Straight Pool is an engaging bar game that comes with a host of mind-body benefits. Interest, quality equipment, and learning Straight Pool rules are all the fuel required to get you started.

It’s not just a gripping bar game! There’s so much more to a straight pool than meets the eye; reasons that were good enough to get me started and then, make some serious efforts at improving my game.

Straight pool, in my experience, has been something like HIIT (high-intensity interval training) for the mind. Given the nature of the game and your dedication towards it, you will feel a steep improvement in your focus, critical thinking abilities, hand-eye coordination, cognitive skills, patience, improved balance, and, perhaps most importantly, freedom from phone addiction and social media.

Need complete mind-body rejuvenation? 15 balls, a cue stick, a Pool table, and good company with good sportsman spirit are all you need.

No Clue About the Cue? Here are some Basic Straight Pool Rules To Understand Your Game Trajectory–

Name thine ball and pocket it. That’s rule 1. Practice and patience will help you get thorough with the next set of rules and the intricacies that come cascading thereafter. If you are a beginner like me, here are a few basic rules on how to play straight pool that should set you up for round one without any unnecessary (rather embarrassing) strike calls…

• Decide on the target points you wish to play for. As a beginner, 30 should be a good target to start. If your aim and positioning is even an inch better than mine, you’ll wrap a 30-pointer in an hour and a half.
• Call out your object ball that you wish to pocket
• The white ball is the cue ball. If you end up pocketing it, you serve your opponent on a silver tray, the chance to place the cue ball anywhere on the table by hand and hit the ball of their choice.
• After hitting an object ball, if the cue ball does not touch the side rails or cushions of the pool table, it’s considered a scratch (foul)
• After all, the 14 balls are pocketed and only 1 ball is left, the last player will have to resume the game by adding the rest of the 14 balls on the table till the target score is reached.

Basic Tips and Strategies to Improve your Straight Pool Game –

Practice isn’t the only magic that gets you better in the game. I’ve learned it the hard way, using a 58-inch pool cue for a 7 feet table nestled in a 15’ room. It not only piled up more weight than my untrained wrists could handle, but I also couldn’t even make the right posture to make the right swing to hit the object balls the right way. I still wonder who got a cue this size for a room this size!

In all honesty, if you’re enlightened about some simple yet impactful tips and strategies such as the ones listed below, you can pull up your game from the first day on…

Select the Right Cue-Stick

• Check the room size and the table size to choose the length of your cue stick. For example, 48” pool cue sticks are perfect for 7’ – 9’ tables in 14.5’ to 16.3’ rooms. Similarly, a 52” cue stick is suitable for 7’ – 9’ tables ranging between 15’ and 17’ rooms.
• Once this is done, the next thing you should check for is your own comfort. See if you are comfortable with the weight and grip of the cue stick. The idea is to ensure that the stick is not difficult to hold and does not weigh upon your hands while you’re in the game.

Do your Drills

• This has got everything to do with…
• working on your grip, which should neither be too tight nor too loose
• practicing bridge techniques which is critical for the perfect line of aim and stability for the cue
• practicing your shooting stance like, legs shoulder width apart, angle-wise foot positioning, keeping your head and breath stable, body weight balancing on both legs, etc.
• Your aim is to achieve a stance that is stable and overall, comfortable before making the shot
• perfecting body alignment, that is adjusting your head, eyes, stroking arms, and cue into a straight line. This is the first step to ensure your cue ball hits the objects balls with ease

Warm Up Before the Game

Take some time and practice your drills before the game starts. This way, you’ll channel your brain towards recalling the tips to perfection and not forget the critical nitty-gritty that can take you closer to the winning shot.

Enjoy the Learning Process

You wouldn’t be a straight pool pro in a day or get the 8-ball with only strategizing potential earned in the first week. Depending upon how ‘natural’ you are, it will take a few weeks to a few months of practice to get noticed as a rising star in the firmament of your local pool circle.

So, it’s best to simply enjoy the process of learning how to play straight pool. Once you get a grip on the game, it wouldn’t be long before you see yourself playing 100 points without breaking a sweat or breaking the rules.

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