Reasons for missed shots.

Reasons why you miss shots?

  • Sequence error, poor routine and setup.

    Votes: 24 16.9%
  • Bad stroke, elbow drop, steering the cue, tight grip.

    Votes: 42 29.6%
  • Alignment error, straight in shot missed left or right.

    Votes: 30 21.1%
  • Poor judgement in cut angle.

    Votes: 28 19.7%
  • Deflection or swerve.

    Votes: 9 6.3%
  • Poor mental focus.

    Votes: 78 54.9%
  • The pocket moved!

    Votes: 20 14.1%

  • Total voters
    142

Big C

Deep in the heart of TX.
Silver Member
This is my first poll, so please feel free to educate me.

When you miss a shot, what do you blame it on? Do you accept that sooner or later we all miss, or do you try and reconstruct and analyze the reason you missed and take corrective action? Given the choices in the poll, what would you choose as the greatest factor causing you to miss a shot? For me, I have noticed I miss mostly due to grip pressure. Light grip pressure works best for me. When my grip begins to tighten up is when I get sloppy.
 
This is my first poll, so please feel free to educate me.

When you miss a shot, what do you blame it on? Do you accept that sooner or later we all miss, or do you try and reconstruct and analyze the reason you missed and take corrective action? Given the choices in the poll, what would you choose as the greatest factor causing you to miss a shot? For me, I have noticed I miss mostly due to grip pressure. Light grip pressure works best for me. When my grip begins to tighten up is when I get sloppy.

I usually blame my misses on you, Big C.
 
I'm sorry, I missed that. Say it again?

Dem sounds like fightin words! Get it on!

To the OP, you didn't include the poll option:

"You see two balls and guessed wrong" ;)

I think my misses are due to some minor flaw in the delivery of the cue thru the CB. Maybe I missed my intended spot on the CB by a 1/4 tip because my pendulum stroke went outside or inside somewhere.
 
I'm sorry, I missed that. Say it again?

I think he is saying that if you miss because of him then if you two played you would never be able to make anything since he is always there.

I took it as a joke, but then again I've been wrong before. :wink:
 
well i picked bad cut angle since "had my head up my a**" wasnt listed as a choice, lol.

Mike
 
I think he is saying that if you miss because of him then if you two played you would never be able to make anything since he is always there.

I took it as a joke, but then again I've been wrong before. :wink:

I must've missed the point. Again with the missing.
 
I think he is saying that if you miss because of him then if you two played you would never be able to make anything since he is always there.

I took it as a joke, but then again I've been wrong before. :wink:
DITTO that sir.
 
Generally, I think that if it is a fairly simple shot that I have made frequently in the past, it is due to lack of mental focus. Keep in mind, that if you lack mental focus, you may be in bad form, not keeping your eye on the object ball, jumping up, etc. which could relate to mechanics. However, the root cause would be from poor mental focus. In these instances, I normally chastise myself for not keeping my focus in the game.

For difficult shots missed, it is generally caused by an error in judgment on aim or speed. For those shots, I tend to analyze after what I should have done to execute the shot properly.
 
So far the results are pretty one-sided and I thank you for those who took the time to vote and respond. Most people are blaming poor mental focus and I find that understandable. I think that it is being used as a scapegoat as we may not know the actual reason(s) for missing. We are all human and that means we are flawed. For us to not miss, we must be able to correctly judge the correct cut angle, if any. Consistently setup our bodies to the shot that will allow us to be precise and accurate to within just a few millimeters and have the mental focus to wait to pull the trigger until we are certain that the shot will go in. Lather, rinse, repeat. Since most people have a very short attention span, poor mental focus is definitely the main factor for missing. So how do we improve that aspect?
 
We miss shots for two reasons. ONe, we aim at the wrong place, or, two, we have a fundamentals issue that didn't allow us to deliver the cue ball where we were aiming.

Once we develop a consistent, repeatable stroke, all that is left is to learn where to aim.

Steve
 
We miss shots for two reasons. ONe, we aim at the wrong place, or, two, we have a fundamentals issue that didn't allow us to deliver the cue ball where we were aiming.

Once we develop a consistent, repeatable stroke, all that is left is to learn where to aim.

Steve

You forgot miscues, skids and bad rolls.
 
We miss shots for two reasons. ONe, we aim at the wrong place, or, two, we have a fundamentals issue that didn't allow us to deliver the cue ball where we were aiming.

Once we develop a consistent, repeatable stroke, all that is left is to learn where to aim.

Steve
Where should we be aiming and how can we recognize it? If I made the shot and my fundamentals are not good, could it be that I just got lucky?
 
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