A weak mind

Mind

I believe every shot is equally important. There are some shots I rarely see people practice because they look really easy (OB hanging in the pocket) but they tend to miss position on these and scratch their heads.

If you take equal care with all shots and go through the same preshot routine then the game starts to flow more. Next I'd be honest with yourself on shots you either miss or miss position on. Take a small notebook and put it in your cue case. After each match or league night jot down the Pro's and Con's (do this while its fresh in your mind). Note that you don't care about the opponents play, but rather only your play. After weeks of keeping track of this you should start to notice patterns and this will be telling you what to practice. Also write down any specific shots you came across that you were not confident at all and practice those shots 50 times or more until you have confidence in it.
 
Thank you all for responding. Most advices are noted and will be introduced to my game bit by bit. I also came across a strong player, who borrowed me his collections of articles from the good old days. Most of them are about mental preparation. He told me that many mental blockages require I to overcome them by myself.

Thank you!
 
Scott Lee said:
Cameron...This is why a good shooting PSR will always include an established eye pattern. That's one of the things that allows the subconscious brain to recognize "nerves", and other choke syndromes, and either allows the shooter to remain "in the moment" of the shot, until ready...or allows them to pull up, or 'bail out' before committing an error. I agree with a lot of your posts on this subject.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
Click to expand...

It's amazing how much of a difference eye patterns make. Just going from my own personal playing experience, my shotmaking improved exponentially when I began focusing on the object throughout the entirety of my final stroke. Some snooker instructors will teach that one should focus on the cue ball during the backswing and then the object ball during the followthrough, which I believe is counter scientific findings.
 
donuteric...The fastest way to overcome "mental blockages", imo, is to develop a 'bulletproof' preshot shooting routine. That builds confidence in your stroke, and that's where overcoming the "yips" can begin to work well. That said, some players can play well in tournaments, but fold under pressure from gambling...others excel at gambling, but can't take the pressure of tournament play. The best players can do both exceptionally well.:grin:

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

donuteric said:
Thank you all for responding. Most advices are noted and will be introduced to my game bit by bit. I also came across a strong player, who borrowed me his collections of articles from the good old days. Most of them are about mental preparation. He told me that many mental blockages require I to overcome them by myself.

Thank you!
Click to expand...
 
I am not an instructor of pool, but I was a certified instructor in the Navy. When you shoot in practice, it doesn't "matter" as much if you miss. In a tournament or match, the fight or flight syndrome kicks in. The flood of adrenaline robs the body of its fine motor control. It is easy to blame a physiologic process that you have little or no control over as a "mental" issue. This is why practice comes in, also the solution is to pay your dues and play when it is stressful. I still suffer from this sometimes, other times I rise to the occasion. I try to remember I have limited practice time, the top pro's practice more in a week than I could get in the last 3 months, and I am playing the best game I can play today. See this link http://www.michaelmurrayguitar.com/PerformanceAnxiety.htm
Good luck, John
 
If working on a preshot routine was the answer, professionals wouldn't miss easy shots under pressure.

You need to look intraspectively to find your source of anxiety.
 
It happened again, tho this time was in the entirely different situation. I actually won. APA match, I won with a stunning 75-28 against another SL9. For those folks that are not familiar with the APA scoring system: one point for each ball pocketed legally and two for the 9-ball. Including dead balls, we played 12+ racks. The score, without APA point system, would have been 6-6 with the last rack being undecided, much closer match than the points suggested on the scoresheet. I just kept missing those big balls. Ugh!
 
Congrats on your victory! I had to chuckle a bit at your post as I usually have the opposite problem--making most of the moneyballs but lagging in the overall count (I'm a sl6 and usually get put up against higher skilled players).
 
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