mental problem!

[ShootingArts]

consider the other person's "skill set"

One thing you aren't considering is the other player's "skill set". The fact that they are going to take a flyer and shoot way too hard messing up your planned pattern is the way they play. While it is a poor skill set, it is the skill level they are at.

I learned long ago to accept however the other player shot as their skill set. People that shoot too hard and send the balls flying are going to scratch more. They are also going to luck in more balls and snarl your pattern far more than a player at a higher level. There is more short term variance involved playing these players.

Part of your issue is almost certainly not giving the other player their due. A really bad player gets far luckier than a good player simply because a good player does his best to keep luck out of the game. You have to accept their luck good and bad as part of their game. When you accept their bad luck as poor play and their good luck as only luck you are underestimating the player. Awkward boxers are very tough to fight and win a lot of bouts at the lower and mid levels simply because they are hard to time and come at you from odd angles. Think of these awkward pool players the same way.

Hu

 

[robleyf7]

There are several components to the mental game and the competitive player needs to master all of them to play at the highest level.

You have to know and understand your own unconscious to some extent. You have to know why you play and what you expect from the game. Your conscious mind and your unconscious mind need to get along when you pursue a win. If you truly berate yourself your unconscious will get even and you will lose the game, money or prestige, whatever you were trying to achieve. If you do not know why you play you are prone to the stress and anxiety a match induces.

You need to understand your own subconscious and how it works. It is the real pool player in you and you have to learn to guide this process while allowing it free expression.

You have to learn the ability to fully concentrate on a shot and then withdraw this concentration as you move in and out of the playing position. Unless you have resolved the “issues” with your unconscious and subconscious your ability to concentrate will be reduced.

Any of these three areas could be hurting your game.


Here are a few links to articles I have written on these topics with my sincere thanks to Dr Dave for hosting the articles from my old web site.

http://billiards.colostate.edu/PBReview/index.html

For information about the unconscious and concentration see “Competitive Anxiety” and “Hypnosis and Pool” and “Learning Mental Control”

For information about subconscious control see, “Fake it till you make it,” “Seeing is Believing”, “Self Talk works”, “Changing bad Habits” and “Imagery.”

Concentration is also discussed under “Learning mental control.”

nice post mister joeW, i learned alot from u. thanks alot! learn from mister joeW he knows what he is talking about

 

[Island Drive]

I play pool all the time. and i play on leauge nights...

Why is it that i can shoot the lights out when i practice and play people that are at my level and we can shoot all day with only a handfull of bad games. But as soon as i play someone in leauge that couldent tell the side pocket from a hole in the groud, i cant hardly beat them..

So my question is, does this happen to everyone?? How does a sucky player bring you down sooo much?? I know that i start to get annoyed with them, I know that dosent help but its like once i play one crappy person on a team its all down hill from there.. I dont lose alot but some games sure get dragged out...

is it just the way of the world. And i have tried to think in my head "hey they are a really good player take them out" then i see them play and ya all out the window. any advise on this would help.

oh and i dont play on a very high level of leauge, hard to move up in ours. its not like the apa, also my team just a bunch of drunks. so im the only one that practices and such. so i wont be moveing up anytime soon so i have to play people not so good at pool.

Sounds to me like your trying to ''make it happen'' instead of just playing like you always do and LET IT HAPPEN. Others call it analysis paralysis'.

 

[Ghosst]

I've been thinking about one aspect of this quite a bit lately, mostly in regard to how beginners seem to also get lucky with safes on a regular basis, even though it's not their intention.

When a more experienced player hits their shot, they are intending (unless it's a shot-to-nothing/two-way) to leave the CB in the open to make their next shot easier. We aren't going to stuff the ball behind a few obstacle balls unless we're intending a safe. The CB has an intended path an even when we miss the shot it's not by a lot and the CB finishes close to where we were aiming.

The beginner on the other hand, just hits their shot, with no real intention to move the CB in a particular way. Closer shots are hit softer, often keeping the CB near a cushion. Long shots get hit harder and the CB gets slowed when it contacts an obstacle ball, tying it up.

 

[Oregonmeds]

It's your association to Earl and him as your avitar, that loosing "I'm a looser" mentality is contageous and rubs off easily.

Just kiding actually I think it's because you're trying too hard, your focus is on winning rather than just letting your game out.

Instead if you just play the game because you enjoy it then you'll walk all over everyone.

 

[The8reader]

thanks for all the information it has been great to read and seem to help some others out as well.. I will take some of the suff i have learned here to the table..

I really liked the one guy explaining beginers.. it makes sence how its not really luck when they miss and you are just snookered. its cuz they have no idea were this ball is going to go and the % of them to miss is higher. and since they knock balls all over the place they only increase the % to keep you snookered after they smoke the cb into ob ball and miss. sending ob into 7 other balls and snookering it righ on the rail with a wall of balls around it haha.. "

so much better when it makes sence. I will never get over one thing though and i understand its all in good fun.. But if you are going to play on a leauge at least practise on the off season.. No one in my town does this. tonight the hall was filled with people.. its 2 weeks till pool leauge.. and even then they dont get anything done.. only reason this makes me a bit mad is, I go in there to get better not jerk off.. and i cant even play cuz all the tables are filled..

so i do the next best thing, see if anyone wants play for money... NOPE we are here to practise, "they all say". so the worst part is no one wants to play but everyone thinks they can play but they wont play. OMG!! i dont get it.

Then leauge comes around and some jo shmoe beats you one game cuz he got lucky and i played bad.. so what bad beat i dont say anything.. but that is all i hear from him all night, I BEAT THERE TOB SHOOTER!! all night. Y do people that cant play act like this? i dont run around saying i gave your top three players zeros. i beat them and sit down.. i am almost done with leauges for this reason.. any ways we will see how this year goes. thanks for the info angain and hope you liked my lil rant.. haha

 

[The8reader]

It's your association to Earl and him as your avitar, that loosing "I'm a looser" mentality is contageous and rubs off easily.

Just kiding actually I think it's because you're trying too hard, your focus is on winning rather than just letting your game out.

Instead if you just play the game because you enjoy it then you'll walk all over everyone.

i was going to say i liked the old earl better but im not so sure the old and the new earl are so diff... but got give him credit he can shoot the lights out and he is old as dirt haha.. and i do kinda like his attitude. he gets mad at low class players and people that make pool hard.. so we are in same boat, im just lookin to jump off.. hahaha

 

[richiebalto]

I play pool all the time. and i play on leauge nights...

Why is it that i can shoot the lights out when i practice and play people that are at my level and we can shoot all day with only a handfull of bad games. But as soon as i play someone in leauge that couldent tell the side pocket from a hole in the groud, i cant hardly beat them..

So my question is, does this happen to everyone?? How does a sucky player bring you down sooo much?? I know that i start to get annoyed with them, I know that dosent help but its like once i play one crappy person on a team its all down hill from there.. I dont lose alot but some games sure get dragged out...

is it just the way of the world. And i have tried to think in my head "hey they are a really good player take them out" then i see them play and ya all out the window. any advise on this would help.

oh and i dont play on a very high level of leauge, hard to move up in ours. its not like the apa, also my team just a bunch of drunks. so im the only one that practices and such. so i wont be moveing up anytime soon so i have to play people not so good at pool.

Ive been playing pool for over 30yeARS ,and i seem to notice over the years i tend to play to my opponents,a lot of time,as in playing over my head if my opponent is playing great or playing bad as my opponent mite,and ive notice also that some times i would be down on a ball and iam telling my self iam going to miss this ball and i usually would miss it,well after a couple of these episodes,i went to 1 of my friends and told him about this problem iam having about telling myself that iam going to miss a certain shot,and he gave me the best advise,he said when ever u r down stroking and think you r going to miss the shot,pull up and walk around the table,that has really help that crazy problem i had,but as i said earlier i alot of times tend to play to my opponent speed,and i dont know why that is,i hope this helps some what!

 

[Island Drive]

thanks for all the information it has been great to read and seem to help some others out as well.. I will take some of the suff i have learned here to the table..

I really liked the one guy explaining beginers.. it makes sence how its not really luck when they miss and you are just snookered. its cuz they have no idea were this ball is going to go and the % of them to miss is higher. and since they knock balls all over the place they only increase the % to keep you snookered after they smoke the cb into ob ball and miss. sending ob into 7 other balls and snookering it righ on the rail with a wall of balls around it haha.. "

so much better when it makes sence. I will never get over one thing though and i understand its all in good fun.. But if you are going to play on a leauge at least practise on the off season.. No one in my town does this. tonight the hall was filled with people.. its 2 weeks till pool leauge.. and even then they dont get anything done.. only reason this makes me a bit mad is, I go in there to get better not jerk off.. and i cant even play cuz all the tables are filled..

so i do the next best thing, see if anyone wants play for money... NOPE we are here to practise, "they all say". so the worst part is no one wants to play but everyone thinks they can play but they wont play. OMG!! i dont get it.

Then leauge comes around and some jo shmoe beats you one game cuz he got lucky and i played bad.. so what bad beat i dont say anything.. but that is all i hear from him all night, I BEAT THERE TOB SHOOTER!! all night. Y do people that cant play act like this? i dont run around saying i gave your top three players zeros. i beat them and sit down.. i am almost done with leauges for this reason.. any ways we will see how this year goes. thanks for the info angain and hope you liked my lil rant.. haha

I ''totally'' understand where your coming from, and have been thinking of ear pods. This would take ones thoughts AWAY from this type of Normal, pool room behavior that's borne' out of the shallows of bars/honkytonks/poolrooms/and most anywhere there's a pool table also, toss in a little ignorance, ego, sharking and alcohol and you've got the perfect storm.

 

[Ghosst]

...but im not so sure the old and the new earl are so diff...

There is a deliberate method to Earl's madness, few however see that and instead label his behavior as different things. Most often, they call it whatever bothers themselves most.

 

[The8reader]

I ''totally'' understand where your coming from, and have been thinking of ear pods. This would take ones thoughts AWAY from this type of Normal, pool room behavior that's borne' out of the shallows of bars/honkytonks/poolrooms/and most anywhere there's a pool table also, toss in a little ignorance, ego, sharking and alcohol and you've got the perfect storm.

that might help.. but then i would still have to take them off to hear and talk to my friends... and i would still hear it.. idk our leauge isnt even a sanctioned leauge this year.. cuz of the flood in nd.. soo i cant even play in any trournements.. so no end of year party eather... so i dont knwo if i want play at least thoes two things made it worth playing.. now it just be a drunk fest with people that cant tell the side pocket from ther ass hole..

so my plan is to just be a coky dick this year and just show people i can do it too.. and be an earl... and there will be a method to my madness..