Do you consciously think about alignment, stroke, pause etc?

[alstl]

When you are playing do you consciously think about your alignment, stroke, pause etc?

 

[skip]

It must be automatic. One man's opinion. But maybe that's why I am a C player?

 

[sfleinen]

When you are playing do you consciously think about your alignment, stroke, pause etc?

I'm assuming when you use the word "playing" you mean a tourney match or money game, rather than just practicing, correct? If so, the following are true for me:

Alignment, yes. (This is a crucial part of the aim to pocket the ball, after all.) I make sure I'm properly aligned on the shot line *every single time*. I have to, because I use a snooker stance, and if I'm a bit off on my alignment and I have to lean one way or the other to compensate, I'm already uncomfortable before I even attempt the shot. My PSR (pre-shot routine) includes sighting the shot line all the way off the table and onto the floor in front of me. I then make it a point to step onto that shot line, and bend into my snooker stance. However, my actual aiming process is subconscious and I don't spend a lot of brain cycles in "aiming." I'll perhaps give a quick thought as to whether the angle of the shot is vulnerable to throw or "skidding" (and do the appropriate allowances for), but I'm not engaging the conscious brain into the aiming itself. This is because by the time I've stepped into the shot, I've already "aimed" -- it's in the past, and all I have to do now is execute the shot.

Stroke/pause, no. If you have to think about these things [that should be second-nature/muscle-memory-committed already], you've already missed the shot -- if not now, then a subsequent shot. It's not good to short-circuit/bypass that mass storehouse of "execution knowledge," the subconscious brain.

Hope this is helpful,
-Sean

 

[Johnnyt]

I think about my stroke waaaay too much while I'm playing lately. I blame it on reading too much AZ stuff. I think an AZ vacation is in order for me. Johnnyt

 

[pooltchr]

I think about it all when I am practicing.
I don't think about any of it when I am playing.

Steve

 

[randyg]

I consciously Train & Practice my three (3) pre-shot routines so that they are sub-conscious during Play time.

"How can you think and hit at the same time?" Yogi

 

[Majic]

I think about my stroke waaaay too much while I'm playing lately. I blame it on reading too much AZ stuff. I think an AZ vacation is in order for me. Johnnyt

Do you actually read this stuff ????:wink2:

 

[vincentwu817]

It depends on the level of player I guess. I play ok, but I've been a little out of stroke lately, so I reaffirm the proper fundamentals when I shoot so that I can develop a new, better habit.

However, for those who have played for many years and has developed a good stroke, then of course they don't need to think about it.

 

[onepocketron]

I consciously Train & Practice my three (3) pre-shot routines so that they are sub-conscious during Play time.

What Randy G. said.....only when doing drills....never when I'm playing. You do it in drills/practice long enough, it becomes second nature.
One sure way to mindfu*k yourself is to be thinking of all that stuff while you are trying to compete.

 

[gunzby]

I have noticed that while practicing I will get a little sloppy in my focus while playing on a normal table. This is why I typically practice on a double shimmed table, but even then I found that once I started getting tired I would get a little sloppy too.

Today I hopped on the snooker table and quickly realized that it took 100% focus of a laser straight stroke to make regular sized balls into a 3" pocket....particularly when shooting a rail shot which takes perfect aim and perfect speed. Once I got warmed up to it I was sinking table length shots with regularity. I think I have found my favorite stroke trainer and it's at the pool hall I shoot at every week.

 

[Slim Limpy]

**********

 

[randyg]

OK, I agree with the necessity to allow your subconscious abilities to control your playing during game conditions as much as possible. What freaks me out is when someone says I don't think about any of these stroke contingencies at all when they are playing. Does that mean that when you align a railed cueball and you are setting up a 4' or greater shot you just get down in shooting condition and don't consciously consider the amount and position of cueball contact you can achieve on a railed cueball more than on a shot with the cueball 6" or more off the rail? When was the last time you saw a pro not take more time to consciously align a railed cueball more than a simple 3' stop shot with the cue ball centered in the middle of the table? Anytime anyone starts their predeturmined shooting pattern in sync to their natural rhythm and interrupts that flow(for any reason) it's because their conscious appreciation of the difficulty of the shot has interrupted their subconscious abilities (or lack of it) to perform the shot correctly. So you guys never interrupt the natural flow of your game under game conditions? You guys have every single shot burned into your subconscious??

WOWIE ZOWIE!! YOU'RE MACHINES!!! AM I EVEN ALLOWED TO TOUCH YOU GUYS???

My three pre-shot routines are:
THINK
SEE
DO

If I do my routines I think before every shot....SPF=randyg

 

[pooltchr]

Think before shooting.
Shoot without thinking.

Steve

 

[tom mcgonagle]

There's an old saying in this game and many others, "If you think, you stink."

Do all of your thinking before you go to the table to shoot. That's what I do.

 

[pjwoolw]

I try to keep it simple. Simply because my play is so pathetic. But I am trying to make things a bit more automatic by thinking about alignment and such with every shot. I only got back in the game a few months ago so I'm doing my best to create good habits.