Good 9-Ball Practice

[Steve Lipsky]

Here's a little practice drill for 9-ball that I have found quite useful.

Just use the cueball and any object ball, and place the object ball about 6 inches off any rail. From wherever the cueball lies, practice kicking with precision. Not to make the ball, just to leave the cueball and object ball in awkward positions.

The idea is to bring your kicking game to the point where simple 1-rail kicks, with an object ball close to the kicking rail, are good positions for you. When you are faced with these situations in a game, you must feel like you have the best of it.

When you are comfortable getting a precise hit, vary the shot with topspin and draw to see the different effects on the cueball. Also add additional object balls, and see how well you do hiding the cueball after executing the kick.

When you add these shots to your arsenal, a lot of the weak safes your opponent plays are at least nullified, and often reversed into a losing position for him.

- Steve

[Tom_In_Cincy]

Steve.. I like it.. a lot..

Good practice drills are always handy.. thanks..

[CarolNYC]

Tap!TAP!TAP!
Carol /ccboard/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[jjinfla]

Practice? Ve don't need no stinkin practice! Just slam the balls because 9-ball is nothing but luck. LOL Jake

[Eric.]

Sounds good, Steve. Just to add to your idea, here is another kick that comes up often:

START(
%An7S7%BK2T0%CF8Q6%DM0K3%EY3O7%F]4S8%GS6W8%HR9K8%IL8N7%KP0^4
%LO9_0%MP4^6%NL7^4%OQ0^5%PJ6M9%WC9I6%XO5P9%YH2C8%Z B9H2%[q3T3
%\I6D0%eB7a3
)END

Seems like the 2 rail kick comes up alot. Especially when I'm playing you(thank you very little) /ccboard/images/graemlins/laugh.gif


Eric

[phil in sofla]

Good tip. Even as much as kicks come up in regular play, doing something like this in a concentrated way would make for a lot more practice in a short period of time. Sorta like playing a whole game of banks, or safes (you score if you leave the cue snookered on the low ball on the table), or caroms (Irish billiards).

Going one rail to kick, if the ball is close to the rail, I use a mirroring system, imagining the ball past the rail (off the table) as far as it off the rail on the table. And then, I aim to a side of the ball I'm seeing off the table. That seems to work very well once you get used to making a virtual ball appear in your mind's eye an equal distance off the table.

That breaks down for me somewhat when the ball I'm kicking to is too far off the rail, since I find it hard to localize the virtual ball exactly as far out as the ball is off the rail much beyond 2 diamonds. Those I use a different technique for.

[Steve Lipsky]

Hey Eric. Don't you think the 3 rail kick in the situation you describe is better (i.e., same general path, but hitting the 1 from behind)?

It makes for a bigger ball, plus you're almost a favorite to leave your opponent safe (assuming all the other balls are where you placed them in the diagram).

- Steve

[Eric.]

There ya go, making me think again!

Actually, I(personal preferance) like to kick to the left side of the one. I figure if I hit it good, with enough speed on the CB, I'll cut the 1 in and roll up for a look at the 2. If I hit the one too thin, the 1 banks to the end rail and the CB goes up table. If I hit it really bad (long), I still have the 3 rail kick you mentioned.

JHMO.

Eric