What puts you in the "Zone"?

good music and well..when I want it

I think you answered your own question. Pre-shot routine. Doing the same thing over and over again untill it 'feels' like you are doing it effortlessly.

the zone

Racing a short track race car I could always get in the zone. Even though weaving through traffic every lap the sameness of hitting each corner at nearly the same spot and rhythm seemed almost hypnotic and it was a rare race when I couldn't find the zone where stretching the car to the limit and utilizing the track to my best advantage wasn't possible without really thinking about it.

With pool it is tougher. I have stayed in the zone for hours with opponents stacked up and the loser or next player racking. I can remember simply destroying one player after the other and eight hours passed in no time. More commonly we have to fight for the zone for each inning at the table. Extreme fatigue can help trigger it oddly enough and fatigue and alcohol was once almost guaranteed to get me into the zone but there could be some rough patches beforehand.

The truth is that I haven't found the zone since I started back playing a few years ago, just haven't put in the hours to get there. However, mental imagery and getting off to myself and focusing on what I had to do have gotten me into a zone in recent years to where I can make a fifteen to thirty second run with a pistol; drawing, shooting a magazine of ammo, swap mag's, rack the slide, and run another magazine of ammo through the pistol while moving around, all without conscious decision making or thought. The conscious is there but it is just watching on the side ready to step in if input from it is required.

Based on the pistol competition which is like the short runs on a pool table I would say that mental imagery and getting off to yourself to gather your resources before competition are the best ways to get in the zone. Even if you don't fully reach the zone, you should play better.

Consider what you have to do to win, acknowledge it is well within your capabilities, step up to the table with confidence, and let things flow.

Hu

Just sing this over and over in your head and you should get in the zone.

"I love it when you call me big pop-pa"
Throw your hands in the air, if youse a true player

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I hear that...

an 8ball of... a 5th of scotch... a puff of the magic dragon... are all ways to get into the zone

say NO to the zone kids!!!!

Good music.

Listening to the Doors usually does it for me. Riders on the storm is my favorite. Songs from the COM soundtrack also get me going. When I'm at a local tournament, I find it distracting if there is loud music like rap and speed metal.

The one thing that gives me the killer instinct more than anything else is when I don't like my opponent. There are certain people that get under my skin because of sharking, trash-talking, or just general bad-sportsmanship. When I play them I really bear down because I can't stand the thought of letting them win.
My biggest problem is that there are very few people who fall into this category, so there goes the win-lose ratio!

I wish I knew what put me in the zone, but I'm clueless. It comes and goes on its own free will.

If I ever find out what puts me in the zone, I'm not ever leaving! LOL

Stones

My personal chalk "switches" me through my three pre-shot routines and keeps me in the ZONE at the right time.....SPF=randyg

It is something i search for everytime i start a match...This is the reason alot of struggling players resort to mind enhancing medication...
I use ginko biloba and it definitely helps and is safe to use and is affordable.

Having been in the "zone" several time in my life, I wish I know how I could get into the zone each time I play.

IamCalvin06 said:

an 8ball of... a 5th of scotch... a puff of the magic dragon... are all ways to get into the zone

say NO to the zone kids!!!!

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Say "no" to the zone, <-------LOL

klockdoc said:

You are one very beautiful women. Oh, wait a minute, I'm married. Sorry.

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Yeah, but it doesn't mean you're dead.

Don't you just hate it..

A lot has been written about the ?zone? in an attempt to define/speculate/articulate/access this altered state of consciousness. In sports it is referred to as ?the zone?. With writers it is referred to as ?writing in flow?.
If there was a single conscious method to precipitate the ?zone? experience a person would find themselves very wealthy. I do not know what triggers it and I, speaking for myself, only know I was in the ?zone? once it has left me.
I have experienced it as a writer and painter as well as in various sports (pool and golf) and would love to be able to call it up on demand.
What kills me is this?.When I am truly in the ?zone? I have a distinct inability to remember the specific aspects of my performance while I was there. For example, I will find myself on the 8-ball after a table run and not be able to recall any of the specific shots that got me there.
Hey! No fair! I want to go back and relive these types of accomplishments.
Your unconscious mind is capable of accomplishing great things. The only thing we need to learn is to get out of its way!
On course there is the other side of the zone, what I refer to as the ?O-zone? and I have spent much more time there than in the zone.

Been there, done that, don't know how I got there but want to go back. I think there are too many things to contribute to a trip to "the zone" to be listed. I'm sure there are volumes written on the subject whether it is pool, basketball, bowling, or any sport or situation. What you ate, drank, or smoked. Who you are with or around. Mental state (thats what we are trying to control). It all, and more plays into "getting in the zone". Its an illusive thing that I wish I could control. We all can to a point but not totally. If we could, we'd never lose.

I have noticed...

I have been paying close attention to the top tier pro's. I have noticed one key element that separates the good from the really good.
SVB never hardly ever takes his eyes off the table when his opponent is at the table. Rafael Martinez is either looking down or at the table as well. I have applied the " watching the cue ball " method and have had good success. I notice some players looking around in the crowd , watching people walk by, all sorts of distractions that takes away from their focus. I have noticed even some good players miss a ball or make a great shot and look in to the crowd as for some sort of approval or recognition. All of which I think is also a mental distraction. Try playing a match without ever taking your eyes off the table and see how strong or weak your focus can be. It has helped me a bunch.

Get your focus and the zone will show up.

Going to the one-loss side at HardTimes and winning five or six matches in a row.