For those that weren't killers, how did you develop your Killer Instinct?

B

broken

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
This post is not for the guys that have been great shooters since they were 6 years of age and knee high to a grasshopper, or went from an APA 4 to a BCA Open/Pro player in 4 months. You guys are naturals, I get it.

I'm hoping there are some grinders on this board. I'm interested in the pool nerds and geeks who slowly became monster players.

I might not be at the skill level where games are strictly won by perseverance and mental outlook. There are some shots I legitimately miss, or run outs that I don't see. Seeing run outs or making good position so that I don't shoot low percentage shots is what practice is for.

But I feel like I'm getting to the point where I can hold my own with the big boys and i'm not just banging the ball around.

I think the mental aspects of the game hold me back from reaching my true potential.

For those of you who have gone from chump to champ,

Was there a match that really got you over the hump?

Is there something that you started doing that really got you to the next level of your game?

Thanks in Advance.
 
When you get beat on for a few years (like I did in the beginning), you will finally get tired of it and start doing some beating of your own. :smile:
 
jay helfert said:
When you get beat on for a few years (like I did in the beginning), you will finally get tired of it and start doing some beating of your own. :smile:
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Yup that pretty much sums it up kinda like you have to do your time before you can do the crime of killer instint . But for real dont try to force it what ever you do, the mind can be a terrible thing to play with.....
 
2 things

Like Jay said, getting beat on, I always took it as a personal offense against my intelligence, which pissed me off.

Second, when I made the final hard 9 ball in my first $1,000 set. It flipped a switch for me inside.
 
Read all the books you can. By reading alot of books on the subject, i find that alot of the material is the same and they all reinforce the basics. By reading alot it keeps my mind on the subject even when im not reading, making me do alot of visualization when not reading. I think this helps me stay focused on my game, so when its my turn up at the table, it almost feels like second nature and i dont have to think so hard,
 
jay helfert said:
When you get beat on for a few years (like I did in the beginning), you will finally get tired of it and start doing some beating of your own. :smile:
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Yep, this right here is gold. You really can learn from your failures as much as your successes. When you're down 7-2 and your opponent is on the hill it's easy to think the match is over. But if an opponent has ever come back on you like that then you know it's possible for you to do the same. And the next time you are the guy on the hill 7-2 you also remember what it felt like to give it away and don't want it to happen again so you channel your focus and finish it.
 
Gorilla Pool

Where I learned to play there were two rooms. The nice room you played tournaments. In the ruff room you played for cash, push-ups, clothes. Different reasons for winning and for losing. I had to run out of excuses. Become shark proof. Play under the worst conditions. Play higher skilled players. Play players you fear. Watch the good players play under different conditions. If you don't understand something, shape or saftey, ask. Alot of sparring goes on before a match. Watch and listen. Who won, who lost and ask someone else what they thought and why. Don't forget to practice and listen to your gut. Bank on brother you'll need it.
 
That s humans attitude--

at one point you will not have the total willing anymore. And this makes the difference in competition. In any sport the "best of the best" who are staying on top over years have this abilitiy. Once it s gone.....the next *better one* comes.

Imo the willing decides almost everything.
 
Learn to play great. Possessing a killer instinct doesn't work if you keep losing.:smile:
 
My opinion...and don't take this the wrong way, you might have too much pride. From your own account you say you miss a lot of easy balls and don't see the runs outs but you feel like your running with the big boys...Sorry but there is no such thing, unless the big boys in your area aren't really "big boys" compared to other places. A "big boy" doesn't miss easy shots very often and they usually do see the run outs it's just a matter of staying in line for them. It's rarely a matter of them missing a ball or not seeing the run out, when they mess up it's usually coming up short or long on their next shot. This is becoming redundant because everybody else has said it, but you have to lose a lot to gain it. I know the exact match that I gained my killer instinct. I was actually playing a fellow AZBilliards member (12squared) and we played a fun like 10 dollar set and he gave me the breaks race to 5. I broke and ran 5 straight racks...and hung the 9 ball every single game. He won 5-0 and never even shot a ball. I honestly couldn't tell you exactly what happened in my head but I learned to concentrate more and I have never done anything even close to that again.
 
It's like this.. You take it easy on one, You take it easy on them all.. I would beat my own Grandma if I had too..

When you go to the table, Tell yourself, "This is my table, This guy/gal cant beat me on my own table"..

Sometimes a little aggression helps get there!!!! :thumbup:
 
runoutsRme said:
It's like this.. You take it easy on one, You take it easy on them all.. I would beat my own Grandma if I had too..

When you go to the table, Tell yourself, "This is my table, This guy/gal cant beat me on my own table"..

Sometimes a little aggression helps get there!!!! :thumbup:
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My bud says you first have to learn how to beat the chumps every time. If you're still losing to them, it is next to impossible to beat the champs.

I used to have the killer mentality out in front of my game, but because I enjoy simply playing the game so much, I am forgetting how to win as i age. I have better skills now but fewer reasons for winning, if that makes sense.

I'd say your starting this thread means you are on the right path and your mind is focusing on the right stuff.

fwiw,

Jeff Livingston
 
broken said:
This post is not for the guys that have been great shooters since they were 6 years of age and knee high to a grasshopper, or went from an APA 4 to a BCA Open/Pro player in 4 months. You guys are naturals, I get it.

I'm hoping there are some grinders on this board. I'm interested in the pool nerds and geeks who slowly became monster players.

I might not be at the skill level where games are strictly won by perseverance and mental outlook. There are some shots I legitimately miss, or run outs that I don't see. Seeing run outs or making good position so that I don't shoot low percentage shots is what practice is for.

But I feel like I'm getting to the point where I can hold my own with the big boys and i'm not just banging the ball around.

I think the mental aspects of the game hold me back from reaching my true potential.

For those of you who have gone from chump to champ,

Was there a match that really got you over the hump?

Is there something that you started doing that really got you to the next level of your game?

Thanks in Advance.
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I just dont like losing - gambling or not. I hate losing

John
 
jay helfert said:
When you get beat on for a few years (like I did in the beginning), you will finally get tired of it and start doing some beating of your own. :smile:
Click to expand...

Amen, it first hit me when I almost went busted. I had to fight back or sleep in the car and find a way to get gas money. Well it wasn't the first time but it was my first long road trip. I got most of it back before he pulled up. I learned how to dig kick and scratch and eventually learn when I was outclassed. Go get em, you still might come up short but if you played well just let it go. Never make a loss a burden.

Rod
 
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broken said:
This post is not for the guys that have been great shooters since they were 6 years of age and knee high to a grasshopper, or went from an APA 4 to a BCA Open/Pro player in 4 months. You guys are naturals, I get it.

I'm hoping there are some grinders on this board. I'm interested in the pool nerds and geeks who slowly became monster players.

I might not be at the skill level where games are strictly won by perseverance and mental outlook. There are some shots I legitimately miss, or run outs that I don't see. Seeing run outs or making good position so that I don't shoot low percentage shots is what practice is for.

But I feel like I'm getting to the point where I can hold my own with the big boys and i'm not just banging the ball around.

I think the mental aspects of the game hold me back from reaching my true potential.

For those of you who have gone from chump to champ,

Was there a match that really got you over the hump?

Is there something that you started doing that really got you to the next level of your game?

Thanks in Advance.
Click to expand...


I aint a champ, but i aint helpless either, took me way longer than most to learn to play and i'm still getting better. i'll answer your question not cause i'm a champ but cause i know what worked for me.

Bet until it hurts and lose, that will cure you. And hating to lose, period. Those 2 things are the ticket.

I dont know how the guys who didnt gamble got that killer instinct. Action is the only way for me and most others I believe. Jay Herfert's post below the OP is spot on.
 
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master_cueist said:
My opinion...and don't take this the wrong way, you might have too much pride. From your own account you say you miss a lot of easy balls and don't see the runs outs but you feel like your running with the big boys...Sorry but there is no such thing, unless the big boys in your area aren't really "big boys" compared to other places. A "big boy" doesn't miss easy shots very often and they usually do see the run outs it's just a matter of staying in line for them. It's rarely a matter of them missing a ball or not seeing the run out, when they mess up it's usually coming up short or long on their next shot. This is becoming redundant because everybody else has said it, but you have to lose a lot to gain it.
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I like what you said here, you just woke my ass back up!



Rusty Lock
David Harcrow
 
throw some extra balls on the table

Killer instinct and winning are two different things. Being the third child in a family on a starvation sized farm I hit the ground competing. Can't remember when I wasn't competing against people that were bigger, faster, and stronger than me.

When I started playing pool I stunk! I stunk for months. I probably played a thousand hours of pool before I was a moderately decent banger. I don't accept losing at anything lightly and the very fact I played like crap spurred me on.

You sound like you are at the stage where you are playing pretty good but failing to finish. When practicing always have a few extra balls on the table. If practicing one pocket never stop at eight, run as far as you can. You have to make those last few balls and the money ball just other balls. A secret, the eight ball genuinely is the hardest ball on the table to pocket. Throw just the money balls on the table, eight, nine, and ten, and spend twenty or thirty minutes every practice session just pocketing those three balls. You have to knock the "special" off of them and see them as just more balls to pocket.

Another trick, think of all the pool you play as just one long session with interruptions. Most of the time the amount I bet didn't affect if I ate or paid the mortgage and it is easy to not sweat the bet when you remember that you are thousands up lifetime and can't possibly lose enough this session that you aren't still a big winner lifetime.

Hu
 
Something else you should do that a few people have kinda mentioned it but only with the money part...Play the best possible every chance you get, most big boys will play cheap also, hell I have seen SVB play $20 sets. If you actually WANT to win (this whole thread is pointless if you don't) keep playing the big boys and keep wanting to win. Over time you're going to miss a lot of money balls or easy shots and get some bad rolls, and it will probably piss you off, which is a good thing because it SHOULD make you want it even more and that my friend is where your killer instinct will come from. When I was coming up I played everybody I could and I still do, I still have that hunger to be the best. Like the old saying goes "to be the best you have to beat the best" Sometimes I win sometimes I lose, but ya know what I do when I lose? I grab that stupid little coin and flip it again. I am by far not the best around here but NOBODY questions my gamble and heart to play.
 
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