Good Practice Routine.

[dpdubai]

Just thought I'd share this one, my games moved up another minor step after spending just a few weeks solo practice on it.

Its very simple, colours on the spots last red over the middle bag with a simple stun angle on for the blue to give position on the yellow. (Or play black to yellow if you prefer).

The object is to clear the table and go until you miss, my best is 110 which was clearing 3 times in a row then to the green on the 4th attempt.
I played a bad positional shot to the brown and wobbled it.

It has really helped me in league games when I'm in this situation I'm now very strong at clearing up from the last red or couple of reds. Before I wasn't so good only managing it now and again.

Give it a go if your looking for a new routine and let me know how you get on.

[gazza147]

Sounds Good as too be Honest when I was Practicing alot I used to Do Line up 70% of the Time and maybe 15% on Colours and 15% on Playing Black or Blue into the Pack and Opening them.

The thing is Line up is Good but you dont Really get that Situation in Real Game but good Practice.


Gaz.

[dpdubai]

Sounds Good as too be Honest when I was Practicing alot I used to Do Line up 70% of the Time and maybe 15% on Colours and 15% on Playing Black or Blue into the Pack and Opening them.

The thing is Line up is Good but you dont Really get that Situation in Real Game but good Practice.


Gaz.

I think everyone's been there with the line-up at one point or another. I know I spent a long time working on it knocking in 100 breaks thinking it was only a matter of time before i could do that in frame. As you say the balls dont sit like that.

Clearing the last red and colours is often needed in a frame though and if you replace balls and just keep going you get that same kind of flow you get practicing the line-up.

Also with line-up your always playing for choice of reds and even choice of colours, high and too close on the black? Aww well the pinks on to the middle that isnt always there in a frame where you have to make your break from a single colour.

So I find playing the white over a distance on to a single ball helps my close control shots anyway. Having said all this Im no expert only practicing properly for a year now just found this has helped alot in a short space of time and thought i would share.

[stephen povey]

This is my routines too. If you clear the colours with one red , then try two then three etc. I use the line up a little too to get my timing. straight blues corner to corner with top trying to pot both balls... to see how you are cueing. I find this very helpful a couple of days ago i was not always feathering the same on each shot, so i was very quick and jabby sometimes! After a bit of hard work i am cueing a LOT smoother and the confidence is coming back. Also spreading the balls around the black/pink plus two around the blue and two in baulk is good for shot selection and break buiding.
It is also important to ENJOY your practice or FORGET IT!!!!

[dpdubai]

This is my routines too. If you clear the colours with one red , then try two then three etc. I use the line up a little too to get my timing. straight blues corner to corner with top trying to pot both balls... to see how you are cueing. I find this very helpful a couple of days ago i was not always feathering the same on each shot, so i was very quick and jabby sometimes! After a bit of hard work i am cueing a LOT smoother and the confidence is coming back. Also spreading the balls around the black/pink plus two around the blue and two in baulk is good for shot selection and break buiding.
It is also important to ENJOY your practice or FORGET IT!!!!

I do the long blue with stun, stroke and screw to warm up.

If I hit say 4 out of 5 with stun I'll try a few with top then with screw.
I only ever try to get one with screw though as this is a really tough low percentage shot it just feels good to know you can cue it perfect at least once a practice session.

How many times a week do you work on that Stephen and what improvement have you seen?

I try to solo practice 2-3 times a week for anything between 2-4 hours and I also play a weekly league match. I've seen a step up since starting this routine.

[whufcarl]

I practice something similar, but colours only...
Start on the black to yellow, then just keep going in cycles, from last black back up to the yellow, but put the colours on the spots before playin the black.
i find this really helps your game as i like to play around the black rather than going up for the blue before gettin on to the colours

[stephen povey]

I have only just started playing again, as i have had 2 hip ops in the last 3 years .Now i can play without pain! So i have been putting in around 8 hours a week solo and i am now making regular 40s and striking the ball a lot more solid AND at last the confidence is coming back too!However at my club it is hard to have match practice as the standard is not high, but the more i go down there the more i get to know who is who.
Sadly next week back to work and will only be able to play sun/mon my days off!! As i do shift work on the tube... mind the doors please!! Mind the gap!!

[cantpotforshíte]

Just thought I'd share this one, my games moved up another minor step after spending just a few weeks solo practice on it.

Its very simple, colours on the spots last red over the middle bag with a simple stun angle on for the blue to give position on the yellow. (Or play black to yellow if you prefer).

The object is to clear the table and go until you miss, my best is 110 which was clearing 3 times in a row then to the green on the 4th attempt.
I played a bad positional shot to the brown and wobbled it.

It has really helped me in league games when I'm in this situation I'm now very strong at clearing up from the last red or couple of reds. Before I wasn't so good only managing it now and again.

Give it a go if your looking for a new routine and let me know how you get on.

Thanks for that dpdubai: I like the idea of leaving a red on the table and then going for the clearance, and seeing how many times you can manage it. After all, this is where games are won and lost in our leagues.
How about making it even more like a league game by putting just one of the colours in a silly place each time? (ie. pink near the side cushion, or blue down with the baulk colours, or brown stopping the green from going in it's own corner pocket etc. - change it each time you set them up.)
I think I'll be working on this when I get some time over the next few weeks to see how it translates into match play.

[Cossie]

Good practice for is to play 6 reds with a practice partner, you will find that you will become competent and confident at clearing up with a few reds on. Surprising how many matches you win on the last few reds and colours in matches!