This drill should be on your must-do list.

There are a lot of great drills out there, but this is a must-do drill for players of all levels. If you want to improve your pattern play, positional play and speed control, AND have two or three options for each shot, this is the drill for you.

I lean on this drill whenever I haven’t played for a while because it gets me to bear down on each shot, using the rails and to spinning the ball. It requires a variety of shots.

Starting with ball in hand, pocket the balls in rotation. No bumping balls. Increase the difficulty by freezing the balls to the rail.

Even from the start, I’m thinking three balls ahead (Diagram One). I want a good angle on the 2 ball to get to the 3, so I prefer to start with a small angle on the 1 and draw the cue ball for the 2.

If you fall like this on the 2 ball you don’t have to worry much about speed. Use a good tip of left English and let your stroke out because the lines are good. Regardless of the speed, you know you’re going to have a perfect angle on the 3 ball.

Don’t decelerate on this shot. Low and a touch of left. Nice and smooth. Stroke the ball in. This will leave you with a simple draw on the 4 ball. Again, don’t quit on the shot.

When doing this drill, I was left without much angle on the 5 (Diagram Two), so it was more of a punch draw with a good, hard stroke.

Several options on the 6, depending on the angle. This shot is an in-betweener. I could soft draw with right and try to get low enough for the 7. Would have to hit it perfect. I opted to follow with high left.



Another tricky decision on the 7. Here, I prefer to follow with a half tip of right. For me, it’s just more natural and takes away any real chance of a scratch. I just feel more control on the cue ball. It’s strictly a matter of preference. Either way, the number one rule is: Make the ball. Another option is to draw with left. I think the shot can be missed more often this way. Also, the cue ball and speed aren’t as easy to gauge.

At this point, I want to keep things simple. From where I’ve landed, a nice little one-rail follow shot with a little right will make the path more natural. Some players might draw out two rails but, again, that’s just personal preference.

You should be left with a nice, easy 9 ball to finish things off.

This is a great drill with lots of different options, just like any rotation game. Don’t worry if you think you’re playing the wrong shot or that you have the wrong angle. You can always change your mind or change your pattern. We do it all the time at the pro level. Just do your best to get back in line. And always play the shot you feel most comfortable with. You’ll make mistakes, but you’ll learn from them. And that experience will invariably lead to improvement in your pattern play.