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I have been a league player for many years. Although I get together with friends at least 5-6 hours a week to practice 8-ball, I am frustrated with my inability to improve my game. What can I do?

Your inability to improve would appear to stem from the nature of your “practice”. This is a very common problem.

I would guess that when you get together with your friends, you are playing “King of the hill”. That is, whoever wins a game of 8-ball holds the table against the next challenger, until they themselves lose. This is not practice.

You must recognize pool as a sport if you want to improve. As is the case with any sport, there is a significant difference between “practice” and “play”. If you were a baseball player, would you practice baseball? Of course not. You would practice a skill needed to play the game. For instance, a pitcher might dedicate practice time to perfecting a curve ball. A fielder might practice catching ground balls. Playing the game would only take place when practice was over.

Pool is no different. You must separate out practice from play. Identify your weaknesses and work on improving specific skills, one at a time, during practice. You may have to work on such things as stroke, stance, aiming or grip. You may need to work on drills designed to address the specific issues holding you back in the game. You may want to consult with a BCA accredited instructor to help you identify and remedy the specific problems with your game.