being a better consistant player

[doublej487]

is their any thing i can practice to b more consistant .... its my biggest problem one day ill play great ........ ill b able to put a few racks together ..... ill get out of line play a safe n it alll works
... others i will miss simple shots cant make more than 3 n a row get frustrated n it basically makes me wanna quit

 

[mristea]

welcome!

Welcome to the club buddy! :thumbup:

 

[Donny Lutz]

Being human

is their any thing i can practice to b more consistant .... its my biggest problem one day ill play great ........ ill b able to put a few racks together ..... ill get out of line play a safe n it alll works
... others i will miss simple shots cant make more than 3 n a row get frustrated n it basically makes me wanna quit

You suffer from a horrible malady known in secret circles as "Being Human"!

We are ALL inconsistent, some of us just more so than others. There are almost countless things you can do to achieve consistency. Here are just two:

Prepare yourself psychologically before every time you play. Bob Fancher's great book, "Pleasures of Small Motions" can help you here as can reading magazine articles and taking private lessons.

Keep your game simple. Use only enough force and/or spin to achieve desired goals on each shot. Pay attention to fundamentals, and be aware of your "default" stance, style and stroke. These are, hopefully, the way you would shoot a very simple and easy, but important shot. In other words, use the same stance, style and stroke on every shot except when you have a reason to adjust. For example, don't shoot the same shot with more than one stance on different occasions. Don't be lazy with your feet, your routine, etc. Keep it simple. Shooting the same shot different ways just adds unecessary baggage to your memory bank.

An old master once told me, "The keys to pool are simplicity, consistency and imagination".

Donny L
BCA/ACS Instructor
Gainesville, Fl

 

[Tony_in_MD]

Donny has some excellent advice.

I might add to really focus on your preshot routine, try to identify what you are doing different when you have those downturns in your game.

If you can identify it, you can correct it.

 

[FranCrimi]

Pool is just like life. Some days we feel great and other days we don't feel so great. It's not easy turning it around on a day we don't feel so great, but if you want to excell at something, you will have to train yourself to try to do your best every time you play.

That means that you must check your attitude before you play and make sure that you put yourself in the right frame of mind. This is just as important and takes just as much practice as practicing tough shots on a pool table.

Without the right attitude, you will make dumb mistakes and miss easy shots.

 

[Ratta]

Pool is just like life. Some days we feel great and other days we don't feel so great. It's not easy turning it around on a day we don't feel so great, but if you want to excell at something, you will have to train yourself to try to do your best every time you play.

That means that you must check your attitude before you play and make sure that you put yourself in the right frame of mind. This is just as important and takes just as much practice as practicing tough shots on a pool table.

Without the right attitude, you will make dumb mistakes and miss easy shots.

TapTapTap
:thumbup:

 

[BobN]

I could not agree more with Fran. I would like to add some specifics for the physical game, though. Consistency=Consistency. A lot of mid level players are plagued by different stances, different strokes, etc... everything about their game is different. Settle on and PRACTICE one particular... well, style, for lack of a better word. Use the same stroke, use the same pre shot routine, use the same shooting routine, etc. If your basics are consistent, this will help your game be consistent. When it starts to fail you, you can check those things and more likely than not, you'll find an old habit that has creeped back in.

All that said, as Fran pointed out, check your attitude. And she's absolutely right; it's tough to turn off a "bad day" sometimes. This is a funny game and your conscious mind has a terrible sense of humor. It will play with you, mess with your game, make you start second guessing yourself (when your right brain KNOWS what you're doing is right), and that's hard to fight, sometimes, but consistent features, such as your stance, stroke, various routines, etc, will help make your game more consistent.

Bob