Pre-shot routine: Beginning of consistency in the game of pool

The pre-shot routine is a much talked about and written phenomenon in the game of golf, and as important as it is in golf, it is in billiards.

An effective pre-shot routine leads to consistency in your game and successful results time after time. There are plenty of items on your physical checklist to take care of in a short amount of time and if you will also need a solid pre-shot mental routine, to stay focused on the task at hand which is getting the item. ball and cue ball to go and land where you want.

Clear thinking presides over everything. Know clearly what you’re working to achieve in every shot. With that said, build clear thinking into your routine. This could be classified as a pre-shot (pre)-routine. Thinking about your strategy, even if it’s just a visual glance at the table to see the pattern and confidently know what your first shot will be, is critical to winning pool matches consistently and against tough opponents. To keep them in the saddle, be clear about your game strategy.

Once you have decided on a shot, be clear on that shot. You will never be a great position player if you don’t choose exactly where you want the cue ball to land. You’ll also have a harder time adjusting to table conditions if your targets are fuzzy at best.

Now that you know clearly what you plan to do, it’s time to set it up. This is the beginning of the real pre-shot routine, and it starts with the feet. In particular, his back foot. You have to be aware of your back foot and its position in relation to your shot. This helps set your stance for the entire shot. Both feet are really involved, so let’s call this your footwork.

Good footwork is essential to playing pool at a high level. Most people do this on autopilot and it works for them. Even professionals do it on autopilot. The difference is that one of the top pros has put some thought and time into making your foot work as good as possible so that your auto mode turns out to be amazing, by design, and conducive to consistent pool play.

The best footwork out there can only be guided by the best shot planning or visualization. Keep that in mind. What you want to do is place your feet the proper distance from the cue ball on each shot so that the rest of your pre-shot routine can flow in the correct sequence and order. So start thinking about the space between your feet and the cue ball, and focus on setting it up correctly before every shot.

Enjoy and see how that awareness helps your consistency in the game of pool!

See you soon…

Max Eberle