drills Dr. Dave's answers to frequently-asked questions
(FAQs),
mostly from the BD
CCB and AZB
discussion forums
maintained for the book: The
Illustrated Principles of Pool and Billiards
and the monthly Billiards
Digest "Illustrated Principles"
instructional articles
Where can I find useful drills to help my game?
Many drills from various sources can be found in the Instructor and Students Resources section of my website.
8-ball bowling and 10-ball bowliards
from WoodMonkey:
(1)
Set up rack and break.
(2) After break, choose stripes or solids and shoot
until you miss (calling all shots). Then shoot the other group until you miss.
(One run on each).
(3) That makes one frame (of ten). Here's how to score:
a. If you don't run out, score just one point per ball made (maximum would be 14, all 7 of each group.)
b. If you do run out, score as follows: If you made a ball on the break, and run out first group, score 30. If you made a ball on the break, and run out second group, score 25. If you don't make a ball on the break, and run out first group, score 20. If you don't make a ball on the break, and run out second group, score 15.
c. If you foul at any time in any way during a run, score 0 for that group. (If you scratch on the first group, take ball in hand for second group.) If you scratch on the break, shoot from kitchen but take 5 off your score for the frame.
d. Safety Play: I also include
a safety play rule so I have an excuse to practice safety play. My rule is that
if I call a safety, I succeed if the ball lands such that my opponent would have
to kick to hit one of his balls. If I do this, I continue whatever run I'm on
with ball in hand.
As with bowling, the maximum possible score is 300.
from marek:
I know a game named "bowlliards". It is played with ten balls and its played like this: you break them and you have ball in hand. If you run them all in one inning its a strike, if you make a mistake you have second inning and if you run them in the second inning its a spare. Simple as that.
from
Bob_Jewett:
Choose a random spot on the table for the object ball and a
random spot for position. The cue ball is in hand. Play the shot the easiest way
until you get within your margin of error (for example, within a hand-span, or
a dollar biil, or covering the exact spot). Then try to get to the same but by
using one or two or three cushions. You could make up a bull's-eye target like
Target Pool has, with high, medium and low scoring areas.
Here is how to select random spots on the table. Get a deck of cards. Stand by the side pocket. Draw a card. Count across the table the number of the card going in 1/3 diamond steps. An ace is next to the cushion you are standing by. A king is at the opposite long cushion. Now draw a card to go up or down the table. A red card moves you to the left 1/3 diamond per count, and a black card moves you to the right. A king-king draw would be in a far corner pocket, and an ace-ace would be the side pocket you are standing by. Put the two cards by the spot that they indicate as a marker.
When you do this drill, you should be able to discover pretty quickly the sorts of shots you have trouble with. Work on them separately with some kind of progressive practice.