Ultimately a pool player needs to have accurate perception of pool shots at all the different angles. So it kind of makes sense that you should run through all the angles in a practice session so that you can start to “see” all of them. Well, yes and no. Yes because of course this will help you, it will be good, actually great to become familiar with all the angles. The more time you put into that the better.
And no, because just moving through the angles relatively quickly can cause you to gloss over the depth and quality of a practice session that could have been devoted to only one angle, one shot. Or one angle and many “shots” relating to cue ball position off of that one angle.
To say it simply, practicing one shot till the cows come home (sprinkling in different cue ball destinations) will actually increase your perception and ability to make balls on all of the other angles. You’ve got to trust me on this one and try it out for yourself. See the diagram on page 59 in Zen Pool (below) if you have the book or eBook, this is from the chapter Cue Ball Compass…
Take a shot like the one below and work on it for an hour. Do it so much that you forget how many sets of 15 balls you shoot. I call this “hitting buckets healthordisease.com of balls” type of practice. This is the kind of practice that improves your game for life. It also helps you get out of a slump. It increases your accuracy and your body awareness. It improves your grip, bridge, stance, setup, focus, shot-making, and cue ball control.
When you do practice one shot in this way, you simply start to see all the shots and all the angles with more accuracy.
It does not have to be the shot below. Create your own shot to practice. Do a few, or do one new shot every day. This will make you so good it’s insane…if you are dedicated to actually doing it with full concentration. Don’t talk to people who would distract you. Brush them off or ignore them. Seriously. Get to work. And then buy them a beer when you knock them out of the next tournament 😉
Copyright 2006 Max Eberle
Enjoy this one and work hard.
See you soon…
Max Eberle
PS: Ready to double your skill? Join propoolacademy.com for 1 buckaroo, or save over $90 and get tons of bonuses today… CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE