Advice for an APA 7 - Pool & Billiards VOD Reviews #2

In this video I take a look at a submission from an APA 7 who is looking to become a 9. I give some advice on position, pocketing, fundamentals, and breaking. The player is playing against the 9 ball ghost, breaking and then taking ball in hand to try and run out in 9 ball.
Please leave some feedback for him in the comment section. The whole point of this series is so players can get feedback from a large number of people and we can all learn together.
If you would like to submit your video whether it be for coaching, or just to show off a shot or run you made, you can do so at: www.worldofpoo...

[@WorldofPoolandBilliards]

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[@WorldofPoolandBilliards]

Leave some feedback for Allstar. My hope is that players can get feedback from a large audience and not just myself. Thanks for watching, and if you would like to submit a video, the link is in the description.

[@chrishollywood8496]

This guy will be a sl8 in no time. I left apa as a 7 and couldn't run out this well. Great critiquing.

[@johnnyroc]

I'm an 8 in APA. I'd barely beat that 7. He's not bad. He just needs so smooth out his stroke a bit and shoot with more confidence he looks a little scared. His fundamentals don't look good but he's doing amazing with what he got. If he keeps beating the ghost on a 9 footer even with those buckets they'll bump him. Hard to tell how one plays when they are just practicing against the ghost. It's all about handling pressure in a real match.

[@wwssaass]

Great way to start the weekend!!

[@WorldofPoolandBilliards]

Enjoy your weekend!

[@cellominork5416]

Nice video just try to edit more so it’s less boring and moves quicker and is also more interesting

[@WorldofPoolandBilliards]

Thanks for the feedback, i'll do my best to keep the pace quick

[@radjet]

I'd like to preface that I've been an APA 7 for 5 years, and I am only judging by viewing the angle of the shot on the video, but the shot on the 6 Ball to get to the 7 Ball at 28:57 I would have personally have shot this one with low right english (4:30 - 5:00 o'clock) with a loose grip on the backhand to draw the cue ball with back-side spin off the long rail back to the SHORT side of the 7 ball (right side of the screen). Done correctly, the cue ball would touch the 2nd rail slightly long of the right side pocket to get position on the short side of the 7 ball. Also the back-side spin would "kill" the cue ball when the it touched the 2nd rail slightly past the right side pocket, therefore deadening the cue ball (due to the reverse spin) which would be favorable to leaving position on the short side of the 7. True you must control the speed more PRECISELY as you will have much smaller zone to land the cue ball into (and if you did not control the speed correctly by stroking the shot too hard you could easily come off the 2nd rail and get "snookered" behind the 9, even with the deadening of the kill), but I would be more comfortable with controlling that stroke on that shot rather than a top-left 3-rail force follow shot to get on the left side (wide side) of the 7 Ball. That's a lot of green. Also if you accidentally shot this low right draw shot even harder or with greater spin, you might get still GREAT shape to the WIDE side (left) of the 7 Ball off 2-3 rails. Here's another 2-rail possibility that would work: if you shot this HARD with a tip of CENTER RIGHT, you could STUN off the rail, then hit the 2nd rail SHORT of the right side pocket, then with the spin off the 2nd rail, that would take the cue ball across the table to the WIDE side (left on screen) of the 7 Ball. I can see both scenarios. And for either shot, there would certainly be a margin for error. Just my opinion based on the video, but if I were looking behind that shot in real-time, that might change.

[@warequalspeace42]

So, why is he taking ball in hand? Stay with me here. If he's trying to run the table, why is he not playing from the break? Doesn't taking ball in hand immediately after break, defeat the purpose of the whole exercise? Let's face it, if he's playing another 7,8,9, he's never gonna have a situation where someone breaks and then gives up ball in hand unless the table is setup so where the odds are that he won't run out.

[@WorldofPoolandBilliards]

Its an exercise called playing the ghost. Pretty common in the US. You get ball in hand after the break, but you have to get out or its an automatic loss. I asked him to do this to see his play without having to worry about someone else being in a video they don't want to be in.

[@warequalspeace42]

@@WorldofPoolandBilliards wow. Learn something new everyday. I've been playing pool a long time and I've never heard of it. Looks like I have a new exercise to play with, haha.

[@geodiaz8133]

Its also a betting/gamble game. Best of 7 money on the ghost usually shuts Mr Big Ego up.

[@jaspergan]

I am from South East Asia and I've always wondered about all these "I am a 5/6/7" people on facebook and reddit. Is this a true representation of an APA level 7?

[@WorldofPoolandBilliards]

I think so

[@TheSkywalkerTB]

I wouldn't say so, really. I mean, he's okay at potting easy/medium difficult balls but his technique needs a lot of work.

[@jaspergan]

That table he's playing on is an 8 footer with 5inch pockets right?

[@madhatter2012]

@@jaspergan All of the APA players I know shoot on a 3 1/2' x 7' table, also known as a "bar box". It looks like this is what he's using, but it's hard to tell with the camera angle. It may very well be an 8 footer. HLT (higher level tournament) and world championship matches are also shot on a 7 footer.

[@allstar1336]

@@jaspergan ya it's an 8 ft table. I think 5inch pockets

[@60sDalekAnimations]

19:07 he missed because he didn’t walk in from behind the shot. He came in from the side, which means you don’t see the potting angle properly.

[@60sDalekAnimations]

He needs to develop a repeatable pre-shot routine, which is typically a major difference between pro and amateur players.

[@allstar1336]

You're right I didn't approach from behind the shot line. Good catch. I try to do that every time, not sure why I didn't here.

[@tmangan327]

@15:50 you mentioned that the cue ball keeps going to the right side of the table when he's breaking on the left what would be the reason for that and how is it corrected

[@ovafofah6635]

Hey man, I really appreciate this video and all of the videos that you do! I’m NO WHERE near a seven(I’m a measly 343 in APA)but videos like this have really helped me with strategy on positional play and on the benefits of defensive play, but I’m never able to win games because I still have problems with visualizing the natural angle of the cue ball and the effects that different amounts of side spin have. Do you have any drills or advice for learning this?

[@WorldofPoolandBilliards]

If you are having trouble with visualizing the natural angles, you should watch some of dr. Daves videos. Especially on the wagon wheel drill. Actually, Rolly and Dr. Dave did a collab and he goes over a lot of it and its a very entertaining video. You can find it on the Kamui Channel or Rollie Williams channel

[@madhatter2012]

Ova, I'm probably not a good enough shooter to be giving advice (I'm a 4 in APA 9 ball), but one thing that helps me line up my aim for a cut shot (while I'm still standing) is to visualize where the object ball would hit if I didn't cut it at all and shot it in a direct centerline-to-centerline stroke from the cueball with no angle. I know that if the object ball would hit the rail within a few inches of the pocket, then the shot wouldn't require much of a cut. The farther away from the pocket the object ball would hit, the more it has to be cut. I know this isn't very scientific, but it helps me in deciding how much of a cut I'll need to shoot in order to pocket the ball. And when I do miss, I don't miss by much. As far as spin goes, if I were you I would focus on staying on the vertical axis of the cueball and adjusting your cue up (follow), center(stop) or down (stun/draw) to get position on the cueball after making the shot. You can position the cueball where it needs to go 80% of the time if you use the vertical axis and shoot it with the right speed. Stay away from side spin for now because some crazy things happen when you use it (squirt/deflection, swerve, etc.) and also you have to adjust your aim if you're going to use side spin. When you think you're ready to start incorporating side spin into your shots, do it g-r-a-d-u-a-l-l-y, and practice the shit out of it before using it in a match. Well, I hope this helps. Good luck!

[@jackdestories6819]

Learn to recognize a 30 degree angle (and a 15 degree angle) and use those as baselines- adjusting as necessary. A 30 degree cut requires aiming the center of the cue ball exactly at the edge of the object ball. 15 degrees is half way from center to edge. I use that as a double check when aiming. There's a whole aiming system built around this approach, but I don't think it's good to get to complicated with it.

[@madhatter2012]

At 19:11 - I think he was focusing more on where the cueball would wind up than he was on the shot itself. He also shot it too hard. Not trying to be critical; it's just a mistake I see a lot of people (including myself) make.

[@benlou3758]

Hello sir, what is ur fargo?

[@lifebybill1326]

Why does he get ball in hand after the making a ball on the break? I'm a skill level 5 and have been playing APA 8 and 9 ball for 5 years......if we make something on the break, we have to shoot it as it lies......and run out from there.....if I could move the cueball after the break, if get out a lot more and be a skill level 7 too......

[@lifebybill1326]

Plus, its the same way in pro level tournament.....if we wants to practice running out, then he needs to do it in a game situation.....you don't get ro pick and chose

[@robertmeadows1657]

Look up ‘playing the ghost’.

[@buster5643]

Im curious about your suggestion of a 90° arm being almost touching the ball. If your arm is at 90° just before hitting the ball wouldnt you be decelerating into the ball and thus losing any action? Dont get me wrong im nowhere near a great or professional player, however if i want to get more action, follow, draw, english whatever you choose to call it ill reach farther back on the cue depending on how much i want. (Obviously follow through an type of stroke plays a factor) im just curious on your thoughts of this

[@buster5643]

My personal biggest issue is consistency. Is there any videos or links you could refer to me on this?

[@WorldofPoolandBilliards]

A good way to think of it is the arm of a pendulum. It reaches its greatest speed when it is perpendicular to the ground (90). This way you have fully accelerated when you make contact with the cue ball. Its important to note that angle has to do with the angle to the ground and not the actual angle of the arm. The angle of the arm will change based on how high or low a player keeps their head. You can then use how far you pull your arm back to control how hard you hit the ball which will also help with speed control.

[@alexandergoodson2504]

90 degrees at impact allows for a parallel hit to cue ball. This can eliminate unwanted deflection and spin. I personally don’t use different back strokes. I like using same back stroke and a finish position to help with consistency and speed control.

[@jasonsteger1571]

The pockets are huge