Lacking faith in yourself, and how do you deal with it?
- Thread starter poolmaster
- Start date
The Triangle Pecking Order
A beats B. B Beats C. C beats A. Been There and Done That.
I think it is both your Confidence and your Opponent's Confidence that comes into play here. Pecking Order is a big factor of Life in general and not just pool. To break the mind set can be hard to do. But Beat that Opponent one time and you are on your way of both putting a mental block on him and lifting the one on your self.
I have also seen this from the other side by letting a friend Beat me a few times. Their game comes up a notch when they think they have chance. This has also back fired on me in tournaments when a lesser player that I have let beat me in practices, Beats me in a tournament.
A beats B. B Beats C. C beats A. Been There and Done That.
I think it is both your Confidence and your Opponent's Confidence that comes into play here. Pecking Order is a big factor of Life in general and not just pool. To break the mind set can be hard to do. But Beat that Opponent one time and you are on your way of both putting a mental block on him and lifting the one on your self.
I have also seen this from the other side by letting a friend Beat me a few times. Their game comes up a notch when they think they have chance. This has also back fired on me in tournaments when a lesser player that I have let beat me in practices, Beats me in a tournament.
Putting too much pressure on yourself is no fuking good, trust me, I know. I have to
work on my killer instinct, I'm lacking of it. Pool, any game, life itself, it's like an animal
kingdom, the survival of the fittest, and if you're not strong enough, you'll die.
Nice!
Excellent info in post #10 and a big congratulations on beating Jason twice in one day. That is worth bragging about a little.
There was a time when I thought the very best never made a mistake. I learned that everyone makes mistakes and you have to move when you get a chance. Also you can put heat on them too. Few people can't be made to feel a little pressure. The vast majority of all players, including the vast majority of pro's, are subject to make errors when feeling the pressure. The Mosconi Cup is a great example. Every player there is super strong yet there are many shots each day that make you wonder how the shooter could miss that. Their odds may be one in ten or one in a hundred of missing that particular shot but sooner or later everyone misses almost any shot. The odds of them missing are much higher if they know they will be paying for any miss.
Hu
Excellent info in post #10 and a big congratulations on beating Jason twice in one day. That is worth bragging about a little.
There was a time when I thought the very best never made a mistake. I learned that everyone makes mistakes and you have to move when you get a chance. Also you can put heat on them too. Few people can't be made to feel a little pressure. The vast majority of all players, including the vast majority of pro's, are subject to make errors when feeling the pressure. The Mosconi Cup is a great example. Every player there is super strong yet there are many shots each day that make you wonder how the shooter could miss that. Their odds may be one in ten or one in a hundred of missing that particular shot but sooner or later everyone misses almost any shot. The odds of them missing are much higher if they know they will be paying for any miss.
Hu
Enjoy the game
All this reminds me of a championship match between Efren and the Miz, some years ago.....
As I recall, Efren was playing perfect pool. Accu Stats rating way up there. At one point Efren ran 5 or 6 racks. When the Miz did have a shot, it was usually a kick or a safe. I never forget when the Miz calmly turned to Efren after his run and joked about how he finally would get a chance to shoot. On top of this, I think that Efren left him a tough shot by accident. At any rate, I was really impressed by the casual demeanor displayed by Mizerak. Even though the Miz lost, I recall him having some excellent runouts despite the fact that Efren played unreal pool. He did not display anger, frustration, resentment, or any of the other negative emotions that most of us would if put in that situation. He even turned to the crowd when Efren later left him an easy nine and said, "I think I can get this one". The crowd loved it and so did Efren.
The Miz epitomized grace and courage in defeat. He played great pool, he just happened to get beat by a guy playing better that day. I think he really enjoyed himself, despite what could have been a humbling loss.
All this reminds me of a championship match between Efren and the Miz, some years ago.....
As I recall, Efren was playing perfect pool. Accu Stats rating way up there. At one point Efren ran 5 or 6 racks. When the Miz did have a shot, it was usually a kick or a safe. I never forget when the Miz calmly turned to Efren after his run and joked about how he finally would get a chance to shoot. On top of this, I think that Efren left him a tough shot by accident. At any rate, I was really impressed by the casual demeanor displayed by Mizerak. Even though the Miz lost, I recall him having some excellent runouts despite the fact that Efren played unreal pool. He did not display anger, frustration, resentment, or any of the other negative emotions that most of us would if put in that situation. He even turned to the crowd when Efren later left him an easy nine and said, "I think I can get this one". The crowd loved it and so did Efren.
The Miz epitomized grace and courage in defeat. He played great pool, he just happened to get beat by a guy playing better that day. I think he really enjoyed himself, despite what could have been a humbling loss.
It takes a real man to do what he did, yes I agree. You have to go a little deeper
than that. What I mean is, by not displaying your emotions to the outside, it does't
mean, that you're not boiling on the inside. The true control of your emotions only
counts in your head. If you master that, then you're a winner.
I've never played a player that didn't miss, and I've played some of the best.
They all miss, sometimes the best even miss ball in hand.
YOU can beat anyone, if you just make the best of the chances you get, because you WILL get chances.
They all miss, sometimes the best even miss ball in hand.
YOU can beat anyone, if you just make the best of the chances you get, because you WILL get chances.
I always looked forward to playing a strong opponent. It got my adrenaline going.
I was also smart enough to know, I was possibly going to lose.
What I did at this point was set realistic goals for myself. If I were playing a race to nine, I would set my sites at winning five to six games. Strange things started happening, in some of those matches. I was either in front after five or six games or very close to the lead. At this point the pressure was on my opponent, they were supposed to win. I went on to win a good share of these matches.
The worst thing you can do is surrender before the battle even starts. When your opponent starts shooting at you, shoot back. Either that or leard to duck, or play safe, and possibly take them out of their game.
I was also smart enough to know, I was possibly going to lose.
What I did at this point was set realistic goals for myself. If I were playing a race to nine, I would set my sites at winning five to six games. Strange things started happening, in some of those matches. I was either in front after five or six games or very close to the lead. At this point the pressure was on my opponent, they were supposed to win. I went on to win a good share of these matches.
The worst thing you can do is surrender before the battle even starts. When your opponent starts shooting at you, shoot back. Either that or leard to duck, or play safe, and possibly take them out of their game.
