How to not get mad during a match

randallt6

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Anyone have any tips on how to control your temper when your losing or not playing very well in a match? I need some help with this, badly!lol
 

lorider

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Anyone have any tips on how to control your temper when your losing or not playing very well in a match? I need some help with this, badly!lol

just admit to yourself you are not going to ever make a living at it and accept it. works for me:rolleyes:

seriously ? the 1st thing you gotto think about when you findyourself starting to get upset is this.the more you get upset the worse you are going to shoot. the worse you shoot the more you are going to lose. it is a never ending cycle until you get your feelings under control.

when you get your feelings under control you will regain your focus.

it took many years for what an old roadplayer told me to sink in.

forget about your last shot,do not think about anything but the shot you are on. the more you think about other things the less ability you have to focus on the shot you are attempting. easier said than done i know.
 

The Renfro

Outsville.com
Silver Member
You either channel it and ride the adrenaline which some players can do or you learn to kill it when it starts....

Positive Inner dialogue is helpful for lots of people.... Write down a whole speech if you have to and practice it and use it sitting in the chair and at the table....

If the voice in your head is busy with the good stuff there will be no time for the negative stuff....... Like anger....
 

"T"

Son of Da Poet
Silver Member
Watch Efren Reyes play and try to emulate his attitude.

Also, anger in pool is fear. Showing fear to an opponent during a match will only increase their confidence.

Good luck!
 

champ2107

Banned
i think you should take a look at lee brett video, from what i remember watching the trailer, it may help you for this type of issue. The feeling i get he is more a mental kind of instructor than a technical one, i could be wrong?
 

lorider

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Watch Efren Reyes play and try to emulate his attitude.

Also, anger in pool is fear. Showing fear to an opponent during a match will only increase their confidence.

Good luck!

i dont know if fear is the right word here, but you are correct. i have noticed if i am shooting poorly and show frustration my opponent seems to gain confidence and pick up a gear or 2.

like wise when my opponent is shooting bad i seem to gain confidence and shoot better.
 

BarneyCalip

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Yeah Good Luck

People are human, it is so easy to say let it go.

There are some really great Champions at sharking.

Look what happened to Mark Haddad at Wyoming.
Charlie Williams had him so angry he lost.
Mark is no saint, so he should have been prepared.

I was at a tournament getting ready to play the winner.
The guy losing say's to his opponent your wife has a fat a$$.
Of course he said it loud enough for the guy's wife to hear it.
We all had to jump the guy before he killed his opponent.
He was ahead and continued to play, but it got to him and he left.

I'm going to say like the others try to ignore it and stay calm.
But it is easy to say that when your not the victim.

Take Care, Barney
 

mullyman

Hung Like a Gnat!
Silver Member
First thing you need to do is remove any attitude you may have from your game, and I mean that in general, not trying to say you have an attitude. There are a lot of people that aren't as good as they think they are and when they begin to lose to someone that they think they should be beating it gets under their skin. Likewise, you may actually be better than that person and are losing and it gets under your skin. One thing to always remember is that everyone loses to higher level and to lower level players. You can't win every single game you get into, and you won't. That's a cold hard fact. There are tons of reasons for it too. Maybe you're just having an off night. One thing is for sure though, if you dwell on what happened before then you are not focusing on what is coming up. You can't come to the table and run it out if your focus is on the hanger you just missed. No matter how hard you try, no matter how angry you get, no matter how many ways you try to figure it out, that last shot is not coming back and changing for you. Only thing you can do is make note of it for a later practice session so you can reduce the chances of it happening again.

If I can offer some advice, or tell you what I used to do to keep my blood from boiling. 1 thing I used to do before a tournament was sit out in the waiting area with a needle and thread. I would thread that needle over and over and over, for at least 10 minutes, before my match started. To thread that needle you need to concentrate and remove any other distractions that may be going on around you. I know, you feel like an idiot, but you'd be surprised how focused you get on your game after doing it.

One other thing I used to do is when I sat back down I'd focus all my attention on the chalk sitting on the rail. Wondering where it's been, how many people have used it, why does it have that nick taken out of the side of it, etc... I would think of anything other than the shot I just dogged. Again, because it's not coming back to fix itself.

Another thing to do, and probably the best, is when you get back to your chair use that time sitting there to run out the table in your mind. Tell yourself exactly what you're going to do when you get back to the table. A lot of times that rack will finish before you get that chance to try what you were thinking about, but at least you're focusing on what's coming up and not on what just happened.

Last but not least, unless you're actually losing your rent and your kids are going to go hungry from this loss, does it really mean anything? The world isn't going to come to an end because of it, the Mayans have taken care or that anyway come December. hahahaha!!

Seriously though, I'm one of the most level headed people you'll ever find. I just don't let things bother me. I think because I just don't care enough to let it. I may be lucky in that the majority of my playing career has been in Japan. People aren't as likely to try sharking you as they are in the States. I've been playing over here for 21 years, and I used to play at least 4 hours a day for a span of about 10 years, and I've only run across 2 people that were brash enough to try any type of sharking. It's just not common here. It's the exact opposite really. The Japanese players actually apologize to you for their poor play. Even if they purposely hook you behind a ball, and you miss hitting it, when they return to the table they will apologize for making you miss. I think a lot of Americans can't handle that when they're playing over here. They almost take it as being sarcastic, which it isn't.
MULLY
I should make a video about playing pool in Japan
 
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champ2107

Banned
maybe you can get Rene russo to help you out, she seemed to help out Tin cup! he went from a driving range pro to almost winning a major! lol :thumbup: Cheech seemed very helpful too!!! haha

tin-cup-movie-kevin-costner.jpg
 
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mortuarymike-nv

mortuarymike-nv
Silver Member
Mad

Why ? its competition.
Being a champion comes from inside a person, not winning every match. Look at the pro players that you admire. On Efren Reyes worst day he is a champion, Allison Fisher is another champion.
Play your best game.:D
And have fun.

Also let your body do its thing. Afters hours and years of practice you know what to do.
MMike
 

Masayoshi

Fusenshou no Masa
Silver Member
First thing you need to do is remove any attitude you may have from your game, and I mean that in general, not trying to say you have an attitude. There are a lot of people that aren't as good as they think they are and when they begin to lose to someone that they think they should be beating it gets under their skin. Likewise, you may actually be better than that person and are losing and it gets under your skin. One thing to always remember is that everyone loses to higher level and to lower level players. You can't win every single game you get into, and you won't. That's a cold hard fact. There are tons of reasons for it too. Maybe you're just having an off night. One thing is for sure though, if you dwell on what happened before then you are not focusing on what is coming up. You can't come to the table and run it out if your focus is on the hanger you just missed. No matter how hard you try, no matter how angry you get, no matter how many ways you try to figure it out, that last shot is not coming back and changing for you. Only thing you can do is make note of it for a later practice session so you can reduce the chances of it happening again.

If I can offer some advice, or tell you what I used to do to keep my blood from boiling. 1 thing I used to do before a tournament was sit out in the waiting area with a needle and thread. I would thread that needle over and over and over, for at least 10 minutes, before my match started. To thread that needle you need to concentrate and remove any other distractions that may be going on around you. I know, you feel like an idiot, but you'd be surprised how focused you get on your game after doing it.

One other thing I used to do is when I sat back down I'd focus all my attention on the chalk sitting on the rail. Wondering where it's been, how many people have used it, why does it have that nick taken out of the side of it, etc... I would think of anything other than the shot I just dogged. Again, because it's not coming back to fix itself.

Another thing to do, and probably the best, is when you get back to your chair use that time sitting there to run out the table in your mind. Tell yourself exactly what you're going to do when you get back to the table. A lot of times that rack will finish before you get that chance to try what you were thinking about, but at least you're focusing on what's coming up and not on what just happened.

Last but not least, unless you're actually losing your rent and your kids are going to go hungry from this loss, does it really mean anything? The world isn't going to come to an end because of it, the Mayans have taken care or that anyway come December. hahahaha!!

Seriously though, I'm one of the most level headed people you'll ever find. I just don't let things bother me. I think because I just don't care enough to let it. I may be lucky in that the majority of my playing career has been in Japan. People aren't as likely to try sharking you as they are in the States. I've been playing over here for 21 years, and I used to play at least 4 hours a day for a span of about 10 years, and I've only run across 2 people that were brash enough to try any type of sharking. It's just not common here. It's the exact opposite really. The Japanese players actually apologize to you for their poor play. Even if they purposely hook you behind a ball, and you miss hitting it, when they return to the table they will apologize for making you miss. I think a lot of Americans can't handle that when they're playing over here. They almost take it as being sarcastic, which it isn't.
MULLY
I should make a video about playing pool in Japan

You should make it like this video except with pool. :thumbup:
 

Icon of Sin

I can't fold, I need gold. I re-up and reload...
Silver Member
just admit to yourself you are not going to ever make a living at it and accept it. works for me:rolleyes:

I usually admit to myself that I ****ing suck... then I go on telling myself how much of a POS banger I am and that I dont deserve the equipment that I play with and I should just quit and save myself the embarassment.

Once that's done I go home all pissy and usually go to bed and then go downstairs the next day to play some pool.
 

West Point 1987

On the Hill, Out of Gas
Silver Member
Try to take your game (and yourself) a lot less seriously. When you miss a tough shot or a hanger, act like you've been there before and just walk back to your chair. Don't slap the table, whip your stick or bury your forehead into the table. Even Efren dogs it. Think of it as a well-played safe and just drop it. Think about how you're going to run out next time. Play in the now, not the then. If you have to react or burst, do what Efren does, smile and look at the ceiling...but I'd counsel against reacting in ANY way. Don't give your opponent the satisfaction or edge of seeing that a miss gets to you. If your cue ball runs a little short or long, don't bloviate and curse your rolls...act like that's the way you wanted it to roll (believe it, too) and drive on.
 

3andstop

Focus
Silver Member
Knowing you have a problem
is more than half the battle.

Truer words were never spoken, and beyond that I think perhaps the possibility of this being a personality trait that goes beyond a ridiculous game of pool may be something to consider and address.

I've seen my share of guys acting out like this when I had the poolroom, and way more times than not, it's more than just pool.

Confining it and blaming it on a bad pool game may actually prevent you from really recognizing and addressing a bigger and deeper problem.
 

Falcon Eddie

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Anyone have any tips on how to control your temper when your losing or not playing very well in a match? I need some help with this, badly!lol

It starts with letting go. Holding on to tight to anything will result in loss of ones self. Patience , forbearance, forgiveness. Not only for someone else , but yourself as well.
You are only as strong as your weakest link. If you cannot master self you will never master anything else
 

Bambu

Dave Manasseri
Silver Member
Come to the table with one new goal: No matter what happens, dont get pissed. You will catch yourself doing it. Forget your game, just stick to the plan. Takes time, but eventually you wont get mad anymore.
 

DASHZNT

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I tell myself a few simple words out loud! "Control your mind and body because if not, someone else will and is and we both know whom that is"

It works everytime if you actually think about it.. I know I'd rather be in control of me than someone else!
 
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