Why Do You Miss the Simple Shots?

[lfigueroa]

I think its because we don't take the time to figure out what's wrong.



It's easy to say we take the "simple" shots for granted. But dig a little deeper and you can learn that the simple shots are, in many cases, not so simple. All the little variations the game demands we master to properly execute one simple shot is easily overlooked. Simple shot with: draw, stop, follow, english, jacked up off a rail, and with a wide variety of distances the cue ball must be sent for the next shot, to name a few. IOW, it's a simple shot, but not really.



But, it's not just the shot itself. It is our mechanics and all the little variations that inevitably sneak in under our radar and change how we setup for each shot. Even the exact same shot can represent a challenge: Are you gripping the cue in the same spot? Standing in the same place? Accomplishing the same footwork? Using the same bridge? Head/eyes in the same locale? Using the same sequence to get into shooting position? Same eye movement? Warm up strokes? Grip adjustment the same? And so all that is a challenge too.



And so what happens? We face the simple shot and get into shooting position (one way or the other) and our wetware instinctively knows something is amiss. And, especially if it's a competitive situation, it's most unlikely that we're going to want to show any lack of confidence and well, getting up and down on a shot is a bit embarrassing. (I guess less so than missing the shot itself.) So we press on, shift our weight a bit, alter the height of our bridge, change the speed of our stroke, and pull the trigger, usually with not so good results.



So what is the answer? I guess more time at the practice table. But that doesn't mean just shooting balls. It means being aware of your body mechanics; trying to be consistent about them, and taking the time and effort to analyze why we miss the simple shot: setting it up again and again until it is consistently made and realizing that the simple shot with follow is not the same simple shot as the simple shot with low left.

 Because, after all, that would be a different "simple" shot

Why do you miss the easy ones?

Lou Figueroa

 

[GoldCrown]

I take the shot for granted. And then....Lift, turn my head, walk toward the next shot before finishing the stroke. I tend to forget there are no easy shots.

 

[dardusm]

I'll miss the easy ones when I'm preoccupied with the cue ball. Say I need to hit the rail at a certain spot, my focus is on the cue ball and not the object ball. Next thing you know a miss.

 

[sjm]

Luther Lassiter once observed: "The day I stopped missing easy shots was the day I realized that no shot is easy." If the best ball pocketer of all time felt that way, that's good enough for me.

In short, take every shot seriously, even the one you seem to think is easy.

Failing to execute easy things (in pool and in life) is usually a result of "letting your guard down" and/or "mistakenly allowing your concentration to drop." In pool, a really good preshot routine is the easiest way to minimize the danger of these threats to your shot execution.

 

[Island Drive]

Responding to your title only, there is no such thing as an easy shot is why. There are only ones with higher or lower percentages of makeability, they are all missable.

 

[Matt]

Almost every time, it's just laziness that gets me.

There's a long list of symptoms, including:

• Not getting behind the shot before getting in your stance.
• Not getting all the way down into your normal stance.
• Not chalking your cue.
• Not staying down through the execution of the shot.
• Not standing up and readjusting if you get down in your stance wrong.
• Not taking your standard number of practice strokes.
• Not looking at the object ball.

There are many more, but you get the idea. It's frustrating when I do it, so I am trying to get better about taking practice more seriously so it doesn't bleed over into competition.

P.S. For the purpose of this post, I'm assuming an easy shot is a shot that I can make 100 times in a row if I pay attention to what I'm doing.

 

[DRW]

Missing easy shots

It appears to be easy and I don't do everything I normally do before I shoot a shot that appears to be more difficult. Good question, Lou.

 

[Johnnyt]

95 % of the easy/close to OB shots I miss are because I'm worried about position even after i'm down on the shot. I know better, but what can I say...lazy. The other reason is i'm trying to do too much with the CB. Again I know better but I still try to force the CB too often. Johnnyt

 

[sfleinen]

Luther Lassiter once observed: "The day I stopped missing easy shots was the day I realized that no shot is easy." If the best ball pocketer of all time felt that way, that's good enough for me.

In short, take every shot seriously, even the one you seem to think is easy.

Failing to execute easy things (in pool and in life) is usually a result of either "letting your guard down" and/or "mistakenly allowing your concentration to drop." In pool, a really good preshot routine is the easiest way to minimize the danger of these threats to your shot execution.

Stu nails it for me, especially the "letting the guard down" part. Whenever I get into a deep run (109 being the most recent), what ends it is usually boneheadedness -- an easy shot that I take for granted, just "throwing my cue" at. It's not usually a fundamentals issue (snooker fundamentals minimize that), but rather not giving the shot the respect it deserves. With me, a "somewhat straight" shot ("somewhat straight" to mean there's a little bit -- a touch -- of cut involved) that I get up there and throw the cue into, not looking at the shot, but rather where I want to stun the cue ball over to. The dreaded "thud-ud-ud-ud" as the ball bobbles in the pocket but doesn't drop, ends the run. And these hurt the most, because deep down, you *know* you shouldn't have done that -- "where would the run be now, if a fit of boneheadedness didn't crop up at that instant on that shot?"

Probably over-confidence, is what it boils down to. Have to work on that...

-Sean

 

[Maniac]

Almost every time, it's just laziness that gets me.

There's a long list of symptoms, including:

• Not getting all the way down into your normal stance.
• Not staying down through the execution of the shot.
• Not standing up and readjusting if you get down in your stance wrong.
• Not taking your standard number of practice strokes.
  

I've edited Matt's list to show the four most common mistakes I make when I miss a shot that I absolutely should have made. I usually make a mental note of what I did wrong when I miss these types of shots, and over the years, these four reasons have been the most common culprits. Sometimes it's just one of them, sometimes it may be a combination of two (or more) of them.

Maniac (blames it on too many years of bad practice habits)

 

[acousticsguru]

Probably over-confidence, is what it boils down to.

I used to think I'm suffering from over-confidence in this situation, but am now wondering if it's really mental and/or physical exhaustion - admittedly exaggerating a bit: what I really mean is, there never seems to be any time to relax, and I sometimes feel something in me is trying to find a way to be economical with my resources. It's a paradox, because I'd be the first to tell e.g. my students one shouldn't take shots for granted, and indeed, I'm playing my best when I'm respectful of and paying attention to everything. But doing so may take its toll, and there are days when I may be forcing myself to concentrate rather than be alert, curious and observant, which is what it feels like on good days. Observing what's going on shouldn't be a matter of conscious effort - that's akin to judging (= whether I'm doing what I have in mind), in itself a waste of energy. My subconscious knows full well I'm not there to miss, that billiards is by definition about perfection. No use stressing the point. But there are days when it seems as if my subconscious wants (my body, my mind - both?) to relax, be somewhere else, do its own thing. Bad horse…

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________

„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti

 

[Majic]

I think its because we don't take the time to figure out what's wrong.



It's easy to say we take the "simple" shots for granted. But dig a little deeper and you can learn that the simple shots are, in many cases, not so simple. All the little variations the game demands we master to properly execute one simple shot is easily overlooked. Simple shot with: draw, stop, follow, english, jacked up off a rail, and with a wide variety of distances the cue ball must be sent for the next shot, to name a few. IOW, it's a simple shot, but not really.



But, it's not just the shot itself. It is our mechanics and all the little variations that inevitably sneak in under our radar and change how we setup for each shot. Even the exact same shot can represent a challenge: Are you gripping the cue in the same spot? Standing in the same place? Accomplishing the same footwork? Using the same bridge? Head/eyes in the same locale? Using the same sequence to get into shooting position? Same eye movement? Warm up strokes? Grip adjustment the same? And so all that is a challenge too.



And so what happens? We face the simple shot and get into shooting position (one way or the other) and our wetware instinctively knows something is amiss. And, especially if it's a competitive situation, it's most unlikely that we're going to want to show any lack of confidence and well, getting up and down on a shot is a bit embarrassing. (I guess less so than missing the shot itself.) So we press on, shift our weight a bit, alter the height of our bridge, change the speed of our stroke, and pull the trigger, usually with not so good results.



So what is the answer? I guess more time at the practice table. But that doesn't mean just shooting balls. It means being aware of your body mechanics; trying to be consistent about them, and taking the time and effort to analyze why we miss the simple shot: setting it up again and again until it is consistently made and realizing that the simple shot with follow is not the same simple shot as the simple shot with low left.

 Because, after all, that would be a different "simple" shot

Why do you miss the easy ones?

Lou Figueroa

What simple shots? Treat all shot equally then there are no simple shots.

 

[Hector3cushion]

i'm trying to figure this out myself, although i think in terms of percentages. the question for my is why do i miss high percentage shots (keeping in mind that my 80% shot is somebody's 95% shot and at the same time somebody else's 40% shot)

 

[Dave Nelson]

A very good player, 200 ball runner, once observed to me, maybe you really didn't want to make that shot. Silly. Why would a person not want to make a shot that he really wanted too make? It doesn't make sense, does it? But that thought resonates in my brain because I can't think of any other reason why I should miss the shots that I miss. I think this issue is addressed in "The Pleasure of Small Movements". I've read it twice but I think maybe I'll read it again.

Dave Nelson

 

[dr9ball]

I believe we miss the simple shots because we don't give each and every shot its due and proper respect. It sounds easy but we often don't realize we have changed our rhythm and pre shot routines until we miss the shot or several shots.

 

[TheThaiger]

A very good player, 200 ball runner, once observed to me, maybe you really didn't want to make that shot. Silly. Why would a person not want to make a shot that he really wanted too make? It doesn't make sense, does it? But that thought resonates in my brain because I can't think of any other reason why I should miss the shots that I miss. I think this issue is addressed in "The Pleasure of Small Movements". I've read it twice but I think maybe I'll read it again.

Dave Nelson

I like this answer. I've concluded my conscious and sub-conscious are locked in permanent battle, and when the sub-conscious wins, I miss an easy ball.

I've long believed there are some people who are too stupid to miss.

 

[Patrick Johnson]

I've concluded my conscious and sub-conscious are locked in permanent battle, and when the sub-conscious wins, I miss an easy ball.

Yup. Some of my sparring partners and I have a running joke that when we miss it's because we know we don't deserve to win. The subconscious is a cruel and unmerciful judge.

Another common comment is "that one was too easy to aim".

pj
chgo

 

[Sloppy Pockets]

I'll miss the easy ones when I'm preoccupied with the cue ball. Say I need to hit the rail at a certain spot, my focus is on the cue ball and not the object ball. Next thing you know a miss.

I have to agree with this as it applies to me. On the really tough shots I give up all hope of getting shape for the next shot. All I'm trying to do is get the OB to drop over the shelf without scratching. On easy shots, I usually try to play for ideal position. That turns the simple shot into another tough one.

So, as LL was quoted, there are no easy shots. We make them hard anyway.

 

[lfigueroa]

I take the shot for granted. And then....Lift, turn my head, walk toward the next shot before finishing the stroke. I tend to forget there are no easy shots.

A lot of my 100 ball 14.1 runs have ended because of this.

Lou Figueroa
in the first
couple of racks

 

[lfigueroa]

I'll miss the easy ones when I'm preoccupied with the cue ball. Say I need to hit the rail at a certain spot, my focus is on the cue ball and not the object ball. Next thing you know a miss.

Done this too.

Lou Figueroa