Improving your skill at billiards is not as hard as it may seem. While you might be frustrated with your performance while playing with your friends, a little bit of practice on your own can go a long way. The fundamentals of billiards are best practiced with drills–that is, short practice routines to fine-tune your muscle memory and reflexes. The simplest drill is to simply place the cue ball on the table, and practice hitting it at different speeds to reach a particular point. This teaches you control, aiming, and the necessary amount of force to use when striking the ball. The more force you use, the tighter your aim must be. Striking the ball quickly off-target can result in unpredictable motion and poor results. Instead, practice your aim by hitting the ball slowly, and gradually increase the force used until you can control the cue ball predictably. You can continue practicing by adding more balls and trying to re-create difficult shots.