!_tURn It oFF_!

[BAZARUS]

I've been working lately on "turning off" destractions. I'm just trying to play no matter what is going on. When I'm just about to shoot and I hear a cell phone going off, I'm just staying down and trying to make a shot anyway.
Sometimes it works and sometimes doesn't. I used to get up on every little destraction and I was starting my routine over. But that changes my style of playing from instinctive to methodic, which I don't mind to use it, but than I have to go around the table and check all the angles back and forth. I have learn that everyone should play along with their character and/or temperament, which means that the best fit for me is to play in a steady tempo, without thinking to much. I prefer to calculate a situation in a matter of seconds rather than minutes. A couple years ago Johny Artcher wife told him to speed up a little bit, because he was thinking to much and he won 7 tournaments in a row. You all know how he is playing; walking around, measuring angles for hours, picking up imaginable pieces of dirt from a cloth and stuff like that.
I wanna hear some insides from you players, how do you deal with destractions, do you listening to your little voices and what they telling you, do you use your sixth sense in anyway, do you get up and start over, do you use earplugs or headsets, or any other techniques that you have to turn off destructions.

 

[8-ball bernie]

the toughest thing in all of pool is to turn off the distractions. tonight i played with a semi-pro a race to 9 in 8-ball preparing for the I.P.T. i knew this guy was GOOD, and i mean, one inning, if you miss he's out good! in the begining of the race, i was fearful of him, i was down 5-2. i told myself to shut up, and stop beating myself! take advantage of any of his possible openings, well long story short, i played tremedous (if i must say so myself) and beat him 9-7. moral of this story? play the lay out, look at the patterens, ignore the world, and attend to the table, the nerves will go away. if your mind is "in" the game, you'll enjoy the battle more, and your game will rise to the highest of heights.

 

[chefjeff]

Things I've learned from mostly playing in bars with inconsiderate people around:

Try putting an ingredient into your shot, just before you squeeze the trigger, that takes you from conscious to subconscious thinking (been discussed before and is another subject altogether). Then the internal distractions will have less influence. Also, add an ingredient just after you've stroked that helps you to integrate others' actions so you don't allow their sharkings/stupidities/mistakes to influence your next shot.

And recognize that ALL distractions cannot be blanked from the mind during your shot and choose to be OK with that (perfection is not one of the choices in life). For example, in league the other night, I had just ran seven balls and was just about to squeeze the trigger on the 8-ball for the win when a friend/spectator of the other team intentionally flicked her crank lighter (BIG flame, no cigarette) directly in my line-of-sight....I was so committed to the shot that I couldn't stop in midstroke to start over and I missed. I could have blamed the c*&t for my miss, but I decided to let it go and work on my conscious-to-subconsious ingredient to help in not letting it bother me the next time it happens. Note: my teammate wasn't so generous and after letting them know about it he almost tore the door off of the bar on his way out---but he chose to make it HIS problem; I chose the solution, instead.

Easier said than done, but these ingredients have helped me many times, for sure...they may help you, too.

Jeff Livingston

 

[Snapshot9]

Consideration

A considerate observer would have held his hand up
in front of his lighter so the flame could not be seen
by the poolplayer. Accident or Intentional, you'll never know.

On the other hand, this happened to me, I was playing in
a handicapped tournament with a good friend. He was running
the table, and had a good shot on the 6 ball right before the 7.
The 9 was after the 7, and I saw no way for him to mess up
with the run. I was standing right beside the chair I was using
on the sidelines from the table. As soon as I realized he was out,
I put my hand into my pocket to get 3 quarters for the next game.
He claimed that I sharked him, which was not my intention at all.
It was just a, I suppose a habit, from playing many tournaments
and money games, where I was just getting ready for the next
step in the match. I, sometimes, fail to recognize in some players,
just how much sideline movements out around the table does effect
some players. I, myself, do not usually have that problem, and am
totally focused on the ball I am trying to make. It just made me
realize that I have to keep my actions upfront in my mind when
an opponent is shooting. Sometimes, players have unconscious
habits that they are unaware of until it is brought to their attention.
I am no exception.

My friend made the 6 ball, but was using low right english to bring
the cue ball up by the side pocket for shape on the 7 close to the
footspot. Long story short, he used way too much low and not enough
right, drew the cue back in a straighter line than he wanted, and the
cue ball ended up right behind the 9 ball with no shot for the 7 other
than a kick. Yes, I won the game, but felt very bad about it.

 

[Cornerman]

I've been working lately on "turning off" destractions. I'm just trying to play no matter what is going on. When I'm just about to shoot and I hear a cell phone going off, I'm just staying down and trying to make a shot anyway.:

If you hear the cell phone, it's too late to turn off the distraction.

Sometimes, you have to acknowledge the phone, and work with the distraction rather than trying to tune it out. That's a Fancher idea.

Fred