Drills To Improve Your Game of Pool

The first step to improving your game of pool is to have the desire to improve. With that desire, you must practice to your heart's content and through that practice develop your particular playing style. Once that playing style is established, you can then become consistent in what you are doing.

But how do you develop that style and improve upon it?
Well, here are some tips to help you develop into a first class pool player:

1. First, a good drill to develop your cue shot is to take the cue and place the tip in your target pocket to line it up with the ball you want to sink into that pocket. Now you know what line you want to follow to get the ball to the pocket.
2. Second, you want to develop that cue shot. Make sure your forward hand is very stable and that your cue can slide through this hand. Some prefer placing their finger tips on the table and guiding the cue between their knuckles and others like to make a fist and hold the cue similar to a pencil between the index finger and thumb. Each person has their own forward hand preference in keeping the cue stable.
3. Third, you must practice hitting the cue ball. You now have your shot lined up, so you must figure out where to hit the cue ball so that it hits the target ball in the right place to send it sailing into that target pocket. The ideal place to strike the cue ball is slightly below the center of the ball. If you need the ball to go a little left or a little right, you can hit it from an angle, but slightly below the center is most definitely the best place to hit the cue ball no matter what angle you are shooting from. If you hit the cue ball too high, you risk the tip of the cue slipping off the ball and you won't get anywhere. If you hit it too low, you can cause the ball to jump and possibly send it flying off the table.
4. Fourth, you must use your shoulder to make that shot. Keep your elbow close to your body and keep it bent about 90 degrees. This is when you have to figure out how hard to hit the cue ball. Too hard can cause you to lose your aim or cause the ball to jump right back out of the pocket. Too light can cause you to not even make it to the pocket. It is good to practice with various different degrees of force so that you know what your strength is for various distances.

Using these particular drills can help you improve your game of pool. Practice each one without worrying about the other. Once you have one down, you can then put two together and keep putting these drills together until the whole picture is put together. No one has ever picked up a pool cue and automatically known their stance, strength, and the overall geometry involved in playing pool. It gets better with practice just like everything else, which makes it a lot more fun in the long run.

Enjoy,
Pool Sharks Team