How To Practice & Play Pool

• Billiard Articles Main Page

How To Play & Be Consistent in Billiards

Players who are not serious with billiards often complain that something must be wrong since they are not being consistent in improving their game. These are the same guys who play once a week.

Ocassionally, they get spurts of gold with a few 3-4-5 ball runs, and yes they somehow get into position for a second shot, but they aren’t advancing on their own personal "King-of-the-Hill" the way they would like and seriously are expecting.

If you are like most people, you are probably caught up in the rat race of life working at least 40 hrs a week and stopping by the same old 8-Spot for a night with your boys sparing about four hours of practising pool. In the nights that we practise the game, we tend to slough off as well at least get in some good practice. Does this go through your mind when playing?:-

• Lack of table time and practicing is affecting my game to where my stroke is not always consistent and my position player is off.
• I'm expecting a lot myself yet I'm not practicing enough

If it was that easy, then we'd all be playing for the IPT million dollar tournaments!

When you migrate from practising billiards and onto the real game, bear in mind a couple of things:-

• When practicing, you are learning
• When you go to the pool room for a game, league play, or a tournament, your mindset must shift to competition mode.

Practice is a systematic form of training coupled with repetition. Practicing not only makes you a better player, but also a better person. Practicing consistently stretches your performance to and heightens your ability.

When practicing your billiard game, pay close attention to yourself. Know why you are training and what you're trying to learn. Find your weaknesses and maximize your strengths. Since billiard practice is a personal issue, it all depends on your lifestyle. If you are the type of person that works 40 hours a week, have a family and you play matches 2-3 times a week, your practice time is most likely where the pinch will occur.

For you billiard practice to have any meaning, make the most of every time you have a chance to play. Some of us have the the time to practice for 3 hrs per day, 7 days a week. Some of us can barely push in 3 hrs a week, Since the main aim of practising is to eliminate your weaknesses, develop a plan that will increase your strengths.

Another thing - make your practice more effective by making it progressive. In order for you to maintain your interest in on a weekly basis, it must be challenging. Each drill you adopt needs to grow harder as you improve. When you can consistently run 4-5 balls, up the ante to 10. When you are very effective at half-table cut shots, move on to 3/4 table spot shots. Only as your drills grow in difficulty, will you begin to master the easy ones.

Reg Hardy, The Monk’s Apprentice is the site owner of http://www.billiardscrossing.com