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“Practice makes perfect.”
The oldest advice in the book. But none truer. If you’re a beginner pool player, practice will get you into the best league. And even if you get there, you still need practice to stay in the game. Without practice, you might end up becoming a dinosaur (yeah, they’re extinct!).
People often ask “How many hours a day do pro pool players practice?” The simple answer is at least 2 hours a day. And this is just to sustain their current level. To go beyond their present level, they can practice anywhere between 3 to 8 hours a day.
No level of practice is ever too much. Any sport requires regular practice to stay relevant, but oftentimes, pool players do neglect this. Don’t think it doesn’t take a toll though. It shows. They get slack and are superseded by better players. The real pros, never neglect the importance of regular training.
Charlie Williams’ secret to playing great pool
Charlie William recalls that in his early days he tried to get the best players to give up the secrets to their great game. He was quite deflated when a senior only told him “practice, practice, and practice” and kept saying that for 2 years! At the time he thought “That was it?”, but now he realizes he was right and he says it was the strongest advice he ever got.
He believes that unless you internalize this you’ll never rise to the top. In fact, many good players complain that their game isn’t getting any better or has become stagnant but put in no extra effort to solve this.
Ever heard the quotation “Hard work beats talent if talent doesn’t work hard”? Williams is a big believer and proponent of this.
How many hours a day does Williams practice?
In the beginning and middle stages of his game, Williams practiced a grueling 8-12 hours every day! Now he needs much less to sustain his level. 1-2 hours is okay for a pro. But, in order to surpass his present level of play, he says he goes a minimum of 3 hours daily and 6 on average!
How long does it take to master a shot?
Williams says that he does not stop practicing a difficult shot until he has memorized it. It’s normal for him to repeat a shot at least 50 and up to a hundred times before he has really got it down. He says he can even go higher than that depending on how long it takes to perfect it.
He only stops when he’s good enough to fire that shot 10-20 times in a row!
How many hours do other professional players practice?
The same, on average. 5-6 hours is routine for every serious professional pool player who considers this a full-time job. This is the most common answer you’ll find.
Most professionals agree that 2-3 hours daily is necessary to practice, at least 4-5 days a week.
Those who are very confident and content with their present level of expertise (and just extra-talented I guess) sometimes go for days without touching the pool table and 3-5 hours a week is good enough for them to stay in shape.
It’s highly unlikely though that you’ll hear that from a real professional. And not recommended!
Then there’s Johnny Archer…
While some people put their heart out into their game and do up to 8 hours a day of training, there are those at the other extreme end of the spectrum like Johnny Archer.
Charlie Williams recounts:
“Johnny Archer told me he could lay off without touching a cue for a month, practice one day before a major pro event, and win the tournament. But, are you Johnny?”
A month, can you believe it? That’s some insane talent then, but not for normal people to try at home! Not everyone is Johnny!
Bottom line
So, in short, most serious professional pool players agree that 2-3 hours a day is the minimum and most practice an average of 5-6 hours daily.
Success never comes easy. The number one thing all professional players and coaches emphasize is practice! You need to spend time on the table and it doesn’t matter how much you listen to or watch experts play, or even that you’re an expert yourself, because unless you regularly practice, your game will go soft.
Related Questions
How often do pro pool players practice?
Every day! At least 5 days a week. Most professional players consider it a full-time job and even if they do have another job, they reduce the number of hours but still practice daily.
How many hours do snooker players practice?
About the same. 5-6 hours a day makes for good practice. Snooker is very similar to Pool, but you should take this as a rule of thumb for pretty much every sport in the world! All professional sports players live by this.
How much does a pro pool player make?
A mid-level player can earn up to $50,000 a year. But the best players usually earn much more than that, in hundreds of thousands of dollars. Some like Efren Reyes even make millions!
How long does it take to get good at pool?
If you go by 5-6 hours daily and at least 5 days a week, you can go from completely new to expert level in two years. Of course this depends on individual skill and talent too and how fast someone picks up, but for most professional players it does take them at least two years of training and competing to really become masters.
How can I practice pool like a pro?
This really depends on both hard work and technique. We’ve talked about the importance of hard work but you need to learn the right playing techniques. This would require a whole lengthy tutorial though and there are many tutorials available online by experts. So you need to really watch and learn from as many good sources as you can, and then practice, practice, and practice!
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