What is the Placement Pool Challenge?
The Placement Pool Challenge (PPC 100) consists of the eighteen 9-ball and 8-ball run-out layouts from the Bachelor, Master, and Doctorate versions of Billiard University Exam II. You are required to consecutively attempt to run each of the 18 layouts in order. Each layout run-out attempt ends with a miss or foul. For scoring, you start with 100 points and deduct points for any balls not pocketed legally. Here are the ball layout diagrams and detailed rules:
Placement Pool Challenge (PPC) diagrams and rules (B&W version)
The following video series gives advice on the best ways to run each of the layouts:
A good way to practice with PPC is to attempt to run each layout, one at a time, as many times as you need to get a runout. Once you think you know the best approach for a given layout, watch the solution for that layout only in the “Smart Runout Pool” videos above. Then try to run the layout again, repeating it until you feel confident. Then go to the next layout and repeat the same process until you complete all 18 layouts. Then try a full scored run of PPC 100 to see how you do with just one attempt at each layout. Repeat PPC 100 periodically and record your scores to monitor how you improve over time.
Here’s an example of a perfect score (100) run on PPC:
As a good example of how to use PPC to help assess yourself and provide motivation to practice, see this video from “Trent on the Break.”
For additional placement pool practice, Tor Lowry has a collection of 200 8-ball and 9-ball patterns in his Pattern Puzzles book.
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