How do you turn the tide when you just don't "have it"
- Thread starter dquarasr
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dquarasr
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Oh, man, that struck a nerve. For whatever reason, I had very little confidence last night that I could make any shot. I'm sure that factored into my extremely poor performance. Then it snowballed. Lack of confidence, inability to make a shot, led to even less confidence, then ultimately to the point where I could not even visualize the contact point on the OB.
I suppose it's the usual: get out of my own head, relax, have fun, take the ride wherever it lands me, and hopefully, doing that will turn the tide.
dquarasr
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Early in the match one of my teammates pointed that out. I stayed down the rest of the night. Didn't help. LOL.
dquarasr
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great question
and I can relate
no great answer here
but an honest one
"keep playing"
I'm finding that the more time I put into pool
the more pool is there for me when I need it
putting some "good luck" in the air for you as well
coz
why not
Thanks for the moral support.
Ha! Hence the slam home easy shot confidence builder. Step up and shoot. Boom. In my resurgence I've had games whereby I'm sinking the hardest of hard shots and missing the easy ones. It will mess with your head.
Good post Bob.:thumbup: Get yourself a good instructional DVD, watch it about 10 times. Why 10 times, because first time you only looking, and repeating the process you start noticing what the DVD is teaching.
Same reason the Military use the same process in Boot Camps, Basic Training, build stuff in your mussel memory.
You beat me to it! It has helped me many times. Like you said, it's not the cue, it's all in the head. But it does work for me.
To the op.... I'm a 537... well at least last week I was. Had a rough night. Couldn't seem to make a ball. And if I did, I missed position. It sucked. The biggest mistake you can make is dwell on it for too long. I should play a lot better tonight. It happens. The worst thing you can do is add bad energy or bad thoughts to your game.
Forget all the shots you missed. And just think about all the good shots you've made. If you dwell on the bad points, your bad streak will probably continue. Enjoy the game.
Seriously?? Its called "winning ugly". When you don't have your good stuff you have to just play meat-n-potatos cinch pool. Don't spin whitey as much, play more safeties, make games last longer if needed. The cause is usually something super basic so take your time and focus on your PSR. If these tips don't help go straight to the shots and the weed.
I usually try to exit through the bathroom window unnoticed. That seems to turn the tide, especially for my opponent.
ghost ball takes me back to my youth
he is probably joking but wgen i was 17 or so i used the bathroom window to escape a crowd
of cowboys in a bar room
i still adhere to the maxim,if you are not winning,get out as soon as possible
coming back,showing heart and all that is a prelude to sailing off
he is probably joking but wgen i was 17 or so i used the bathroom window to escape a crowd
of cowboys in a bar room
i still adhere to the maxim,if you are not winning,get out as soon as possible
coming back,showing heart and all that is a prelude to sailing off
We have all been there. I was there a few weeks ago I gambled bar table 9-ball with someone I should have beaten yet I played probably the worst I have ever played in my life. It was very difficult.
I finally got it back a little and ended up winning the last two sets to end up down 2 sets.
It's counter-intuitive but I was REALLY trying hard! I mean REALLY! Trying so hard that I couldn't get comfortable and see anything.
So I picked up the pace a little bit. Just look at the shot while standing up and then get down and shoot - no practice strokes, just hit the ball.
I missed a few shots but then caught a little bit of a gear.
One thing jumps out at me though. You usually use a lot of spin. Your teammates told you to cut it out so you did...and then suddenly couldn't make a ball.
Contact induced throw. It's complicated. If you use outside spin it lessens the effects of CIT. If you get the right combination of speed and spin it erases it completely.
Counter-intuitively, inside spin reduces the effects of CIT as well. Though not as much as outside spin.
Balls hit with no english - especially stunning at the OB contact - have maximum CIT. So if you usually play with a lot of english, inside or outside, you can aim closer to the theoretical contact point or ghost ball point and still make the shot. If you are using no english or stun english, you will generate enough CIT to miss the shot.
Next time you find yourself in that position go back to using spin during the match and then work during your practice time to figure out how much to compensate for CIT when you are not putting sidespin on the ball.
Dr. Dave has some good resources on this on his website. This is a good place to start: https://billiards.colostate.edu/tutorial/throw/
It's funny. I'm a fairly experienced player who understands all the physics behind it all but I just realized that I am usually missing a certain cut down the rail. I broke it down last night and the reason I have been missing it is exactly the same thing. I used to always hit it with low outside. I have been playing with less sidespin lately and so was hitting it with no english and lazily aiming at the ghost ball/contact point instead of adjusting for CIT.
That shot came up several times last night in a tournament and I nailed it every time.
a few things
The main thing that stuck out like a sore thumb was align shoulder after you are down on the shot, plus you were doing a bunch of thinking and checks down on the shot. If your shoulder isn't where you want it when you get down on a shot get up! When you get down on a shot, shoot it. Don't hesitate, don't try to figure out what is right or wrong, most importantly, don't adjust your shot now that you are looking at it from a different perspective. In a nutshell, do ALL of your thinking standing up. The only thing you do when you drop into your stance is execute. No adjustments, no second thoughts, in a perfect world no thoughts at all.
Now away from the table on a crappy night. Try to ease off just a little from your buddies. Take slow deep breathes and close your eyes. Pocket balls. Straight in, cut shots, whatever. When you can see the balls and cue in your head try to add noise, the feel of the cue hitting the ball, everything you can to make it more real. I am batting a thousand in my head, I have never missed a ball there!
I could write a book about the mental game but there are already library book shelves full of books about the mental game both good and bad.
One thing you are doing very right, rely primarily on speed and angles to position the cue ball. A little spin is one thing, a lot is an easy way to get in trouble both making a ball and getting position. One rule of thumb, if you are going to need a lot of english to get to the next ball, make sure this shot is easy. Faced with a hard shot and needing a lot of spin, consider a safety. If there is no good safety, can you use less spin and get position for a better safety on your next shot? Shoot whatever you have the most confidence in, never shoot a "give up" shot just to shoot something.
Every inning should be planned out to dropping the money ball or playing a safety before you hit the first ball. Then you have a plan and a roadmap. If you get off the road, stop and build a new plan.
Remembering this is a game is good advice too. Investing too much emotionally into the game is a good way to overload your senses and fail.
Hu
The main thing that stuck out like a sore thumb was align shoulder after you are down on the shot, plus you were doing a bunch of thinking and checks down on the shot. If your shoulder isn't where you want it when you get down on a shot get up! When you get down on a shot, shoot it. Don't hesitate, don't try to figure out what is right or wrong, most importantly, don't adjust your shot now that you are looking at it from a different perspective. In a nutshell, do ALL of your thinking standing up. The only thing you do when you drop into your stance is execute. No adjustments, no second thoughts, in a perfect world no thoughts at all.
Now away from the table on a crappy night. Try to ease off just a little from your buddies. Take slow deep breathes and close your eyes. Pocket balls. Straight in, cut shots, whatever. When you can see the balls and cue in your head try to add noise, the feel of the cue hitting the ball, everything you can to make it more real. I am batting a thousand in my head, I have never missed a ball there!
I could write a book about the mental game but there are already library book shelves full of books about the mental game both good and bad.
One thing you are doing very right, rely primarily on speed and angles to position the cue ball. A little spin is one thing, a lot is an easy way to get in trouble both making a ball and getting position. One rule of thumb, if you are going to need a lot of english to get to the next ball, make sure this shot is easy. Faced with a hard shot and needing a lot of spin, consider a safety. If there is no good safety, can you use less spin and get position for a better safety on your next shot? Shoot whatever you have the most confidence in, never shoot a "give up" shot just to shoot something.
Every inning should be planned out to dropping the money ball or playing a safety before you hit the first ball. Then you have a plan and a roadmap. If you get off the road, stop and build a new plan.
Remembering this is a game is good advice too. Investing too much emotionally into the game is a good way to overload your senses and fail.
Hu
And for those interested, here's a video covering helpful mental game topics:
NV J.37 – Top 10 Mental Aspects of Pool – The Mental Game
Enjoy,
Dave
Not knocking self-help books/videos but i've been around this game for about 40yrs now and VERY few of the top players i've known or been around needed outside help on their mental game. Its just something you have to figure out yourself. The only books, imo, that are really any good are InnerGolf/Tennis, Pleasures of Small Motions and Golf is Not a Game of Perfect. They all kinda get to the same point but with various routes. Not a Game of Perfect really applies to any game. Basically it helps with not beating yourself up over mistakes/bad play. A lot of PGA players have been helped by the book/author Bob Rotella. https://www.amazon.com/Golf-Not-Game-Perfect-Rotella/dp/068480364X
the pleasure of small motions
I have the second edition of The Pleasure of Small Motions. The first edition was much smaller but they felt the need to make it bigger when they had a hit on their hands. The second portion of the book seems considerably weaker than the first portion and focuses far too heavily on not losing, not much on winning. There is a difference.
My favorite book has became a cult thing at ten times the old price so I don't recommend it anymore.
Hu
I have the second edition of The Pleasure of Small Motions. The first edition was much smaller but they felt the need to make it bigger when they had a hit on their hands. The second portion of the book seems considerably weaker than the first portion and focuses far too heavily on not losing, not much on winning. There is a difference.
My favorite book has became a cult thing at ten times the old price so I don't recommend it anymore.
Hu
I'm curious about which book that is.
Shooting From Within
Shooting From Within by J Michael Plaxco. Several time world champion best I recall. He has a section in the book about the mental game and more mental game advice scattered here and there in the book.
At fifteen or twenty dollars I recommended it to anyone, gave away a handful of copies. At $150 I would only recommend it to pistol competitors and I don't push it at them.
Mike's was the first really good book I read about competing although I had read a handful before. Hard for those after to measure up.
Hu
Shooting From Within by J Michael Plaxco. Several time world champion best I recall. He has a section in the book about the mental game and more mental game advice scattered here and there in the book.
At fifteen or twenty dollars I recommended it to anyone, gave away a handful of copies. At $150 I would only recommend it to pistol competitors and I don't push it at them.
Mike's was the first really good book I read about competing although I had read a handful before. Hard for those after to measure up.
Hu