How are you improving your game?

[Scrzbill]

My way was buy a house that had room for a pool table and then bought a new one and put it then. Then I sold a house to have enough money to gamble with for the memebers tournament. Now, just sold another house to replace the money lost to Mitch and go again.

[12squared]

My way was buy a house that had room for a pool table and then bought a new one and put it then. Then I sold a house to have enough money to gamble with for the memebers tournament. Now, just sold another house to replace the money lost to Mitch and go again.

The cycle of life. hahaha

[Dennis "Whitey" Young]

Lately I have really been trying to commit to improving my eye alignment over my cue. I think my inconsistent alignment, lack of good follow through, unstable bridge hand, and lifting up while stroking are all things I can improve on and that will help my pool game. I’ve been trying to practice ladder drills and also been throwing 5-6 balls on the table to pocket in one hole.

I’m looking for more ways to improve my 1p game.

What are you doing to improve your game? Some may be satisfied with their level of play and that’s all good. I mean really improve...I’m not talking about just playing an opponent to practice. Also I’ve heard people say that gambling will improve your game and I believe that to a certain point, but it will only get you so far.

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

[lll]

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

whitey
they do this at dcc for money
i think the pros get to 50-60 in 5 tries
maybe someone who knows for sure can say whats the average among the pros

[Billy Jackets]

Shotmaking drills . I miss too many shots that I should make .
I know in my mind that it is confidence mostly.
I was never a great ball maker , but I made the ones in my range ,since my health went downhill, I now make less than 50% of the shots I used to make.
Not paper thin cuts across the table , balls 2 feet from the pocket and just off straight in are not gimmes.
It's a horrible feeling to never know if you will make the shot , so you steer them , then you get angry and hit everything at warp speed, eventually you go back to doing the best you can on a given day and hope tomorrow will be better.
I am improving! Even though my body has been in rough shape for a long time. A lot of the shoulder pain is gone and some days my back is bearable, thank God, and I can play a little.
If I had the stamina to do 3 or 4 hour stretchs of just pocketing balls I might get back to where I was 20 years ago, when I played my best .
Till then I will do the drills and be glad for any improvement.

[vapros]

I can play a little one-pocket, but I have never been a good shot maker. I have an aiming problem - I don't see the shots correctly. My left eye is not only the dominant eye, it's the only one in use, and always has been. My vision is good, but all my seeing is done with one eye. I have no depth perception at all. I tend to under-cut going to my left and over-cut going to my right. I have to try to make aiming adjustments, but as a result I am shooting at shots that do not look correct and I often make little adjustments in my stroke - without intending to. Often I get down on the shot and then stop looking at it - look only at the cue ball - and that helps a bit, but it seems like a poor solution.

What am I doing to improve this? Make a suggestion . . .

[Kschexnaydre1]

Set up a straight in shot about 4 diamonds away and practice drawing the cue ball to the back rail, it will work on your stroke, alignment, tip placement and shot making. All around good drill

[darmoose]

I can play a little one-pocket, but I have never been a good shot maker. I have an aiming problem - I don't see the shots correctly. My left eye is not only the dominant eye, it's the only one in use, and always has been. My vision is good, but all my seeing is done with one eye. I have no depth perception at all. I tend to under-cut going to my left and over-cut going to my right. I have to try to make aiming adjustments, but as a result I am shooting at shots that do not look correct and I often make little adjustments in my stroke - without intending to. Often I get down on the shot and then stop looking at it - look only at the cue ball - and that helps a bit, but it seems like a poor solution.

What am I doing to improve this? Make a suggestion . . .

We all lose ball pocketing skills as we age. There is no guarantee that you can get them back no matter what you do. That doesn't mean you shouldn't try, if you can see a reasonable expectation for improvement based on the effort you are willing to make.

But, you should not overlook improving your game (win/loss ratio) through mental strategies like adjusting your risk/reward analysis, more moving and less shooting at your hole, defensive strategies like trapping and trying to minimize your opponents opportunities, while maximizing his mistakes.

Bottom line is you have no choice but to play with "what you brung", unless you like losing (some do). You can gain confidence through executing skills that don't necessarily involve shooting at your hole like you did 30yrs ago.

Course, there's players that won't like playing with you cause they don't get to shoot as much as they think they are entitled to.

[jrhendy]

We all lose ball pocketing skills as we age. There is no guarantee that you can get them back no matter what you do. That doesn't mean you shouldn't try, if you can see a reasonable expectation for improvement based on the effort you are willing to make.

But, you should not overlook improving your game (win/loss ratio) through mental strategies like adjusting your risk/reward analysis, more moving and less shooting at your hole, defensive strategies like trapping and trying to minimize your opponents opportunities, while maximizing his mistakes.

Bottom line is you have no choice but to play with "what you brung", unless you like losing (some do). You can gain confidence through executing skills that don't necessarily involve shooting at your hole like you did 30yrs ago.

Course, there's players that won't like playing with you cause they don't get to shoot as much as they think they are entitled to.

I gamble weekly with a couple young players I have basically taught to play one pocket in the last couple years. We usually play $50 a game and it started out with them getting 9/7, 8/7 and now they are giving me all I want playing even. They were already very good rotation players and once they started thinking a little bit like a one pocket player instead of going for too many shots, their game went up a ball or two.

One of them got a little froggy and decided to play for $100 a game and finally quit because I would not go for balls he thought I should be trying to make when I had the ball count lead. I told him when you get paid more $$ for winning faster I might start going for them.

I find the older I get the more aggressive I want to be. Maybe it’s because as I lose my ball pocketing skills, I want to convince myself I still have it when deep down I know I don’t. I still have my moments, which is why I keep playing, but at my age there are days where it seems I lose focus and the harder I try the worse it gets.

[darmoose]

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.

I gamble weekly with a couple young players I have basically taught to play one pocket in the last couple years. We usually play $50 a game and it started out with them getting 9/7, 8/7 and now they are giving me all I want playing even. They were already very good rotation players and once they started thinking a little bit like a one pocket player instead of going for too many shots, their game went up a ball or two.

One of them got a little froggy and decided to play for $100 a game and finally quit because I would not go for balls he thought I should be trying to make when I had the ball count lead. I told him when you get paid more $$ for winning faster I might start going for them.

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 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 find the older I get the more aggressive I want to be. Maybe it’s because as I lose my ball pocketing skills, I want to convince myself I still have it when deep down I know I don’t. I still have my moments, which is why I keep playing, but at my age there are days where it seems I lose focus and the harder I try the worse it gets.

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.

[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 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.