a match.

Skin

 

[demonrho]

A lot of people don't know that when Efren was asked how he knows so many magical shots he said he watches bangers and when they do something unexpected he goes to the table and practices that shot until he can do it on purpose.

Yeah, I was watching Efren not too long ago after he had just won a gambling match. His entourage were sitting around celebrating and ordering beers, but instead of joining in with them Efren was totally focused on watching this newbie banging balls around on a table trying to do trick shots. You could just see the wheels turning in Efren's pool brain.