A mind is a terrible thing.

S

Shaky1

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Almost time for my usual Friday afternoon beating. lol. I lost the last 6 weeks straight.
I scattered a rack of balls out yesterday and closed my eyes before my back stroke. Missed 2 tough shots. 1 table length draw and 1 with high inside that I think I over cut. This is an improvement!
I think I will play my match this way today?
I don't think it can hurt at this point? My brain is toast.
Thoughts?
 
Shaky1 said:
Almost time for my usual Friday afternoon beating. lol. I lost the last 6 weeks straight.
I scattered a rack of balls out yesterday and closed my eyes before my back stroke. Missed 2 tough shots. 1 table length draw and 1 with high inside that I think I over cut. This is an improvement!
I think I will play my match this way today?
I don't think it can hurt at this point? My brain is toast.
Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Sometimes that's the best thing to do. Just let it loose & let it fly. Some guys draw back & take a break when they're not playing well. I, on the other hand simply play through it & it usually comes back fairly quickly. I don't usually let it loose to fly, but if it gets that bad, what have you got to lose. Unless you're playing for money.

Two weeks ago I lost 5 games while I was shooting on the eight(8). Scratch, wrong pocket, FIVE(5) times. I positively can NOT stand doing that, not even ONCE. How do you think I felt. Two(2) days later it's all good again.

It's pool. It happens. Don't lose confidence. If U do that, you will not be toast...................... You'll be BURNT toast.

Seriously, give your mind a rest & maybe do the breathing exercises CJ Wiley suggests. Before you start to play. Breath in counting to 6, hold it counting to 9, exhale counting to 12. Do it 5 times or as many times as you can. Then play. It is PLAY you know. Unless you're playing for money.

I hope this helps. Play well, but PLAY. I wish you luck.

PS You know...sometimes it is about luck & not you're playing ability. I know the difference. You can change your luck. Sometimes bearing down does it & sometimes letting loose does it. When one does not work, the other one usually does.
 
Yes, I just need to go out and have some fun, and the heck with it.
If they go in they go in. I'm getting tired of trying so hard.
Trying doesn't help. It just makes you crazy.:smile:
 
When I lose my stroke, I practice one handed jack up. It forces me to concentrate on stroking straight and forward. Helps most of the time after about an hour. Left myself open to some funny quips, but you know what I mean.
 
Sometimes I play around holding it like a dart. Other times I try and shoot left handed. It amazes me how well I can shoot with a terrible stroke (lefty) sometimes.
 
cuenut said:
When I lose my stroke, I practice one handed jack up. It forces me to concentrate on stroking straight and forward. Helps most of the time after about an hour. Left myself open to some funny quips, but you know what I mean.
Click to expand...

I shoot one hand sometimes when I start missing shots that I should not miss. I think it helps to get my eye back seeing the shot more simply. Also for me I think it takes me back because I can not put the english on the ball with one hand that I can with two(2) & maybe I was over doing the english a bit causing me to miss or it was just my eye. Either way shooting some one handed always seems to help.

I learned a new, for me, grip for one handed from playing a guy that only plays one handed & damn well too. He holds the cue sort of coming out along his middle & index fingers with his pinky & ring fingers underneath & his thunb on the side near the top. It works well for him & has helpd me.
 
ENGLISH! said:
I shoot one hand sometimes when I start missing shots that I should not miss. I think it helps to get my eye back seeing the shot more simply. Also for me I think it takes me back because I can not put the english on the ball with one hand that I can with two(2) & maybe I was over doing the english a bit causing me to miss or it was just my eye. Either way shooting some one handed always seems to help.

I learned a new, for me, grip for one handed from playing a guy that only plays one handed & damn well too. He holds the cue sort of coming out along his middle & index fingers with his pinky & ring fingers underneath & his thunb on the side near the top. It works well for him & has helpd me.
Click to expand...

That grip is what I call the dart stroke. I use it instead of the mechanical bridge sometimes. I can do it pretty well.
 
Some days are diamonds, and some days are stones.
Look for something in your game that you do well, such as your ability to bank, get safe, or make short draws. Accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative.
As our good friend Grady used to say, "Take what the table gives you." :smile:
 
Tramp Steamer said:
Some days are diamonds, and some days are stones.
Look for something in your game that you do well, such as your ability to bank, get safe, or make short draws. Accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative.
As our good friend Grady used to say, "Take what the table gives you." :smile:
Click to expand...

Lately it's giving me greif! :smile:
 
Back in the day I was a golf pro. I had a member of the club who I had noticed was playing very poorly for him over the past month or so. He normally shot in the high 80's and his recent scores were all over 100.

The next time the player came out I gave him this advice after asking him what was up. "Go out and see just how bad you can play....seriously." I told him nothing of mechanics or management.

He shot 79 that day. A record low for him at that time. Since then he has gotten his handicap below 10. The magic was not what I said. The magic was how he received it. I believe he got over his fear of failure that day.

Moral of the story Shaky1. Face the fear of poor performance head on. Once you realize this fear is controlled by you and you alone, you are on your way!

And yes...go out and have fun losing! It might just turn into winning! ;)

Ken
 
Shaky1 said:
That grip is what I call the dart stroke. I use it instead of the mechanical bridge sometimes. I can do it pretty well.
Click to expand...

I don't think it's the same thing. The dart grip is more of an overhanded or side handed delivery. This one is kind of like your middle finger is the cue stick & you are stabbing the cue ball.
 
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ENGLISH! said:
I don't it's the same thing. The dart grip is more of an overhanded or side handed delivery. This one is kind of like your middle finger is the cue stick & you are stabbing the cue ball.
Click to expand...

I do it kind of overhand. Like a dart. Lou Butera was the first guy I saw do it back in the 60's. He could put any spin he wanted on it. He would run out that way. The hardest part is finding the right balance point to be able to control it without it waving all over the place.
I just mess with it when i'm bored.
On a bar box it comes in handy when you need to use two bridges to get over a ball and don't have them.:smile:
 
cuenut said:
When I lose my stroke, I practice one handed jack up. It forces me to concentrate on stroking straight and forward. Helps most of the time after about an hour. Left myself open to some funny quips, but you know what I mean.
Click to expand...

I do this all the time when my back gives out and I can't bend over. I've gotten pretty good at it. The reason is, I believe, it's easier to see the correct angle when you are always approaching the shot from the same (upright) perspective.

I believe a lot of folks see the shot fine, but blow it by the way they get down on the shot. I know that is my main problem, because even when my normal stroke is way off, it's still way better than my jacked-up stroke, and yet at times, the ball finds its way into the hole better for me jacked-up than it does when I'm bent over the table and taking careful aim.

BTW one thing that helps me play jacked-up is to begin the stroke from above the CB and let the cue tip drop down to center ball as I stroke. The inertia of the falling stick seems to stabilize the side-to-side motion, sometimes even more than an open bridge does for me. The timing, of course, has to be spot on for this to work.
 
Shaky1 said:
like this. ;)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrkdr_xlVtQ
Click to expand...

That's not the one this one hand afficianadoe (i know i spelled that wrong) uses. As I said his is more in line with a normal stroke. Knid of like as if the cue is coming out of your arm through your middle finger & you are stabbing the CB. You're not hitting down on it like the dart hold jump shot stroke. It lets you control the CB very well, or at least he can & it has helped me. I wish I could show it, not that it is all that important.
 
OMG I won for the first time in 6 weeks! I never saw where the object ball was struck or the ball go in the hole unless it was hit softly. I just didn't give a hoot. I didn't play the strongest 5 on the planet, but I haven't been able to beat anybody lately.
Once I got set, I just closed my eyes and went on feel.
If I guessed the speed and spin right it went in, at one point I ran almost 2 racks.
I played no worse, and possibly better than I have played in a while on the big table. Go figure!
I guess I'll keep doing it untill it doesn't work anymore? Then maybe I'll try standing on 1 leg or something? :embarrassed2:
 
I've had fun with eyes-closed pool too, if you have a straight stroke it's a viable proposition. You can even run a rack that way.

But, are you seriously doing that on league night or something??
 
Shaky1 said:
OMG I won for the first time in 6 weeks! I never saw where the object ball was struck or the ball go in the hole unless it was hit softly. I just didn't give a hoot. I didn't play the strongest 5 on the planet, but I haven't been able to beat anybody lately.
Once I got set, I just closed my eyes and went on feel.
If I guessed the speed and spin right it went in, at one point I ran almost 2 racks.
I played no worse, and possibly better than I have played in a while on the big table. Go figure!
I guess I'll keep doing it untill it doesn't work anymore? Then maybe I'll try standing on 1 leg or something? :embarrassed2:
Click to expand...

Do you think it is possible that shutting your eyes took away the fear of failure?

You never replied to my first post so I can only assume you thought it was irrelevant but I am hear to tell you that fear is the biggest killer there is in competition. It must be addressed.

In my opinion shutting your eyes lowered your internal responsibility to perform well and thus reduced your fear. Also in my opinion I think it is better to face the fear head on and recognize you are the one who creates the fear, and you are the only one who can defeat this fear.

Anything else is most likely just a quick fix which will lose it's effectiveness in time.

I wish you the best with it! Glad you got some enjoyment out of the game again!

Ken
 
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