Pocket Run Pool guide - Tips and Tricks for Beginner Billiardist

Zach Gage has made quite a name for himself by taking familiar games, tweaking them just so, and packaging the whole thing up in his signature style. Pocket Run Pool is his latest creation, which takes billiards and turns it into an extremely compelling solo score chaser. If you’ve just recently picked the game up and are looking to improve your game, keep the following tips in mind.

Tilt your screen

I know it sounds silly, but one of the best ways to make sure I’m lining up a shot properly in Pocket Run Pool is by actually tilting my screen. If you actually rotate your phone to square up the trajectory line, it’s much easier to see if that line is indeed pointed where you want it to go.

This strategy is most useful when trying to hit shots far away from pockets, but it’s almost always a good thing to try, especially when playing an Insta-Tournament or High Stakes Mode.

Practice certain shots in Standard Break

There’s always a time in Pocket Run Pool where you have an odd configuration of balls and you’re not really sure how to move forward. When you come across this situation in a mode with real stakes, it can be really annoying because you have to waste a shot on something that you’re not sure will work at all, so it’s important to play a lot of Standard Break to practice for these situations.

Since you have much less to lose when playing Standard Break, it’s the perfect mode for trying new and experimental shots. It’s also a great mode for familiarizing yourself with novel situations and learning ways to still net a high score even in non-ideal situations.

Use your power wisely

When shooting in Pocket Run Pool, it may be tempting to flick full strength shots all the time. After all, it feels good to rocket a ball into a corner or side pocket, but power is not your only option, nor should it be.

When deciding the power of your shots, you need to think about where you want the cue ball to be after your shot is over. Weaker shots tend to stop the cue near your target, while more powerful shots will keep the cue moving after it makes contact with striking a ball.

Sometimes you should miss on purpose

Pocket Run Pool is all about sinking ball after ball without missing, but there are times where it might be beneficial to spend a shot missing on purpose. Missing allows you to reposition your cue ball and re-shoot without having any of the pocket score multipliers change.

Obviously, the downside of missing on purpose is that you use one of the extremely limited number of misses you get per game, but the payoff can be extremely worth it. As you get better at Pocket Run Pool, you’ll miss by accident less, which then allows you to start using your miss chances as more tools to increase your score potential than a saving grace when you make mistakes.