Develop concentration to play pool???
- Thread starter Duane Remick
- Start date
:wink:
I actually know of multiple high level past and present pros that have used chess to tune their concentration. The brain is a muscle! I know.... mines kind of flabby.
td
If it's good enough for Grindz and Efren, it's good enuff for me.
JoeyA
You think your being exact. In reality it is an estimate. In other words, do the best you can.
We tell people it costs exactly $10.00 but in reality it costs more if you add the tax, gas to power your car, cost of your time, etc. We let the other guy factor in all of the other costs. So what does it really cost?
We know the CB returns at 89.x degrees but only if we hit the CB in the correct spot. We are exact in our knowledge but estimate the place to hit for some effect.
I'm Irish, we can rationalize anything.
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I try to do the things that make it easier for me to concentrate. I used to take a nap in the daytime if I was going out to play later in the evening. It's amazing how rest helps your ability to concentrate. I've also laid off the "tine's as much as I can, nicotine, caffeine. They make me jumpy and I lose focus. Just some of my ideas on the subject. My game, depends totally on my ability to concentrate. Lately I've been very successful. Being retired and not involved in the, "Rat Race," is a beautiful thing.
_______________________
A lot of my ideas about the game are in my book.
tommcgonaglerightoncue.com
_______________________
A lot of my ideas about the game are in my book.
tommcgonaglerightoncue.com
I guess I'm lucky. I can get in the moment anytime I want, fully focus on the game, get in the zone, and have nothing else is in my head. But like JoeW says, I can only do it for just so long until my head hurts. My head really never hurts...I can't decribe the feeling I get after awhile of intense consenrtration...but it seems like I can't hold it longer that 10-15 minutes. I can't hold it that long if it's for something I don't enjoy. Johnnyt
Any tips, books, cd's, etc,
THANKS
" Please, No chemically-enhanced programs
...maybe some mental gymastics :idea:
I personally think that a state of concentration is a by product of everything that comes before it.
What comes before focus is patiently reviewing the table to decide your options, having a good plan , and having a solid pre-shot routine for executing the shots.
Nick Varner said it best and most positively "I never shoot without having a plan."
I have not mastered this yet myself. I know I am sloppy, but I think if I did show more patience in planning the table, I would be less inclined to rush to a costly stress-induced mistake.
Chris
that's funny
Joey ,
We talked about this sunday and then the thread appears .....hmmm. What
I do is go to the frozen foods dept at the grocery store and get me some of
that frozen orange juice ........well it says its from "concentrate"
All kidding aside ,I had a great time however brief it was hanging out with
Joey at Buffalo's .If anyone needs a good coach or someone who can spot
something that may help them Joey's the man. Although we talked more than
we played a serious match or anything ,he pointed out two things to me that
when I got home and put into practice really made a world of differnece in
my game . OH and BTW I got a break and run last night in leauges and won
both matches by a landslide . Thanks Joey
Joey ,
We talked about this sunday and then the thread appears .....hmmm. What
I do is go to the frozen foods dept at the grocery store and get me some of
that frozen orange juice ........well it says its from "concentrate"
All kidding aside ,I had a great time however brief it was hanging out with
Joey at Buffalo's .If anyone needs a good coach or someone who can spot
something that may help them Joey's the man. Although we talked more than
we played a serious match or anything ,he pointed out two things to me that
when I got home and put into practice really made a world of differnece in
my game . OH and BTW I got a break and run last night in leauges and won
both matches by a landslide . Thanks Joey
Joey ,
We talked about this sunday and then the thread appears .....hmmm. What
I do is go to the frozen foods dept at the grocery store and get me some of
that frozen orange juice ........well it says its from "concentrate"
All kidding aside ,I had a great time however brief it was hanging out with
Joey at Buffalo's .If anyone needs a good coach or someone who can spot
something that may help them Joey's the man. Although we talked more than
we played a serious match or anything ,he pointed out two things to me that
when I got home and put into practice really made a world of differnece in
my game . OH and BTW I got a break and run last night in leauges and won
both matches by a landslide . Thanks Joey
Hey Matt!
It was nice to have you visit the infamous Buffalo Billiards in Metairie. I'm glad you had a good time and that you are concentrating better. I'll stop by the supermarket and get me a little concentrate too.
Matt is the ultimate traveling Live Streaming Man if any of you are looking for someone to live stream your big tournament. With his background, he could start a business of consulting and set up pool rooms around the country with their live streaming systems. (just a thought)
JoeyA
Bert Kinister is the first one I heard say this-although he extended it to include the time between shots when you're walking around the table. He refers to it as stalking the balls, and as he demonstrates it, you can see him fall almost into a trance. I've since heard it a few places, but it still seems to be one of the most valuable pieces of advice I've ever heard. That makes sense to me, because when I'm in dead stroke, why would I look away from my work and give myself the chance to be distracted?
Plus, in addition to helping you concentrate, you can learn about your opponents' strengths and weaknesses, or you might learn something about the table. Maybe it rolls off by one pocket, maybe one of the rails is dead. Maybe the person you're playing can't kick more than 1 rail, or refuses to jump. Much better to figure that out by watching your opponent struggle than the other way around!!
In reading these posts I agree with the above quote and have done this many times myself and it definitely keeps my focus where it needs to be. Whether I am at the table or watching my opponent, my eyes will be fixed on the game at hand. I also think that the ammount of focus that people have is directly related to the level of competitiveness and the desire to win. Quote that I seen on here recently was "put your heart into it, or get your a$$ out of it" I agree! Also, another quote I heard that applies was about a straight pool player talking about running a hundred and fifty balls. He said that he did not run a hundred and fifty balls but rather ran one ball, a hundred and fifty times. Basically focus on each shot individually! My last comment is that $$$ always improves my focus! Miss expensive shots because your heads not in it and I think that your head will get in it real quick!
There are many ways to improve your concentration and a few have already been mentioned here. Here's what I've learned that may be of help. I don't think you can expect your mind to behave any differently while shooting pool than it does any other time when you are concentrating (or trying to concentrate) on anything, i.e. reading a book, working on something, listening to what someone is saying, etc. If you are in the habit of letting your mind wander, then it's going to wander when you need to concentrate. It probably took a few years to develop the habit and you've been perpetuating it for many more, so it's not going to change right away. The more effort you put into it, the faster you can see a change being made. Meditation is a good way to train your mind to concentrate on one thing and it has many beneficial side effects. Another method is to repeat a mantra or affirmation as you go about your daily activities. Whenever you see your thoughts starting to pull you away, refocus. It's not easy and may take years to master, but the pay off is enormous.
Some of us were lucky and had to learn to apply all of our focus and concentration on one thing when we were young. Most of us weren't or were able to concentrate enough to do something well enough while letting our mind go where it wanted at the same time. Master your mind and you will master your life. What we think about is what we get. Our thoughts create our reality to a much larger extent than most of us realize.
Some of us were lucky and had to learn to apply all of our focus and concentration on one thing when we were young. Most of us weren't or were able to concentrate enough to do something well enough while letting our mind go where it wanted at the same time. Master your mind and you will master your life. What we think about is what we get. Our thoughts create our reality to a much larger extent than most of us realize.
Concentration will not help until you develop an aiming system. If you develop a precise (as possible) aiming system, then you have something on which to concentrate.
Many great players have unorthodox strokes but are still able to hit the ball in the correct spot. It may help to find an instructor who teaches a good aiming system.
Ever wonder why playing on a bar box is easy after you have been playing on an 4X8, 4.5X9 or 5X10? It's because you are concentrating on making the ball, not because you are thinking about your stance, elbow, bridge, etc. I think it was Buddy Hall who said, "just make the ball".
Many great players have unorthodox strokes but are still able to hit the ball in the correct spot. It may help to find an instructor who teaches a good aiming system.
Ever wonder why playing on a bar box is easy after you have been playing on an 4X8, 4.5X9 or 5X10? It's because you are concentrating on making the ball, not because you are thinking about your stance, elbow, bridge, etc. I think it was Buddy Hall who said, "just make the ball".
Here is something that might be worth trying. Set a stop watch and see how long it takes you to find all occurrences of the number "4"
The length of time taken is one measure of concentration. Use a pencil to cross out each number.
You might need to download and delete spaces to have one large array.
Now smoke a cigarette and repeat. Does smoking affect your concentration?
Have a beer.
Play loud music.
If you use some method to train your concentration, use this chart to test yourself a week later.
A week later find all occurences of the number "5".
Random digits from http://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/MR1418/index2.html have been repeated a few times for a large chart.
50134916495151094993505550804986497475565065501450345057490250614942494649605019500950534966489150314895503750625170488650334982518050744892499250115005495948724976499349325039496550344943493251165070501151524990504749745107486949255023490250035092516349365020506949144943491449464860489951384959508950475030503950024937499849574964512449094995505349464995505949485048504150775051500450244886491750044958499350644987504149844991498751134882496849615029503850225023501049884936502551104923502549755095505150354962494248825094496249454891501450025038502351794852495750355051502150364927502249884910505350
50884989504249484999502850374893500449724970503449965008504950164954498949705014164953
50134916495151094993505550804986497475565065501450345057490250614942494649605019500950534966489150314895503750625170488650334982518050744892499250115005495948724976499349325039496550344943493251165070501151524990504749745107486949255023490250035092516349365020506949144943491449464860489951384959508950475030503950024937499849574964512449094995505349464995505949485048504150775051500450244886491750044958499350644987504149844991498751134882496849615029503850225023501049884936502551104923502549755095505150354962494248825094496249454891501450025038502351794852495750355051502150364927502249884910505350
5088498950424948499950285037489350044972497050344996500850495016495449894970501416495350134916495151094993505550804986497475565065501450345057490250614942494649605019500950534966489150314895503750625170488650334982518050744892499250115005495948724976499349325039496550344943493251165070501151524990504749745107486949255023490250035092516349365020506949144943491449464860489951384959508950475030503950024937499849574964512449094995505349464995505949485048504150775051500450244886491750044958499350644987504149844991498751134882496849615029503850225023501049884936502551104923502549755095505150354962494248825094496249454891501450025038502351794852495750355051502150364927502249884910505350
50884989504249484999502850374893500449724970503449965008504950164954498949705014164953
50134916495151094993505550804986497475565065501450345057490250614942494649605019500950534966489150314895503750625170488650334982518050744892499250115005495948724976499349325039496550344943493251165070501151524990504749745107486949255023490250035092516349365020506949144943491449464860489951384959508950475030503950024937499849574964512449094995505349464995505949485048504150775051500450244886491750044958499350644987504149844991498751134882496849615029503850225023501049884936502551104923502549755095505150354962494248825094496249454891501450025038502351794852495750355051502150364927502249884910505350
50884989504249484999502850374893500449724970503449965008504950164954498949705014164953
50134916495151094993505550804986497475565065501450345057490250614942494649605019500950534966489150314895503750625170488650334982518050744892499250115005495948724976499349325039496550344943493251165070501151524990504749745107486949255023490250035092516349365020506949144943491449464860489951384959508950475030503950024937499849574964512449094995505349464995505949485048504150775051500450244886491750044958499350644987504149844991498751134882496849615029503850225023501049884936502551104923502549755095505150354962494248825094496249454891501450025038502351794852495750355051502150364927502249884910505350
50884989504249484999502850374893500449724970503449965008504950164954498949705014164953
Frequency count for the digits
0 529
1 225
2 200
3 200
4 605
5 620
6 165
7 140
8 225
9 540
Double the chart and double the frequency count as needed.
The length of time taken is one measure of concentration. Use a pencil to cross out each number.
You might need to download and delete spaces to have one large array.
Now smoke a cigarette and repeat. Does smoking affect your concentration?
Have a beer.
Play loud music.
If you use some method to train your concentration, use this chart to test yourself a week later.
A week later find all occurences of the number "5".
Random digits from http://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/MR1418/index2.html have been repeated a few times for a large chart.
50134916495151094993505550804986497475565065501450345057490250614942494649605019500950534966489150314895503750625170488650334982518050744892499250115005495948724976499349325039496550344943493251165070501151524990504749745107486949255023490250035092516349365020506949144943491449464860489951384959508950475030503950024937499849574964512449094995505349464995505949485048504150775051500450244886491750044958499350644987504149844991498751134882496849615029503850225023501049884936502551104923502549755095505150354962494248825094496249454891501450025038502351794852495750355051502150364927502249884910505350
50884989504249484999502850374893500449724970503449965008504950164954498949705014164953
50134916495151094993505550804986497475565065501450345057490250614942494649605019500950534966489150314895503750625170488650334982518050744892499250115005495948724976499349325039496550344943493251165070501151524990504749745107486949255023490250035092516349365020506949144943491449464860489951384959508950475030503950024937499849574964512449094995505349464995505949485048504150775051500450244886491750044958499350644987504149844991498751134882496849615029503850225023501049884936502551104923502549755095505150354962494248825094496249454891501450025038502351794852495750355051502150364927502249884910505350
5088498950424948499950285037489350044972497050344996500850495016495449894970501416495350134916495151094993505550804986497475565065501450345057490250614942494649605019500950534966489150314895503750625170488650334982518050744892499250115005495948724976499349325039496550344943493251165070501151524990504749745107486949255023490250035092516349365020506949144943491449464860489951384959508950475030503950024937499849574964512449094995505349464995505949485048504150775051500450244886491750044958499350644987504149844991498751134882496849615029503850225023501049884936502551104923502549755095505150354962494248825094496249454891501450025038502351794852495750355051502150364927502249884910505350
50884989504249484999502850374893500449724970503449965008504950164954498949705014164953
50134916495151094993505550804986497475565065501450345057490250614942494649605019500950534966489150314895503750625170488650334982518050744892499250115005495948724976499349325039496550344943493251165070501151524990504749745107486949255023490250035092516349365020506949144943491449464860489951384959508950475030503950024937499849574964512449094995505349464995505949485048504150775051500450244886491750044958499350644987504149844991498751134882496849615029503850225023501049884936502551104923502549755095505150354962494248825094496249454891501450025038502351794852495750355051502150364927502249884910505350
50884989504249484999502850374893500449724970503449965008504950164954498949705014164953
50134916495151094993505550804986497475565065501450345057490250614942494649605019500950534966489150314895503750625170488650334982518050744892499250115005495948724976499349325039496550344943493251165070501151524990504749745107486949255023490250035092516349365020506949144943491449464860489951384959508950475030503950024937499849574964512449094995505349464995505949485048504150775051500450244886491750044958499350644987504149844991498751134882496849615029503850225023501049884936502551104923502549755095505150354962494248825094496249454891501450025038502351794852495750355051502150364927502249884910505350
50884989504249484999502850374893500449724970503449965008504950164954498949705014164953
Frequency count for the digits
0 529
1 225
2 200
3 200
4 605
5 620
6 165
7 140
8 225
9 540
Double the chart and double the frequency count as needed.
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