Easy 9 Ball layout
John Black
handle this situation"? I'm someone who has played mostly 8-ball my whole
pool career. So what I'm looking for is one or two very easy 9 ball layouts
to start transitioning to 9-ball. I.e. what is a layout that would be
considered a difficulty 1 on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the hardest to
runout. It shouldn't be stupid with everything hanging in a pocket -- it
should be somewhat instructive. I'm thinking of something where medium
speed no sidespin shots pretty much can naturally get to the next shot,
perhaps with top or bottom of course but not extreme. Then when I can run
that layout consistently say 4 out of 5 times, I can move to say a
difficulty 2 layout. Anyone want to post an example?
John Black
Ron Shepard
John Black <jbl...@texas.net> wrote:
I don't have any standard layouts like this, but here is a
suggestion for you to find your own. Try the progressive 9-ball
drill.
You start by throwing out the 9-ball to some random location, you
take cue ball in hand, and pocket the 9-ball. When you succeed,
then throw out the 8-ball and 9-ball, take the cue ball in hand, and
try to run the two balls. If you fail, then go back to the 9-ball
starting point, if you succeed then add another ball for your next
attempt. In general, whenever you succeed, then add a ball, and
whenever you fail you subtract a ball for your next attempt.
Every once in a while you will stumble onto an interesting situation
where you have several choices. Instead of proceeding with the
progressive drill, just take a tangent and work on this particular
setup for a while. Try all of the possibilities to see which one
works best for you.
During the progressive drill I recommend also that you keep score so
that you can follow your progress. I do this with a chart like this:
# | fail |succeed
- | ---- |-------
1 | |
2 | |
3 | |
4 | |
5 | |
6 | |
7 | |
8 | |
9 | |
Keep tally marks as appropriate. Then at the end of the session,
you compute the weighted average of the number of attempts at each
level. This gives you a single number that you can use to monitor
your progress.
Another useful piece of information is at which level are you about
50/50 to succeed. Pro level players will generally be at this level
at 8 or 9 balls, beginners will be there at 2 or 3 balls.
After you have lots of attempts at each level, you can then compute
your success probability at each level. You can then set up the
Markov transition matrix based on these probabilities, and compute
your ideal attempt distribution. You can then compare your actual
distributions to this ideal. Any deviations or inconsistencies will
show possible weaknesses in your game. For example, if your actual
distributions are too heavy with low numbers, then this tells you
that at your current skill level, you should be doing better with
the longer runs than you actually are. You should be able to
improve your statistics without learning any new skills or
techniques just by planning your runouts better.
On the practical side, you will begin to recognize what kinds of
table layouts you have problems with and which ones are easy for
you. This in turn will help your competitive game by telling you
when you should be playing safe and when you should be going for the
runout.
$.02 -Ron Shepard
John Black
@reseller.news.eu.easynews.com>, ron-s...@NOSPAM.comcast.net says...
> In article <MPG.2511f9f72...@news.eternal-september.org>,
> John Black <jbl...@texas.net> wrote:
>
> > Wei is always posting very challenging 9-ball layouts saying "how would you
> > handle this situation"? I'm someone who has played mostly 8-ball my whole
> > pool career. So what I'm looking for is one or two very easy 9 ball layouts
> > to start transitioning to 9-ball. I.e. what is a layout that would be
> > considered a difficulty 1 on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the hardest to
> > runout. It shouldn't be stupid with everything hanging in a pocket -- it
> > should be somewhat instructive. I'm thinking of something where medium
> > speed no sidespin shots pretty much can naturally get to the next shot,
> > perhaps with top or bottom of course but not extreme. Then when I can run
> > that layout consistently say 4 out of 5 times, I can move to say a
> > difficulty 2 layout. Anyone want to post an example?
>
> I don't have any standard layouts like this, but here is a
> suggestion for you to find your own. Try the progressive 9-ball
> drill.
>
> You start by throwing out the 9-ball to some random location, you
> take cue ball in hand, and pocket the 9-ball. When you succeed,
> then throw out the 8-ball and 9-ball, take the cue ball in hand, and
> try to run the two balls. If you fail, then go back to the 9-ball
> starting point, if you succeed then add another ball for your next
> attempt. In general, whenever you succeed, then add a ball, and
> whenever you fail you subtract a ball for your next attempt.
Thanks, I've tried this from time to time. The problem is its all random
layouts. Its not very systematic and real easy to stumble into some super
hard situations. If you ran 3 balls and then failed on 4 balls was it
because of the extra ball or much more likely because the random layout you
threw out was a much harder situation? Adding the 4th ball would have much
more meaning (I think) if you started with the first 3 in the same place and
randomly added the 4th.
My idea is to systematically start with very easy layouts, master those and
*gradually* move on to harder ones. That's how we learn in school, right?
You don't give students random math problems from all different difficult
levels to solve when they are just learning math? So why is it a good idea
to learn 9-ball by throwing out random layouts?
John Black
Ron Shepard
John Black <jbl...@texas.net> wrote:
> Thanks, I've tried this from time to time. The problem is its all random
> layouts.
The random layouts are supposed to mimic actual game situations after
the break shot (or after a few balls have been pocketed).
> Its not very systematic and real easy to stumble into some super
> hard situations.
You can use the random layouts to discover the kinds of shots and
layouts that you have problems with. There may be better approaches,
but I don't know them.
> If you ran 3 balls and then failed on 4 balls was it
> because of the extra ball or much more likely because the random layout you
> threw out was a much harder situation?
Once you learn to recognize the problems, then you can decide what to do
with them in the drill. For a beginner, for example, I would suggest
that all clusters be spread apart beforehand. Clusters in 9-ball are
just too hard for beginners. Intermediate and advanced players might be
able to handle clusters, or at least some of them.
If you miss a runout and you think it was because you made a wrong
choice about how to run the balls, then it is alright to set up the
balls again and try a different pattern. This is part of the learning
process.
> Adding the 4th ball would have much
> more meaning (I think) if you started with the first 3 in the same place and
> randomly added the 4th.
I have not done this, but it sounds like it might be a good idea.
However, you don't want to spend all your time setting up balls,
sometimes you just want to throw them out and get down to business.
$.02 -Ron Shepard
pool101
http://CueTable.com/P/?@3ARra4BUvk3CWEC2DWoP2EAOl1FXrP4GWwM3HIvC4IWdT@
Here is one from a video I watched.
This is as close as I can Remember.
You start with a table lenght stop shot on the 1.
Good Luck
when you are ready I have some more diagrams for progressive drills
and I will try to find the author so I can give him credit.
Mark
Teachmepool.com
bk4...@hotmail.com
> http://CueTable.com/P/?@3ARra4BUvk3CWEC2DWoP2EAOl1FXrP4GWwM3HIvC4IWdT@
>
> Here is one from a video I watched.
> This is as close as I can Remember.
> You start with a table lenght stop shot on the 1.
> Good Luck
> when you are ready I have some more diagrams for progressive drills
> and I will try to find the author so I can give him credit.
> Mark
> Teachmepool.com
I think this example is very illuminating. One thing to note is the 3-
ball through the 8-ball are arranged like a clock face, clock-wise
around the table. This alludes to this particular table being an
"easy" run-out, and is something to look for after the break. Often
there will be two patterns of "easily-runnable" balls with a couple of
connecting shots.
For example, switch the position of the 5-ball and 7-ball and the
clock-face is broken. Now getting from the 4-ball to the 5-ball
properly - so that you can get back out to center table for the 6-ball
- is the key to the rack.
Or what if the 4-ball and 7-ball switch positions? Now good position
on the 3-ball is required because you need to get on the 4-ball very
well in order to get back up table to the 5-ball. I think
identifying these "connecting" shots and using them as decision points
for safety versus continuing the run-out is an important 9-ball skill.
Bob Keller
pool101
John Black
@s6g2000vbp.googlegroups.com>, teach...@gmail.com says...
Thanks for these. They are very helpful!
John Black
John Black
@a39g2000pre.googlegroups.com>, bk4...@hotmail.com says...
Yep, this is exactly the kind of stuff I was looking for. Thanks for your
insights on the run.
John Black