My Four "BEST Recommends" on the mental aspects of Playing Pool

mikemosconi

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
We hear a lot about the "mental" aspects of sports. I think that in most sports, if not all, one needs to develop a reasonable command of proper mechanics that are executed on a fairly high degree of consistency. Once this is in place, there are certain thought processes that will help one move to their highest level of achievement. I have four books that I feel have helped me to get the "most" out of my game over the years. Two are specifically written for billiards and the other two were written for Tennis and Golf- but have huge applications to the mental side of the game of billiards:

1. Pleasures of Small Motions- Written for Pool Players
2. One Minute Guide to Playing Better PooL (why we sometimes miss when we shouldn't)
3. The Inner game of tennis
4. Golf is not a game of Perfect (my Favorite of the four)

I have also read " A mind for Pool" - but I don't rate it as highly as these four above.

One theme that is present throughout all of this material is that " mental toughness" is mostly about believing that you CAN DO on each and every shot. Every shot requires the same pre shot thought process and pre shot routine, all shots are equal in value in your mind, and the Can DO attitude must be present from the beginning of competition to the last ball pocketed no matter what the circumstances. Great reads worth the time and investment - especially for more advanced players who just "KNOW" they can play better, but can't put a finger on what is holding them back. These reads will help!
 

pwd72s

recreational banger
Silver Member
I would add to not play on a table anywhere near a person like the one shown in your avatar. Too distracting...can change your mental game away from pool.
 

nine_ball6970

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
We hear a lot about the "mental" aspects of sports. I think that in most sports, if not all, one needs to develop a reasonable command of proper mechanics that are executed on a fairly high degree of consistency. Once this is in place, there are certain thought processes that will help one move to their highest level of achievement. I have four books that I feel have helped me to get the "most" out of my game over the years. Two are specifically written for billiards and the other two were written for Tennis and Golf- but have huge applications to the mental side of the game of billiards:

1. Pleasures of Small Motions- Written for Pool Players
2. One Minute Guide to Playing Better PooL (why we sometimes miss when we shouldn't)
3. The Inner game of tennis
4. Golf is not a game of Perfect (my Favorite of the four)

I have also read " A mind for Pool" - but I don't rate it as highly as these four above.

One theme that is present throughout all of this material is that " mental toughness" is mostly about believing that you CAN DO on each and every shot. Every shot requires the same pre shot thought process and pre shot routine, all shots are equal in value in your mind, and the Can DO attitude must be present from the beginning of competition to the last ball pocketed no matter what the circumstances. Great reads worth the time and investment - especially for more advanced players who just "KNOW" they can play better, but can't put a finger on what is holding them back. These reads will help!

Never heard of #2 before. Bebop publishing is out of stock. Gonna see if I can find it somewhere. Looks interesting.
 

aaronataylor

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I would add 'Finding Your Zone - Ten Core Lessons for Achieving Peak Performance in Sports and Life' by Michael Lardon, M.D.
 

mikemosconi

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Never heard of #2 before. Bebop publishing is out of stock. Gonna see if I can find it somewhere. Looks interesting.


The "ONE Minute Guide " deals with the Complete focus required at the VERY point when you pull the trigger on your shot - it deals with how -most people, most of the time, when they are in a sports situation that would benefit most from Complete focus at the point of execution, such as a difficult shot in a critical situation- have the tendency to "JUMP" on the shot! How true this is! He explains how solid pre shot routines can help you stay ON the shot when you need it most!

A big message from the GOLF book that relates to this is that the REASON most people fail to give difficult situations their best effort is that they ENTER a competition without having TOTAL confidence in their abilities, when, in fact, total confidence is the only mindset that can really promote success.
 

Patrick Johnson

Fish of the Day
Silver Member
1. Pleasures of Small Motions- Written for Pool Players
2. One Minute Guide to Playing Better PooL (why we sometimes miss when we shouldn't)
3. The Inner game of tennis
4. Golf is not a game of Perfect (my Favorite of the four)

One theme that is present throughout all of this material is that " mental toughness" is mostly about believing that you CAN DO on each and every shot.
The idea from Pleasures of Small Motions that helped me the most is to focus on the process rather than the outcome - take pleasure in executing each shot (and each part of each shot) as perfectly as possible without being distracted by thoughts about the match score, winning/losing, etc. That's my "focus mantra" (which I practice imperfectly).

pj
chgo
 

nibrobus

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I just recently had an epiphany regarding my own mental game. I frequently fall victim to pre-match anxiety, which leads to "trying too hard" when playing a match of any consequence. In crucial situations I would sometimes tense up and/or get the shakes real bad. Aside from the anxiety, I also tend to find myself overthinking situations which causes me to lose confidence in the shot I've chosen. I could often overcome my symptoms through sheer will and shooting through it, but my results were mixed at best. I am by nature a very competitive person and at times my desire to win has interfered with me being able to execute to the best of my ability.

This past weekend I decided to make a concerted effort to change my mindset regarding competitive pool. I decided to completely let go of trying to "win". In turn, I also completely let go of the results of any given shot to the point where I almost didn't care whether a shot went in or not. I would simply select a shot, get down, and shoot. I would also take whatever shot was my first instinct, and only consider another shot if I saw something better within a second or two of me making my original decision.

The results were astounding. I felt almost no pre-match jitters, and no nervousness before taking a shot in critical situations. Difficult shots that I make in practice were just as easy during the game. Additionally, after missing a difficult shot there were no feelings of disappointment or frustration, since I didn't "care". My pace of play was noticeably faster without being careless; running open layouts took about half the time and with much less mental effort.

My game has progressed tremendously in the past few years, but I felt like I would not be able to continue unless I did something to improve my mental state. For me, learning how to truly let go of winning has made winning that much easier.
 

mikemosconi

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
The idea from Pleasures of Small Motions that helped me the most is to focus on the process rather than the outcome - take pleasure in executing each shot (and each part of each shot) as perfectly as possible without being distracted by thoughts about the match score, winning/losing, etc. That's my "focus mantra" (which I practice imperfectly).

pj
chgo

I would agree that the one theme I see throughout on mental conditioning for sports- the very best competitors have the ability to MOST consistently JUST FOCUS on the task at hand - in the moment- a relaxed body coupled with razor focus on the object at hand- in this case- the object ball - with no external thoughts on the competitive surroundings. They repeat that process more consistently than amateurs, and the very best pros do it more consistently than fellow professionals!
Straight Pool is a GREAT pool training game for your focus because you have to learn to stay focused for 20, 30, 40 or more consecutive shots and positions in order to advance at the game. It also will show you WHERE you tend to lose focus ; and your 14.1 run goals can help you to greatly elevate rotation game focus- Running 9 balls or 8 balls in other rotation games become much easier on your mind after you are used to running multiple racks in 14.1.
 

jrctherake

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Most all seasoned players "that I know", read that stuff at the onset of becoming serious.

People that have not read at least that much material but, claim to be a serious player that's trying to be the best they can be are IMO....lying to themselves.

To me, that stuff "should" be pool 101.

Jeff
 

Tin Man

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
+1

I just recently had an epiphany regarding my own mental game. I frequently fall victim to pre-match anxiety, which leads to "trying too hard" when playing a match of any consequence. In crucial situations I would sometimes tense up and/or get the shakes real bad. Aside from the anxiety, I also tend to find myself overthinking situations which causes me to lose confidence in the shot I've chosen. I could often overcome my symptoms through sheer will and shooting through it, but my results were mixed at best. I am by nature a very competitive person and at times my desire to win has interfered with me being able to execute to the best of my ability.

This past weekend I decided to make a concerted effort to change my mindset regarding competitive pool. I decided to completely let go of trying to "win". In turn, I also completely let go of the results of any given shot to the point where I almost didn't care whether a shot went in or not. I would simply select a shot, get down, and shoot. I would also take whatever shot was my first instinct, and only consider another shot if I saw something better within a second or two of me making my original decision.

The results were astounding. I felt almost no pre-match jitters, and no nervousness before taking a shot in critical situations. Difficult shots that I make in practice were just as easy during the game. Additionally, after missing a difficult shot there were no feelings of disappointment or frustration, since I didn't "care". My pace of play was noticeably faster without being careless; running open layouts took about half the time and with much less mental effort.

My game has progressed tremendously in the past few years, but I felt like I would not be able to continue unless I did something to improve my mental state. For me, learning how to truly let go of winning has made winning that much easier.

Great post. This is correct.

How to find the balance of playing with competitive fire and killer instinct while still not caring if you win or lose, that isn't easy. I've spent a lot of time on this the last few years and have found some ways to do it better than I used to, but for now I'll just agree that is the end goal. Well stated.

As for this thread, yes, those are great books, all good recommendations. And yes, if you want to be your best then it would be criminal to neglect the mental game or to assume that you can listen to sports cliches and movie's with coach pep talks and just cobble together a winning attitude. Mental outlook is a learned skill and you get out of it what you put into it.
 

nine_ball6970

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
The "ONE Minute Guide " deals with the Complete focus required at the VERY point when you pull the trigger on your shot - it deals with how -most people, most of the time, when they are in a sports situation that would benefit most from Complete focus at the point of execution, such as a difficult shot in a critical situation- have the tendency to "JUMP" on the shot! How true this is! He explains how solid pre shot routines can help you stay ON the shot when you need it most!

A big message from the GOLF book that relates to this is that the REASON most people fail to give difficult situations their best effort is that they ENTER a competition without having TOTAL confidence in their abilities, when, in fact, total confidence is the only mindset that can really promote success.

Hopefully I can find it somewhere. If I could figure out a way to be confident consistently, I would play more than a couple balls better.
 

mikemosconi

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hopefully I can find it somewhere. If I could figure out a way to be confident consistently, I would play more than a couple balls better.

From everything that I have studied and experienced in 55 years of playing this game- here are my final thoughts on CONFIDENCE - the first is that success in any endeavor BREEDS confidence- but what still holds people back from EXECUTING something in a confident manner is the way we VIEW circumstances!
Most people will allow some measure of doubt or fear into their feelings/thoughts when they encounter a situation that they allow themselves to perceive as possibly ending in a bad result. Their body then reacts poorly to those thoughts/feelings.
SUCCCESSFUL professionals in sports have learned or are wired to NOT view situations as resulting in negative results- they simply view each situation as an opportunity and, in pool for instance, give EVERY shot its due - not projecting negative results, as someone once stated here " I approach every shot , every stroke, any dilemma the same way every time- everything receives its own attention its order of my approach, no more, no less"!

These are some of the best words of advice I have ever read about how to approach the game for each and every shot.
 

nine_ball6970

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
From everything that I have studied and experienced in 55 years of playing this game- here are my final thoughts on CONFIDENCE - the first is that success in any endeavor BREEDS confidence- but what still holds people back from EXECUTING something in a confident manner is the way we VIEW circumstances!
Most people will allow some measure of doubt or fear into their feelings/thoughts when they encounter a situation that they allow themselves to perceive as possibly ending in a bad result. Their body then reacts poorly to those thoughts/feelings.
SUCCCESSFUL professionals in sports have learned or are wired to NOT view situations as resulting in negative results- they simply view each situation as an opportunity and, in pool for instance, give EVERY shot its due - not projecting negative results, as someone once stated here " I approach every shot , every stroke, any dilemma the same way every time- everything receives its own attention its order of my approach, no more, no less"!

These are some of the best words of advice I have ever read about how to approach the game for each and every shot.

That rings true. Sometimes I just envision the shot and do it. I get knocked off balance when I get out of line or am faced with a shot that makes me uncomfortable for whatever reason and the wheels fall of so to speak. I wish I could just play without all the noise going on inside my head even when things aren't going well.

Hopefully one day I will be able to find a copy of the book. I have quite a few books on the mental game but applying what has been read has been a struggle.
 

Poolmanis

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
1. Pleasures of Small Motions- Written for Pool Players
2. One Minute Guide to Playing Better PooL (why we sometimes miss when we shouldn't)
3. The Inner game of tennis
4. Golf is not a game of Perfect (my Favorite of the four)

I have also read " A mind for Pool" - but I don't rate it as highly as these four above.

A mind for Pool is okay but i was little disappointed too.
 
Top