Summer School Edition (5/15/12)

I've gotta tell you.  I've seen a lot of training videos here at PoolDawg and while all the ones we carry have good information, the DVDs from Runout Media are seriously the bee's knees.

First off, you're getting lessons from literally the best pool players in the world.  Mika Immonen, Earl Strickland, Darren Appleton just to name a few.  Then there's the quality.  These videos are the tops when it comes to production.  We even have sample clips on the site for you to check out.  You will not be disappointed.

I love training videos, but there's nothing that beats taking those lessons and trying them out on the table.  Training balls pretty much immediately let you know whether or not you're hitting the ball correctly since you can see if the ball is following the correct path, spinning and rebounding the way you intended.

Instead of just practicing though, these balls actually teach as well.  They show you where to hit, how to hit and some even include additional training manuals.

Yes, this is expensive.  Yes, it is totally worth the price of admission and I'm going to tell you why.

One of the biggest reasons that people don't improve is basic mechanics.  You can hit a million balls, but if you hit a million balls with a bad stroke, you're just going to reinforce bad mechanics.  The CueTrack literally forces you to use proper form when hitting the ball.  It is precision engineered and will absolutely change the way you play pool.  

I really shouldn't play favorites, but the Ultimate Pool Challenge is seriously my favorite game on the market.  In addition to being a really fun game for a bunch of bangers like myself to get together and play, it also take the monotony out of practice.

The way the game works is pretty simple.  The deck includes 52 different situational shots.  You make the shot, you get the points.  You miss the shot, your opponent can clean up and steal the points from you.  The shots range from pretty simply to insanely difficult, so it works well for all levels of play.  If you're really, really good though, there's the Advanced Series that was developed with Mike Massey to really challenge top level players.  They're $19.95 each or you can get both for $37.95.