Dropped two skill levels in less than 3 months

I've heard people say that work interferes with their play and I get it to a point. It also can be the excuse your tired body/brain needs to play it's worst. Limit playing to times when you feel like it and believe you will perform. To play when you are hitting them bad just reinforces bad play.

If you want to play well and have little time then you really need specific goals and an understanding of your weaknesses. I think about practicing just a couple weaknesses and focusing on them until they become strengths. Practice things that can cost you games or spoil runouts.

You have to know you aren't gonna probably never make a living at pool, but you can definitely get a wallet full of other people's money if you know how to play a little, matching well and move right. If you are an APA 6-4 then you have a lot of room to grow.

''For Sure'' One MAJOR component of your shot process is missing....'realize' what your actually doing ''in the moment works''.

Chris is right..........

The Renfro said:

You will have to rebuild paying more attention to PSR and Fundamentals instead of counting on being able to play your best game because you have been hitting plenty of balls....

Back off the play and start using the time to practice until you have refined everything you do at the table to the point that you pick up in the same place the next session you get...

Until you can pick up at the same place you left off in practice there is no way you will pick up and play at the same level matching up... Lots of players keep trying tho and you will find your stroke just enough times to remember and continue to lose more than you win......

Food for thought,
Chris

Click to expand...

Rhea, The things you learned especially with perfect Aim are the first things to fall off a little.

You need to start in the preshot and do everything like you were. You should call me sometime wen your by a table and we will do the phone lesson ad just double check things.

Just one part of the puzzle missing will hamper your game tremendously.

You will see for yourself in a quick hurry what was missing when you call.

You got my number. I'm just healing up. Had surgery yesterday.

After 3:00 PM any day will work. Looking forward to it.

I agree with a lot that has been said except for the usual negative crap. You gotta get back to the basics as when you play less, that is the first thing that goes south. My game started going south over the last year due to working more and a lot less table time. I got back to the basics, do my drills as often as possible, and it is coming back slowly but surely.

I will continue to keep my day job and play pool as time allows. Pool will not allow me to retire early without worrying about finances, but my day job will (actually it's not a "day job" as I work a rotating shift).

I've found that my pool skills are directly related to how happy I am with my non-pool life.

If I find myself playing like crap, it's time for some painful introspection and fixing some issues away from the pool table.

That's me, anyway; it might also apply to you.

Can't believe yu havn't called me yet..........

There are a few things that you are leaving out or maybe only one. That's all it takes to make this Perfect Aim technique go haywire.

Mainly because we are just manually getting the eyes, stance and stroke in the right position.

Once you let the brain try to coordinate all this, especially after a little layoff, it takes a long time to get the natural part back.

Manually works allot better. trust me.

We brought your game up to a level in a real quick hurry. Many players around didn't believe what had happened to your game. After being at a C level for years and then jumping up to A level that fast is almost unheard of but it happened everywhere we went if you remember.

No unhappy customers with perfect Aim.

Call me when your at the table.

If you want to play better pool again it is what you need.

Pool, Partner, Job

Select any two please for optimum success. Three's a crowd.

Having a job alone shouldn't bring your game down much.

JC

How badly do you want to advance at pool? Babe cranfield was an old time professional who had a full time job throughout his career.

It all changed when I got my own table in the basement. Now after work, I block out an hour for practice but still have time to attend to family, life, etc. Some nights I can put in three. It's possible to advance in the game but you have to be more dedicated in your spare time. I found that once the table was in the house, the temptation of putting off practice at the hall because of weather or a host of other excuses is gone.

I call BS on this one. You need to evaluate your mechanics first, you may have picked up bad habits without knowing, and it has brought down your game, or else you weren't a 6 to begin with. I have played all types of leagues over the years, and the APA is NOT a good measuring stick.

The best leagues for evaluating your skill are the BCA leagues, especially the advanced league. Some of the best Pool I have shot in my life happened in my 40's, when I was married, and working 55 hours a week. I play quite a few tournaments now, and just started playing an inhouse league after an 11 year vacation from leagues. I usually only shoot on weekends when the weekly tournaments are going on or special tournaments, but I shot a 54 last night in league, 4 man round robin.

I, personally think, that it is important to prepare yourself mentally before you start shooting. I use 10-15 minutes before I shoot to get into the right frame of mind to get ready to shoot. I have been playing 52 years, and I don't forget how to make balls from day to day, so I usually don't shoot practice games before competition, but for you, it might be a good idea. I might preactice breaking a little if it is a table I am not familiar with. On big tournaments, with stiff competition, I will practice some beforehand, especially if I have a tough match coming up.

Do you hang on to a mistake you made mentally, if so, you have to get over that, we all make mistakes, and you can not change it after the fact, the only thing you can do is not make the mistake again in the future. Do you learn from every game you play?
My best advice to you is to clear your mind of other things, and prepare yourself mentally beforehand, and get back to basics, is your stance correct, is your stroke straight and correct, are you making bad decisions when you play? If you were a 6, you should be familiar with safety play, and be able to outmove any 4.