Shoot good with no warmup

Three.Two.N.D.

Pogi_One
Silver Member
I am one that shoots better with proper warmup. This is no problem with regular matchups but how do you get in stroke when no time for warmup (example: tournaments, league, etc)? Thanks.


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Tin Man

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
It’s easy to remember playing well your last session and forget how hard the game is or how many shots you might struggle with. For me it helps to go in with the expectation that things are going to be very challenging and to focus on just trying to make one good shot. If I can make one good shot, then I try to make one more good shot. I let myself build confidence with a series of small successes.

This may seem counterintuitive as you might assume it’s better to be brimming with confidence. I’ve found that leads to disappointment and frustration. I’d rather go in assuming it will be tough and have zero expectations. I’ve found if I come out of the gate playing awesome and it’s not as tough as I thought I can handle that just fine, better than planning to be in dead punch and going off the rails.
 

MitchAlsup

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I, generally, have 20-30 good shots prior to any warm-up,
Then, 100-ish not so good shots (sloppy, target missed, spin control lousy,...};
Then back in form for 200-ish shots before being worn out mentally.

Don't really know why.
 

JazzyJeff87

AzB Plutonium Member
Silver Member
I am one that shoots better with proper warmup. This is no problem with regular matchups but how do you get in stroke when no time for warmup (example: tournaments, league, etc)? Thanks.


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This is my biggest problem. I like to build up steam for 2 hours or so then play long sessions in a trance. I’ve been trying to match up cheap without warmup and playing 10 ball ring games where you have to come with it when you get a chance or get crushed.

These are just ideas that have not quite paid off at this time lol. I went 2 and out in a tourney last night. Race to 3 with looser breaks, old tables and terrible cheap wooden racks make the break a disadvantage, you have to win that first rack.
 

lfigueroa

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I am one that shoots better with proper warmup. This is no problem with regular matchups but how do you get in stroke when no time for warmup (example: tournaments, league, etc)? Thanks.


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You are asking for the Holy Grail of pool, IMO.

And what it boils down to is having a PSR you know so well that you can produce "instant ignition" without warmup, 24/7.

Lou Figueroa
 

sjm

Older and Wiser
Silver Member
You are asking for the Holy Grail of pool, IMO.

And what it boils down to is having a PSR you know so well that you can produce "instant ignition" without warmup, 24/7.

Lou Figueroa

Ditto. Settling comfortably into your pre-shot routine immediately is a realistic goal for even the first shot of a given session. This will help you to develop a good playing rhythm quickly which will improve your chances of finding your game sooner rather than later.
 

pinkspider

Crap user name, I know.
Silver Member
no quick fix for this but mostly if u can find a way to note down the way you set up to shoot when you are shooting well (be very precise about it) and then just replicate the steps every time you should be able to get into your groove quicker.

most of the time when you're warming up you're essentially just feeling your way into the correct, familiar setup; having a very defined way of doing it saves you time

most if not all people i know, myself included, who religiously do a textbook style or something to that effect fly dont really need much of a warmup. you'd still need to figure out how the table plays though
 

jay helfert

Shoot Pool, not people
Gold Member
Silver Member
I am one that shoots better with proper warmup. This is no problem with regular matchups but how do you get in stroke when no time for warmup (example: tournaments, league, etc)? Thanks.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Set up one long shot straight into the corner and take your time to focus on just that one shot. It should be a hard shot, like diagonal from one end of the table to the other. Make that shot and you will be fine. Miss it by a hair and you will still be fine. Just smile and say you're ready.

I played plenty of times after waiting a long time to play someone who was already in a game. I had to wait until that game was over before he would play me. Psychologically it was sending a powerful message that I only needed a one shot warm up.
 
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RiverCity

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I usedtacould, but the older I get, it just doesnt work well for me lately.

I won a 3 day tournament over Labor Day weekend, with the final rounds being played on Monday. I was to play the hotseat match against a guy I have beat before, and I was playing well on Sunday, so I didnt give it much thought and got overconfident.

When I came in, I sat down and watched the other matches being played, while I waited on my match. I play the guy, and lose 7-1. Lets just say I was not happy with my play...LOL But it lit a fire under my ass.

I hit some balls, and played the match for 3rd, beat him 7-4, then on to the finals.

I won the first set 7-3, the final set 7-0.

Point is, you have to know yourself. I played for years with little to no warm ups, but cant reliably do that when its important anymore.
 

ShootingArts

Smorg is giving St Peter the 7!
Gold Member
Silver Member
A rack or two

I am one that shoots better with proper warmup. This is no problem with regular matchups but how do you get in stroke when no time for warmup (example: tournaments, league, etc)? Thanks.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Nobody should object to you warming up for a rack or two, five minutes or so. In bigger tournaments people sometimes spend more time warming up. While you may not see it on videos, the players have usually warmed up before a match. Same with gambling except on a challenge table. Few people are going to take their sticks out of their case and play high dollar matches without hitting awhile.

If you feel you must start competing without warm-up, visualization can help. I used it for things like PPC pistol competition where warm up wasn't possible. While we call it visualization it is much more than that. Try to see the shot, feel the motion as you take your usual number of warm up strokes, hear the tip hit the cue ball, feel the slight jar in your arm. One good thing about visualization, I have never missed a ball in my head. Visualize it splitting the pocket and hear the thud and rattle as the ball sinks in the pocket.

Good visualization takes practice. It seems silly and impossible at first but like everything else, the more you practice the better you get. The good thing, you can practice it almost anywhere, no stick and table required!

Hu
 

jrctherake

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
This is my biggest problem. I like to build up steam for 2 hours or so then play long sessions in a trance. I’ve been trying to match up cheap without warmup and playing 10 ball ring games where you have to come with it when you get a chance or get crushed.

These are just ideas that have not quite paid off at this time lol. I went 2 and out in a tourney last night. Race to 3 with looser breaks, old tables and terrible cheap wooden racks make the break a disadvantage, you have to win that first rack.


If a person wants to know how to get in gear without a warmup, well, lol....tell them to find a ring game chocked full of shortstops.

They'll either find a way to slip into gear or spend a lot of $$$....or both.
 

Scott Lee

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
We like to call it "owning your stroke", and every single poolplayer out there has the potential to learn, practice, and ingrain a perfect stroke process to a level of "unconscious competence", which is where the highest levels of performance come from. Is it easy? No. Possible? Yes...with the right kind of instruction, and the right kind of disciplined practice. Owning your stroke is a permanent effect...not one that ebbs and wanes. It's like riding a bicycle...once you really learn how to ride a bike, you never forget, even 50 years later. Most people never develop their skills to this potential, either because they think it's too difficult, they don't know how, or they refuse to put in the necessary practice to get to the goal. The foundation of SPF teaching is developing your own personal stroke process, so that in the long run, you don't have to warm up (play good from the first shot), and you can set your cue down for days, weeks, months, or even years, and be back "in stroke" in a very short time. The other real benefit of this style of learning is that you learn the diagnostic skills needed to "fix" something in a single shot, when the wheels seem to fall off! This means that slumps rarely, if ever, happen. :thumbup:

Scott Lee
Director, SPF National Pool School Tour



You are asking for the Holy Grail of pool, IMO.

And what it boils down to is having a PSR you know so well that you can produce "instant ignition" without warmup, 24/7.

Lou Figueroa
 

poolguy4u

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
.



I never practice or warm up.

At my age I don't want to use up all my good shots.


And if you can't make balls after playing for fifty years, maybe pool isn't the right game for you.






.
 

Scott Lee

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Walter...CHOOSING to warmup is a lot different from feeling like you HAVE to warm up, before you can play well. Many league players espouse having to hit balls for 30-45 minutes before they can perform. Our students do not need that much time, and often play great right off the bat...because they own their stroke! :thumbup:

Scott Lee
Director, SPF National Pool School Tour

Warmup time is part of all sports for a reason.

And no, it's not just coz you are old.
 

iusedtoberich

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
One of the best players I personally have ever watched and played was Patch Eye Henry. He died about 5 years ago. He was a top onepocket player, and had a straight pool high run in the 300's. Anyway, when I met him and played him he was in his 70's and 80's, but was still one of the best one pocket players in Philly. His style at this age, was he'd read a newspaper until he got a game, and then put his cue together to start his expert maneuvering. Zero warm up or practice shots.

Additionally, his stroke was zero warm up strokes. He'd stand at the table deciding on his shot, then get down in his stance with the tip right at the CB, hang out there for about 5 seconds with zero motion, then pull back and fire. He was very frail, and a bit shaky due to age and he had a stroke, so I don't know if he shot this way to conserve what little energy he had at his old age, or if he always shot this way.

At 80 something years old, he was still A speed.

Jay, did you ever see him play when he was younger? He was truly old school, and had gambled in every single state except Alaska and Hawaii.
 

jay helfert

Shoot Pool, not people
Gold Member
Silver Member
One of the best players I personally have ever watched and played was Patch Eye Henry. He died about 5 years ago. He was a top onepocket player, and had a straight pool high run in the 300's. Anyway, when I met him and played him he was in his 70's and 80's, but was still one of the best one pocket players in Philly. His style at this age, was he'd read a newspaper until he got a game, and then put his cue together to start his expert maneuvering. Zero warm up or practice shots.

Additionally, his stroke was zero warm up strokes. He'd stand at the table deciding on his shot, then get down in his stance with the tip right at the CB, hang out there for about 5 seconds with zero motion, then pull back and fire. He was very frail, and a bit shaky due to age and he had a stroke, so I don't know if he shot this way to conserve what little energy he had at his old age, or if he always shot this way.

At 80 something years old, he was still A speed.

Jay, did you ever see him play when he was younger? He was truly old school, and had gambled in every single state except Alaska and Hawaii.


Yes, many times in the 60's and 70's. We just called him Patcheye around Ohio and he was a well known road man. I wouldn't call him a hustler because he was always gambling with other good players. I watched him play some memorable One Pocket games with Pete Glenn, another venerable old time road man. Patch could play and he would play just about anyone dead even. He drew the line with Don Willis though, not sure why. Willis sat on the sidelines watching him play someone and when he was done asked him to play. Patch just ignored him.

I remember a match he had with Calhoun, who was a notorious hustler who liked to hide his game. Patch was winning and there were some fireworks during that game. Seemed like they had a beef about something every game. I think Patch ended up winning.

I liked him because he came in and made a game fast, picking on the best player in the room. He was not one to sit around waiting for a mark.

P.S. One other thing I remember about him. Every once in a while he would remove his patch and rub his eye socket. I don't think there was an eye in there. That always intrigued me and also made me a little squeamish. I don't know why but i had to watch when he did that. I guess I'm the curious type, always have been.
 
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bbb

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
One of the best players I personally have ever watched and played was Patch Eye Henry. He died about 5 years ago. He was a top onepocket player, and had a straight pool high run in the 300's. Anyway, when I met him and played him he was in his 70's and 80's, but was still one of the best one pocket players in Philly. His style at this age, was he'd read a newspaper until he got a game, and then put his cue together to start his expert maneuvering. Zero warm up or practice shots.

Additionally, his stroke was zero warm up strokes. He'd stand at the table deciding on his shot, then get down in his stance with the tip right at the CB, hang out there for about 5 seconds with zero motion, then pull back and fire. He was very frail, and a bit shaky due to age and he had a stroke, so I don't know if he shot this way to conserve what little energy he had at his old age, or if he always shot this way.

At 80 something years old, he was still A speed.

Jay, did you ever see him play when he was younger? He was truly old school, and had gambled in every single state except Alaska and Hawaii.

Yes, many times in the 60's and 70's. We just called him Patcheye around Ohio and he was a well known road man. I wouldn't call him a hustler because he was always gambling with other good players. I watched him play some memorable One Pocket games with Pete Glenn, another venerable old time road man. Patch could play and he would play just about anyone dead even. He drew the line with Don Willis though, not sure why. Willis sat on the sidelines watching him play someone and when he was done asked him to play. Patch just ignored him.

I remember a match he had with Calhoun, who was a notorious hustler who liked to hide his game. Patch was winning and there were some fireworks during that game. Seemed like they had a beef about something every game. I think Patch ended up winning.

I liked him because he came in and made a game fast, picking on the best player in the room. He was not one to sit around waiting for a mark.

P.S. One other thing I remember about him. Every once in a while he would remove his patch and rub his eye socket. I don't think there was an eye in there. That always intrigued me and also made me a little squeamish. I don't know why but i had to watch when he did that. I guess I'm the curious type, always have been.
here is an interview with patch eye from onepocket.org
enjoy the read
and carry on
this post is not meant to hijack or sidetrack the thread
just some info on patch eye
http://www.onepocket.org/rackem-up-with-jaffar-patch-eye-basheer/
 

pt109

WO double hemlock
Silver Member
I was thinking of playing again after a seven year absence.
I drove to Lansing to watch a tournament that Mike Carella won.
Patcheye had to quit in the middle of a match...his good eye was streaming tears.
....I felt so sorry for him.
Only saw him a couple other times...I remember him as very patient..and very brave.
 
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