Are you still improving or has your game leveled off ?

R

ronscuba

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Curious for people who have been playing more than 3 yrs, are you still improving or has your game has leveled off ?

Could be a matter of not having enough time.

So, 2 questions:

Are you still improving or has your game leveled off ?

How many hours of table time do you spend in a typical week ?

For me,

Still improving, about 7 hrs table time per week.
 
Glad you posted this. I've been playing about 5 years now and have reached the upper skill levels of my TAP and APA leagues. I have between 10-20 hours a week that I devote to practice and I play league twice a week. I pick up a tournament here and there as time permits.

I seem to be stuck at the moment. It has been like this for about 6 weeks or so.

When I get to the table, I cannot see the shot - or rather I am uncertain about the aim point. My stroke feels awkward. I'm out of alignment coming into the shot, making lots of mistakes in competition lately and the "pool gods" haven't exactly been on my side either (which is more likely a result of the issues within my control).

Not sure what is happening.

I'd say my game has not only leveled off, but it seems to have regressed a bit. I also feel somewhat overwhelmed by what to practice next and don't feel the practice sessions are as focused or structured as they should be. When I try to develop a plan, there are so many things to practice I'm not sure which one(s) to work on first.

Sorry to be a Debbie-downer. This is the first time I've experienced this - I just don't know what to do to snap out of this cycle.

I'm sure the more experienced players have been through this and advice would be greatly appreciated.

On a high note, however, I still love the game. Am I mentally impaired or what?
 
ronscuba said:
Curious for people who have been playing more than 3 yrs, are you still improving or has your game has leveled off ?

Could be a matter of not having enough time.

So, 2 questions:

Are you still improving or has your game leveled off ?

How many hours of table time do you spend in a typical week ?

For me,

Still improving, about 7 hrs table time per week.
Click to expand...

Not only have I leveled off but now I am backsliding.
 
pab said:
Glad you posted this. I've been playing about 5 years now and have reached the upper skill levels of my TAP and APA leagues. I have between 10-20 hours a week that I devote to practice and I play league twice a week. I pick up a tournament here and there as time permits.

I seem to be stuck at the moment. It has been like this for about 6 weeks or so.

When I get to the table, I cannot see the shot - or rather I am uncertain about the aim point. My stroke feels awkward. I'm out of alignment coming into the shot, making lots of mistakes in competition lately and the "pool gods" haven't exactly been on my side either (which is more likely a result of the issues within my control).

Not sure what is happening.

I'd say my game has not only leveled off, but it seems to have regressed a bit. I also feel somewhat overwhelmed by what to practice next and don't feel the practice sessions are as focused or structured as they should be. When I try to develop a plan, there are so many things to practice I'm not sure which one(s) to work on first.

Sorry to be a Debbie-downer. This is the first time I've experienced this - I just don't know what to do to snap out of this cycle.

I'm sure the more experienced players have been through this and advice would be greatly appreciated.

On a high note, however, I still love the game. Am I mentally impaired or what?
Click to expand...

You are not mentally impaired unless we all are. As you get better I think the plateaus last longer and it just seems like you are regressing because you feel like you should be more consistent. I am coming out of a long lasting plateau now. Starting to trust my stoke again. Even when you plateau, your understanding of the table continues to improve in my opinion.
 
You left out the option of "Getting Worse." I appreciate your confidence that I can get better. :D

Actually, yes my game is improving with practice (or, I should say "more playing time" since I rarely do drills, etc.). I've been playing about four years and it's been pretty steady improvement. I play about 3 hours a day.

I doubt I'll ever be a B/B+ player due to physical limitations. But that's okay: the pleasure for me is in a well played shot.
 
pab said:
I seem to be stuck at the moment. It has been like this for about 6 weeks or so.
When I get to the table, I cannot see the shot - or rather I am uncertain about the aim point. My stroke feels awkward. I'm out of alignment coming into the shot, making lots of mistakes in competition lately and the "pool gods" haven't exactly been on my side either (which is more likely a result of the issues within my control).
I'd say my game has not only leveled off, but it seems to have regressed a bit. I also feel somewhat overwhelmed by what to practice next and don't feel the practice sessions are as focused or structured as they should be. When I try to develop a plan, there are so many things to practice I'm not sure which one(s) to work on first.
Click to expand...

I will be starting my 6th year playing pool this fall. I spend 15-20 hours a week playing. I also feel like I am kind of in a slump but it may be I am just expecting to be better than I am right now. I play mostly 8 ball, I practice a lot by shooting racks of 8 ball, I feel I should run out at least 50% of the time, but I dont do that yet. I have 2 tables, My pride and joy, a 9' Gold Crown (Diamondized, I hate that term but its the easiest way to describe it) with tight 4 1/2" (4 3/8") pockets, and a 7' Valley I just picked up about 6 months ago. The Valley I just put new regular cushions on and Championship cloth because thats the way most of the tournament tables are set up in this area. I break and run probably about 50% of the time on the little table and maybe 20% on the big table, no BIH after the break. I can beat the 9 ball ghost on the little table but not the big table. The biggest problem I am having at the moment is consistency, seems like I am either really on or really off, hoping that goes away soon.
 
it's your thinking

If your game has stalled, change games. I hated 8 Ball, but I started playing because that's all my buddies play and it really got me going again. I think it even helped my One Pocket game, you start seeing things that came from the other games as you play
 
Hell, I'm 72 years old...EVERYTHING is tapering off.

Play recreationally about 4 hours a week.
 
The majority of players I see have atrocious practice habits or routines when alone.
They shoot racks, set up shots they miss and really do not have any type curriculum.

5 hrs later or 10 hrs later or 50 hrs later these players are still shooting at the same
level of performance. Maybe their % of shot completion has improved 5-7% from
practicing their stroke and pocketing balls but that's about all they will achieve.


Remember this......a pool sage once told taught me this mantra......embrace it wholly.



"Always Practice With a Purpose."........if & when you do not, all too often your bad habits
are reinforced without even knowing it.......be sure to have a practice routine and measure
your performance results week to week.......advance your skills set using a practice routine.




Matt B.
 
Everyone's game plateaus eventually. If you play and commit to the game you will improve a lot up to a point, then things will hit a ceiling of sorts eventually. There can be small short term gains when practicing more and "getting in stroke" after that or mental advances that allow you to perform at closer to your peak ability under different conditions. But after a point you will simply peak as far as your potential goes.

The players I know know from the hacks to the pros all advanced to their high level fairly consistently. If you watch the progression of a pro it is fairly linear and they reach a level of skill fairly early on. SVB 10 years ago had 99% of the shooting ability of SVB today, today he simply has more mental strength. As far as raw skill goes he hit his ceiling a long time ago.

By the same token a player with less natural talent will still hit a plateau, it will not be close to pro level. But I know players that play hours of pool a day and attempt to practice and improve and they never really do, they hit their own maximum potential years ago.

Players who commit to the game see constant improvement until they hit that limit barring the occasional off day. If you think you stalled out while still playing hours a day and seem to have gotten nowhere in the last month or two you are probably pushing the limits of your potential.
 
Still improving at 5-10 hours per week.

I am fairly certain that everyone should always continue improving regardless of their talent level. It's just slower and harder work for some.

If you aren't getting any better, you would need to take a step back and analyze the deficiencies in your game and identify the causes. It may take an instructor to help you find them, but if you compartmentalize your game and zero in on specific problems, you should see results if you work continuously at it.
 
I have been playing the game for about 12 years now. My game is getting more consistent. I play about 3-4 hours a week this time of year and from fall to spring I play about 8-12 hours a week.
 
Cameron Smith said:
Still improving at 5-10 hours per week.

I am fairly certain that everyone should always continue improving regardless of their talent level. It's just slower and harder work for some.

If you aren't getting any better, you would need to take a step back and analyze the deficiencies in your game and identify the causes. It may take an instructor to help you find them, but if you compartmentalize your game and zero in on specific problems, you should see results if you work continuously at it.
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Not sure I agree with you. Time is the factor.

It takes time at the table just to maintain your current level.

Additional time to learn new knowledge, additional time to practice that new knowledge, additional time before it gets converted to improvement.

Solidifying my fundamentals and mechanics made my game jump. I am still getting better, just at a slower rate. I am in the cycle I described above. Maintain, learn, practice, improve. Repeat.

I suspect given the amount of time I can devote to pool, I will peak out about 1-2 yrs. from now and then it will be almost all maintenance and very little improvement.
 
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ronscuba said:
It takes time at the table just to maintain your current level.
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Absolutely. It seems obvious, but a lot of players act surprised if they are out of practice and don't play to the level that they were used to at some point. I know I've done it before... The reality check for me is to consider how much time the pros spend practicing. It's a full time job for them, and most of that effort is just maintenance.

P.S. Some players also remember themselves being a lot better than they ever were, but that's a different story :wink:
 
Celtic said:
Everyone's game plateaus eventually. If you play and commit to the game you will improve a lot up to a point, then things will hit a ceiling of sorts eventually. There can be small short term gains when practicing more and "getting in stroke" after that or mental advances that allow you to perform at closer to your peak ability under different conditions. But after a point you will simply peak as far as your potential goes.

The players I know know from the hacks to the pros all advanced to their high level fairly consistently. If you watch the progression of a pro it is fairly linear and they reach a level of skill fairly early on. SVB 10 years ago had 99% of the shooting ability of SVB today, today he simply has more mental strength. As far as raw skill goes he hit his ceiling a long time ago.

By the same token a player with less natural talent will still hit a plateau, it will not be close to pro level. But I know players that play hours of pool a day and attempt to practice and improve and they never really do, they hit their own maximum potential years ago.

Players who commit to the game see constant improvement until they hit that limit barring the occasional off day. If you think you stalled out while still playing hours a day and seem to have gotten nowhere in the last month or two you are probably pushing the limits of your potential.
Click to expand...

I agree about having natural ability and potential but not to the point where someone can't improve anymore if they really try to improve their weak areas either by proper training alone or with an instructor. There is nothing a man/woman can't do!
 
To answer the OP, I play about 7 hours a week but that's spread on 2 days and that is playing matches with other people and I have a tournament every 2 weeks on average.

My understanding of the game has improved but my execution is not consistent. The rare times that I play by myself I mostly spread the balls around and shoot but that mentality is gone starting next monday. I'm gonna change my work schedule to be able to play 1h to 1h15 everyday on days that I wasn't already playing with other people and I'm gonna use that hour to train myself to be a better player and work on my weakness.

Whoever is gonna walk up to my table and ask me to play a few racks is gonna get a polite "No thanks". I have been watching a lot of Tor Lowry's Zero-X Billiards videos recently and it has really motivated me to be a student of the game and have an honest assessment of my game to work on my problem areas.

I believe in plateaus and that happens when someone keeps doing the same thing over and over again while expecting the different results but I don't believe that you can't improve anymore when you get to a certain point.
 
You really reach a point in your pool skills development where there isn't very much new to learn.
The distinguishing feature thereafter for determining how great one truly is comes down to this......
Consistency......face it, pretty much any shot the best pro player can make so can you given enough
attempts at the shot.....doing it once is luck, doing it twice is a coincidence but 10 times, it's a feat.
Being able to reliably & consistently deliver a measured stroke is a real challenge for even the pros.
That's why they miss too and as they age, the % of missed shots starts to increase.....no one has
ever learned how to beat Father Time.
 
Celtic said:
Everyone's game plateaus eventually. If you play and commit to the game you will improve a lot up to a point, then things will hit a ceiling of sorts eventually. There can be small short term gains when practicing more and "getting in stroke" after that or mental advances that allow you to perform at closer to your peak ability under different conditions. But after a point you will simply peak as far as your potential goes.

The players I know know from the hacks to the pros all advanced to their high level fairly consistently. If you watch the progression of a pro it is fairly linear and they reach a level of skill fairly early on. SVB 10 years ago had 99% of the shooting ability of SVB today, today he simply has more mental strength. As far as raw skill goes he hit his ceiling a long time ago.

By the same token a player with less natural talent will still hit a plateau, it will not be close to pro level. But I know players that play hours of pool a day and attempt to practice and improve and they never really do, they hit their own maximum potential years ago.

Players who commit to the game see constant improvement until they hit that limit barring the occasional off day. If you think you stalled out while still playing hours a day and seem to have gotten nowhere in the last month or two you are probably pushing the limits of your potential.
Click to expand...

This "you've reached your natural limit" thing is a total crock.

I have very little natural talent at this game, and neither does Neils Feijen...but we both keep improving due to hard work (not that I can play like him, just making a point).

You can take this game as far as you want, it's all about constant work on solid fundamentals, quality practice, and an external coach who can give you feedback. I truly believe that anyone able bodied can be a world champion. It will happen faster for more naturally talented players (maybe much faster), but that doesn't mean it can't be achieved by anyone who wants it bad enough.
 
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