Billiards
With
Briesath
Tips For Staying In
Mid-winter Form
By
Jerry Briesath
It's getting to the middle of the league season now and you want to work your way up through the
standings so you can get that trip to Vegas. Getting your game up to top form requires frequent self
checks. For instance, have I missed too many easy shots in the last few weeks and what angles do I seem
to have problems with. If you see a pattern, go to a table and work on those shots.
Remember, missing an easy shot gives your opponent a free trip to the table. Not very many games are
won because you make a very tough shot but rather most games are lost because you missed a shot you
should be able to make.
I'm going to give you the definition of an easy shot. If the cue ball and the object ball are on the same
end of the table and the angle of the shot is 45° or less you must make them all. If you miss any of these
shots practice them until you don't.
Another thing to think about is banking. I think you'll find that most of the banks you miss are short of
the pocket. If that's the case, start hitting your banks as if you are going to bank them a little bit past the
hole then you will make a lot more banks. Try this and you'll see that it works like magic because nine
out of ten banks are missed short of the pocket.
Another thing to watch closely is the break. If you are like most eight ball players and try to hit the
front ball dead center, watch what the cue ball does after it hits the front ball. If it bounces straight back
towards you and stops, you hit it perfect. If it flies to a rail at high speed it means your accuracy was bad
and you lost a lot of energy into the balls. Usually you will be consistent, if the cue ball goes left off the
front ball three times in a row start changing your aim a little bit. And if the cue ball goes to the right at
high speed three times in a row change your aim a little bit to the left.
Pro's are always tweaking their break to get the cue ball to do what they want and when you hit the front
ball dead center you want that cue ball to bounce straight back at you and stay in the middle of the
table. If the cue ball does not hit a rail you hit it great.
Good Luck - Jerry
January · 2012
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