Need to find my killer instinct

jollyrodger

jollyrodger

#1 Troublemaker
Silver Member
Every time i play a tournament or gamble. I just don't care if i win. I try and try to motivate myself and i can not get past the just having fun stage. I need help! Lol


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Do you win?


jollyrodger said:
Every time i play a tournament or gamble. I just don't care if i win. I try and try to motivate myself and i can not get past the just having fun stage. I need help! Lol


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You're too jolly Rodger. You can't find a killer instinct. You either have it or you don't.
 
make it harder on yourself....announce to the entire room (before you start) that you guarantee a win !

You will feel pressure :grin-square:
 
jollyrodger said:
Every time i play a tournament or gamble. I just don't care if i win. I try and try to motivate myself and i can not get past the just having fun stage. I need help! Lol


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I'mma give you some advice from one of my coaches a while back. Don't be concerned with winning. Be concerned that you make the shot in front of you and get position on the next shot.

The only time you think about more than the shot at hand is right after the break where you plan your route your first turn at the table. After that, it's shot by shot execution. Don't make winning and losing about the whole match. Make it on the shot that is right in front of you. It's very difficult to keep that care about winning spirit up the entire match and stay focused if you're splintering off in too many directions.

You don't need a killer instinct to win. You need focus. For some, the fire and emotion brings the focus. For others, it's a cold, calculating, surgical game plan. For still others, the pace of play brings focus (quick pace or slow pace). Not everyone has to be as ruthless as Earl Strickland to win. And while Earl had more talent in his pinky than most pros have in a lifetime, he also lost quite a bit when he fell out of focus during a match. He won quite a bit not just because of his talent, but because people got scared of him and surrendered their focus midmatch as well.

You don't need to want to bury your opponent under a heap of rubble to beat them. You need to be dedicated enough to the game and shot in front of you to make good decisions and execute. An above poster is right, you probably won't be able to develop a killer instinct easily, if at all. But you can train for precision and laser focus on the moment with dedication and time.
 
Carolina_Giant said:
I'mma give you some advice from one of my coaches a while back. Don't be concerned with winning. Be concerned that you make the shot in front of you and get position on the next shot.

The only time you think about more than the shot at hand is right after the break where you plan your route your first turn at the table. After that, it's shot by shot execution. Don't make winning and losing about the whole match. Make it on the shot that is right in front of you. It's very difficult to keep that care about winning spirit up the entire match and stay focused if you're splintering off in too many directions.

You don't need a killer instinct to win. You need focus. For some, the fire and emotion brings the focus. For others, it's a cold, calculating, surgical game plan. For still others, the pace of play brings focus (quick pace or slow pace). Not everyone has to be as ruthless as Earl Strickland to win. And while Earl had more talent in his pinky than most pros have in a lifetime, he also lost quite a bit when he fell out of focus during a match. He won quite a bit not just because of his talent, but because people got scared of him and surrendered their focus midmatch as well.

You don't need to want to bury your opponent under a heap of rubble to beat them. You need to be dedicated enough to the game and shot in front of you to make good decisions and execute. An above poster is right, you probably won't be able to develop a killer instinct easily, if at all. But you can train for precision and laser focus on the moment with dedication and time.
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Great post. :thumbup:

You should be thankful that you aren't a hyper competitive pr*ck who is never satisfied unless he's beating people's brains out. That's a crappy way to go through life.

However you can definitely work on increasing your focus on the task at hand, which is playing good pool.
 
skip100 said:
a hyper competitive pr*ck who is never satisfied unless he's beating people's brains out.
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That's Stephen Hendry, right there. I think he did well in his career but obviously the experts here know better than him.:)
 
Miyamoto Musashi is a legendary Samurai. His book is The Book Of Five Rings where he teaches strategy tactics and philosophy for fighting that is still studied today. It is pretty easy to modify most of his teachings a little to apply to competition in pool and just about anything else.

Some of his teachings include:

- Regardless of combat circumstances you must always remain calm. calmness is obtained through meditation and belief in your own skills.

- You must go into combat with the attitude of absolutely destroying the enemy. If you do not develop this attitude, what are you doing there in the first place? Combat is never employed for fun. Even in practice sessions you must have the attitude of going in for the kill.

- Overwhelm your opponent with the INTENTION of completely destroying him.

- The ‘Way’ cannot be learned through frivolous contests in which the outcome is for the name of a school or a large trophy. It can only be realised where physical death or injury is a reality.

- You can only fight the way you practice.

- Do not permit yourself to be intimidated by the size of your enemy.

- The truth is that strength lies in the interior of the warrior: in his heart, his mind and his spirit.
 
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snucar said:
That's Stephen Hendry, right there. I think he did well in his career but obviously the experts here know better than him.:)
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From my understanding though Hendry wasn't mean spirited or seeking to personally destroy opponents. He was laser focused at the table on not missing and playing his best possible frame. O'sullivan was his contrast. A fiery impassioned player who was ready to take on all challengers in his own dimension. Higgins was another successful player who was ready to smash anyone who dared pick up a cue against him. Either way, not all of them were ruthless assassins, but when they were fully dialed in and focused you wouldn't have wanted to play any of them.
 
When you have the killer instinct there are many times when you leave the pool hall not happy. You are only happy when you win which you can not do all the time.

But when you are happy just playing you can always leave the pool hall happy.

I tend to be over competitive and many times it brings me down. I wish I could just be happy go lucky all the time.

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.
 
Although I can't disagree with the logic of Carolina_Giant's post, there are exceptions. Willie Mosconi would try to bury his opponents, some say he held contempt for his rivals and had a complete disdain for losing.
 
Carolina_Giant said:
From my understanding though Hendry wasn't mean spirited or seeking to personally destroy opponents. He was laser focused at the table on not missing and playing his best possible frame. O'sullivan was his contrast. A fiery impassioned player who was ready to take on all challengers in his own dimension. Higgins was another successful player who was ready to smash anyone who dared pick up a cue against him. Either way, not all of them were ruthless assassins, but when they were fully dialed in and focused you wouldn't have wanted to play any of them.
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Hendry, my friend, was the very DEFINITION of a ruthless assassin. Hendry, by his own admission, never was in love with the game like Steve Davis, but with winning. Hence he retired so soon.

Here's an interesting article about Hendry's mentality.

http://www.thenational.ae/thenation...drys-proved-to-be-law-unto-himself-in-snooker

Short funny story but very indicative of the drive of these great champions. Steve Davis was invited to play a friendly frame with a kid in the early days of his dominance in the 80s. It was all laughs and cheering until the kid broke off. Davis pots a long red and makes a century without even breaking a smile to the kid. Barry Hearn, his manager at the time, just couldn't believe what he was watching. The kid broke down in tears. A winning machine, that's what Steve Davis was. In fact, this episode, was included in the movie "The Rack Pack", which I recommend. Davis didn't do this to the kid on purpose, it was just automatic for him.
 
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Maybe the OP should take some time away from the game for a while. Could be burn out. I know that I love to just play but if it wasn't for the competition there would no reason for me to play. It is the measurement of myself against another player that keeps me focused and absorbed in the game.
 
us820 said:
Reyes seemed pretty low key.Souquet too.Everybody can find a way to win that fits their personality.
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" Regardless of combat circumstances you must always remain calm. Calmness is obtained through meditation and belief in your own skills."



A part of that killer instinct!
 
o.g. (old guy) said:
Although I can't disagree with the logic of Carolina_Giant's post, there are exceptions. Willie Mosconi would try to bury his opponents, some say he held contempt for his rivals and had a complete disdain for losing.
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Won't disagree at all, and having that contempt and killer instinct is a very, very desirable piece to have, as long as it doesn't blind you or make you too cocky.

Thanks also for the update on Hendry. I saved that clip for later, and I have to admit that Hendry hid who he was very well. Maybe he lost that edge a bit as he got closer to retirement, but it certainly served him well.

Also, I think it's important to note that people like Hendry, Strickland, Davis, Shane, etc, part of why they win so much and so often is because the drive to excel and be the best is so high they simply blow past the majority of the field. Being able to win without that isn't impossible, but you certainly aren't going to be a world beater, top of the heap, or even regular tournament winner unless your field is full of crap players or you have some drive to stay sharp and keep getting better so you are in the best position to win. The burnout factor someone else mentioned earlier may also be something to consider.
 
philly said:
Maybe the OP should take some time away from the game for a while. Could be burn out. I know that I love to just play but if it wasn't for the competition there would no reason for me to play. It is the measurement of myself against another player that keeps me focused and absorbed in the game.
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Nah, I wouldn't quit playing a game that is clearly enjoyable, and the OP stated that he is enjoying paying the game. Though you can spend the money won, I promise that it won't make you smile, and that, folks, is what life is all about. If die broke and smiling, then I'll be satisfied!

And I agree, pool is one fun game. I'm sorry for the guys that feel they have to win or bet on a match in order to enjoy it. ;)
 
jalapus logan said:
Nah, I wouldn't quit playing a game that is clearly enjoyable, and the OP stated that he is enjoying paying the game. Though you can spend the money won, I promise that it won't make you smile, and that, folks, is what life is all about. If die broke and smiling, then I'll be satisfied!

And I agree, pool is one fun game. I'm sorry for the guys that feel they have to win or bet on a match in order to enjoy it. ;)
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I don't know if the game is enjoyable for the OP. That is why he is asking for help. He has obviously lost the desire to compete.
 
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