Johnny Henson, Professor Pool This article is inspired by Tom “Dr. Cue” Rossman and written by Steve Farmer. One of the most effective training tools in billiards is also one of the simplest: a mirror. Every morning, people use a mirror to check how they look and make small corrections in real time. If something…
Tag: Pool
March 2026, Sports
Play Your Best Pool: The Parallel Between Shooting a Gun and Shooting Pool
Johnny Henson, Professor Pool Whether you’re standing behind a firearm or leaning over a pool table, the act of “taking a shot” has more in common than most people realize. Both activities require discipline, alignment, body control, and mental focus. However, the most revealing similarity lies in the reasons people miss their shots. In both…
January 2026, Sports
Play Your Best Pool: Three Simple Steps to Improving Your Game
Johnny Henson, Professor Pool There are three things that can help every billiard player play much better in a short period of time 1. Players must realize that they can’t teach themselves. Books, videos, and the tip of the day from other players will never replace having lessons from a professional instructor. 2. Hiring a…
Sports, December 2025
Play Your Best Pool: Staying Relaxed and Positive When Not at the Shooting Table
Johnny Henson, Professor Pool We all miss shots and play dumb shots. It happens to all of us, and we get mad or down on ourselves. The difference between the better players and the weaker players is how well they control their emotions and actions when they are not shooting. Over the years I have…
November 2025, Sports
Play Your Best Pool: Understanding Lapse of Focus
Johnny Henson, Professor Pool I feel one of the main reasons players never reach their full playing ability is lapse of focus while playing. Every time you miss a shot when you are playing, think about the reason why you missed. Why did you fail to leave your cue ball where it needed to be…
October 2025, Sports
Play Your Best Pool: Practicing and Playing Speed Pool Can Help Improve Your Game in Many Ways
Johnny Henson, Professor Pool There is a new 8–ball tournament format that is being played by both professional and amateur players. It is called the Ultimate Pool League. The match has a time limit of 30 minutes with a 30 second shot limit. At 10 minutes left in the match the shot clock goes to…
September 2025, Sports
Play Your Best Pool: What Holds Players from Reaching Their Full Potential
Johnny Henson, Professor Pool Why are many of the top 100 professional players in the world ranked there year after year, while many other great players never achieve that upper level of success? It is the same reason why most of the top amateur league and tournament players are ranked at the top year after…
March 2025, Sports
Play Your Best Pool: How Closing Your Eyes Can Really Improve Your Game
Johnny Henson, Professor Pool This article was written by my partner and fellow Professional Billiard Instruction Association (PBIA) and American Cue Sports (ACS) instructor Steve Farmer. Players are always looking for simple ways to improve their games, and we use this technique in class to help our students progress. If I told you that your…
October 2024, Sports
Play Your Best Pool: To Take Your Game to New Heights, You Must Be a Well-Rounded Player
Johnny Henson, Professor Pool When coaching students to improve their games, I emphasize that players must improve and perform well in many different areas of their games. Over the years I have competed against many very good players in tournaments. The players who I feared the most are the ones that were well-rounded and very…
Sports, September 2024
Play Your Best Pool: Players Need a Coach to Truly Improve Their Game Over Time
Johnny Henson, Professor Pool When players are struggling to improve their billiards game, many players just have a lesson or two from a qualified professional billiard instructor, but few have ongoing instruction or coaching. Truth is that most billiard players’ egos are what stops them from seeking out the proper instruction they need to truly…