First, what is cowboy pool? Well, this hybrid pool game is simply called as the cowboy. It is a combination of English billiards and intermediary game thirty-eight but maybe you will agree with me that it is just like pocket billiards. So what can we expect from the cowboy pool? Don’t be surprised to see only four balls on the table during the game which consists of the cue ball and numbered balls 1, 3 and 5. However, this is still considered as an amateur game. The idea of the game is to reach 101 points to win. The scoring is different because it depends on the caromed and pocketed object balls. If a player made a foul during the game, he will lose all the score he had and the other player will have the control of the cue ball. The balls can also be repositioned to the starting position after being sunk. These are just few differences? Have you tried it?

pic via crestedbutteshopping.com

If you want to make a shot, you need to consider a lot of things that include gripping of a cue, appropriate posture, cue ball command, correct english and aim. But most importantly, you should not forget to consider your psychological capacity to play. Just like other aspects of life, mental attitude affects your action that needs to be synchronized to produce a desirable effect. You need to set your mind in focus to be able to concentrate on the game. If you compete in a tournament with a pre-occupied mind you won’t be able to maximize your full potential as a player. Relax and stay with a clear mind as a natural habit just like maintaining good coordination and good eyesight, and the proper mental position.

pic via harveybenge.blogspot.com

If you happen to lose your streak of confidence in the middle of the game, there is nothing wrong with sticking to what’s safe until you get back in the game again. Patience works a lot better for you. Play it safe when you feel off!

Also in billiard, it is very important that you focus deeply on every shot you are doing. Put everything else that is not connected with billiards out of your mind. Do not mind the score, the audience and not even the other players. Stick in your mind that you are there for that shot.. you are there to get as many balls as you can.

Finally, when you get back to your seat, then that is the time you can take a deep breath, relax and relish everything that’s positive happening around you. This will definitely help in building up your confidence.

Photo via life123.com

1. Stop Stroke. This is a primary tool to start a good position to prepare for the succeeding shots you will take. This happens when you stop the cue ball at a certain point when it strikes the targeted ball. You make the ball stop at the precise point of impact.

2. Draw Stroke. You bring the cue ball back to your position. This happens with a few varieties that would render you different kinds of results.

3. Follow Stroke. This moves your cue ball to the impact point and convenient for your continuous run of patterns.

4. Spin Stroke. This is tool used to earn various cue ball track lines out of the rail after an impact with the targeted ball. The variety happens according to the number of spins utilized.

Photo via videojug.com

This billiard hall of famer is not just a pool player but also a player, an inventor, and a manufacturer. He was the very first who won the 1859 billiard stakes match. He was also the creator of many patented designs and cushions for various billiard tables. He was even hailed to be the very first billiard table designer to integrate diamonds on it. He was the author of the book Billiards Without A Master which is also known to be the first ever American book about billiards.

Photo via commons.wikimedia.org

We’ve seen, heard and admired most of the popular pool icons for their skill, affability, and charm. But one famous pool player seems to be misunderstood for his often-outspoken views and occasionally impulsive behaviors at tournaments, particularly his match with snooker star Steve Davis in 2003 World Pool Championships, where he engage in heated verbal arguments with fans and referee Michaela Tabb. Wandering who’s this controversial star pool player? The name is Earl Strickland, one of the best nine ball players of all time because of his numerous championship titles within his 25 years of pool playing career.

This cue artist from North Carolina started playing pool at the age of nine, and after intensive practice he entered his first pro tournament at 15. A winner of the prestigious Player of the Year Award, and his accolades include five wins at the U.S. Open Nine-ball Championships, and the WPA World Nine-ball Championships. Strickland is the only WPA World Nine-ball Champion ever to win the event in successive years.

He was inducted into the Billiard Congress of America’s Hall of Fame in 2006 and in 2007; he was ranked #6 in the Pool & Billiard Magazine’s Top 20 Favorite Players.

(Photo via insidepool.com)

The tip of a cue is made up of different flexible materials. A typical example is leather which becomes hard and compress after being used subsequently. Frequent usage of the cue stick makes the tip deteriorated and looses its good grip of the cue ball. This causes mishap to most of the pool players in giving a good hit on the ball. Pool Chalk or snooker chalk prevents the tip of cue from slipping off the cue ball. And it is therefore necessary to keep that chalk in every game. It helps to save that shot from losing the competition.

(Photo via drakeliesure.co.nz)

Francisco “Django” Bustamante is just one of the favorites among the professional pool players in the world. Known for his strong and powerful cue break and his signature behind-the-back shot, this Asian cue artist has won a number of titles like The German 9 Ball Championship, The Munich Masters and Japan’s 9-Ball Championship. He almost beat Earl Strickland in the 2002 World Pool Championships, if it wasn’t for his series of unlucky scratch that led him to the 2^nd place.

Bustamante, has started playing pool since the age of 10. And his early training and passion for pocket billiards led him to become one of cue sports greatest International stars.

Django holds the record for winning three Camel Pro Billiards titles in one season. His Columbus 10-Ball title also concluded the first ever Camel trifecta, with titles in each of the three games competed on the Camel Pro Billiards Series: 8-Ball, 9-Ball and 10-Ball. Together with the rest of the best Filipino pool players, Francisco “Django” Bustamante gives honor and glory to their country.

(Photo via insidepoolmag.com)

You may think that hitting a ball with the cue and shooting it in the pocket, is what all it takes to play the game of pool, but there’s a lot to it once you dominate the table. Making that shot in pool is a common urge, and predicting where the cue ball will stop is a challenge, however knowing how to strike the object ball with your cue ball is the secret to winning.

Many amateurs would think that every ball is all set to make the shot as long as its proximity to the pockets is high. Beginners eagerly take the attempt if they immediately see the line of fire to the hole, not knowing the complications it will make. The next thing you’ll know is you’re into a situation when you can’t find a good way to hit the cue ball into the object ball and make that shot even worst.

Professional pool players will find first their correct cue before they make the attempt, they take a few moments walking around the table, checking the cue ball in various angles in relation to object balls to be hit, and this is what they call a preshot routine.

Here are a few reminders that can help amateurs improve their pool playing routine. First, learn to control the cue ball, keep in mind where you want it to stop on the table after your shot, and then look for the aiming point as well as the collision point. Set your hit on how fast you want your cue ball to move then focus before making the strike.

Just think twice before you make the hit and don’t hesitate to make your own playing strategy.