Can we talk nerves?

Pool shoes: a good idea, methinks.

You may laugh but there is a company , Moose Shoes and they make shoes specifically for playing billiards.
Although I don’t think that would help with nerves. Personally I use a breathing technic to help calm my nerves. I also make sure my surgar levels are correct. I’ve found that if my surgar is too high my back hand shakes.

Good question.
Lately I have been trying to improve my ability to counter pressure. Have some success too.
Won couple tournaments and One Finnish Championship(many of those were on different billiard games that I don´t even play,Snooker,Finnish Kaisa Billiards) on 6 last months. Finished high almost every tournament but not all(played those really bad but I was more slump than nervous)
There is no shortcut on this area of Pool either.

Best tricks for me seem to be:
1. Trying to mimic younger Efren Reyes loose walk around table(1990-2010).
2. Trying to get breath light and not choked.
3. Trying to "over-focus" right way. Dwell on small details. You forget pressure when you get deep enough..

jokrswylde said:

Specifically, what do ya'll do to master or at least control them in high stress, competitive pool? I have spent my entire ;life/career in athletics...all state in football, wrestling, and baseball (many moons ago!), but other than wrestling I've never played an individual sport competitively. Wrestling is easy...nerves lead to adrenaline, adrenaline to aggression, fast twitch engagement, explosiveness, etc.

. But in pool, where fine motor skills and concentration are key, that can be counterproductive. I am not talking about those times when you are in the zone and every pocket looks huge and runout patterns highlight themselves for you. I am talking about those times when they ain't falling, you start second guessing every decision, and it seems every ball is tied up and every pocket blocked.

Sometimes in those situations I'll get down on a straight in shot, one I shoot and make 100 times during the week, and I can feel a tremor in my backstroke, my throat gets dry, hot flash, breathing gets screwy, and when I make the shot it seems like such a huge relief, but it kind of repeats throughout the match...

Heck a guy on my team last night with hundreds of league matches and a high win percentage, comes over between shots and his hands are shaking...he has no idea why he is so nervous and tense...

I have tried playing with earbuds with various music types (classical, soft rock, hair band, metal) but that doesn't seem to do anything but make me lose focus...Just interested to hear if this happens to any of ya'll and what your techniques are to manage it.

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Play as many matches as you can tournament and affordable money matches. Over time you get used to the match setting. Everyone has a little nerves and that's a good thing. It's not so good when it overwhelms your mind. Play enough and the nerves will subside.

I'm a nobody, SL5 in APA, so take this as you want... I'm EXTREMELY competitive at anything athletic. I'm also someone who has been playing baseball/softball for about 28 of my 38 years on earth but still get nervous before a regular season co-ed, lowest division they offer game for my wife's company team. Nerves are something that I constantly fight, but like you said, can deal with in more active sports pretty well. I have definitely had them get the best of me though because I put so much pressure on myself to always perform at my highest level.

I've found that when the nerves hit me, I have to find something to focus on so intensely that I don't have the brain power to also focus on my nerves. Sometimes this is finding my aiming point on the cue ball and then seeing if I can basically zoom in my vision on it. I try to focus so hard on that spot that I don't see anything else. As soon as I can get that focus, I take a couple practice strokes, reset my vision to where I want to shoot (I look my aim point when shooting, not the cue ball), another stroke or two and shoot.

Other times, like last night, I find myself jittery from nerves and will get down on my shot and keep doing practice stokes until I feel it hit perfect 3 times in a row. I had one shot last night to set me up on the 8-ball that I bet I stroked 25 times before I shot it.

Really for me it comes down to getting out of my own head. I find something to focus on that I can get "perfect". If that is perfect, everything is perfect, right? That's what I tell myself anyway.

Sorry for writing a book.

You need to put yourself in those pressure situations as much as possible and pay close attention to how YOUR mind and body reacts. Do i speed up when im nervous?Do I slow down? Do i get tunnel vision? Breathing and pre shot routine are essential(make this fluid not mechanical). How many times have you seen people run a rack with ease down to the 8 ball (or 9) and then stop, take a second or third look and miss?

I'll reiterate that the ONLY way to learn to deal with pressure is to put yourself in those situations over and over and over. Think of failing as demolishing that fragile little structure that you currently operate in so you can rebuild an unbreakable mindset.

Poolmanis said:

Best tricks for me seem to be:
1. Trying to mimic younger Efren Reyes loose walk around table(1990-2010).
2. Trying to get breath light and not choked.
3. Trying to "over-focus" right way. Dwell on small details. You forget pressure when you get deep enough..

Click to expand...

Hadn't thought of using #3, until reading this. Love the phrase, "You forget pressure when you get deep enough."

When it comes to the little rush of adrenaline that accompanies nerves, it takes time to off the adrenaline. I try to be aware of that and and do a little deep breathing to slow it down. Don't let it escalate.

I generally dont get too nervous.
But I remember one time for no particular reason playing in competition I was nervous on every shot.
But i did manage to break and run 3 racks of 9 ball.
Maybe a little nerves makes you focus more because you know you are nervous and you bear down more?

I’m struggling with the same thing right now as well. As my game is improving so is this performance anxiety crap or nervousness. Some league nights it can absolutely destroy my game. I think it helps me focus to a point but after that it’s a train wreck. One thing that helped me was taking deep breathes and walking around the table. Taking more time than needed and reminding myself this is a game and is supposed to be fun. I still miss simple shots and feel like a jack ass though so I’m hoping to hear some suggestions, glad you brought this up!

I am not a good player but I do play high stakes

I will give an example that might help

Once I played a man some straight pool
only because he was a high player and would not play any more one pocket

Straight pool always makes me feel funny

well i missed about 6 easy shots,so i said to myself
forget the shape or position once you bend over

concentrate on the object ball going into the hole


i forgot about everything but watching the object ball go in


before i knew it i ran a bunch of balls


i don't know or believe in any far out mind control eastern religion ,yoga
stuff or positive attitude stuff,but i find getting one thing on my mind,making the shot , works for me


I found the same thing in golf,if I made a big bet and got scared, I forgot all about mechanics or swing thoughts or any of that and had one thought get it close so you can make the putt worked for me

i would shoot practice rounds of 80,82 and when I bet everything i had I would shoot many rounds in the low 70s,ask Jackpot

I was scared to death ,even shaking on the first hole,but I just thought about hitting the ball and things worked out

I have always been suspicious of people who don't fear a 3 foot putt,they scare me to death
but I made quite a fewP
Betting high scares me,but once i get started it works out,once I bet it all on Jack potter
and he had to shoot a spot shot,I fell off my stool I was so scared and there was nothing I could do about it

jokrswylde said:

Specifically, what do ya'll do to master or at least control them in high stress, competitive pool? I have spent my entire ;life/career in athletics...all state in football, wrestling, and baseball (many moons ago!), but other than wrestling I've never played an individual sport competitively. Wrestling is easy...nerves lead to adrenaline, adrenaline to aggression, fast twitch engagement, explosiveness, etc.

. But in pool, where fine motor skills and concentration are key, that can be counterproductive. I am not talking about those times when you are in the zone and every pocket looks huge and runout patterns highlight themselves for you. I am talking about those times when they ain't falling, you start second guessing every decision, and it seems every ball is tied up and every pocket blocked.

Sometimes in those situations I'll get down on a straight in shot, one I shoot and make 100 times during the week, and I can feel a tremor in my backstroke, my throat gets dry, hot flash, breathing gets screwy, and when I make the shot it seems like such a huge relief, but it kind of repeats throughout the match...

Heck a guy on my team last night with hundreds of league matches and a high win percentage, comes over between shots and his hands are shaking...he has no idea why he is so nervous and tense...

I have tried playing with earbuds with various music types (classical, soft rock, hair band, metal) but that doesn't seem to do anything but make me lose focus...Just interested to hear if this happens to any of ya'll and what your techniques are to manage it.

Click to expand...

I was an athlete like you, and at a pretty high level. I don't think I ever went into a game
or a match where I wasn't having to deal with all sorts of nerves, including pool.
But always, after the first .hit, or pitch, shot, or whatever it was, after that I was into the
game. The nerves heightened my awareness, helped to focus my focus.
I need to put my cue together and address the table, I need to "be the ball',
then I can relax and play.
Let the contest help to focus your nervous energy, use the force, you know?

Are you suffering from from nerves or adrenaline? Both can cause minor tremors. I used to suffer from an adrenaline rush, probably because of my competitiveness but it went away which is unfortunate because I think it made me play better.

jokrswylde said:

Specifically, what do ya'll do to master or at least control them in high stress, competitive pool? I have spent my entire ;life/career in athletics...all state in football, wrestling, and baseball (many moons ago!), but other than wrestling I've never played an individual sport competitively. Wrestling is easy...nerves lead to adrenaline, adrenaline to aggression, fast twitch engagement, explosiveness, etc.

. But in pool, where fine motor skills and concentration are key, that can be counterproductive. I am not talking about those times when you are in the zone and every pocket looks huge and runout patterns highlight themselves for you. I am talking about those times when they ain't falling, you start second guessing every decision, and it seems every ball is tied up and every pocket blocked.

Sometimes in those situations I'll get down on a straight in shot, one I shoot and make 100 times during the week, and I can feel a tremor in my backstroke, my throat gets dry, hot flash, breathing gets screwy, and when I make the shot it seems like such a huge relief, but it kind of repeats throughout the match...

Heck a guy on my team last night with hundreds of league matches and a high win percentage, comes over between shots and his hands are shaking...he has no idea why he is so nervous and tense...

I have tried playing with earbuds with various music types (classical, soft rock, hair band, metal) but that doesn't seem to do anything but make me lose focus...Just interested to hear if this happens to any of ya'll and what your techniques are to manage it.

Click to expand...

I'm struggling with that very dilemma in some tournament matches lately, for the first time ever, after playing pool nearly 50 years. I know one thing - you can't replicate the situation in your practice sessions, where it never happens.

The other day in a tournament, it happened to the extreme in my first match against a far weaker player I was giving a game spot to. In the very first game, I missed the easiest 9-ball shot I've ever missed in my life - missed the entire pocket. I managed to survive that match, and in my second match against a far better played, my nerves settled down and I was fine.

Hard to figure, but I'm curious what others have to say might have worked for them, if they've experienced this themselves.

Black-Balled said:

Pool shoes: a good idea, methinks.

Click to expand...

:killingme:

But seriously, anxiety increases with age.

I shoot better when I’m pumped up, so I don’t try to fight it, just let it happen. If it gets to be too much, and your brain is bouncing around like the last jelly bean in the jar, then the “over focus” thing works well.

jokrswylde said:

Good stuff here. Can you get into #3 specifically. When you "over focus" is that on your fundamentals? Are you mentally seeing the shot and cue ball travel? I have a mental checklist that I run through, grip, firm bridge, etc.

Click to expand...

How I aim... I aim my cueball. I try see where cueball "want`s" to go if I make ball middle of pocket.
So basically I try visualize cueball travel. After that, I have that I try lock down to "aiming line" that does that result. ( I try figure out masse, deflection and friction and speed... After I think everything is taken care of I try guess "aiming line" that gives me that result.)
I actually try to overcome common "visual" mistakes that game of Pool gives to us.
That sounds like a lot of over complicated stuff... but in the end I just try to figure out correct "aiming line" and forget everything else. I have found aiming line and (speed)variables when I was "thinking mode"
I have mental checklist but I have difficulties to follow it..
Basically it is a mess.
I just try deal with it.
When you try to deal with all this sh*t you forget to get nervous.

Maybe not the most accurate way to describe it but it is pretty close...