Sadistic Genie

Tin Man

Tin Man

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Suppose you find a lamp that belongs to a sadistic genie. When you wish to be a great pool player he says he'll grant that wish with one caveat: You will play amazing, but only 50% of the sessions you play. Half the days you will be in the zone, sometimes winning against better players, setting new high runs, snapping off tournaments, or just feeling great as you confidently smooth the balls in the pockets. The other half of the days you will hook yourself with ball in hand, go off the table on the break, rattle anything more than a foot from the pocket, the contact point will shift back and forth like eye floaters and it will feel like your stroke has 12 hinges moving side to side. Would you accept that?

I've been playing hard for about 30 years now and I've come to believe that is how pool works. It's stunning what the range is between my best game and my worst game. And I have absolutely no control over when it happens. Oh, sure, I can do things that give me my best chance to have a good day. And do you know what I think the most important of those things are? ACCEPTING THIS!

See, as long as you think of yourself as the player that plays your best game you will be set up for failure. It isn't realistic and creates fear of exposure (you're always trying to believe you are done with bad days and always afraid to be proven wrong, the ol' "I thought I was past this" mentality). It creates pressure. It creates expectations. It creates entitlement (I'm here to collect my results, versus I'm here to work my tail off fruitlessly). This doesn't lead to the zone.

When you embrace your worst game then all is better. Go to your match prepared to be helpless, disconnected, incompetent, off balance, nervous, and frustrated. Be prepared to work your tail off and come short. Be prepared to face ugly layouts and fall short. If you can accept that then you're in good shape. You have nothing left to fear, no image to protect, and you can just go about your business of trying hard and enjoying the challenge.

Guess what? If you do that session after session the good sessions will come. You don't deserve it. You can't bottle it. But you will have your time in the sun.

I hear some of you now. "You need to be confident!" "You get what you expect!" "Fake it until you make it!" Yeah right. I AM confident. I am confident in my PROCESSES, confident that I will try my best on every shot, keep my attitude positive. But we don't control outcomes and trying to control something we can't leads to frustration and fear. And expectations are all ego driven result thinking. No good. CJ Wiley had a great post a few months ago about how he visualized having lost every match before he played it. This is perfect. It's about SURRENDER. You surrender control and then give it your all.

The simple fact is there is no approach that leads to consistent quality play. The best approach is to accept it, do the best every session you can, and enjoy the good and the bad. When you play to have fun you win as soon as you put your cue together. You will give yourself the most opportunities to play great by not choking your game, and you will enjoy the whole journey more as well.
 
I have struggled with what it is that causes the big gap in my game too - is it my eyes? Back swing? Feet? Approach? I have no idea and at this point, and just enjoy the high points and don't get too mad over the low points anymore. I used to get really frustrated at the low points. I can't "turn it on" so to speak so am just glad that the high points are relatively high.
 
Pool has been recreation for me, never had desire to be a Pro Pool player.

If I wanted to play a sport as vocation for life it would be PGA Golf. Rewards are great.

I use to like to do night or weekend 9 ball tournament. My maximum for entree fee was $10.00, never entered side pots, or gamble for anything more then one beer. This was mostly fun, winning was bonus.

If I was ask about m asking deal by magic genie, I would pass, say nice gesture, no thanks.

Had a job I liked, treated me well, my accomplishments were for my work, ethics, and must have been god. Phone kept ringing.
 
Spot on Tin Man. I can play at a 700 FR many games and then drop to a 585 for no apparent reason. As long as I know that I am capable of reaching a 700, I am ok with the 585. It is interesting and helpful to know what triggers the better play. Last week a weaker opponent pissed me off with a comment and "WALLA" I started playing really well.
 
Tin Man said:
Thanks dquarasr! I figured this would be timely for about 50% of you! ;)
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Well if you desire to be tops at any sport, all you need do is spend 2,000 a year working at the sport like it was a job.

Talent also helps, as it your a 10 thumb klutz, you are going to work harder.
 
Very good post tin man. We can’t play our best game everyday. On the bad days we have to learn to deal with it. It’s one of the things I’ve gotten better at the last few years although some days I still get pretty frustrated.

I got a buddy who after a few games is still playing bad he just unscrews and says I don’t have to take this there will be better days
 
I have wondered if the change is an actual change in my dominant eye. I am left eye dominant and right handed. Could a change to right eye dominance cause me to be that far off?
first off: I am not that good. But I go from pretty good to almost okay.

I use to think I needed a pitcher of beer to shoot well. Did that help my focus (I am pretty ADHD so it could focus me). Was it just helping my essential tremor? Or did it help which eye is dominant.
 
Every player in every sport has good days and bad days. The best pool players are obviously better across the board, but their highs aren’t THAT much higher than yours. However, through a combination of talent, superior brain power, and an absurd amount of hard work, they’ve raised their floor tremendously.
 
Tin Man said:
The simple fact is there is no approach that leads to consistent quality play. The best approach is to accept it, do the best every session you can, and enjoy the good and the bad. When you play to have fun you win as soon as you put your cue together. You will give yourself the most opportunities to play great by not choking your game, and you will enjoy the whole journey more as well.
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I don't agree that it is a seemingly lost cause. However, there is no magic bullet that will work for everyone.

The key is to do things to minimize the difference between your best game and your worst game.

So all we can do is keep actively working to improve... not just in hours put in, but also in knowledge acquired.
 
SlateMan said:
I have wondered if the change is an actual change in my dominant eye. I am left eye dominant and right handed. Could a change to right eye dominance cause me to be that far off?
first off: I am not that good. But I go from pretty good to almost okay.

I use to think I needed a pitcher of beer to shoot well. Did that help my focus (I am pretty ADHD so it could focus me). Was it just helping my essential tremor? Or did it help which eye is dominant.
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Mike Page from Fargo Rate did some analysis to bust the myth that top players are more consistent than others. Below is a must see 3 minute video explaining this.

So if inconsistency is a universal experience, the cause of the problem is our humanity, not our sighting.

 
penguin said:
I don't agree that it is a seemingly lost cause. However, there is no magic bullet that will work for everyone.

The key is to do things to minimize the difference between your best game and your worst game.

So all we can do is keep actively working to improve... not just in hours put in, but also in knowledge acquired.
Click to expand...
Hi penguin. Thank you for the reply.

I never said anything about a lost cause. Those are your words! I only point out that we can never eliminate the swings in our games. Please see my post above and watch the 3 minute video.

I absolutely agree that this is a game of improvement. I have spent a big part of my life pursuing incrementally better performances. Higher average performances are possible. Higher best performances are possible. Higher worst performances are possible. But consistency is not. No matter how much you improve your performance range, you will always have good days and bad days.

The distinction is critically important because most people have a narrative that goes like this: "Right now I'm this inconsistent mess. I know deep down I'm and awesome player because when I'm on it's AMAZING, but for some stupid reason a lot of days I just can't do anything. There must be something wrong, and when I figure it out and fix it, then I'll feel the way I do on my best days all of the time, I'll never have doubts and fears, I'll never have feelings of helplessness, it'll be my time!" Maybe that's not your narrative, but I've felt that way in the past and I've seen many, many people buy into this.

But here's the rub: SVB feels just as frustrated and disconnected and helpless when he's having a bad day playing at 750 speed as a 600FR player does when he's playing at 525 speed. SVB's hard work and practice allowed him to develop his skills to the point he can win championships and even touch 900 speed for short bursts. But it doesn't stop the bad days and how ugly it feels to go through them. Now, you can say he is consistent in the sense that he is consistently over 750FR speed, but that doesn't mean that playing his worst feels any different for him than it does for you.

With this better understanding you can improve your narrative. Instead of trying to do the impossible and achieve consistency, you can accept this and go with the flow. Again, this doesn't mean you can't improve. Of course you can. But you're not improving because 'some day the game won't bully me and make me feel bad'. You're improving so that when things go well you can new high water marks. And your worst game will get better as well, so even when it feels terrible you will be able to stagger through some matches, giving yourself a chance to catch a gear and turn it around later.

My main point is that if we're going to have below average days half the time, let's not let that deflate us! No one ever promised consistency was possible, it is our own fable we created and buy into. One that leads to frustration, feelings of betrayal, and feelings of insufficiency and defectiveness. We can instead accept that there is nothing wrong with us or our game plan if our performance goes sideways half the time. Instead let's stick to the game plan of improvement. And if we understand this there is no reason to be miserable half the time. Just enjoy the whole journey, take the good with the bad, and keep moving. By aligning our expectations to reality we can enjoy the game more of the time, take pressure off ourselves, and quiet the doubts and fears that are telling us we are on the wrong road. And I believe by knowing this IS the right road we'll make more progress because we are having fun and confident in our path. Tin Man out.
 
pro players by shifting their curve to a higher "zone"
they play at that high level more consistently than someone who just touches that zone on their very best days
for example
the 750 fargo who has his 800 days and 700 days still plays in the 700 range consistently
the 660 fargo who has his 710 days but still has his 610 days pretty much plays in the mid 600 range
both have equal 50 point swings in their best and worst days
but to be "better" you have to improve your base skill base
which means you have to improve your consistency in making the ball and get your position
jmho
EDIT
tin man i posted this as you were posting above
we are on common ground
with you emphasizing to not get down on yourself on bad days
 
bbb said:
pro players by shifting their curve to a higher "zone"
they play at that high level more consistently than someone who just touches that zone on their very best days
for example
the 750 fargo who has his 800 days and 700 days still plays in the 700 range consistently
the 660 fargo who has his 710 days but still has his 610 days pretty much plays in the mid 600 range
both have equal 50 point swings in their best and worst days
but to be "better" you have to improve your base skill base
which means you have to improve your consistency in making the ball and get your position
jmho
EDIT
tin man i posted this as you were posting above
we are on common ground
with you emphasizing to not get down on yourself on bad days
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Hey bbb!

It all comes down to what you mean by consistency. If you mean we can consistently play our worst games or better, then yes, absolutely. If it means more consistently executing specific shots, yes, that is possible. And it is possible to increase our consistency with cue ball maneuvers and all other specific skills. As we do our game will improve.

But those improvements will lead to a higher range of performances, not consistent performances. Consistent performances are not possible and many people fight this for their entire lives.

The difference is important because if we tether our peace of mind and contentment to things that are impossible we will create a lot of negative emotion.

I think we're on the same page here. Good to hear from you!
 
You reach a level where getting shape is almost a given which means it comes down to potting balls.
That's my two cents anyway which is probably what it it worth.
Who will show up today, me or my evil twin?
 
Tin Man said:
Suppose you find a lamp that belongs to a sadistic genie. When you wish to be a great pool player he says he'll grant that wish with one caveat: You will play amazing, but only 50% of the sessions you play. Half the days you will be in the zone, sometimes winning against better players, setting new high runs, snapping off tournaments, or just feeling great as you confidently smooth the balls in the pockets. The other half of the days you will hook yourself with ball in hand, go off the table on the break, rattle anything more than a foot from the pocket, the contact point will shift back and forth like eye floaters and it will feel like your stroke has 12 hinges moving side to side. Would you accept that?

I've been playing hard for about 30 years now and I've come to believe that is how pool works. It's stunning what the range is between my best game and my worst game. And I have absolutely no control over when it happens. Oh, sure, I can do things that give me my best chance to have a good day. And do you know what I think the most important of those things are? ACCEPTING THIS!

See, as long as you think of yourself as the player that plays your best game you will be set up for failure. It isn't realistic and creates fear of exposure (you're always trying to believe you are done with bad days and always afraid to be proven wrong, the ol' "I thought I was past this" mentality). It creates pressure. It creates expectations. It creates entitlement (I'm here to collect my results, versus I'm here to work my tail off fruitlessly). This doesn't lead to the zone.

When you embrace your worst game then all is better. Go to your match prepared to be helpless, disconnected, incompetent, off balance, nervous, and frustrated. Be prepared to work your tail off and come short. Be prepared to face ugly layouts and fall short. If you can accept that then you're in good shape. You have nothing left to fear, no image to protect, and you can just go about your business of trying hard and enjoying the challenge.

Guess what? If you do that session after session the good sessions will come. You don't deserve it. You can't bottle it. But you will have your time in the sun.

I hear some of you now. "You need to be confident!" "You get what you expect!" "Fake it until you make it!" Yeah right. I AM confident. I am confident in my PROCESSES, confident that I will try my best on every shot, keep my attitude positive. But we don't control outcomes and trying to control something we can't leads to frustration and fear. And expectations are all ego driven result thinking. No good. CJ Wiley had a great post a few months ago about how he visualized having lost every match before he played it. This is perfect. It's about SURRENDER. You surrender control and then give it your all.

The simple fact is there is no approach that leads to consistent quality play. The best approach is to accept it, do the best every session you can, and enjoy the good and the bad. When you play to have fun you win as soon as you put your cue together. You will give yourself the most opportunities to play great by not choking your game, and you will enjoy the whole journey more as well.
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Great post. I will say that striving for consistency in all you do, from fundamentals on up, will keep the swings more manageable. Instead of playing great and playing like garbage, the lows won't be quite as low. They are still there, there's no avoiding that. I think how we improve as a player is through consistency. This doesn't mean your high level of play is that much higher, it just means you dog it less. The more you can tighten up that low swing, the better you play overall. I'd bet that for most people if they could raise that low trough even 20% they would be beating the pants off of opponents that they normally struggle with.

If that sadistic genie gave me the choice you posted, or said, you can play at 75% of your top game always, I'd go with the 75%.

That lightning doesn't fit in a bottle but it's nice when it shows up!
 
I’d like to declare myself on this genie stuff….I don’t want him messing with my game…that would make me some kind of bot.
….as a matter of fact, he can get his ass outta that lamp and give me some action.
There are things I’d love to have from that genie, like a bankroll or a Szamboti, but he ain’t messing with my talent.

In my early twenties, I was in a ton of action. Under those conditions, you achieve a heightened awareness of your relationship with the game.
Sone days you aren’t going to be up to par…and you gotta deal with it. My first view of the table when I walk in is often the indicator of what kind of day I’ll have…if the balls look big, I’ll be shooting well….if the balls look small, I’ll be playing more safeties.
I have a weak left eye, can’t read a book with it…but some days I play out of my left eye….I don’t care why.
…that‘s where I feel that many players err, making up their mind where the head should be over the cue.
I look, then I bring the cue into my vision…that vision can change from day to day.
 
Great post Demi.

I love CJ’s visualization exercise of imagining himself already having lost the match. I do that in league a lot. I picture my opponent making the final ball and getting a big “whoop” from his teammates and some pats on the back and then me walking over to shake his hand and having to replay a bunch of missed opportunities in my mind.

Then I think of the match that’s actually about to start, beginning with the lag, as a “re-do” of what just happened in my mind. It almost always results in me playing a more focused game. And I don’t mind losing when I play a focused game. I did my best or close to it and it didn’t go my way. It happens. It’s the losses that come when I feel like everything fell apart because of a spiral of frustration and lost focus that really bother me.
 
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