Page 1

On this first version, you have to drive the cue ball to the foot rail and out again for your next shot. You cannot hit the side rail.

The two main objectives for your cue ball are to bring it down table far enough to get on the correct side of the next ball, and to stay in the middle of your half of the table. If you get too close to the centerline you might not have a shot and if you get too close to the rail you make cueing much tougher and you could easily get a bad angle on the ball.

If on any of these shot you don’t pocket the ball, start over, don’t push the ball into the pocket and go on. Mistakes have consequences. Keep the pressure on yourself just like in a match. Evaluate any misses you make. Did you have the wrong aim, the wrong english or the wrong cue ball speed? Or was the error actually on the previous shot which left you in the wrong position? If you use inside english, remember that the cue ball will slow up off the rail, so you might need to hit it a little harder.

Shoot in the 1 Ball and go on to page 2.

Page 2

Now fire in the 2 Ball with a touch each of high and left. Hit it hard enough come down table for a good shot on the 3. You have to compensate in your aim to account for the english or you’ll miss the ball. This route to position has the advantage of a large margin for error if you go long, but if you’re short you’re screwed. Remember that when you’re figuring out how hard to hit it.

Page 3

Shoot in the 3 Ball just like the other two. You want to go far enough past the line on the 4 to give you the same shot on it you had on the 3. Remember to come down table far enough so you can reach the ball without needing the bridge.

Page 4

When you shoot the 4 Ball, pick a spot for the cue ball, just like you did for every other shot. Don’t let up; shoot for specific position on every shot. That spot should not be too far from the rail on the 5 ball side of the table so the transition to the 6 Ball is easy.

When you can run this variation of the drill successfully 3 times out of 5, it’s time to go on to the next variation on this theme. When you can do them all that well, it’s time to make them a little harder or to raise your standards to 4 or even 5 out of 5.

Page 5

Pocket the 5 ball using high right. Don’t go too far or the side pocket could bite you.

Page 6

Make the 6 Ball with high left and move the cue ball to the other side of the table but don’t scratch.

Page 7 – Raising the Bar

If you find this variation too easy, or if you’ve gotten enough better to breeze through it, just keep the rules the same and add three more balls to the row.