Below is a wonderful article from our friends at Billiards Digest going through 50 tips for improving your game. After you're done reading, don't forget to check out our entire billiards instruction section which includes dozens of training tools as well as free training articles from Samm Diep, Liz Ford, Jennifer Barretta, Emily Duddy, Tom Simpson and more!
It's fair to say that doling out your own advice to others - whether they ask for it or not - is considerably easier than swallowing someone else's medicine. But we promise you'll profit from listening to these pearls of wisdom compiled from the archives of Billiards Digest.
Here are five of the top pool minds in the game:
Fran Crimi, master instructor with the Billiard Congress of America, has 10 tips on basic preparation;
Bob Jewett, one of the sharpest technical minds in the business, explains the physics of pool;
Larry Schwartz, two-time national team 8-ball champion, shows you his winning strategy on solids and stripes;
Grady Mathews professes more one-pocket wisdom, and
George Fels, one of pool's greatest writers, brings you up to speed in 9-ball.
Grady Mathews: One-Pocket
1. When you're conflicted over which of two moves to choose, pick the more conservative one. I'd say you'll be right close to 75 percent of the time.
2. The entire game of one-pocket resides in the cue ball and nowhere else. I'll gladly forgive you for missing a relatively easy shot into your own pocket as long as you leave the other player safe.
3. Any time you're banking towards your own pocket, do what you can to see that the object ball comes to rest on the short rail if you miss. There's no return bank from there.
4. In responding to your opponent's break, frequently there will be an open ball on your side quite close to the corner of the rack. Be alert for billiards, or what I call "split shots."
5. On long straight-back banks, especially in endgame, the desired destination for the cue ball is not only the end rail, but also no closer to your opponent's side of the table than the middle of that rail. Farther over than that, and you're at risk of leaving a makable bank yourself.
6. In breaking, the cue ball should have more sidespin than follow at the point of object-ball impact.
7. By all means learn the diamond system, at least the basic "Corner = 5" one. Multi-rail kicks can extricate you from some hideous traps, starting right with the game's breaks.
8. If you're contemplating a long bank where the object ball is at least one ball's width from a short rail, and cue-ball control seems to be a problem, think about a kick instead. You sacrifice some accuracy, but it's much easier to kill the cue ball - and remember, it's the cue ball, not the object ball, that's paramount.
9. If a shot is absolutely straight-in to your opponent's pocket, that's a sign that the ball can be banked into yours with no danger of a kiss.
10. Cross-over bank shots introduce spin to the object ball because of the cue ball's direction, not what you put on it. Unless you absolutely need English on such a shot, don't make things any harder on yourself.