Playing Ability Test (PAT-1): First Look, First Attempt

I had a few minutes before last night's practice session began, so I skimmed through the Playing Ability Test, Level 1 (Beginner to Intermediate) workbook I just got. As mentioned, it was the only one left, and I didn't know if I was at level 1 or 2, so decided to just start at the beginning and see what it was all about.

With only a cursory look, I could tell that this PAT test is really a most excellent product. Very structured and well thought out, as you might expect from the German authors. I resolved to drop my existing practice drills and start right in on the PAT tests and see what happens.

The workbook says that the PAT-1 should take about 3 hours, and since that's all I have scheduled for practice, I got right into it as soon as Practice Assistant Dave showed up. We spent about 20 minutes to go over the concepts and the way the scores are calculated, then spent the next 2 hours and 40 minutes doing the PAT-1.

My score was 1,221 out of a possible 1,549 which means that I would be qualified to move immediately to the PAT-2. Of course the tests must be administered by a qualified professional to be counted, but this practice session gives me an idea of where I would score. We kept accurate records, and even though I missed shots due to misunderstanding some of the instructions, and because I was rushing through to get done, we counted the misses truthfully and moved on without do-overs, just as it would be done in a real test situation. I figure I should be able to score a good bit higher than the 1,221 for the PAT-1 and will continue to work on it until I get the PAT-2 workbook.

There were 10 different drills in the PAT-1, the last one being a 9-ball run out situation, where the balls are set up in a particular pattern. What you see in the video is what happened on my first two attempts to run out (the test gives 3 attempts). Although I was successful with the first two attempts, the position play was not pretty, but it was effective.

I have ordered the PAT-1, 2, and 3 videos from Thorsten Hohmann's eBay store, and the PAT-2 and 3 workbooks from Bebob Publishing, so there will be more posts on this unique rating system.

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