Playing pool is a fun hobby to get involved with. If you are trying to really elevate your game, though, it is time consuming and difficult. Here are some tips on taking up the best practices, as well as ideas for how to get to that next level.

What is your end goal for pool?

Are you expecting to play competitively? Or are you just looking for an edge over some friends? Take this into account before you move forward with getting better at the game. This will impact the amount of fun you can have practicing a great deal. You’re going to have to dedicate time in either case, it just depends on what the focus is and which is more fun for you. Simply answering this will give you a few key areas to improve on, and you’ll be able to decide yourself what would be best to learn. In any case, a great spot to start is the importance of defense, and angles in general.

Playing angles well and learning defensive strategies will change your game immensely when played correctly. If you utilize your knowledge of angles and the best positions to take control from, you’ll see that the game comes more easily against difficult opponents. In contrast, you will also need to put them at disadvantageous positions as often as possible.

When you are stuck and feel as though you may not have a good shot, consider how you can set up your opponent to be in an even worse spot on their turn. This is a fun mentality to practice, as it will often set them up to perform poorly and give you easier opportunities at shots.

However, you don’t want to purely rely on this. Do your best to use angles as well to take best shots you can. Also, contact placement will determine the success of your shots a great deal as well.

Trying tricky billiards challenges for fun

There are a ton of practice drills that operate to improve your game. These will give you advanced preparation when preparing for strange angles, better shot placement, and playing defensively. These drills will target different abilities, like aiming, jump-shots, strokes, controlling your speed, etc. Give these a try when you have time to practice, and ensure you have time dedicated to practice rather than implementing them into a regular game.

When can I practice?

If you have a table yourself at home, this is the best way to practice and really improve your game on your own. Quiet, plenty of time, and tons of room for trying different strategies. However, live-action games also have a ton of worth as well. If you get too used to playing against yourself, you won’t be able to really see the dividends of extra effort.

Playing with other good players – This will be huge for maintaining your ability. Regularly practicing will only make you so good, as gifted opponents will test your ability to react and really work with difficult angles under pressure.

If you anticipate you want to move forward with getting better at billiards, we’d love to help you on your journey. Give us a call today to learn more about our custom table options. We’ll work through the expectations you’ve set for improving your game and how best we can suit those needs. We’re looking forward to hearing from you soon!