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Professional Pool and Billiards Tips

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Aug 23, 2012 - Akaash Prasad, Anaheim CA

If you're looking for a leg-up for your next billiards match, here are ten tips to give you that extra something that your opponent might be missing.

  1. Chalk It Right – Poor chalking is usually the reason your ball doesn't spin the way you want it to. Before you grab your pool cues from their pool cue cases – very important to protect your cues – and apply the chalk, make sure you know proper technique.
  2. Swing Through – Just like golf, what you do before and after you hit the ball is just as important. Make sure your backswing is slow and smooth. You don't want to bring it back too quickly and rob yourself of time, and you don't want to take too much time staring either.
  3. Get A Ritual & Stick With It – Before you even pick up your pool cues, visualize a checklist in your head of all the things you want to do when taking a shot. Then complete each of those tasks until they become second nature.
  4. Once You Commit, Commit – You've got that ritual perfected so by the time you begin your shooting motion, there should be no hesitation. If you are still thinking of what to do as you pull back, you can be sure that you're going to miss the shot.
  5. Stripes vs. Solids – Playing 8-Ball? Make a strategic selection. Your first move should be to take the billiard balls that give you the best chance to win in your first round. Otherwise, pick the ones that will prevent your opponent from running the table.
  6. The England Rule – No matter what, keep calm and carry on. You're going to have bad breaks and unlucky angles. Don't get mad. Don't show your opponent you're rattled. Just stay positive and you'll get back into the zone.
  7. Nothing Wrong With Conservative – Whenever you're stuck between two shots, take the easier, more conservative one. You're more likely to make it and keep control of the game.
  8. Use Physics, Then Don't – There is a science behind the way to stand, move your arms and hit the ball. But once you start your motion, let go of the science and let your instincts take over. You can be analytical during practice, but the match is all about the moment.
  9. Humidity Matters – The damper the pool table, the faster draw will rub off the cue ball. Keep that in mind as the match progresses.
  10. Breaking Good – Your cue ball should be side spinning, not following, on the break upon impact.
Jun 28, 2012 - Akaash Prasad, Anaheim CA

If you love pool game you must take care of your pool table, here are some important tips for cleaning your pool table.
1. Dust the wood on the table twice a month using a feather duster. Once it is done you can make keep the wood looking nice and dust-repellant by lightly oiling it with a lemon or orange oil but be careful not to spill any of the oil on the pool table because it will cause stain.
2. Check the pockets regularly and specially before start of any game. Debris in the pockets can scratch the billiard ball making them from rolling true.
3. To keep clean the pool table felt is the most important part in cleaning the pool table as it is a bit of dust magnet so it should be protected when not in play with a pool table cover.Never chalk pool cues over the table. The chalk will get ground down into in the felt, get into the cloth underneath and throw off the roll of the billiard balls.
4.Players keep putting their drinks on the side of the pool table where they can easily spill onto the felt or damage the wood so keep a table to keep drinks and food on.
5.Make sure to keep a supply of mild detergent such as dish soap in the box of billiard supplies. This keeps the billiards ball clean and help them rolling true and protect the felt.

Dec 2, 2011 - .. RG.RG

RG.RG

Nov 16, 2010 - ricky doyle, Ada OK

Each and every shot is a separate event. Each event gets the same amount of concentration regardless of how easy the shot is. Always give each event TOTAL concentration.

Apr 25, 2010 - Gregg Green, Acworth GA

When you are playing in match, no matter who you are playing,

Make them invisible, PLAY THE TABLE NOT THE PERSON.

Jan 3, 2010 - Stan Eakins, MI

Every shot is an easy shot IF you controled the cue ball.


Sep 21, 2009 - Darrin Scott Hunter, Cincinnati OH

Simplify your Stroke mechanics.

Think of a beautiful Swiss clock with all sorts of ornate gears that turn. It may be pretty to look at, but every gear is one more reason it can break down and stop working. The fewer moving parts on your body when you hit a billiards ball, the better. Try to leave your elbow up at one point in space and allow only your forearm to move, hanging down from the elbow and swinging back and forth like a clock's pendulum.

Sep 21, 2009 - Darrin Scott Hunter, Cincinnati OH

Always chalk your cue tip after every shot.

Chalking your cue increases friction between the tip and the ball. This is important when you strike the ball at any point other than the center. The chalk will help prevent the tip from slipping off the ball's surface without a clean transfer of energy.

A point of etiquette here: In a bar or social setting, do not chalk your cue once your inning at the table ends. It is the incoming player that needs the chalk!

Sep 21, 2009 - Darrin Scott Hunter

Develop a consistent "pre-shot routine."

Learn to do the same things in the same order before each shot: walk around the table while chalking your cue and evaluate your options, make a shot selection based on the odds you assign to each offensive and defensive option you see, set your feet and body in position for the selected shot, practice a few warmup strokes, strike the ball with a clean and full stroke of the cue, then freeze at the stroke's end position before standing up and watch the cue ball come to a stop while evaluating the shot's results. This soothing, ritual pattern is a major key to developing consistency and also brings psychological comfort in times of competitive stress.

Sep 21, 2009 - Darrin Scott Hunter, Cincinnati OH

Trust your gut instincts.

There is no universal table of statistics that will tell you what the mathematically best option is at any given point in time at a pool table. The truth is that you must make choices based on cold statistics from your past experiences and temper them with a gut check on how confident you feel at the moment. The best shot on the table is always the one about which you feel most certain.

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