I imagine most people here are great pool shooters. I’ve come up with a bunch of tips that help improve your pool game that a lot of people just do not think about. These do not teach you to play, but they can easily help you turn a couple of those missed opportunities into incredible shots.

Counting back from ten:

10. Confidence: A lot of people do not realize it, but if you approach the table and each shot with the utmost confidence, you’re sure to make a couple of those harder shots. I’ve seen a huge difference in my game, even when playing some of the best shooters I know, just from confidence. I went into a very difficult APA match on Monday a little scared and that helped cause me a loss that night. However, I was practicing Thursday, playing against somebody much better than my APA opponent, one of the best in the tavern I go to, and I ran the table within a few minutes, simply because I went in with confidence and a plan.

9. Walk through the game in your head: That’s the plan I just mentioned. When you’re faced with your first shot, think it through. Look at all available shots and figure out what pocket each shot will go in. Figure out where the cue ball should go after that shot by the way you’re shooting it and what shots that will leave you with. Do not make a shot until you’re sure you’ve accounted for every possibility. It doesn’t take long.

8. Cue ball placement: That cue ball can be your own worst enemy. I’ve been on a roll but then stopped myself by placing that cue ball in a horrible spot behind balls blocking all my shots. If I had hit it a little harder, a little softer, or at a slightly different angle, the cue ball would have placed in a much better place.

7. Don’t show off: Yes, you’re a very good player. Nobody doubts that. You like to show off, I’m sure. I do. If you show off, you can miss a shot. Don’t be afraid to make the safer cut shot instead of a nasty bank shot if possible. I am prone to a little showing off every now and then myself, so I understand the desire to fool around a little. If you’re really trying to win that game, showing off is counter productive at best.

6. Play it safe: One of my favorite things to do is play smart. Against a better player, I like to shoot safe shots. (Playing a “safe” or “safety” is when a player shoots a legal shot that is intended to place the cue ball in a position that causes an impossible chance of the opponent making a shot.) Sometimes you can give up a risky shot or one you cannot run the table with by playing a safe, which may force the opponent to mess up and leave you in a much better place, or, even sweeter, give you a ball-in-hand.

5. Follow through: If you poke at the ball like it’s a smoldering coal in a charcoal grill, you will get nowhere. Hit firm– not necessarily hard– just firm. Follow through slightly as if you are shooting through the ball, not at it. Combined with that is not hitting too hard.

4. Chalk up your stick: You can miscue if your stick is not chalked properly. Some players chalk after every shot. I do. I do it for two reasons. The first reason is that you are much less likely to miscue. The second reason is that I can take the time to look at the table and plan while I am chalking up my stick. Taking that breathing room to chalk up your stick forces you to take plenty of time that you can use to look, think, and calm your mind down.

3. Place your hand on the stick in the right place. Too many people hold their cue stick closer to the butt of the stick. Hold your stick loosely in the insides of your fingers allowing it to tip at the heavier end. Balance it so it doesn’t move unless you do, and then choke up about three or four inches so the butt end is slightly weightier if you try to balance it. That is arguably the best place to shoot from. It may seem weird at first, but it gives you much more control and reduces stick vibration in the middle of the shot.

2. Focus: The band, music player, or jukebox may be playing your favorite song. You may be in a strip club with the obvious distractions. Your buddy may have just said, “Hey! Let’s do a round!” It doesn’t matter. Until you make that shot, the only thing that matters is that shot. From the time you have eyed up a shot until the time you complete the shot and the balls stop moving, keep both eyes and your undivided attention on the table.

1. Slow down: Don’t make shot after shot real fast. Slow down, look at the table, figure out ball movement and cue ball placement. Have you ever heard a pool player say, “bang-bang-bang-bang”, referring to making shot after shot? Don’t actually try to do it that fast. take your time, measure up your shot, check out what shots you will have when that shot is done. Chalk up your stick after every shot if it helps slow you down.

So, let’s get started:

Credit: ExpertVillage.com and YouTube

Well, that was a great overview, but most of the time when shooters want to curve a ball, it is when they have NO shot, and want to curve around an obstructing ball to get to the shot they want. This happens a lot on the eight ball when your opponent is someone who knows how to play a good safety. (For readers who don’t know, a safety happens when a player plays a shot, not intending for a shot to necessarily go in the pocket, but more to place the cue ball in a horrible spot for the opponent’s next shot, or to put their object ball into the way of the opponent’s next shot. Most pool players say that is “playing a safety,” or more simply, “a safe.”)

Here’s an example of how to get around that:

Credit: ExpertVillage.com and YouTube

I know, I know. I use a lot of ExpertVillage.com videos. I’m hoping to soon get more of a variety of sources for videos, and in the near future begin to make my own.

In the meantime, here is a great video of the most incredible curve I think I’ve ever seen. (Remember, I play all the time, and I play with some incredible shooters in two pool leagues. None can curve like this.) I like how it curves nearly immediately, it curves directly into the eight ball, and it looks almost artistic. Especially with obstructing balls so close, that took years of practice.

Credit: YouTube

I’ve begun to get hooked on Dr. Dave Billiards. He brings it almost down to a geek science, which is great for learning. I’ll let him close out my lesson with two videos:

Large, short distance curve:

Credit: “Dr. Dave” and YouTube

I like how he addressed the potential damage driving the cue stick down at the ball can create. It’s really the truth. If you look at a bar table that hasn’t had the felt replaced in a while, it looks like garbage, for this reason. Luckily, my home tavern replaces the felt just about when it starts to look like garbage and they take care of their tables.

Practice that shot and get very good at it on garbage bar tables before you go messing with it on a good table, especially your own. I would much rather simply miss the shot or try a crazy bank shot before I go leaving lasting marks on a multi-thousand dollar investment.

Small, slightly longer curve:

Credit: “Dr. Dave” and YouTube

It was a very slight curve, and much more likely in a normal game, even a bar game, than the others I have shown you, so I had to add that in. I hope it helps. As I get better at writing on this site and can make my own videos, I will begin to explain things more thoroughly and then make my own videos to back them up.

Last but not least, I found a great place to learn the best secrets of playing 8 ball. (Click the link to go there.)

I’ll probably go out to practice again this Monday, and I’ll come back on Tuesday with some new tips and tricks I want to write about, unless you all have suggestions on something good to write about.