Hey guys, recently got a table installed in my basement, however i dont really have anyone to play with. I'm a below average player and would like to know what kind of things i can be doing alone to improve. Should i just clear racks on my own? Play one player 9 ball? what kind of things will help me improve.

Just playing straight pool is good, as is just trying to run racks of nine ball over and over. Line ups of balls down the centre of the table or at angles can also be good, as can just spreading balls by hand.

My standard practice routine when I'm putting in a lot of solo hours at US pool generally resembles something like this:

20-30% of the time running racks of straight pool.

20-30% running racks of nine or ten ball (often I just re-rack if I miss before running out but you can do whatever).

20-30% line ups, usually a mix of straight down the table, a few right angles, and some diagonals.

10%ish long distance and acute angle shots.

10%ish variety of banks and combo shots.

10%ish jump shots.

Also sometimes throw in some safety play and escapes if I'm trying to get really sharp, although they tend to feel quite boring to me when alone.

If you want a game where you can add some pressure and measure your improvement you can always try playing some 9/10/8(or if you're struggling with those try 6) ball against "the ghost". It's a fairly simple concept, you are playing against an imaginary opponent who never misses. You break the balls and start with ball-in-hand, if you run out you win the game, if not, the ghost does. I'd suggest playing races to 7 or 9 games where you can notice when you're improving.

Thanks guys, appreciate the tips!

+1 on the straight pool

If your just an average player rack up just 4 balls in a diamond shape and break them. Then take ball in hand and try to get out.... Most players can not get out with just 4 balls left! When you can do it with ease move up to 5 balls....

Cribbage is a great game!!!!

For those of you who don't know how to play.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cribbage_(pool)

It's a great feeling when you run the game for the 1st time

Here is another practice tool.... Get a sheet of paper place it somewhere on the table. Set up a shot and make it and get the cue ball to rest on that sheet of paper.... It will get you to learn how to move the cue ball around the table.

I used to do something similar with 8-ball that I called racing with the devil. I'd play a race to 9. The rules were that if I break and run, it's a win. If I miss, I switch to the opponent's balls and if I run, it's a win. Anything else is a loss.

Even though I seldom won, I would still squeak a set here and there and keep my motivation to focus. With 9-ball, winning a long race was a virtual imposibility, so my drive went down and I lost focus. I never thought to start the table with ball in hand. That might have evened the odds a bit.

When I first bought my table I would rack with ten balls and keep score like bowling. Break and take ball in hand for the first shot. You can keep score like bowling and watch your game improve numerically. It makes practice much more fun and 'competitive with yourself'.

I'm just a Wednesday league player/Friday night shooter but to improve my game I'll play league rules against myself. It genuinely helps you see flaws in your game as well as showing you what can beat different moves you try to make against opponents. I'll purposely miss shots or defense against myself to try to set up a run while giving my "opponent" a horrible set up.

Also, taking a rack and just working on bank shots also helps. Keep placing a new ball at the same location near a rail and move the cueball to different spots while trying to bank it in the same hole.

I like the idea of using the piece of paper to work on your ball control. Definitely have to bring that up tonight to my teammates!

forgive me if im an idiot, but can you explain this is more detail? sounds like fun.

You just run it like bowling scores - each rack counts as one set of pins, if you run out you get a strike, anything less you just score the number of balls you sink like you would pins in bowling (ten balls/ten pins), and do it the same number of times you would a bowling game. Add all together and watch your average improve over time.

yup im an idiot that shouldve been self explanatory. thanks for the explanation.

I was thinking about my game earlier and I realised I'm always trying to play off a cushion WRT positional shots. Does anybody know of a line-up/set-up which dissaudes this?

I realise that lining the balls up along the centre from the headstring to the blackspot does this but I'd still be tempted to play a cut shot and use the cushion than screw straight back off a ball.

I also realise that if I want to practice playing positional shots which don't require me to play off a rail I need to just do it/shot select differently but I thought somebody might be aware of a drill which helps.