Mental Maximization

By Max Eberle

Keep o­n Running

First of all, congratulations to John Schmidt for running 400 balls in straight pool o­n a 9-foot table earlier this summer! Not 399, not 401, but 400 balls! Wow! John modestly told me he may never break that number, but I think he could beat Mosconi's world record run of 526 balls. Who knows, could he run 1,000?

I think later that same week Schmidt posted another run in the 200s and captured it o­n video (I hope it comes out for sale). Both runs had plenty of eyewitnesses, by the way, and I know John to be a total class act and definitely skilled enough to accomplish such feats. I've heard stories about how he used to wake up every morning while in Seattle and eat 100-ball runs for breakfast. John is an all-around great, as he is a 9-ball and o­ne pocket champion as well.

Straight pool is a game that requires tremendous cue ball control, shot-making ability, knowledge, strategizing, concentration, rhythm, and a positive attitude. You will be doing yourself a service by learning and trying to improve in this game. 

Here is a game or drill I created for myself when I was a kid that really helped me advance quickly in pool. It is good for players of all skill levels for different reasons.

Evenly spread all 15 balls across the table, with a few balls close to the rail, but not too many. Then, with cue ball in hand o­n the first shot, run the balls in any order you choose. When you run out without scratching, set the balls back o­n the table in a similar fashion and do it again. Keep going until you miss.  That constitutes o­ne game or run for you.

The object is to pick a target number you wish to run and go for it. This is considerably easier than regulation straight pool, but it can present a great challenge and opportunity to build skill and confidence.

For a beginning player, running just o­ne table can be a great accomplishment and milestone. It will require a good understanding of aim and the ability to hit the contact point. Some basic cue ball skill will help, but it is possible to run the table o­nce with excellent pocketing and some lucky positional play with no scratching.  Running two tables with no cue ball control is unlikely. It is just difficult to keep getting lucky. So to run multiple tables, you will need pocketing and cue ball skills. It also takes analytical skills for evaluating which shots to shoot.

The more racks you want to run, the more skill you will need. o­nce clearing the table becomes easy for you, posting high numbers will mainly be a matter of concentration and execution.  I figured early o­n that running 100 balls should be routine.  But I was still learning, and I had to work hard at getting there.  The more I played this game, the easier it got, and so did running 200 and more. It was after this that I switched to playing regular straight pool. But coming back to this drill can be helpful and fun.

The key is to give yourself a target number that sounds like a challenge to you. o­nce you get that number, you set the bar higher. I forget my record at this game, but how many can you run?

A lot of times you may find your run ended o­n an easy miss or loss of concentration. Well, that should aggravate you enough to concentrate better o­n your next try. All the while you will be learning and recognizing patterns o­n the table, and you will be eliminating the errors that caused previous blunders.  Your skill will be improving.

This also gives you practice in dealing with the self-imposed pressure to reach a target number. Even though the tables are just as easy as in the beginning, you may feel more pressure as you get close to your target number and beyond. Dealing with this will make you tougher under the pressure of competition.  This helps your confidence, because o­nce you start regularly clearing the table, your mindset in other games like 8-ball, 9-ball and straight pool will be to run the table.

Once you play this game a bit, you will realize just how amazing it is to run 400 balls in regulation straight pool. Way to go, John! Keep running!

Visit InsidePOOL for the latest tips and instructions from Max Eberle and other billiards pros.