Practicing One Pocket

I am learning to play one pocket, the lessons are starting to get expensive at $10 a game, seeing how I don't beat anyone right now. I have a question for some of you one hole veterans. How do you practice one pocket? I practice my banks every day and safeties, but I really need to learn how to move. One thing I practice is breaking and then consequently reversing the break, but I was wonderring if there were other things I could be doing to sharpen my game. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I think what is great learning tool is accu-stats videos.Learned a lot of moves watching Joiner,Reyes,Dalton among others.I practice there moves on the table and it's cheaper in the long run then learning them the hard way by losing your cash to better players.

Eight & Out said:

I think what is great learning tool is accu-stats videos.Learned a lot of moves watching Joiner,Reyes,Dalton among others.I practice there moves on the table and it's cheaper in the long run then learning them the hard way by losing your cash to better players.

Click to expand...

8&out is right, Dog. Any tape you can find with Ronnie Allen in it has to be of help too. No one on earth ever moved any better than Ronnie did. There are even tapes of Ronnie spotting people by playing one handed.

Grady Mathews tapes are very educational too. Keep hitting re-wind on the shots you find amazing. Then go out and try them.

Hi Hemi,

I would find a cheaper game for one. The best way I could suggest would be to get your cross corner banks down to a science. Maybe, work on the shot right after the break by reversing the shoe as you said. That's good. Another game might be carom pool or play polish pool. I know it sounds crazy but this game is about being on the right side of the ball and placing the cb. Not about making balls but getting close is good.

Force follow is a great tool used quite often. Not always at 90 mph but simple shots like this,

START(
%AH9N2%BK9R4%CC6G9%DJ2J8%EJ4N2%FJ4Q9%GH1J6%HH9K7%IG7M9%JE4G4
%KG2N9%LE3L4%ME3T5%NH0Q5%OJ2E7%P^2V8%UD6F1%VH3C4%WK0D4%XK8C5
%YI3D3%ZJ1E0%]L5D5%^]5V4%eB4`5
)END

Maybe, play reverse rolls with one ball on the table. Find another beginner and teach them how to begin then, you both can learn as you go. Save the money player for when you need that extra pressure later.

Regards,

C.C.

Chris Cass,

That is one hell of a shot. You use force follow to hit that? I'm gonna try that shot tonight a couple time to get use to it. Last night I played 3 of my friends that know the game but 2 of them arent the best decision makers so i give them 10-6 or 11-5 depending on how i feel. then i played my other friend who always goes back and forthe with me and i play him even. well lastnight i won all 7 games i played. Ive been getting better expecially playing teams against the old timers at the pool hall beating them 5 out of 6 games till they quit. not playing for money but pride on the line as 2 young guys beat the old timers bad. and people were there to witness this and now me and my friend lou have to beg for a game if we wanted to play for money at any point. or go into a game that is next to impossible for us to win.

Thanks

Thanks

Thanks for some of the suggestions, any more would be greatly appreciated. I am going out to Hard Times today, got to see Ronnie Allen play yesterday and some other great players as well.

Hi Chuck,

Dude, sounds like you killed your own action. Anyway, your game sounds sporty. When you do shoot this shot don't load up on it in the least. I used the term force follow to make you think of where to hit on the cb only. So many think you must load up and it's not the kind of friction you need to overcome. That shot is really a must know and I think with your record I can see you need to add this in your arsenal.

You could always play two against just you. I watched a match where Ronnie Allen played Keith and another player. It seemed that the other player was a spot for Ronnie instead of a disadvantage. LOL That's what makes Ronnie a winner. I see now why he won so much. He never made any bad games. LOL

BTW, the tape also shows him shooting every now and then some one handed shots too. He also never stop running his mouth. That's a thing I've noticed with a lot of one pocket players. They'll even slap their leg making you think they're selling out when in actuality they're wanting you to take the shot. LOL Look out.

Regards,

C.C.

Hi Bigdog,

That's a good answer to your question. Your welcome and I wish we could sit at HT's and discuss the game as we watch them play.

Regards,

C.C.~~

First and foremost, watch good players and pay attention.

Then: Practice your break
Practice your banks
Practice lagging a bank to your hole
Practice thinning balls and reversing back into the pack
Practice ducking the cue ball
Practice the stun shot
Practice rolling the cueball onto other balls--speed is everything
Practice patience - everytime before you shoot, study the rack so
you don't miss a dead ball or leave one for your
opponent
Take a lesson from a true one-pocket player
Pay attention to your mistakes. It amazes me how often some players
make the same mistake over and over giving up free shots,
scratching, or moving up table and leaving a dead ball.

Get tapes and read books and play as much as possible.

Chris,
Thanks for the tip. I use that shot last night a couple of times and the first time I did load up on it pretty good. Good news was i pushed 3 more balls by my pocket and cue ball wound up a couple inches from the top rail on his side. I played my same friend that i play even and it just seems like he cant win now. I'm finding dead balls i never seen before and using the pack more to my advantage. I guess i am just seeing the game much better.

bigdog. Try once a week to play a little 3 rail billiards. Get some old guy and play him a little first to 15 for the time. A lot of the older gentlemen at my pool hall just love the game and are just dying to give you an earful about how to play it. They arent looking to take your $10 since most of them are retired and dont need it. This will definitely help your one pocket game. You will start to see the 2 rail, 3 rail safes and kicks. The effect english has on more than one rail, etc. Its what made Efren so good. His best game is known to be Balkline. A Carom game.

Get more weight play cheaper pay for lessons however the first thing you need to do is learn the game of pocket billiards if you can’t run at least 50 balls you are going to have a tough time learning one pocket it’s the hardest game to learn ....

Gettherack said:

pay for lessons

Click to expand...

An old thread but ongoing subject. I went directly to a 1p instructor. Playing "A" players for cash would only drain me with small table returns. Everyone learns differently... I enjoy a series of lessons. Works for me and I recommend them. Aside from that..watching good players is everything.

To play One Pocket respectfully you need to practice all disciplines of pocket billiards and become somewhat masterful, for One Pocket played correctly or masterfully requires this knowledge and execution. As Keith Thompson has posted: play straight pool, for it will advance your One Pocket game immensely.
Straight pool brings to the table the art of; combinations, kiss shots, tight positioning, opening up clusters, and the inherit sense of running balls.
Play Banks: a little practice goes a long ways. In yesteryear banks was essential for 9-ball was shoot-0ut, and you either had to know banks or be out of the money when it came to 9-ball. Players really had to bank, now days IMO players do not have this banking skill level developed for 9-ball is now more of a 3 cushion hit and safety game.
Play 9-ball if you want to get better at making shots, and moving whitey over distance.
Practice kicking: I believe Ronnie Allen stated that this is the most important discipline in One Pocket. If you can kick, your game will be up there! The game of One Pocket is so dependent upon this, I just can not stress this enough. It will require a fair amount of work, learning diamonds systems of full table and half table, and one rail kicks are even more important, for you not only have to hit the ball but you have to hit the part of the ball you want to hit. So practice this, it is really worth it.

I see you seem in practice to stop after you have turned the break around, I would suggest to always play the game all the way through. If this is to boring, I would suggest breaking the balls softly by hitting the head ball and letting the cb drift slightly to your scoring pocket side of the table, and then start running balls, and see how many balls you can make in one pocket. Do this for 5 racks. I always enjoyed this practice to get out of the doldrums.

Strong fundamentals is the basis for getting better, IMO! Good Luck! Whitey

This is all good information but always remember that the stronger move in One Pocket is to run out.

Practice running balls in one pocket. Break up the balls loosely and run as many as you can. Keep at it. Learn to break up clusters as you go along. Set goals. Keep track of how many you have run. Keep trying to better your record.

When you can run 8 to 10 or more on a regular basis the rest of your game will come along.