Test your skill level

In the masters of art in Pocket Billiards program I ask my students to do the mid-term exam from time to time to
measure their skill level. I invite you to give this wonderful exercise a try. It is designed to help you master all
aspects of this great game.

You will play five innings.

Break open a rack and if you don't make a ball, take the one and two ball off the table and with ball in hand run
out. You will be trying this with seven balls or less on the table.

IF YOU SUCCEED you can then attempt a second try. The first rack gives you one point. If you complete the
second rack you get four points in that inning.

You can only attempt a second rack if you succeed with the first one.

If, on the first rack in any inning you get a good shot at the one ball and feel like you can run out, then you are
free to DECLARE. You must say those words out loud. "I Declare." If you are successful in running this rack from
the break, you will be awarded five points.

YOU CAN ONLY DECLARE ONE TIME DURING A SESSION AND IT MUST BE ON THE FIRST INNING. You will be
awarded five points for a DECLARE.

You get one point for a Nine on the Break. You are allowed only one per session.

After five innings tally up your score.

A real good score is 12
A great score is 16
A perfect score is 22. (This will include a declare and a nine ball break.)

At some point in your experience you will realize how destructive it is to get caught up in the score. When you
reach that level, you will become the player you desire to be.

In this exercise it is best to break from the center of the table and to use a stun stroke. You most often don't
make a ball but you spread them apart very well. I have some very good information about the Mid Term Exam in
my book Focus on Winning. I work with my 'student from hell' Sarah on the Mid Term and we reveal some great
information on the inner game patterns associated with this exercise.

THE MID-TERM EXAM

Take the keys of success

It will take an investment to master the keys of the stance. When you work on your training you will miss shots because you are focused on
the development of those keys. I call these "Keys to Success”. This is one of the ultimate secrets in pocket billiards, the art of the stance and
the mastery of those keys.

I set my legs apart in my stand, still standing up right to look at my target one more time. I see the spot with my eyes. Then I see the spot
with my eye that is in my right leg. I also see the spot with the eye that is in my right shoulder. This only takes a half of a second. If no red
flag comes up, I lean over to land on the cue ball. When I lean over I breathe in the air of success. The deep breath I take eliminates all
thought from my mind and prompts me to see the shot target. Just before I land on the cue ball I draw the cue back and see with an eye that
is in my right arm. If this eye lines up with the target I land on the cue ball. Then I focus on the target one more time, focus back to the cue
ball, and allow the inhaled air that has filled my longs to escape in one long exhale. This is the final key. Now it is time to deliver the perfect
stroke. As I draw my breath back into my lungs I count and then shoot on three. Always deliver the perfect stroke. If you are going to miss
a shot make sure you look good shooting.

The final exhale is my chance to let go of all thought and deliver the stroke. This part is what took me a long time to master and a lot of
missed shots and lost games. But I had the courage to stay with it until it became an automatic response. I breathe in and half way through
the intake of air I count. One, Two and at the full breath, three and I deliver the stroke. Wow, what a nice stroke. All is set in motion. That is
the art of pocket billiards.

The key to a good stroke is to listen for the sound and to thrust forward with the cue and to allow the cue tip to go through the cue ball in a
downward motion. You will see that this gives you a solid hit and a better sound. My cue tip follows all the way through to the cloth.

During your training, while you are developing these skills, take a practice stroke just over the spot. Act as if the spot is your cue ball. Make
the cue tip go through the spot and downward to the cloth, note how that feels in your grip hand. You will know if this is a good stroke or
motion. You will know it instinctively and when you feel really good about the stroke, move over and repeat it with the cue ball and object
ball. After you make the shot, go through another practice stroke right where you are and compare the real stroke to the practice stroke. You
will pick up some very valuable information each time you do this.

Go through the following keys to success.

The eye in the arm.

The eye in the right leg.

The cue tip going on a down ward plane, landing on the cloth.

The drawing in of the breath and count one, two three.

Deliver the perfect stroke.

Then move on to the next shot. Right now, on a hundred ball run, I am going through the keys to success about seventy per cent of the
time. At the end of each rack I sort of stray away and rush things and also on very easy shots. I have to remind myself that I am working on
these keys to success and am not running a hundred balls. Some of you are going to make a significant breakthrough when you read this
article and use the material within. Develop your Keys to Success and they will become an automatic part of your game.

Trust Skills

This game becomes pure joy when you reach dead stroke and know you will make most shots you face. It would be great if we
could do this each time we come to the table. But the sad reality is, dead stroke is stingy with its visits.

Dead stroke is about trust. When you know the shot you want to shoot and can trust yourself to deliver the stroke, you will visit
the land of dead stroke.

Here are five things that must happen for you to reach this wonderful land.

1. You must have command of the Four Strokes of Pool.
2. You must have command of Cue Ball Speed.
3. You must have command of "Self".
4. You must have command of your trust skills.
5. You must be free of preoccupation with results.

I was faced with a tough shot to win a tournament. It was tough because I had to deliver a power stroke to move the cue ball the
length of the table for the winning shot. There was no other way to pull this off. I thought about cinching the shot and then
banking the money ball. But in my mind, I knew what the right shot was and still I did not think I could pull it off.

I remembered giving advice to a young player that I would rather miss the shot playing for position than to make the shot and
leave me no shot on the next ball.

I decided to use my trust skills. I would trust myself to deliver the proper stroke. I leaned in, forgot about results, forgot about
everything except the stroke and speed I needed to use.

Two things were going to happen on the shot. One, I would miss it. Two, I would make it. I did not know which of the two things
would happen. I did know however, that I would look good shooting the shot.

I pulled it off and it looked easy. My opponent did not know that I was shocked about my new and favorable position to win the
match. He never know that I did not think I would make that shot but that I did think I would look good shooting it.

Trust skills are vital and we need to acquire the shooting skills so we can deliver the right stroke.

I am taking five students over the next five months. This is comprehensive three days of training. I am only working with one
student at a time and we will be training in one of the finest resorts in Georgia. It is time you mastered your skills and entered
the land of dead stroke.

You are building your trust skills.
You are building your commitment skills.
You are building your shooting skills.

Here are the Shot Ingredients you will want to master on every single shot you
perform.

1.        Focus on the target.
2.        Land on the cue ball.
3.        When you pull back, focus on the object ball, when you come to the cue
ball, focus on the spot on the cue ball you intend to hit.
4.        Come to the cue ball and set.
5.        Pull back and pause. At this time, try to identify in your mind what a good
solid shot will sound like.
6.        Deliver the stroke and focus on the cue ball and object ball when they
collide.
7.        Finish your stroke in the home position.

SHOT INGREDIENTS

Take a moment and examine yourself to see that you have these fine qualities.

1. Examination first we must exam our goals and put them to the test. Do they seem real and can this journey help
me realize my total intentions? Our success is measurable.

2. Faith. Once we make up our mind to follow a program we must demonstrate complete trust in it and follow each
and every detail. It is not easy to have faith. Sometimes we get discouraged. Once we know we am on the right path,
nothing can stop us.

3. Confidence We need to have complete confidence in our ability to finish the course. It is one thing to enter a
program and quite another to complete the program.

4. Awareness This comes by knowing ourselves. We must learn to understand our nature and the things we pursue
along with why we press on to achieve what we want. Be clear about your intentions, know who you are and what you
want, and you will draw it to you.

5. Courage This is the kind of courage that allows you to dream big dreams. Many people like to hide behind so called
reality. The courageous man or woman sets goals beyond their reach and then enters a training program that will take
him there.

6. Fortitude. They say you must never give up. I say, you must have the ability to never give up. That is fortitude.