«« Back to issues list

Nov 15, 2004 :: The Four Stages of Pool

Tournament Preparation

Step 7
Practice for the tournament you are about to play. Use The Lesson to design your practice sessions. If you are playing a nine ball tournament, do the stroke work, and then the mid- term exam. If it is an eight ball tournament, The Monk’s famous thirteen and fourteen ball exercises will help you. When you practice, imagine you are already in the finals.

“When faced with a tough shot on the key ball, one that determines if you complete your run or not, stop and ask yourself, ‘would I rather have this shot, or would I rather end up with a tough kick later when my opponent plays a safety on me?’ The tough shot you are looking at is suddenly not so tough at all. Learn to love the shot you face because it is the only shot you have.”