Cause of Inconsistency?
- Thread starter CGM
- Start date
Emotions, variable focus, timing and determination; all of these are inconsistent in every human. Therefore, all pool players have a spectrum of consistency. The explanation for the Fargo Rating system does a great job of explaining these ranges which are averaged into a score.
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Consistency ….
I heard in a line in a movie-
"On your death bed, you shall receive total consciousness....
So I got that goin for me
Which is nice. :thumbup:
Dave
Consistent Process
Do you have a consistent shooting process?
Do you have a consistent shooting process?
One of the sayings I use constantly in my teaching is "consistency breeds consistency". While it is true that things like mental state, physical fitness, confidence, and outside factors can affect your execution, consistent fundamentals are at the core of consistent play. Do you have a shot routine? A pre-shot routine? Can you describe it in detail? Do you follow it on every shot, no matter how "simple"? If you want consistent results, you have to have consistent (and intentional) action.
Yes, I took a full day lesson with Scott Lee and I would say that the PSR and eye movement are the two biggest things I got from it. I shoot the same way every time no matter how easy or difficult it is. That being said, I probably need to video myself playing to see if I am doing what I think I am. Sunday I played a pretty good player and just walked through him. Yesterday I played a guy probably a little faster speed than me and just got destroyed. I was actually embarrassed at how I performed.
Im going to say lack of table time.
You could have the best fundamentals in the world, but if you arent playing regularly you are going to be missing position and missing balls.
When you learn any skill well enough to perform it without actually having to consciously think about every element involved (like riding a bike or reading these very words or carrying on a conversation), your brain functions in accordance with its "implicit" system of action -- basically it runs like a computer program, using memory (your knowledge/experience/muscle memory, etc...) triggered by realtime sensory input (what you are seeing, hearing, touching, feeling, etc...).
While learning a skill we have to focus on every aspect of what we are doing, consciously performing every action. This is the brain's "explicit" system at work. The more you do something with explicit control the more you develop the ability to perform the same actions automatically without having to explicitly control each movement. You've programmed yourself, and therefore the task has moved into the implicit system of brain function.
But even when you have enough pool playing experience stored into memory to allow the pool playing program to run implicitly, your brain is still using sensory input to orchestrate the entire process in real time. This means ANY unexpected or bad input can cause a glitch in the program, and when the program hangs up we find ourselves consciously thinking about what we are doing. We end up trying to control every movement with explicitness rather than allowing the brain's implicit system to do its work. The unexpected input can be something we hear (your opponent's mouth), or something we see (a shot or game situation we aren't familiar with), or our emotional state or frame of mind causing bad mojo in our head.
I know this is long-winded, but it all boils down to understanding how you are capable of playing great in the first place -- implicit brain function -- and then learning how to deal with unwanted or unexpected inputs that cause you to start using too much explicit brain function, which can make you feel like a beginner again. Many times, the best way to deal is to just tell yourself, "it's only pool". Go wash your hands, look into the mirror and tell yourself it's only pool, and stick to a solid psr to help keep the program running smoothly without overthinking or trying too hard.
While learning a skill we have to focus on every aspect of what we are doing, consciously performing every action. This is the brain's "explicit" system at work. The more you do something with explicit control the more you develop the ability to perform the same actions automatically without having to explicitly control each movement. You've programmed yourself, and therefore the task has moved into the implicit system of brain function.
But even when you have enough pool playing experience stored into memory to allow the pool playing program to run implicitly, your brain is still using sensory input to orchestrate the entire process in real time. This means ANY unexpected or bad input can cause a glitch in the program, and when the program hangs up we find ourselves consciously thinking about what we are doing. We end up trying to control every movement with explicitness rather than allowing the brain's implicit system to do its work. The unexpected input can be something we hear (your opponent's mouth), or something we see (a shot or game situation we aren't familiar with), or our emotional state or frame of mind causing bad mojo in our head.
I know this is long-winded, but it all boils down to understanding how you are capable of playing great in the first place -- implicit brain function -- and then learning how to deal with unwanted or unexpected inputs that cause you to start using too much explicit brain function, which can make you feel like a beginner again. Many times, the best way to deal is to just tell yourself, "it's only pool". Go wash your hands, look into the mirror and tell yourself it's only pool, and stick to a solid psr to help keep the program running smoothly without overthinking or trying too hard.
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I have many, many years of experience with this subject, as it relates to many different sports, in all cases, if you actually do perform at the table like a "world beater" Fairly often- then half the battle is already won!- YOU KNOW YOU POSSESS THE SKILL TO DO IT! Now for the hard part- you will need to examine some video of yourself when you are NOT performing as well, compare it to when you are in world beater form- and FIND what is different.
I am willing to bet the answer lies- as others have said- somewhere in the pre shot routine- but to be more exact- I will bet that you are pulling off your final focus on the object ball just as you release the cue on the final stroke and/or tightening your grip hand as you deliver your final stroke to the cue ball.
You probably need to add one more element to your pre shot routine to keep that final focus more consistent- like maybe going only 1/2 on the warmup strokes and firing on every single shot - while being relaxed at the final delivery stroke, we also need to be robotic in our attention to the cue delivery. You make the shot with your attention to the object ball while achieving cue ball control by delivering the stroke with complete confidence and relaxation.
I am willing to bet the answer lies- as others have said- somewhere in the pre shot routine- but to be more exact- I will bet that you are pulling off your final focus on the object ball just as you release the cue on the final stroke and/or tightening your grip hand as you deliver your final stroke to the cue ball.
You probably need to add one more element to your pre shot routine to keep that final focus more consistent- like maybe going only 1/2 on the warmup strokes and firing on every single shot - while being relaxed at the final delivery stroke, we also need to be robotic in our attention to the cue delivery. You make the shot with your attention to the object ball while achieving cue ball control by delivering the stroke with complete confidence and relaxation.
I have many, many years of experience with this subject, as it relates to many different sports, in all cases, if you actually do perform at the table like a "world beater" Fairly often- then half the battle is already won!- YOU KNOW YOU POSSESS THE SKILL TO DO IT! Now for the hard part- you will need to examine some video of yourself when you are NOT performing as well, compare it to when you are in world beater form- and FIND what is different.
I am willing to bet the answer lies- as others have said- somewhere in the pre shot routine- but to be more exact- I will bet that you are pulling off your final focus on the object ball just as you release the cue on the final stroke and/or tightening your grip hand as you deliver your final stroke to the cue ball.
You probably need to add one more element to your pre shot routine to keep that final focus more consistent- like maybe going only 1/2 on the warmup strokes and firing on every single shot - while being relaxed at the final delivery stroke, we also need to be robotic in our attention to the cue delivery. You make the shot with your attention to the object ball while achieving cue ball control by delivering the stroke with complete confidence and relaxation.
I am willing to bet the answer lies- as others have said- somewhere in the pre shot routine- but to be more exact- I will bet that you are pulling off your final focus on the object ball just as you release the cue on the final stroke and/or tightening your grip hand as you deliver your final stroke to the cue ball.
You probably need to add one more element to your pre shot routine to keep that final focus more consistent- like maybe going only 1/2 on the warmup strokes and firing on every single shot - while being relaxed at the final delivery stroke, we also need to be robotic in our attention to the cue delivery. You make the shot with your attention to the object ball while achieving cue ball control by delivering the stroke with complete confidence and relaxation.
One simple word, focus.
Focus
It’s not clear what you mean by “got destroyed”. Your opponent ran 4 racks on you? You missed 3 hangars?
Was every shot a good process, or were you distracted by outcome thinking? In my experience the more you think about winning and losing, the less you focus and the worse you do.
It’s not clear what you mean by “got destroyed”. Your opponent ran 4 racks on you? You missed 3 hangars?
Was every shot a good process, or were you distracted by outcome thinking? In my experience the more you think about winning and losing, the less you focus and the worse you do.
I ran out to a 3-0 lead ina race to 7 and promptly let him run off 7 straight. I missed an eady 9 in the fourth rack that would have put me up 4-0. I couldnt get right after i missed the layup.
I guess "world beater" is inappropriate to ever describe my play but I was just using it as hyperbole. This advice is great and in reflection is probably exactly what was going on. Thank uyou sir
Yes, the single word is most probably focus- but HOW you achieve MOST consistent focus is what he is struggling with now- I have found the best way to achieve that consistent focus is with the pre shot routine that is unique to THAT person and allows him/her to get to that state most often - a review of their on/off performances will tell you when that component is there and/or if something needs to be added or tweaked to achieve the best final focus more consistently - FOR that specific individual! Every person marches to a different drummer in one form or another - so there is no magic bullet that applies to all. It is like telling a youngster to "keep your eye on the ball" - means nothing unless they understand HOW to do that - within their own rhythm - for some it is a natural gift - for most it is an adopted method that works for them!
^^^^^^^^^^ 100%.
I know a few players that play very, very strong that have virtually no PSR but, they are hit and miss as in today they may beat the 10 ball ghost brutally bad and then turn around the very next day and lose brutally bad on the same equipment with the same bet.
Jeff
What do you do in particular to insure you are performing your PSR the same every time?