People avoid do things they dislike, like practicing.
It is not fun, it is work, and work is not fun for most people.
It is not fun, it is work, and work is not fun for most people.
How to overcome fear of a certain type of shot
- Thread starter Tin Man
- Start date
The title of this thread reminds me of Jimmy Reid and his No Time For Negative series. He was adamant about not letting negative emotions affect you on any shot whether it was a tough shot or a safety. In his world he never allowed himself to approach the table with a negative attitude... RIP to the best pool player from Gloucester, Mass!
Willowbrook Wolfy
Going pro
Oh I forgot. If you have a problem shot you can choke up like in baseball too. Shorten your stick. In turn shortening your stroke length and leaving less room for error to occur in the stroke. More accurate that way. You will automatically not stroke as long by doing this. And again Don’t overthink it.This might not work for everyone, but works for me. I have a wider than recommended hand to hand position to start. That might be why it works or might not be it(next part not as important). I’m getting really complex in my aim as of late. There are a few shot angles that I aim with one eye closed due to head position and cue angle. So to each their own.
And if this helps anyone. I don’t wear my glasses shooting. When I do, I make all the sharp cuts like butter. I’ll miss a lot of easy shots though because without thinking about it my brain usually compensates for the angle. As most brains do when people shoot a lot. On sharp cuts there is only one spot to hit OB.
I’d need to practice to make a lot of the other shots wearing glasses, and I don’t want to do that. So if it’s a really long or really short shot it could actually have to do with your vision. In that case you can work around it by aiming at a closer/farther point than the ball. There are a few shots I have to hold my cue farther forward than usual to get the aim right. Essentially doing what I just mentioned but still aiming at the spot on OB.
Hey it might help.
And if this helps anyone. I don’t wear my glasses shooting. When I do, I make all the sharp cuts like butter. I’ll miss a lot of easy shots though because without thinking about it my brain usually compensates for the angle. As most brains do when people shoot a lot. On sharp cuts there is only one spot to hit OB.
I’d need to practice to make a lot of the other shots wearing glasses, and I don’t want to do that. So if it’s a really long or really short shot it could actually have to do with your vision. In that case you can work around it by aiming at a closer/farther point than the ball. There are a few shots I have to hold my cue farther forward than usual to get the aim right. Essentially doing what I just mentioned but still aiming at the spot on OB.
Hey it might help.
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These are my problem shots, not necessarily sharp cuts but mid length and longer shots where the cue ball is very close but not on the rail. I'm sure its an alignment/sighting problem because if its on the rail or farther off the rail I have no problem with the shot and angle.
I have always said “a cut is a cut is a cut”.
A 45-degree cut, or any degree of cut, is the same degree of cut no matter where the balls are on the table.
If you are able to actually see the rails and the pockets to orient yourself to the proper table alignment it is easier to visualize and make the shot than if the pocket is out of your vision when you are down on the shot.
Many people will see the correct shot while standing, but will angle their body when they get down on the shot which causes them to have a false sense of where center ball is in relation to the shot.
Explaining this at the table is a lot easier to do than explaining it in writing.
Kind of like what pilots experience when they lose reference.
There are three aspects to spatial ‘’position’’ orientation:
- knowing where the extremity of our body and limbs is
- knowing what is up, down, left and right, and
- knowing our position in relation to our immediate environment.
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Willowbrook Wolfy
Going pro
Willowbrook Wolfy
Going pro
Sounds like you aren’t getting low enough on those shots. Im thinking it’s a shot where people’s natural tendency is to jack the cue up a bit. Unlike on the rail where people tend to level the cue more.
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Excellent post! While our goal is to be 100% on every shot, a small part of our mind should be telling us that isn't going to happen. I'm not done with that realistic portion of my mind that quickly though. I can make those tough shots more often than my opponent. If I just do that I feel like I am gaining on my opponent. Early in a match even if I don't make every tough shot, just tackling them casually with the intention of making the shot can weaken an opponent when you come very close.
Got to make the object ball but I agree the cue ball is what it is almost all about. I look at my options that will put the cue ball where I want it then I study more closely what shots will pocket the object ball and get that cue ball where it suits me. Focusing on the cue ball's path and final stopping point may even help get my mind off of that tough object ball shot. If I shoot the shape as planned it is not possible for the object ball to stay up.
Hu
Willowbrook Wolfy
Going pro
Hu. You have a different way of looking at it. That is interesting.
The shot I personally hate the most is when I’m about to shoot a ball with some kind of right and then my head says, “wait! You have to shoot that with left”. Or vice versa. That can get me indecisive and sometimes I’ll forget which English throws the ball which way. It gets so confusing sometimes.
Hu. You have a different way of looking at it. That is interesting.
The shot I personally hate the most is when I’m about to shoot a ball with some kind of right and then my head says, “wait! You have to shoot that with left”. Or vice versa. That can get me indecisive and sometimes I’ll forget which English throws the ball which way. It gets so confusing sometimes.
That is a problem I never have.
I know exactly what English, if any, I am going to put on the ball before I get down. I play position to get the angle that I want, knowing what I am going to do before I ever get to that shot. That is assuming I don’t get out of line.
FWIW, I always play position to leave natural angles if that path is available. That allows me to stay on the inside of the cue ball and use speed and angles to get around the table, rather than spin.
Learn Center to Edge Aiming.
Not joking. There was a particular shot that I was so afraid of that I would always play safe instead of trying it. In practice I get to 50/60% on it.
First day I met Hal Houle he says set up a shot you have trouble with and I went right to that shot. He tells me how to aim it using weird instructions. I was really confused and the first shot I missed badly
The second time I listened more carefully and focused on aligning visually, letting my eyes lead my body, and I nailed it clean. I said that's got to be an accident. So I set it up again and split the pocket again. Hal was sitting there with a smug look.
Anyway.... Fast forward 20 years and one of Hal's best students Stan Shuffett has taken that system and refined it into an excellent and in the opinion of the users an objective method of aiming. I believe that your experience will be that once you learn to accurately aim there won't be a shot that you are scared of.
Go here to learn more www.juatcueit.com
Willowbrook Wolfy
Going pro
See Hawaiian you have the finesse approach I have an 8 ball mentality. I’m going through balls rather than finessing my way around them normally. And 2-3 times on a run rather than playing a safe. I’ll play a safe if I actually have to. And believe it or not I’m good at 8 ball. I only know one guy who can beat me regularly, and he’s played/beaten champs in high dollar games. When playing my best I have no problem running out at least 50% of racks when one falls on the break and there is an opening shot without ball in hand. I even set up 4 shots instead of 1 in 8 ball. Keeps it interesting.
I know everybody reading just cringed about that last one with setting up multiple shots….This is why I can’t play 9 ball as well as 8. 9 ball forces me to focus on 1 ball. I also try to play the breakouts which are normally farther away, and can end up leaving a bad next shot.
I’m going to try out your advice next time I do play 9. My position play really isn’t that bad to start when I’m focused. Keep it vertical and play the angles for position. I never thought of it that way. It makes a lot of sense because it’s really what you are doing when playing against someone with similar to higher speed. Your fancy/flashy shots tend to go out the window and you get a bit more serious.
I try to never touch or move a ball unless I intend to.
Once I see the patterns, I don’t want to disturb the layout.
I just want to weave my way around the table in the patterns I have set in my mind.
Adjustments have to be made if/when you get out of line or accidentally move a ball.
Same for me, that’s experience showing up. Some learn it faster than others(talent).
Zero chance I’m down on a shot shooting second guessing anything. I get right up off the shot and figure it out. When your down all the thinking is long in the past.
Willowbrook Wolfy
Going pro
So do you play 9 better than 8? Or run more 9’s in one go? Whenever I watch a professional 8 ball match I always see them talking about any problem cluster(s). I see an 8 ball table differently than the announcers. The clusters aren’t a problem, those are the fun shots. It’s not hard to know where they are going on a breakout. Could have to do with the 1000’s of hours playing 8 ball on a 7footer. But it always seems like I beat the great 9 ball players at 8 and they beat me at 9. I’m not talking pros, just your normal above avg house guy. Like a real 700 shooter. It’s usually cause they are “scared” of the clusters.
See that I added the scared in to go with OP thread.
Hawaii has hit 2 million balls in the last 50 years. He knows his stuff, experience
Willowbrook Wolfy
Going pro
I believe it. I’m not arguing with him. Getting some insight. It’s Saturday night. Why are we all on AZ right now?
Good question lol
It’s just experience and that takes years and years. Time is your friend in pool until you turn 45.
Also what game a person plays best has a lot to do with a lot of reasons. Where you live, wether you play league, gamble, tourneys, personal preference. What game suits your skill set best. Are all factors. And sometimes your best game might not be your favorite to play
Like CJ says “the game is the teacher”
Best
Fatboy
Willowbrook Wolfy
Going pro
Haha one day I’m going to catch some of you at some hall somewhere. And you all are gonna be like “your that mf Konrad who talks too much on AZ?”
I have played tons of both games, but, for years and years. I mostly played 9-ball in gambling sessions. There was no money in 8-ball.
They are two completely different games with different strategies.
I have ran tons and tons of racks playing both.
Recently, I have been playing last-pocket 8-ball with my buddy. That is a way more interesting game than regular 8-ball. Depending upon the table layout, it can be as strategic as one-pocket in keeping your opponent in positions that prevent them from making their last ball and being able to get position for the 8-ball in the same pocket.
Every 8-ball layout is different. Sometimes it is more advantageous to not make a ball than to make a ball. I try to establish “table superiority or advantage” by keeping an opponent “tied up” while I move my balls into more desirable positions that block holes or block my opponents path to pockets. Then I just wait for them to make an error and I have complete table control.
I never make my last ball until I am confident I can make the 8-ball.