Pool Student’s Ramblings #3
Two days ago I played in a 6 Pocket regular weekly event and had my best night ever. I know my measly 109 for 10 innings on a 9 foot table isn’t exactly awe-inspiring, but I was quite happy with it.
For those of you who don’t know, 6 Pocket is an all offense game where you get ten chances at the table, and every time you come to the table, you start with a fresh rack of 15 balls. You break hard and then get one shot after the break to run as many balls as you can; any ball, any pocket, any order. It’s a call shot game and your turn is over when you miss, foul or scratch. Balls made on a scratch or foul don’t count, nor do balls made on a break where you scratch (they spot).
The things that made me feel best about this performance were that I had one inning where I chose to take a shot at the first ball that would make it hard to control the cue ball, rather than take the one point penalty and get ball in hand in the kitchen. This greed was costly, since I got hooked and made only 2 for the inning (I’d made one on the break). With a smarter approach to this decision I should have made quite a few more than two, though it certainly isn’t a sure thing.
the more intense focus really gave me extra confidence, and I could feel it from half way through the 1st inning until the end of the game.
The second, and most important, thing was that I was able to concentrate on staying down and focusing on the object ball better than I’m usually able to do. My patterns were solid, with minimal ball movement required. But the more intense focus really gave me extra confidence, and I could feel it from half way through the 1st inning until the end of the game.
I had practiced two simple stroke drills a couple hours prior to the event, each with object balls 3 diamonds up from the foot rail and the cue ball two and 3 diamonds further up table. First I made a series of long straight in follow shots, trying to scratch in the same pocket, and second I made a series of long straight in draw shots, drawing back to the head rail. I shot 50 each, follow and draw. In each of these drills I kept my attention on two things above all else: staying down and visualizing the line from the object ball to the entry point of the pocket. I think helped me with my concentration later in the evening. I was just seeing the balls into their pockets.
Lastly, I was happy with my performance in the last inning. I needed to get a 13 to win. Too often I play well and fail at the end, but this night I was confident and I ran all 15 for the win. I was a great night, but I’m going to work on remembering why it went so well so I can repeat the performance.
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2 Responses to “Pool Student’s Ramblings #3”
Jarno Virtanen
- February 9th, 2010
Fargo is a great practicing game too. It’s basically similar game, but you can switch to rotation at any given shot and you start scoring two points per ball after that. (You can’t switch back to random phase after you’ve switched to rotation.) It represents more strategic options and offers a little bit more challenge.
Of course, it isn’t meant to replace 6 pocket or anything else for that matter, but I’ve found it to be a great practicing game for the most popular games, 8 ball and 9/10 ball. When you start becoming proficient enough to clear the table in random phase now and then, you should start looking to switch to the rotation phase well before the rack ends.
I’ve advertised the game on our local pool community and a few players have started practicing it. It’s way better than straight pool for practicing 8/9/10 ball, because the layout is so much closer to the typical layout in those games.
And like 6 pocket and other similar games, it really pumps up one’s focus, because you can’t start shooting recklessly or otherwise you start getting those frames of just couple of points. You have to focus on each and every ball, just like you need to do in league and tournament matches.
The rules are here:
http://www.pro9.co.uk/html/RulesFargo.php
Mike Page has a video post on Fargo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHj6KUw8xzE&feature=channel
John Biddle
- February 9th, 2010
Jarno, I have practiced using Fargo and I like it. Fargo’s twist, namely the ability to switch to rotation play, really distinguishes it from 6 Pocket for better players. Knowing when to make the switch is very important, but can be tough. Balancing the desire to make double the score per ball against the extra difficulty of getting out is tricky at first, but that, itself, can be a learning opportunity.
Your point about focus is an excellent one. The simple act of keeping score really ratchets up the pressure. On the early shots you have to be very careful not to get hooked and get a very low score, and as you work your way through the rack you want each ball that much more, to finish. As you work through multiple racks, you’re competing with your past performances, trying to make a new high, or at least beat your average.
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