A Method to Elevate Your Level of Play.

mnorwood

mnorwood

Moon
Silver Member
I spent the first 3 hours of my day watching the Welsch Open. John Higgins was in top form and when Ali Carter had an opportunity to play he did quite well. I got up from my computer and went directly to my pool table. I played one inning of 14.1 and ran 45 balls. I then broke and ran 3 straight racks of 8 ball. For the more skillful players on the forum that is no big deal. However, shooting like that is unusual for me. I attribute this to watching snooker. I find my level of play drastically improves after watching snooker. I think its because I some how tap in to their level of concentration and playing rhythm. I also devote my attention to studying their technique. If you are struggling with your pool game try watching snooker you might be surprised at the outcome.

I know pool and snooker are radically different games but nonetheless I think it can be beneficial for pool players.
 
mnorwood said:
I spent the first 3 hours of my day watching the Welsch Open. John Higgins was in top form and when Ali Carter had an opportunity to play he did quite well. I got up from my computer and went directly to my pool table. I played one inning of 14.1 and ran 45 balls. I then broke and ran 3 straight racks of 8 ball. For the more skillful players on the forum that is no big deal. However, shooting like that is unusual for me. I attribute this to watching snooker. I find my level of play drastically improves after watching snooker. I think its because I some how tap in to their level of concentration and playing rhythm. I also devote my attention to studying their technique. If you are struggling with your pool game try watching snooker you might be surprised at the outcome.

I know pool and snooker are radically different games but nonetheless I think it can be beneficial for pool players.
Click to expand...

Try playing snooker after watching pro snooker... I have $20 you will throw the cue. they make it look so easy.
 
Jason Robichaud said:
Try playing snooker after watching pro snooker... I have $20 you will throw the cue. they make it look so easy.
Click to expand...

Actually I have done that and I ended up playing better snooker. Playing snooker on a 12 footer gives you more appreciation for how insanely good they are. Some of the shots they make are simple amazing, especially the long reds where they hold position for black.
 
mnorwood said:
Actually I have done that and I ended up playing better snooker. Playing snooker on a 12 footer gives you more appreciation for how insanely good they are. Some of the shots they make are simple amazing, especially the long reds where they hold position for black.
Click to expand...

First time I watched any billiard game on tv, it was snooker and I was 21. I went to a hall with snooker tables. I thought, I would practice and go pro. I loved watching it. It took about 5 minutes to pocket a ball. I still can't believe how easy they make it look. They run 100's like I get 20's. It is a very humbling experience jumping on a 12'
 
mnorwood said:
I spent the first 3 hours of my day watching the Welsch Open. John Higgins was in top form and when Ali Carter had an opportunity to play he did quite well. ... I think its because I some how tap in to their level of concentration and playing rhythm...
Click to expand...

Interesting. If you repeat this experiment please follow up.

The Welsh Open matches featured good camera work, and I believe this made for an immersive experience. After reading your comments I revisited justin.tv again. When I watched Mark Selby shoot it was relatively easy to cast my mind back to the last time I shot on a 12-footer, and it made me recall how my shoulder felt as I assumed a more snooker-like stance than I usually do.

Matches from the Welsh Open are being replayed at: http://www.justin.tv/manchester1uk#r=3dbB008.
 
It helps to not only watch snooker but to hit pool balls on a snooker table. I once had a weekend tournament to play in, so I woke up extra early on both days of the tournament and went to another poolroom that had a 12' snooker table and shot pool balls on the table for about 2 hours each day before the tournament. I won the tournament easily, by the time I got to the 9' tables (which had 4 3/4" pockets) I felt like I was shooting on a bar table with 6" pockets! I felt like every shot was a joke and hardly missed a shot the entire event. My position play and safeties weren't any better but pocketing was so easy. I don't know why I didn't keep up this practice, maybe I'll start doing it again.
 
Rethunk said:
Interesting. If you repeat this experiment please follow up.

The Welsh Open matches featured good camera work, and I believe this made for an immersive experience. After reading your comments I revisited justin.tv again. When I watched Mark Selby shoot it was relatively easy to cast my mind back to the last time I shot on a 12-footer, and it made me recall how my shoulder felt as I assumed a more snooker-like stance than I usually do.

Matches from the Welsh Open are being replayed at: http://www.justin.tv/manchester1uk#r=3dbB008.
Click to expand...

Believe it or not I have replicated this many times. Today just happened to be a more extreme example. There is just something about the viewing experience that clicks with me. I really get into watching these matches. Its almost like meditation.
 
mnorwood said:
Believe it or not I have replicated this many times. Today just happened to be a more extreme example. There is just something about the viewing experience that clicks with me. I really get into watching these matches. Its almost like meditation.
Click to expand...

Watching a pro match sounds like a great pre-competition routine.

I'm certainly no sports psychologist, but it seems to me that your experience fits in well with what I've read about visualization, or more broadly about what Fancher described in Pleasures of Small Motions, namely that one should imagine all the sensations related to executing a shot: the feel of one's arm muscles while stroking, the sense of weight and balance in one's stance, etc.

Here's a link to a description of a famous experiment that compared the performance of basketball players who visualized making free throws against those who practiced the shots on the court.
http://curtrosengren.typepad.com/occupationaladventure/2004/10/another_visuali.html
 
mnorwood said:
Actually I have done that and I ended up playing better snooker. Playing snooker on a 12 footer gives you more appreciation for how insanely good they are. Some of the shots they make are simple amazing, especially the long reds where they hold position for black.
Click to expand...
Here is the final part of the final frame of a match O'Sullivan had in the Welsh Open. Particularly remarkable are his special techniques for playing the yellow, getting position on the pink and black and finally completely clearing the table. FUNdamentals.
 
Bob Jewett said:
Here is the final part of the final frame of a match O'Sullivan had in the Welsh Open. Particularly remarkable are his special techniques for playing the yellow, getting position on the pink and black and finally completely clearing the table. FUNdamentals.
Click to expand...

What amazes me is that after dogging the first shot of each of his first two innings he was in the zone when he came to the table for the next one. I want to learn that skill.

pj
chgo
 
Bob Jewett said:
Here is the final part of the final frame of a match O'Sullivan had in the Welsh Open. Particularly remarkable are his special techniques for playing the yellow, getting position on the pink and black and finally completely clearing the table. FUNdamentals.
Click to expand...

I've got to practice that initial shot with the bridge.
 
mnorwood said:
I spent the first 3 hours of my day watching the Welsch Open. John Higgins was in top form and when Ali Carter had an opportunity to play he did quite well. I got up from my computer and went directly to my pool table. I played one inning of 14.1 and ran 45 balls. I then broke and ran 3 straight racks of 8 ball. For the more skillful players on the forum that is no big deal. However, shooting like that is unusual for me. I attribute this to watching snooker. I find my level of play drastically improves after watching snooker. I think its because I some how tap in to their level of concentration and playing rhythm. I also devote my attention to studying their technique. If you are struggling with your pool game try watching snooker you might be surprised at the outcome.

I know pool and snooker are radically different games but nonetheless I think it can be beneficial for pool players.
Click to expand...

When I first started watching snooker, I noticed that I sometimes emulated Ronnie O'Sullivan's cue action and I ended up playing better. I think it had a lot to do with cueing with better timing.

But the same thing happens when your at a pro pool event as well. You start to emulate the pros rythem, the pace with which they pocket balls, and in some cases their cue action.

But someone also mentioned visualization which is kind of part of it. I think when see others making ball after ball, you start to see yourself doing the same. For many players, they approach certain shots and think "don't miss, don't miss," or "Don't overcut, Don't overcut". The problem is the mind doesn't know the word "don't" so when you say "Don't miss" you visualize yourself, even if only briefly, missing the ball. Unfortunately you tend to execute what tell your brain to do.

Try this. Don't think of an Apple.


Let me know what popped in your head.
 
When I was younger I used to watch The Color of Money the night before the tournament. There was just something about that movie that totally changed my personality on the table.
 
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