Why the hell do we keep on doing this ??

P

poolmaster

Devilish
Silver Member
It's so simple, play the table and not your opponent. Guess what, it's not
that simple, at least for me. I've played Stevie Moore once, and the
second I started to play, I just froze. There were millions of thoughts
going through my head, mostly negative. Things like, oh, it's Stevie, I
supposed to lose. How retarded is that? For those of you , who don't have
that problem, all I can say , God bless you, I wish I were in your shoes.

The good news is, that it doesn't happen every time, but why? If I can
control my emotions half the time, why not all the time? The more I play
this game, the more complicated it gets. It seems, that we like to take
a simple matter and complicate tha crap out of it. Perhaps it is happening
to everyone, and there is no solution for it, I don't know anymore.

I'm curious, what all of you can say about this issue.
 
skip said:
It"s balls an a stick. Sometimes you just got to let it go. :smile:
Click to expand...
It seems so easy, doesn't it? Just let it go. If you make a mistake, how come so many
times we end up dwelling on it and mess up the rest of the set, tourney,etc.?
I know that nothing in your life is black and white, there's a gray area, but in pool, that
gray area is the size of an ocean.
 
Tell me, if I'm lying. You go to a tournament, look down at the field and
say, I hope I don't get him/her in my first round. It shouldn't matter, the
table remains the same, right? For some reason we would like to play
certain opponents first. Lets assume everyone is the same speed, but we
still would like to play some people first. Why?
 
I suppose you could do the old public speaking trick - imagine your opponent is naked. Might not work but could be good for some laughs.

Was there money involved in that match? Larry Liscotti (sp) once asked me to play 9 ball for a hundred a rack. I just knew there was no way on earth any talent I had would count for spit against him so I just laughed and told him to find someone else to play. Sometimes that's the best move. :)
 
Underclocked said:
I suppose you could do the old public speaking trick - imagine your opponent is naked. Might not work but could be good for some laughs.

Was there money involved in that match? Larry Liscotti (sp) once asked me to play 9 ball for a hundred a rack. I just knew there was no way on earth any talent I had would count for spit against him so I just laughed and told him to find someone else to play. Sometimes that's the best move. :)
Click to expand...
It was a tournament.
 
Actually, I no longer worry about the draw in a tournament. I play my best, note my negatives as well as positives and keep moving. I figure what's the point in worry about who you are playing? If he has less skill, you should win, if you are equal it's a coin toss, if he's better then hope he teaches you something. It's really not that big a deal anymore.
 
compete-1 whistling in the dark - 0

I's a war game ,like chess.If you aren't aware of your opponent,you aren't getting it!
You don't push to jump shots with a great jumper.You don't push to banks with a great banker.
Avoid conservative shots with a grinder,leave a few 'white flags' for
a cannon.
Boxers adjust their styles for different opponents.
After a couple years on the road i learned to play the LAST game the
other guy wanted to see.
When you play a GREAT player it's like playing the ghost,keep him in his chair or start the car.
Even match-play golf has gamemanship.Read Sam Snead's book.

If you only play the table,on-line poker may be for you rather than live.

...just my oppinion,but it saved me from phoning home for money a
few times.
 
its actually the exact opposite for me, i revel in playing the best i can possibly play 9 of 10 times ill play my best when im playing the best, perfect example when i was 18 i was playing vnea AA division leagues and was having a decent season had some table runs and some nice shots all bla bla well the year before the owner of the poolhall we played out of his team won the open masters division in vegas (team doom) when we played them in leagues i broke and ran all 3 of my breaks and technically ran both the other racks but was left with no shot my first shot on one game and he ended up with no shot and i ran out from there, but the point is that was my only 50 of the season and couldnt miss a shot if i tried, but the downside to this is when i play lesser players i cant play because i take them for granted
 
NewStroke said:
Actually, I no longer worry about the draw in a tournament. I play my best, note my negatives as well as positives and keep moving. I figure what's the point in worry about who you are playing? If he has less skill, you should win, if you are equal it's a coin toss, if he's better then hope he teaches you something. It's really not that big a deal anymore.
Click to expand...
I have an question. Does that work 100% for you, or is there still a time when it doesn't?
 
poolmaster said:
I have an question. Does that work 100% for you, or is there still a time when it doesn't?
Click to expand...

As far as I can tell, it does. I really look forward to playing better players though. JDB and I have had some matches that were extremely challenging and close. Regardless of the outcome, many positives are gained in matches like that.
 
pt109 said:
I's a war game ,like chess.If you aren't aware of your opponent,you aren't getting it!
You don't push to jump shots with a great jumper.You don't push to banks with a great banker.
Avoid conservative shots with a grinder,leave a few 'white flags' for
a cannon.
Boxers adjust their styles for different opponents.
After a couple years on the road i learned to play the LAST game the
other guy wanted to see.
When you play a GREAT player it's like playing the ghost,keep him in his chair or start the car.
Even match-play golf has gamemanship.Read Sam Snead's book.

If you only play the table,on-line poker may be for you rather than live.

...just my oppinion,but it saved me from phoning home for money a
few times.
Click to expand...
Every game should be like playing chess. My thing is, that when you draw a recognized
player, you have a tendency to think negative before the game even starts. It's like,
since he is who he is, you supposed to lose. With that point of view, you lose before
you even hit the first ball. You should have a faith in yourself, but that easier said than
done.
 
Wait, wait, wait let me backup, there are certain poeple I hate playing, it's the moron that thinks they are really good but can't even talk a great game and they are too stupid to understand that. That's about 30% of the people I play against in the APA. I basically just shutdown when playing them. In fact I think I couple times I sunk the 8 early to get the match over with.
 
very honest

What a honest and refreshing post .Well some would say that people
that do this like us have "issues" .:lmao: The big news is we ALL have
em ,maybe not this but we have em trust me. The thing that makes
all the difference in the world is how well you deal with em and I think
you just made a huge leap by posting this and being honest. What people
have told me that has helped me with this is a couple things .One being
it's called the nerves or being on edge and that I should embrace it and
learn to use it for my benefit and not let it work against me .John Ditoro
even told me he wished he could get a case of the nerves from time to
time and that used to be when he knew he was playing his best . I guess
in my words it will get better ,or worse ,or stay about the same but worrying
about it for sure won't change it.Also remember the title of Jimmy Reid's
DVD ....NO TIME FOR NEGATIVE .Put a gaurd at the gate of your mind with
a big sign that says that .

poolmaster said:
It's so simple, play the table and not your opponent. Guess what, it's not
that simple, at least for me. I've played Stevie Moore once, and the
second I started to play, I just froze. There were millions of thoughts
going through my head, mostly negative. Things like, oh, it's Stevie, I
supposed to lose. How retarded is that? For those of you , who don't have
that problem, all I can say , God bless you, I wish I were in your shoes.

The good news is, that it doesn't happen every time, but why? If I can
control my emotions half the time, why not all the time? The more I play
this game, the more complicated it gets. It seems, that we like to take
a simple matter and complicate tha crap out of it. Perhaps it is happening
to everyone, and there is no solution for it, I don't know anymore.

I'm curious, what all of you can say about this issue.
Click to expand...
 
There is a tool to help you empty your head fast: alcohol. No, I'm not talking about getting pissed, I'm talking about drinking a small shot of strong booze (like a spoonful of whisky). Alcohol is a potent, short-term anxiolytic substance: it dulls anxiety in a hurry, and such a small dose doesn't affect your game. For me, it's usually enough to forget whom I'm playing against, make some good shots and thus get into a winning state of mind. The problem is, it only works on people who almost never drink. If you already drink regularly, you won't feel much of an effect.

Note that I'm not advocating drinking, rather using alcohol for its (few) beneficial side effects. It's a great medicine for people like me who don't enjoy drinking in the first place. If you like your booze however, forget what I said :)
 
NewStroke said:
As far as I can tell, it does. I really look forward to playing better players though. JDB and I have had some matches that were extremely challenging and close. Regardless of the outcome, many positives are gained in matches like that.
Click to expand...
What did you do, in order to achieve 100%? Was it only, because you kept on doing it,
and over time you just got used to it?
 
Fastolfe said:
There is a tool to help you empty your head fast: alcohol. No, I'm not talking about getting pissed, I'm talking about drinking a small shot of strong booze (like a spoonful of whisky). Alcohol is a potent, short-term anxiolytic substance: it dulls anxiety in a hurry, and such a small dose doesn't affect your game. For me, it's usually enough to forget whom I'm playing against, make some good shots and thus get into a winning state of mind. The problem is, it only works on people who almost never drink. If you already drink regularly, you won't feel much of an effect.

Note that I'm not advocating drinking, rather using alcohol for its (few) beneficial side effects. It's a great medicine for people like me who don't enjoy drinking in the first place. If you like your booze however, forget what I said :)
Click to expand...
I've tried this approach and it didn't work. Once the alcohol effect went away, I had to
drink more to get it back. I didn't want to keep on drinking in order to play well, so I
stopped.
 
poolmaster said:
What did you do, in order to achieve 100%? Was it only, because you kept on doing it,
and over time you just got used to it?
Click to expand...

I think because I kept doing it but I also listened to Dave Sapolis and what was in his 9 ball book. That guy really opened up my mind to competition. I think much of that comes from the fact we are alot alike so I relate well to how he says things.
 
Win your share

poolmaster said:
Every game should be like playing chess. My thing is, that when you draw a recognized
player, you have a tendency to think negative before the game even starts. It's like,
since he is who he is, you supposed to lose. With that point of view, you lose before
you even hit the first ball. You should have a faith in yourself, but that easier said than
done.
Click to expand...

If you are a 2to1 under-dog you should win 1 in 3.If you dwell on your disadvantage you might never win.When you're 2nd best,go for his throat!

I know ,easy to say-hard to do,but keep striving.
 
That's a Hell of an attitude

:scratchhead:
NewStroke said:
Actually, I no longer worry about the draw in a tournament. I play my best, note my negatives as well as positives and keep moving. I figure what's the point in worry about who you are playing? If he has less skill, you should win, if you are equal it's a coin toss, if he's better then hope he teaches you something. It's really not that big a deal anymore.
Click to expand...


You play your best-give your best effort in rack strategy/shot selection/analyzing risk-reward outcome probabilities/confident and free flowing stroking - and whether you win or lose is not a big deal? You are telling me that you don't whine/cry/blame the waitress for walking by/accuse the opponent of sharking AND getting ALL the rolls/remind everyone of the SKID of the 9ball that hung hill-hill. But EVERYTHING IS A BIG DEAL!! Isn't it??

I have been that crybaby-I'm a recovering whiner. I'm trying to change my ways-but it's hard man! You know-there are some crazy-lucky MF's out there who taunt you and taunt you with their unconscious luck. Sorry-old me talking again.

As a non-gambler-I agree with your 'best effort' philosophy. Living it- is a different animal. I must find a more happy 'happy place' I guess. I wonder how screwed up I would be about this-if I actually could play some.

Maybe there are more important things to worry about. Maybe.

3railkick

recovering whiner/seeking cure for stupid
 
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