Long Luong · 2 min read · Billiards
Beginner Billiards Drills
Drills to improve beginner's pool game.

There are several factors affect a pool game. In this post, I document useful drills to practice:
- Aiming
- Stroke
- Speed Control
- English
Speed control drill
Start with cueball from the head string. Try to hit and make it stop at the position of ball 1. Then try to hit the cueball one rail back to the position of ball 2, and so on.
The drill is successful if the cueball stop within one diamond from the target.
This drill is good as a warm-up exercise. Also, remember to practice the pre-shot routine during this drill.
Ball pocketing drill
This is a part of the Fundamental Exam from Billiards University. There are two cueball positions. Each with 5 balls to pocket.
I-shape drill
This is a simple drill, start with BIH and shoot balls in any order.
L-shape drill
Hit in order. Natural running spin often creates good results. This drill practice finest shot because we don’t want to be too far from the next ball.
Watch Jasmin Ouschan demonstrate this drill here.
One-rail back drill
It’s always possible to bring the cueball back the way it came. Basically, we need more draw when the angle is small and more outside spin when the angle is large.
One-rail cross center drill
You can also reverse the order of the balls and play from the middle of the table.
Side Spin Drill
Set up the cueball and object ball as shown in the diagram. Then using side spin from 9 to 3 o’clock to send the cueball to different positions. Each hour of the clock sends the cueball about one diamond.
Using spin off the rail is a good way to control the cueball. Note that with this position, cueball can reach almost every place on the table.
Wagon Wheel
Start with cueball in the middle of the table, with a slight angle. From this position, hit the target ball to the middle pocket and control the cueball to the target positions.
Because cueball does not touch the rail. This drill is good for practicing the angle after impact.