Consistency

Pidge

Pidge

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
We've all been there, practicing the day before a tournament or league and you're playing great, then when it comes to show time you play awful. We put it down to choking, nerves and pressure. How do you deal with it? Lots will say improve the mental part of your game, but I beg to differ. Sure you can take up yoga and meditation...im sure Derrick down at the local yoga club would love to have a new addition to the group, but I've never been one for meditation techniques, in fact I find them to be utter BS. Consistent fundamentals make you deal with pressure situations, and in turn make you mentally confident, which makes you mentally tough to crack, thus more consistent.

Consistency starts way before you even think about hitting a ball. It starts right after the last shot you hit. You want to get up the same way, regardless of the outcome. No more jumping cursing the table because you missed. If you miss, pocket the ball, get position, don't get position you want to rise up in a confident manner, calm and then take a step back from the table.

Then you want to asses the table, find out what your next shot is going to be. This should be done a few feet away from the edge of the table to give you the clearest picture. If you need to check an angle, if a ball will pass and so on you do this now. But always be decisive. No walking around the table being unsure, walking back, then going to have another look. Have a look and don't leave that area until you're sure you e made the right decision. Posture around the table counts for a lot, especially when playing another person. Once you have everything figured out you then move to behind the shot.

This is where the repetitive PSR comes in. You do your chalking and aiming from this position, that's it. Its important again, to stand a few feet back from where you will be stood when its time to drop into the shot. In snooker we do this to get a clear view of the line if the shot, then we walk into the shot. The walk in is extremely important and something everyone should try an incorporate. It ensures you don't cut across the line of aim, and keeps the head and eyes constantly fixed on the line of aim. For this, you simply walk towards the cue ball along the line of aim, for some it may be a little step forwards, others 2 steps. Next its time to drop down. Dropping into the shot should be done with the head and eyes moving along the line of aim, not across it as a lot of players do. It keeps the view consistent and clear without having to deal with distorted views of the CB-OB relationship.

Once down, you keep the cue at the cue ball without moving it back and forth until you've check it looks like you're aiming right. If it does, you start your stroking process. Then rinse and repeat.

Following the above advice, and practicing playing like this until its automatic will increase anyone's consistency. Whether you are nervous or not...I've never been so nervous playing pool that I have had uncontrollable shakes, but if you don't get the shakes when nervous you probably aren't cut out to play in pressure games.

Hopefully this will help people new to the game to start on the right tracks or people struggling with consistency.
 
I agree with you that preshot routine is incredibly important to get your game consistent. The problem is that once you have done that the mental side comes into play.

Our brains are powerful things and play a huuuuuge part in our consistency as well however and I don't want anyone to miss the importance of mental toughness. While the techniques you described (yoga, etc.) don't work for you that doesn't mean it won't work for a slew of others.

The most important part of consistency is probably neither of these but the ability to deliver a straight stroke over and over for a variety of shots (off the rail, regular center table shots, when applying english, etc.) and that is only learned through repeated movements of your muscles.
 
Just about everyone has struggled with this at one time or another and I agree a repetitive PSR is vital but it's not the fix-all. When you dog a ball or just miss one and the game ends, you go home thinking about It and if your not careful the next time that shot comes up in a pressure situation it's your memories job to go back to the last time you shot that ball and if you have not shot that ball enough correctly since the "miss" then chances are you will repeat the that miss because that's the information that you have stored for that shot. The shot will change many times and it's your job to correct the memory of that shot before it bites you again.
Good topic BTW
 
Just to add my two cents worth.

Practicing a day or two before a big match is not a very good idea.
I make sure that I am in a playing mode a couple of days before the action.

randyg
 
Pidge, that's some good stuff right there. I've used what you described and it works. I bought Lee Brett's DVD and he walks you through the steps and process that you are referring to. It's helped my game quite a bit and I'm a lot more consistent than I was about 6 months ago.
 
Pidge said:
We've all been there, practicing the day before a tournament or league and you're playing great, then when it comes to show time you play awful. We put it down to choking, nerves and pressure. How do you deal with it? Lots will say improve the mental part of your game, but I beg to differ. Sure you can take up yoga and meditation...im sure Derrick down at the local yoga club would love to have a new addition to the group, but I've never been one for meditation techniques, in fact I find them to be utter BS. Consistent fundamentals make you deal with pressure situations, and in turn make you mentally confident, which makes you mentally tough to crack, thus more consistent.

Consistency starts way before you even think about hitting a ball. It starts right after the last shot you hit. You want to get up the same way, regardless of the outcome. No more jumping cursing the table because you missed. If you miss, pocket the ball, get position, don't get position you want to rise up in a confident manner, calm and then take a step back from the table.



Then you want to asses the table, find out what your next shot is going to be. This should be done a few feet away from the edge of the table to give you the clearest picture. If you need to check an angle, if a ball will pass and so on you do this now. But always be decisive. No walking around the table being unsure, walking back, then going to have another look. Have a look and don't leave that area until you're sure you e made the right decision. Posture around the table counts for a lot, especially when playing another person. Once you have everything figured out you then move to behind the shot.

This is where the repetitive PSR comes in. You do your chalking and aiming from this position, that's it. Its important again, to stand a few feet back from where you will be stood when its time to drop into the shot. In snooker we do this to get a clear view of the line if the shot, then we walk into the shot. The walk in is extremely important and something everyone should try an incorporate. It ensures you don't cut across the line of aim, and keeps the head and eyes constantly fixed on the line of aim. For this, you simply walk towards the cue ball along the line of aim, for some it may be a little step forwards, others 2 steps. Next its time to drop down. Dropping into the shot should be done with the head and eyes moving along the line of aim, not across it as a lot of players do. It keeps the view consistent and clear without having to deal with distorted views of the CB-OB relationship.

Once down, you keep the cue at the cue ball without moving it back and forth until you've check it looks like you're aiming right. If it does, you start your stroking process. Then rinse and repeat.

Following the above advice, and practicing playing like this until its automatic will increase anyone's consistency. Whether you are nervous or not...I've never been so nervous playing pool that I have had uncontrollable shakes, but if you don't get the shakes when nervous you probably aren't cut out to play in pressure games.

Hopefully this will help people new to the game to start on the right tracks or people struggling with consistency.
Click to expand...

Couple more vital steps you omitted, it possible that you have not gotten there to know they are critical ! It takes a lot of practice to know why you miss. I do agree that experience, and many hours of good practice is critical and the only way to wipe off choking.
 
Find a respected instructor and get a few lessons. I can't stress that nearly enough.

Consistency has been a problem for me for a long time so I know how frustrating it can be. You play good one day and play just as bad the next and can't really figure out why.

So, after years of feeling this way I finally decided to do something about it. It just so happens Anthony Beeler lives within a couple hours of me and having read some great reviews I decided to give him a try.

I decided to take 3 5-hour lessons from Anthony and see if he can help fix my consistency problem. I told Anthony that I was a decent player and there were times I played really good and times I played really bad and I didn't know why. I didn't know what to fix or change and just in general how to attack the problem. After a couple hours he fixed some things but most importantly, he gave me reference points to use so that I could always refer back to them if I felt something wasn't right.

My game has taken a big jump in just a few short weeks. Until last month, I hadn't played pool since I got home from Derby City. A 7 month layoff and Anthony and the practice I am putting in has my game and confidence on a level I haven't felt ever, really!

If you don't have time to see an instructor, Anthony offers an online class that is getting some really good reviews. Look him up here...Anthony Beeler is his az name as well.

Get a lesson...you won't regret it!!

Gary
 
I whole heartedly agree, Pidge. Having clearly defined and repeatable processes for both your PSR and stroke mechanics are vital to establishing sound fundamentals and developing muscle memory/auto-pilot, etc.

It's like when we first learned to ride a bike. We did all these things in a process that has stuck with us for life. I don't know anyone that learned to ride a bike as a kid, get on a bike after decades of not riding, and then ride inconsistently day to day because they "forgot how to ride". Your stroke, the horse that pulls your cart of skills, can be learned and locked in just like riding a bike. You should be able to step away from playing for years and be able to dial everything back in after just a short period of knocking the rust off. But this can only be done when you have a defined processes that you can refer back to when you lose your feel, and this process can be used as a diagnostic tool to make corrections as necessary.

As for the mental aspects and the benefits of yoga, meditation, etc. I agree that these will not really help your fundamentals. I think they will help other mental aspects, such as emotional control and mental focus. I believe they can help you not get upset when you miss shots, get bad rolls, or opponents or someone one does something that could upset or distract you. It can also help physical aspects such as controlled breathing under pressure, which can affect focus and judgment, etc.
 
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naji said:
Couple more vital steps you omitted, it possible that you have not gotten there to know they are critical ! It takes a lot of practice to know why you miss. I do agree that experience, and many hours of good practice is critical and the only way to wipe off choking.
Click to expand...
What vital steps would they be, naji? Are they more of your hocus pocus beliefs, magical myths that you vowed to not reveal or are you going to use the language barrier as an excuse to not back up what you say?

I've detailed what has helped me the most with consistency and get me to the level im at today.
 
It's so much having a specific preshot routine...

The first thing you have to do if this is you is discover exactly what you are doing differently between when you're running out and when you're missing those shots...

It was regularly playing with Shawn Putnam and Donny Mills that allowed me to discover what I was doing differently because in the heat of the moment in a tournament, it's difficult to determine what you are doing differently and sometimes it's REALLY subtle.

In my case it was REALLY subtle.

I wasn't pulling up dramatically or at all, I wasn't stroking off or differently. I was looking up from the object ball as I was stroking, by one half to two inches...

That was the difference when I was missing on a shot versus running out.

Once I realized that, I realized that I was doing it A LOT in pressure situations. Once you KNOW what you are doing differently, you can strategize your pre shot and tailor it to make sure you are focusing on the right things on every shot.

I think the idea that it is consistency that is the problem is a misnomer.

You can play super high levels of pool consistently until you get into those pressure situations.

I think many people have just powered through them and got to where it's not as much a different scenario than when they play all the time, or they avoid practicing in non competitive scenarios.

Not all people can do that, nor will it help all people.

But determining and learning WHAT to focus on will help everyone to better consciously play the game.

Jaden
 
Pidge said:
What vital steps would they be, naji? Are they more of your hocus pocus beliefs, magical myths that you vowed to not reveal or are you going to use the language barrier as an excuse to not back up what you say?

I've detailed what has helped me the most with consistency and get me to the level im at today.
Click to expand...

That went south real quick. I though this was going to turn out to be one of the better threads in the main forum. Congrats.
 
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naji...Not really. There are only two ways to miss a shot...poor alignment or poor stroke delivery. Almost all misses will be a result of one of those two things. While it is true that you can have a great repeatable stroke, and still choke...it's not "many hours of good practice" that will help choking. It's getting into "combat" more often, be it league play, tournament play or gambling.

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com

naji said:
Couple more vital steps you omitted, it possible that you have not gotten there to know they are critical ! It takes a lot of practice to know why you miss. I do agree that experience, and many hours of good practice is critical and the only way to wipe off choking.
Click to expand...
 
Pidge said:
We've all been there, practicing the day before a tournament or league and you're playing great, then when it comes to show time you play awful. We put it down to choking, nerves and pressure. How do you deal with it? Lots will say improve the mental part of your game, but I beg to differ. Sure you can take up yoga and meditation...im sure Derrick down at the local yoga club would love to have a new addition to the group, but I've never been one for meditation techniques, in fact I find them to be utter BS. Consistent fundamentals make you deal with pressure situations, and in turn make you mentally confident, which makes you mentally tough to crack, thus more consistent.

Consistency starts way before you even think about hitting a ball. It starts right after the last shot you hit. You want to get up the same way, regardless of the outcome. No more jumping cursing the table because you missed. If you miss, pocket the ball, get position, don't get position you want to rise up in a confident manner, calm and then take a step back from the table.

Then you want to asses the table, find out what your next shot is going to be. This should be done a few feet away from the edge of the table to give you the clearest picture. If you need to check an angle, if a ball will pass and so on you do this now. But always be decisive. No walking around the table being unsure, walking back, then going to have another look. Have a look and don't leave that area until you're sure you e made the right decision. Posture around the table counts for a lot, especially when playing another person. Once you have everything figured out you then move to behind the shot.

This is where the repetitive PSR comes in. You do your chalking and aiming from this position, that's it. Its important again, to stand a few feet back from where you will be stood when its time to drop into the shot. In snooker we do this to get a clear view of the line if the shot, then we walk into the shot. The walk in is extremely important and something everyone should try an incorporate. It ensures you don't cut across the line of aim, and keeps the head and eyes constantly fixed on the line of aim. For this, you simply walk towards the cue ball along the line of aim, for some it may be a little step forwards, others 2 steps. Next its time to drop down. Dropping into the shot should be done with the head and eyes moving along the line of aim, not across it as a lot of players do. It keeps the view consistent and clear without having to deal with distorted views of the CB-OB relationship.

Once down, you keep the cue at the cue ball without moving it back and forth until you've check it looks like you're aiming right. If it does, you start your stroking process. Then rinse and repeat.

Following the above advice, and practicing playing like this until its automatic will increase anyone's consistency. Whether you are nervous or not...I've never been so nervous playing pool that I have had uncontrollable shakes, but if you don't get the shakes when nervous you probably aren't cut out to play in pressure games.

Hopefully this will help people new to the game to start on the right tracks or people struggling with consistency.
Click to expand...

Pidge -- You give a lot of good advice. But one caveat would be to recognize that some good players do not move in toward the CB directly on the shot line but, rather, from an offset position. The offset may or may not be determined by employing a particular aiming method. Indeed, some aiming methods establish an initial line that is not the ultimate shot line, and then a movement of some sort (a pivot or sweep, e.g.) is made to get to the shot line. But a repetitive PSR, as you stress, is a key in the offset approaches as well.
 
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naji seems to like to put up posts saying "there is stuff you dont know" and then saying nothing else like he has some uber secrets hidden away.

I wish he lived closer so we could match up and see what his "uber secrets" are worth!

Note- Naji, If you happen to be travelling near jacksonville fl, please let me know so we can match up :)
 
owll said:
naji seems to like to put up posts saying "there is stuff you dont know" and then saying nothing else like he has some uber secrets hidden away.

I wish he lived closer so we could match up and see what his "uber secrets" are worth!

Note- Naji, If you happen to be travelling near jacksonville fl, please let me know so we can match up :)
Click to expand...


When we talk fundamentals, techniques, ways to shoot, pressure, choking all is related to the skill of pocketing a ball only which by itself does not make you a good player (call it skill # 1). add to that the skill of position play (cue speed), banks, kicks, jumps, safety, patience..then you get into a total comprehensive player skill (call it skill # 2). You can have a player that has great #1 skill, but sucks with # 2 skill, or the other way around.

For skill # 1 there are many factors the OP did not mention, that are critical, surely, not for one footer shots, but for long, off angle shots..
 
Scott Lee said:
naji...Not really. There are only two ways to miss a shot...poor alignment or poor stroke delivery. Almost all misses will be a result of one of those two things. While it is true that you can have a great repeatable stroke, and still choke...it's not "many hours of good practice" that will help choking. It's getting into "combat" more often, be it league play, tournament play or gambling.

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com
Click to expand...

You beat me to it! A person can practice a shot, practice a PSR, practice a stroke. You also need to regularly practice putting yourself in high pressure situations. Do it often enough and train your brain to deal with.
 
naji said:
When we talk fundamentals, techniques, ways to shoot, pressure, choking all is related to the skill of pocketing a ball only which by itself does not make you a good player (call it skill # 1). add to that the skill of position play (cue speed), banks, kicks, jumps, safety, patience..then you get into a total comprehensive player skill (call it skill # 2). You can have a player that has great #1 skill, but sucks with # 2 skill, or the other way around.

For skill # 1 there are many factors the OP did not mention, that are critical, surely, not for one footer shots, but for long, off angle shots..
Click to expand...

if you find yourself in northern florida, let me know
 
buckshotshoey said:
You beat me to it! A person can practice a shot, practice a PSR, practice a stroke. You also need to regularly practice putting yourself in high pressure situations. Do it often enough and train your brain to deal with.
Click to expand...

Question: Why a player (any player) usually miss more often on his first few shots , some continue to miss for an hour or two into a match or practice; the answer is he is missing a check list item or more, that either he does not know what it is/are, and it comes after hours of play by itself, and during pressure moments he revert back to original play when he was cold or he/she knows and correct for it. Those that know every check list item will most likely be ready to play in very short time, do not need to warm up much for pocketing, but do warm up for table speed? what are those check list items, how many, the answer is they differ from one person to other; i am sure Earl still discovering some of them, Efren changing cues lately. I know few that never mentioned on AZB.. the list is huge, we are talking long hard off angle shots here, not easy one footer shots. OP mentioned few important ones, but left out critical ones..
 
Pidge said:
Consistency starts way before you even think about hitting a ball. It starts right after the last shot you hit. You want to get up the same way, regardless of the outcome. No more jumping cursing the table because you missed. If you miss, pocket the ball, get position, don't get position you want to rise up in a confident manner, calm and then take a step back from the table.

These are excellent points. I'd like to add my own since you started so well:smile:

If you miss a ball, go sit down and STFU.
If you get a "bad" roll, go sit down and STFU.
If you lose a game you should've won, go sit down and STFU.
If your opponent gets "lucky" position, remain seated and STFU.
If your opponent slops a ball in, remain seated and STFU.
You aren't the first player these things have ever happened to so STFU.

The only thing that histrionics do is take you out of your game so STFU:D


Whether you are nervous or not...I've never been so nervous playing pool that I have had uncontrollable shakes, but if you don't get the shakes when nervous you probably aren't cut out to play in pressure games. I've played what many here would call "pressure games" when gambling on my own dime and I'm never nervous. I'm scared, terrified, petrified and horrified but never nervous. Of course, every time I get a physical the nurses are amazed at my blood pressure. It's perfect. I think I'm one of those people whose heart slows down when under so-called pressure. I never feel pressure on a pooltable. I'm just lucky I guess.

Hopefully this will help people new to the game to start on the right tracks or people struggling with consistency.
Click to expand...

Good post Pidge. Everyone else is giving their own ideas as to what you wrote so I thought I'd give mine.

ONB
 
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