Greetings! I hope that the breaking techniques I gave last time were of some benefit to you. We now move on to some short range pocketing and positioning drills. A few years back, I came across a book entitled "Shoot Pool" which I purchased during some vacation time in Singapore. It was authored by Mr. Ian Pannell, an authority on both pool and snooker in far off England. He clearly emphasized in his book, the importance of "pace control" and its proper application during practice sessions and game play. How true, whichever way it swings, be it playing for a key positional shot in running out or playing a good safety shot. Try shooting the cue ball down the length of the table a few times and see if you can get the feel of how fast the cloth may be and how strong the rails react. Always do this before playing or during practice sessions, it will give you a good warm up for what to expect during game play. I know of some Filipino pros who make it some sort of ritual before engaging in hard fought money games, so should you, if you desire to achieve victory with every encounter. Only LOSERS complain that the table was responsible for their loss. Remember, it will always be your responsibility to check the standard of playability of any pool table you wish to play on.
We now go on to the drill I have for you today. Place five object balls on your table, as shown with the diagram below. Take your first shot with ball in hand. You may shoot any ball into any pocket, there is no specific order. The objective is to clear all five balls without missing, upon doing so, give yourself a "point". Try to score five points with this drill and see how long it takes you to complete it. In the event of a miss, you must replace all the balls back to their starting positions and try again. Sounds easy? I beg to differ. Nothing is easy with playing pool, it only looks easy because all the great players give more than sufficient time for practice and develop so much patience during their earlier days of learning. So should you, if you desire to become stronger.
