SLOW DOWN and get a good pre-shot routine established. Play 'cinch' pool aka make the damn ball. Take tougher shape if you have to.Do you have a physical or mental key?
Is it different for big stakes?
When it’s not important does that require a different strategy?
Everything is situational.
Tell us the situation and your "go to".
SLOW DOWN and get a good pre-shot routine established. Play 'cinch' pool aka make the damn ball. Take tougher shape if you have to.
On a bad dayI think it is wise to ply more conservative...
...and shorten your stroke.
Canada’s best snooker player when I was a kid....we used to say...
On a good day he runs hundreds on you...on a bad day, you don’t get to see a ball.
Interpreting the first part about being conservative as about playing within yourself and taking what the table gives you, to parrot a couple of old cliches.
As to Cliff and his micro-stroke, it also set up from a long way back from the cue ball. Feeling cramped just thinking about it. Although I don’t have a particularly long stroke to start with. Probably is good advise for longer backswings.
What does "get a good pre-shot routine established" entail?
Do EVERYTHING the same pre-shot. The way you chalk, aim, addressing the ball, etc. All the things you do pre-shot should be fairly regimented. By doing this you will approach shots as just shots, not hard or easy. Watch pro golfers, they all have a routine and the good ones stick to it. Comes in handy when under the gun.When you slow down what do you do or think about in the time you created?
What does "get a good pre-shot routine established" entail?
Slow down and shoot softer.
Its not so much slowing down but maintaining your tempo. Its VERY easy to speed-up when doubt/tension creep in. A good psr helps a lot in maintaining a constant playing rhythm. Some people like to play fast but you can still maintain a good tempo whether its fast or slower.I fear that most players need to finish their strokes and that shooting soft might not work for them. Slowing down creates a time void that needs to be addressed. Activation levels are easily disrupted. A preshot routine tends to be about the orchestration of physical actions. There is a timing to that. Maybe a mental preshot needs to be part of the package for coping. A choreographed way to get to the slower softer place you suggest.
Thanks for the ideas.
I fear that most players need to finish their strokes and that shooting soft might not work for them. Slowing down creates a time void that needs to be addressed. Activation levels are easily disrupted. A preshot routine tends to be about the orchestration of physical actions. There is a timing to that. Maybe a mental preshot needs to be part of the package for coping. A choreographed way to get to the slower softer place you suggest.
Thanks for the ideas.
Its not so much slowing down but maintaining your tempo. Its VERY easy to speed-up when doubt/tension creep in. A good psr helps a lot in maintaining a constant playing rhythm. Some people like to play fast but you can still maintain a good tempo whether its fast or slower.
Do you have a physical or mental key?
Is it different for big stakes?
When it’s not important does that require a different strategy?
Everything is situational.
Tell us the situation and your "go to".
I play the same whether I’m playing good or bad.