[plazkut]

I have been trying to learn straight pool. Does anybody have any suggestions to help me. I play mostly by myself at home and it get real booring fast. Any ideas would be helpful
Thanks
Plazkut

[Demondrew]

plazkut, on Aug 5 2009, 07:28 PM, said:

I have been trying to learn straight pool. Does anybody have any suggestions to help me. I play mostly by myself at home and it get real booring fast. Any ideas would be helpful
Thanks
Plazkut

Straight pool is my favorite game.

Other than just trying to run a lot of balls set up a drill routine.

I like to throw three balls out on the table with the cue and determine my out pattern from where they lie. If you have problems with this, start by giving yourself ball-in-hand. This gives you a setup ball, a key ball and a break ball. Don't wory about reracking when you shoot your break ball, just get used to putting it in the pocket. (This gets you watching the object ball go into the pocket and not watching the cue hit the rack. A guaranteed way to get you to miss the ob is to not watch it into the pocket.)

After you do this for a while play the ghost for full rack patterns. Give yourself a break shot and cueball in-hand and open em up. Try to identify your setup ball, key ball and break ball as early in the rack as you can. Get balls off the rails and clusters broken out as early as you can, too. Keep your cueball movement to a minimum. When you miss setup a different break shot and do it again.

And find someone to play with. It makes it a whole lot more fun, even if your taking a whoopin' learn from how they are playing. Try to anticipate what shots they will take.

Good luck, but be careful, it's addictive!

Andy

And my bane is back cuts, I have to practice them ALOT. Try back cuts at different speeds it is amaizing how soft you can hit a back cut and still have it go in the pocket.

[MitchAlsup]

I have 2 suggestions:

1) practice a game I call double call. In this game, you call the ball and pocket and also call your next ball. This forces you to position the cue ball so that you can make this ball next. By doing this your position game is greatly improved.

2) Close your eyes, walk around the table and take the balls out of each pocket in turn and roll them out onto the table. When all the pockets are empty, open your eyes and run the table from where ever the cue ball lies. This teaches you how to get into position from she-itty positions you might receive when an opponent misses. Since you are not watching the balls roll out onto the table various clusters form and you need to solve these to run out. {Does not teach the cracking of the rack problems of real 14.1 though}.

[Cracker Barrel Gizmatchi]

You can check Youtube...

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=g7xaswNVXBc - 14.1 drill


But yea look up on youtube for some drills and how to videos. You can find a lot of stuff there, Also search
metacafe and google...

Good luck

[plazkut]

Cracker Barrel Gizmatchi, on Aug 28 2009, 02:35 AM, said:

You can check Youtube...

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=g7xaswNVXBc - 14.1 drill


But yea look up on youtube for some drills and how to videos. You can find a lot of stuff there, Also search
metacafe and google...

Good luck

Thanks, i'll try them
plazkut

[FASTLARRY]

plazkut, on Sep 2 2009, 12:23 PM, said:

Thanks, i'll try them
plazkut

Drill one, damn nice one, but I would do it different, I would not rerack or leave a ball on the table, you want to run 9 and out IMHO. And all balls must be potted in the two bottom corner pockets, only.

[Pin]

I sometimes play 14.1 to practice on my own, and I've found 3 things make it much more enjoyable. Not knowing how good you are or how much you've learned about the game, these suggestions may or may not benefit you:


1. Learn a few common break-shots and pick your break ball early:

Lots of instructional books will give you examples of good positions to leave break balls in 14.1. Picking one early, leaving it where it is until you're ready to open the next rack, will make you *far* more effective in transitioning between racks.

I can't tell you how pleased with myself I feel when I make a run that spans the last few balls of one rack and the first few balls of the next. (I'm not a tremendous 14.1 player and don't play very often, but here in the UK I'm the only person I know who even knows the rules of 14.1, let alone plays the game. So my standards are more experimental : ) )


2. Don't get into safety battles (unless you really want to work on safety).

For me 14.1 is about practice at running balls. Occasionally I'll play safe, but 90% of the time I take the aggressive or adventurous option because that's the reason why I'm playing the game. Usually I'll start the game by blasting the opening break and count anything I sink as part of my run. If I end up with a crappy layout on the table instead of playing nip-tuck against myself I might just develop the balls into better positions.


3. Look for your combinations, banks, cannons, plants and kisses (and more).

A little noticed dead plant might be the easiest shot on the table after you've spotted it, but it will still probably give me more enjoyment, a bigger sense of achievement and more pool-room kudos than a delicate, long, tricky cut shot. 14.1 gives you more of these shots than other pool games and they're so much fun. It's a very creative game.


Bonus suggestion:

If you're ever struggling with a layout, re-rack and start again with the fun bit. When I play snooker and run out of reds it's often possible to spend a long time chasing individual balls around the table (the last red, and repeat until sick of cuesports for all the colours. Snooker can be a tough game to an infrequent amateur player). Paying for table time to be made to feel so bored, frustrated and inadequate would be retarded, so after not very long I usually rack up a fresh frame and start again with a full pack of reds to work with.

This situation is less common in 14.1 because the game isn't such an insummountable ballache (*ahem*). But if you do find yourself in that situation, don't beat yourself up. Start a new rack and skip to the enjoyable bit!