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Do you wish to become a professional billiards player and join the ranks of all time greats or at least be in the same league as champions.  There are many who have made it to the top by virtue of their talent and sheer hard work.

Apart from playing the game earnestly, you also need to take care of certain finer points. For example, joining a club of professional billiards players or interacting with state level players would give you an insight on how the game is played on professional level. Participating in tournaments that attract maximum viewer attention and are extensively covered by international channels like World 8-Ball Championship, 9-Ball Challenge and U.S Open One Pocket Championship and is the perfect way to enter the realm of professional billiards.

Professional billiards players look up to a win in any of these tournaments. You also tend to earn respect amongst the followers of the game. Following the career of these players would give you an idea about how to chalk out your career plan and go about it. Finally but most importantly there is no other alternative to continuous practice and it is the key to becoming a professional billiards player.

Photo © Ljupco Smokovski - Fotolia.com

Billiard practice drills are practice modules to impose better perfection and control over the game of the players. Before start playing with billiards drills-practice module, you should better set you own goal for the year, otherwise the repetitiveness of the practice drill module may hamper on play style.

The popular billiard drill practices are:
When the ball is thrown on the table, in any order, you should run 100 balls consecutively.
You need to run 100 balls without making a miss without allowing the cue ball in touching a rail.
Running three successive sets of 13-ball exercise without a single miss
Running three successive sets of 12 ball exercise without any miss
Running one set of the 14-ball exercise without making a miss
Scoring a 16 or higher in the 8-ball mid term exam
Scoring a 16 or higher count in 9-ball-mid –term exam
Shooting 100 stop shots, keeping apart 3-4 diamonds into pocket of the corner without making any miss
Delivering 20 successful stun shots without making any miss
Delivering15 uninterrupted 2-7-2’s, connecting the diamonds, and stopping the cue ball within a CD diameter of the center of the table
Shooting all lessons from the Lesson in order with maximum five misses
Shooting 25 sets of the 4-ball exercise without making any mistake in the session

These practice drills will ensure a consistence in performance and ideal technique for the beginners as well as for the average players. We cannot count the masters for their practice skill because they are genius and genius designs his own way to practice.

For more info please take a look at www.themonk.com/

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Checking the difficult balls first

What are your difficult balls, where are they at and what will it take to sort these situations out.

On your opening shot after the break take a good look arond the table.  Are there any balls stuck to a rail,
blocked by other balls or locked in a cluster.  How can you make these situations good. Can you cannon these balls
after a pot.  Will they free up with a small nudge or will it take a larger impact to make the shot.
Will the opponent do this for you.  If they need to free their own balls from your then why not let them do it.  Makes sense.

On the practice table try pocketing one ball and making an impact with another.  It takes practice at first but then you start
to get a feel for the shot.

Remove the difficult balls then you have a real chance at the run out.  Balance the game, don’t let the opponent take the initiative.

Make them play the game your way

Photo © Jeff Wilson - Fotolia.com

I’ve been using Tallisman cue tips for around 2 years now.  I’ve found that I get a much better contact with the tip now, improving accuracy and consistency.

The tip itself which I use is a ’soft’ tip.  I use the soft tip as I personally feel it reacts better.  It’s all personal taste though.  I now feel that I get the consistent hit which I have sought after.

Talisman Billiards is owned by Tony Jones.  He has clearly done his research when manufacturing a pool cue tip.  Tony also sells other billiards accessories.

I play pool but does anyone ever use these on a snooker cue or carom cue?  What are your views?

http://www.talismanbilliards.com/

Two of Asia’s finest 9 Ball players will be present in order to give an exhibition of their skills at the GBE 2009 Billiards Exhibition.  You will see Wu Chia Ching and Lin Yuan Chun perform to their highests level.

The GBE 2009 organizing committee invited Wu Chia Ching and Lin Yuan Chun to attend the GBE 2009.  Wu Chia Ching is 9 Ball World Billiard champion, 8 Ball World Master champion, Wei Lai Man Professional champion and so on.   He has earned the nickname of ‘Taiwan Taishan Mountain Wunderkind’ because of his great skill level.   Lin Yuan Chun, nickname as  ‘Women Killer’, is a Taiwan billiard professional player. She is the champion of 2008 Amway WPA World Women’s 9-Ball Championship, Korean Women Professional Championship champion etc.

Want to see their excellent performance?  Please contact the organizing committee to know more information here:  http://www.gbechina.com/index_e.asp

Ever heard of a pool table on a boat?  Well check this video out.  Its a gyroscopically balanced pool table.  I have to say that it does look amazing and seems to play quite well.  If anyone knows who makes this table we would be interested to do a full review.

Newman, Cruise and a whole lot of pool action

Martin Scorcese directs this sequel to the 1961 film ‘The Hustler’.

Anyone who fails to get excited by the start of the opening line ‘Nine-ball is rotation pool….’ must not appreciate pool.  It is the beginning of the cinematic

The ‘Color of Money’ is certainly a more modern take on the game than what the ‘Hustler’ showed us.  This duality has without a doubt enriched both films, as I believe they compliment each other perfectly.

The camera angles are fantastic and there are a few shots to look out for.  I especially like the shot as the camera looks down on the hall of tables (I think there are around 30?) or when ‘Fast’ Eddie is getting his eyes tested.  Cinematography at its best.

‘Pool Excellence is not about excellent pool, it’s about becoming something’

The music in the film is provided for by artists such as Mark Knopfler, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Don Henley, Robert Palmer and of course not forgetting Warren Zevon.  The songs fit perfectly to each scene e.g. the Warren Zevon ‘Werewolves of London’ scene.  The music helps set up the atmosphere of the film with it’s dingy backroad pool halls and bars.

At the end of the day the films mean different things to different people, but to me both movies were about regaining faith in your art, pool in this case.  The ‘Hustler’ and ‘The Color of Money’ are very different films based on the same subject spaced 25 years apart.  Some people, like me will love ‘The Color of Money’ but there are going to be others who don’t want to destroy the purity of the original.  If you’re a pool player that wants to watch a pool film without cringing then you should seriously consider adding this to your collection.  All we need now is a really good special edition.

Buy the Color of Money DVD here:
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk

Buy the Hustler DVD here:
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk