How are you improving your game?

[chicagomike]

Mike, a friend of mine that practices a whole lot and he had also taken a liking to One Pocket, called me up, and asked; "how do I get to the next level". Now, he is mainly talking about 8-ball and doing better at bcapl regionals.
Well, I knew he practice a lot so i could not tell him to practice although that is the key, until you start getting burned out then your are done! So I gave him a old hustler OP game that I use to do. This I thought would give him a challenge plus spike his mind and make it active again, and its fun.

You break the balls towards your corner pocket and try to leave yourself a shot at the hole. Then start shooting until you miss and that is your score. A scratch or foul is counted just like in the real game of op. Take 5 breaks and the total balls scored is your score. Top players play to a count in the low to mid 20 balls.

My friend has never looked back since then, and now has won a championship, and is one of the most consistent players in regionals'. There is nothing like running all 15 balls! Good luck! Whitey

Thanks! I’ll give it a try!

 

[chicagomike]

John,

Your accomplishments since I've been following you, starting with when you and Ghostie played in Chicago in 2013 (I think), have always been admirable and probably unmatched by anyone your age. I also envy your golf game and your being able to play Golf at your home room, even though I've never actually seen you play or been able to play in a game with you. I had hoped to in Chicago last year but it never happened.



You've told this story before and I love what you tell them when they complain about your shot choices. Where do they get the hutzpah to say that to a kind, harmless, old gentleman like you :heh:heh or even to a crabapple like me, I wonder. When I hear that complaint I say"shoot at your hole more, it will end faster, I promise


I think we play this game because we love the competition and we love to win. When we lose that, we quit playing. Fortunately, OP offers more than one way to be competitive and to win. We have no choice but to play with what we brung and within our capabilities. For me, focus and confidence are all important. They used to come from firing balls in, now they come from other places, or they don't come at all.

I hope I can be competitive and keep enjoying the game as years pass on like you guys can...already I’m experiencing back pain after long sessions and rely heavily on wearing glasses to play. I miss way more than I feel I did several years ago,but maybe it’s just because I don’t play as much. I’m glad you guys can still play at a level that allows you to be competitive and enjoy playing.

 

[Cory in dc]

I hope I can be competitive and keep enjoying the game as years pass on like you guys can...already I’m experiencing back pain after long sessions and rely heavily on wearing glasses to play. I miss way more than I feel I did several years ago,but maybe it’s just because I don’t play as much. I’m glad you guys can still play at a level that allows you to be competitive and enjoy playing.

Here's what improved my game a few years back: multi-focal contacts! I can't stand glasses and pool but my regular contacts weren't offering precision across near and far shots.

You need an eye doctor who really knows what she's doing and has a real sports focus. Multi-focals give many degrees of freedom: near prescription and far prescription for each eye. So the doctor needs to really understand what you need for pool (precision, but not rapid adjustment like, say, ping pong), how aiming works, and how that interacts with eye dominance. My doctor gave me a different prescription than he would have for just living life and working at the office. It's not quite as good for that, but it's better for pool. Basically, it's completely optimized for vision at 18" to 10' (at least, as close to completely optimized as possible without reversing the aging process).

I know the wrong doctor will be bad for this because I tried to switch to a well-regarded ophthalmologist near where I work. He was confused by my prescription and gave me a new one that was worse than what I had before. So I went back to the master and got set up correctly.

With the multi-focals, I buy daily lenses and keep some in my cue case and car. That way I can always switch from glasses to pool mode.

Note: I'm farsighted. I presume this would work just as well for nearsighted folks but I'm not certain.

 

[chicagomike]

Here's what improved my game a few years back: multi-focal contacts! I can't stand glasses and pool but my regular contacts weren't offering precision across near and far shots.

You need an eye doctor who really knows what she's doing and has a real sports focus. Multi-focals give many degrees of freedom: near prescription and far prescription for each eye. So the doctor needs to really understand what you need for pool (precision, but not rapid adjustment like, say, ping pong), how aiming works, and how that interacts with eye dominance. My doctor gave me a different prescription than he would have for just living life and working at the office. It's not quite as good for that, but it's better for pool. Basically, it's completely optimized for vision at 18" to 10' (at least, as close to completely optimized as possible without reversing the aging process).

I know the wrong doctor will be bad for this because I tried to switch to a well-regarded ophthalmologist near where I work. He was confused by my prescription and gave me a new one that was worse than what I had before. So I went back to the master and got set up correctly.

With the multi-focals, I buy daily lenses and keep some in my cue case and car. That way I can always switch from glasses to pool mode.

Note: I'm farsighted. I presume this would work just as well for nearsighted folks but I'm not certain.

Thank Cory...I’ll look into into it. Do you have any issue with eye fatigue after wearing contacts all day or do you switch them out during course of a long day? Do you wear hard or soft lenses??

 

[Cory in dc]

Thank Cory...I’ll look into into it. Do you have any issue with eye fatigue after wearing contacts all day or do you switch them out during course of a long day? Do you wear hard or soft lenses??

No fatigue at all. 12 hours with the contacts is better than 12 with my glasses (progressive lenses). I keep drops in my case but never use them, though I'm never in smoking pool halls these days. Soft contacts, daily disposables (they're more expensive but I don't use them every day). Your eye doctor should be able to give you samples to try out. But I can't stress enough that you need a real sports specialist.

 

[lll]

we have had discussions on eyeware for billiards
there are places where they will make your prescription specific for pool where the main focus is from 3 feet (cue ball frozen to the rail you in your stance)
and 12 feet
pm me if interested

 

[Tylerbob]

After 60 years of playing, I doubt there is going to be much change in my mechanics. It is what it is. What I am working on is the mental aspects of the game, mainly focus and strategy. Tom Wirth's book has provided a wealth of information and food for thought. After studying a situation and reviewing the options, I jot down notes on how I might incorporate some of the concepts in my game.

Before I go to play a match I review my notes, then after the match I critique how I used them. One example,, "When you have an opponent in a trap, keep him there." My natural tendency was to try to run as many balls as possible, but I sometimes let my opponent off the hook. Better to pass up a shot and keep the trap set. Easier said than done for a nine ball player!