You just started playing pool and realized that you need a little practice. It is always good to practice, even for playing socially. It’s fun when you impress your opponent.
There are many things you can do to help you improve, whether it is at home or if you are at a bar. Find out the best tips for practicing pool in these settings.
11 Tips For Practicing Pool Alone
You can practice pool alone anywhere, whether at home or the bar, to help improve your form, grip, and all the other basics. You don’t always need a pool table, either.
Here are some tips to help you practice on your own, with or without a table, at the bar, or even at home.
Learn The Basics
Always practice the basics. This means figuring out the grip, holding your pool stick, and hitting the balls. When you learn the basics, you can excel more quickly.
It is good to know how to align your body, and complete a shot with the right form. If you practice the wrong form, this can not only mess with your shots but it can be bad for your posture and body.
Watch Pro Matches
Watching Pro matches is especially useful when you are a beginner. You can observe their form, their strategy, how they grip their pool sticks, and so much more.
You can learn the rules this way as well and it can help you see shots from a new perspective. This can help you in so many ways and best if you are a visual learner.
Use A Pool Simulator Game
Use a pool simulator game. This can help you learn the angles and how to make shots. It doesn’t give you muscle memory practice but it can help you learn strategy.
It is also a great way to get familiar with the game when you don’t have a pool table and want to learn while you are sitting in a waiting room or just need quick refreshers of the game’s dynamics.
Try The Bottle Practice
Bottle practice is great for home use when you don’t have a pool table. You will need a pool stick or something similar so you can practice your shot and a bottle.
To practice with a bottle, this is what you need to do:
- Set a towel down with the bottle on top horizontally.
- Adjust the towel and bottle to whatever shot you are practicing.
- Get into position using the correct stance, grip, body alignment.
- Practice your stroke.
Your cue tip should go into the bottle when you hit the shot correctly. This shows your accuracy and will help improve it.
Practice, Practice, Practice
Practice a little bit every day to improve. Even when you do just fifteen or twenty minutes a day. It will allow your muscles to memorize the correct movements and soon do it naturally.
Practicing your stroke is crucial. You can know what to do and what shot to make but unless you can execute the stroke, you won’t be able to follow through with the shot.
Schedule Rest Days
Although practice is key to becoming a better player, you need to schedule rest days. You don’t want to get burnt out by over practicing.
It is also recommended to let your muscles rest. You don’t want to strain your muscles and ligaments from over practicing. A little rest will do you some good so you can come back refreshed.
Practice Bridges
Bridges are the type of shots you will make playing pool. When you practice these shots, it will help you with your basics. The two most common bridge shots are: open and closed.
Beginners will use the open shot while experienced players can use the closed shots. There are many other types of bridge shots that you can practice and you can even do this with bottle practice.
Find A Good Stance
Figure out what is a good stance for you. There isn’t one stance that is perfect for everyone. But you should have your feet about shoulder width apart and your dominant foot a little forward.
Try to angle your back foot a little bit for more support and power. Most people have it at a 45 degree angle but you can adjust this to best fit you. Play with it to see where you are comfortable.
Watch Yourself
Whether you are at home or at a bar, you can try watching yourself. This can be done in front of a mirror or you can record yourself.
When you record yourself, you can go back and see if your form is off or if you are making a mistake you weren’t aware of. It is also a great way to ask advice from more experienced players. They can watch the video and give you pointers.
Visualize Yourself
Visualizing yourself is more important than you think. When you visualize yourself playing pool, your muscles will soon follow. You can do the shot with more fluidity. Manifest your success!
See yourself using the correct form and completing shots that may be a little more difficult for you. If you can see yourself do it, it increases your probability of being successful. You’d be surprised.
See The Imaginary Line
When you are able to see the imaginary line, you can see how to hit the cue ball to make a ball go in. This will better your skill at getting the balls into the pockets and your accuracy.
If you are unable to see it, try using the pool simulator games to improve this technique. You can set the game up so you can see the line and angle of how you should hit the ball.
Outro
Whether you are practicing in your mind, at home, or at a bar, there are so many ways to improve your game. Practice those basics and don’t forget to have some fun!