Advice on consistency/slowing down

ScottW

ScottW

Fo' shizzle!
Silver Member
Ok, so my game, when I'm on, is pretty good. But my main problem these days is consistency, related (I believe) to my playing speed.

When I started playing league three years ago, I was a very fast player - meaning, I'd make a shot and I'd almost run around the table and be lining up on my next shot before the cue ball stopped moving. Bang, bang, bang.

I've slowed up a fair bit since then, but I still revert - I'll walk up to the table, take my time, shoot a good shot. Walk around the table, line up on second shot, take my time, shoot. But the longer the run, the faster I start going - a little faster each shot, 'til I pooch it.

I know I'm doing this to myself, and yet, I'm having troubles overcoming this. I threw away two matches (to the same guy) in a 9-ball tournament last night because I just *wouldn't take my time* at crucial moments.

Any advice? Have any of you folks dealt with this successfully, and if so, how?
 
I have no good answer, if I did I'd use it myself ! Pace or rhythm is a very important part of consistency imo, and causes me problems as well. I tend to speed up in the later part of 8 and 9 ball runs, only to slow down for the game ball. I'll bet that many will suggest a rock solid, repeatable pre-shot routine, it's the only thing I've considered worthwhile practicing to develop a rhythm.

Dave
 
excellent advice........its all about your preshot routine. I stand back from my shot, looking at the cueball and the object ball, in line with the shot, and take 2 or 3 airstrokes EVERY SHOT. I dont care if its a straight in hanger, i do the strokes, it gets me in line with the shot, it lets me get into stance in line with the shot.....and it makes me slow down. Adopt some kind of ritual into your preshot routine (please dont adopt cleaning the cueball or picking lint off the table, archer has that one and its already driving me nuts lol).
 
Slowing Down Ones Game

I too do everything faster than most......When I was a kid my Mom used to tell me to slow down and taste my food.....you know the story.

This is my first session of league and my problem is more nerves/adrenalin.....I can see the out I get excited the adrenalin starts running and I miss the easy shot in the run and lose the game.....Of course I'm a much lower rated player than you but a guy on my team told me that when I felt that racey feeling to stand up and walk around the table.... look at things... and then set up and take the shot...
My point is if you can feel yourself speeding up....maybe you're not chalking up between shots as much as you would when you're on pace...whatever it is that clues you in.....Take an extra lap around the table see if it helps....
It has helped me and I'm going to need it tonight because last week I was to be the last shooter and the other team had to forfeit or exceed the 23 rule. Right now I've got the adrenalin going in anticipation of the match....I got a feeling I'm going to be lapping the table tonight.....if I get to shoot...

I'd be interested to hear how you solve the problem....good luck

Banger
 
ScottW said:
Ok, so my game, when I'm on, is pretty good. But my main problem these days is consistency, related (I believe) to my playing speed.

When I started playing league three years ago, I was a very fast player - meaning, I'd make a shot and I'd almost run around the table and be lining up on my next shot before the cue ball stopped moving. Bang, bang, bang.

I've slowed up a fair bit since then, but I still revert - I'll walk up to the table, take my time, shoot a good shot. Walk around the table, line up on second shot, take my time, shoot. But the longer the run, the faster I start going - a little faster each shot, 'til I pooch it.

I know I'm doing this to myself, and yet, I'm having troubles overcoming this. I threw away two matches (to the same guy) in a 9-ball tournament last night because I just *wouldn't take my time* at crucial moments.

Any advice? Have any of you folks dealt with this successfully, and if so, how?
Click to expand...


One day when I was really frustrated and practicing at Sheridan Billiards in Denver (then it became the BI) a pro player came up to me and taught me about pacing myself. His advice was as follows:
1) Shoot at your natural rhythm and pace. To determine your natural rhythm, set up easy shots and just shoot them in, take the CB in hand and just shoot easy shots. Do this for at least 15 minutes with someone watching you. He did this and told me my natural rhythm was stroke, stroke, pause, stroke shoot. Whenever I got on money balls, I just focused on the rhythm that made me comfortable and found I was much less likely to pooch it.
2) NEVER, NEVER, NEVER shoot a shot before you're ready. Take the time to settle into the shot and see it before you start your shooting rhythm. In fact, when I'm shooting good now, once I get lined up, I force myself to physically 'settle' into the shot, which relaxes my body and mind and helps me make it.
3) Make all of your decisions while still standing up. When you get over the shot, the only thing you should be thinking about on this line with such english and such speed. If the you're uncomfortable about the decision you made when looking at the table while standing, don't shoot. Stand up, walk around, confirm your decision or change your mind and then get back on the shot. Whatever you do, don't change your mind while you're down on a shot, it has a high percentage chance of not working out.

He also talked about how winning and losing didn't matter much. He said that when he was starting out, he lost more than he won and now he wins more than he loses. You can't win every game and every match, so just keep doing your best and trying to improve and try not to tie your ego too much to your performance.

Hope this helps!

RC

EDIT: Fixed typo.
 
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The important thing to remember is that you shouldn't shoot before you know what you are doing. Beginners and Intermediate players shouldn't shoot as fast as they do because I can't possibly believe they recognize the patterns that quickly. If they did they wouldn't be beginners or intermediate players.

Whenever I get to the table I take a moment to survey my position and decide how my inning is going to play out. After that I play moderately fast around the table so that Im not too concerned about missing balls.

If you feel a twinge of doubt step back and calm yourself. Put this doubt out of your mind. If your not positive where you want to be three or four balls down the road, again step back and work it out. Eventually this stuff will become second nature and you won't have to step back as often.

Guys like Rodney Morris, Ronnie O'Sullovan, Earl Strickland and Luc Salvas think quickly and recognize the patterns quickly. However I wouldn't be surprised if there was a time when they took more time to plan out their run.
 
If you want to Slow Down try walking around the Table before your next shot like you are really checking out your shot, and position play.
 
Cueball Chaser is what you would be called around these parts, as i use to have this name. As i would do exactly the same thing be right there before the cueball stopped rolling and be shooting. Getting ahead of myself basically. Rodney and Johnny do the same thing time to time what johnny does is what i read is why you picks the balls outta the pockets to slow himself down what i did was focus on my staying down on the shot. What i mean is after stroking the cueball stay in my stance and stroke the cue with my bridge hand you know get myself the habit of staying down and this way i don't chase the cueball around the table and play a fast game plus i learn a good habit and break a bad habit at the same time. Pre shot routine really helps, have a repititable preshot routine. If you have one already add something to it like looking more at the angles, where your bridge needs to be, breathing etc...
 
I have a friend who *was* shooting too fast... That is until I pointed out the advantages of speed control. Shooting very slow when needed, medium, or fast as needed. And leaving the cue ball in a good position for his next shot.

He plays 8-ball mainly. One of the things he would do is slam in the 8-ball. And then miss his shot due to his speed. I showed him how certain fast shots into the corner can make the ball rattle out of the pocket, yet the same shot slow/medium will pocket the ball. And then a fast shot on the 8 is taking undue risk of scratching since the cue ball will go flying all over the table looking for a pocket.

So I told him the advantages of shooting the 8-ball in with just enough speed to make the pocket. And he is now doing this and winning more games.

Also for several months, when I have been playing him or watching him play, I will point out to him (when he misses a shot or leaves poor CB position) that he shot too fast, did not stay down on his shot, etc.

And I have friends who will do the same for me. Tell me if I am poking instead of stroking. These are hard habits to break!

So I think that is the best thing - have someone watch you for several months and have them tell you when you are doing something you shouldn't be doing. Ask people you play with to tell you when you begin shooting too fast.
 
Yah, it's tough to overcome this issue on my own. Last night I was at a place doing this four-ball drill for about three hours, by myself - and I kept starting out telling myself "take your time, don't just go down on the table - look at it first" etc. - but kept devolving into my old habit, taking this shot, taking that shot much quicker than I should. I can't remember how many times I caught myself doing this (usually after missing a shot, heh) and mentally yelling at myself - "TAKE YOUR TIME, FOOL!" :)

I agree that having someone else there to yell "TAKE YOUR TIME, FOOL!" would be much more helpful. :)

I've also pondered getting ahold of a camcorder, and setting it up to film the table as I shoot around, and then watching myself from the outside later and seeing if maybe *that* will pound some slowness into me.
 
figure out a routine that takes about 20 seconds...even if done quickly. when im up to shoot i stand back and look at my shot...walk around to where my next shot will be...look at it while i chalk up my cue....walk back to my original shot and figure out how to get the cue ball to where my second shot is planned. take a deep breath, couple practice strokes, then execute. dont forget the deep breath, it helps. taking your time has its other advantages as well. people around here say i play too slow as they get impaitent. it takes them out of their game. im not talking about 3 or 4 minutes between shots...just the 20-30 second range.
 
ScottW said:
Yah, it's tough to overcome this issue on my own. Last night I was at a place doing this four-ball drill for about three hours, by myself - and I kept starting out telling myself "take your time, don't just go down on the table - look at it first" etc. - but kept devolving into my old habit, taking this shot, taking that shot much quicker than I should. I can't remember how many times I caught myself doing this (usually after missing a shot, heh) and mentally yelling at myself - "TAKE YOUR TIME, FOOL!" :)

I agree that having someone else there to yell "TAKE YOUR TIME, FOOL!" would be much more helpful. :)

I've also pondered getting ahold of a camcorder, and setting it up to film the table as I shoot around, and then watching myself from the outside later and seeing if maybe *that* will pound some slowness into me.
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Although you can achieve your best relaxation and focus by hitting your natural "rhythm", slowness in itself is not really the goal, in my opinion. Making sure everything that needs to happen before you shoot happens before you shoot is the goal.

Sounds like you were telling yourself to take your time, but you weren't using that time for anything specific. If you tell yourself "don't just get down on the shot", but you're still just thinking about getting down on the shot, you're not slowing down in a productive way. The point of not shooting too fast is to have a good pre-shot routine.

You need to make sure you're not skipping steps that are required for you to shoot the shot as well as you can, and to make sure you're not skipping those steps, you need to decide what they are. Elements that should be included in everyone's process before they shoot each shot:

1) Wait for all the balls to stop rolling. Duh.

2) Re-read the table. You don't have to change your plan in between every shot, but you need to give yourself the opportunity to re-evaluate in case you need to change your plan.

3) Choose a shot, and choose carefully enough that you aren't second-guessing yourself once you're down.

4) Decide on shot details such as english, speed, compensation for squirt/throw/swerve/transferred english/whatever before getting into stance.

5) Step far enough away from the shot that you can step back into it to truly re-align yourself for the shot. Sometimes when players are fast, they get down on the shot with their feet planted wherever they happened to already be. It sounds dumb, but I've seen it and done it. Re-aligning your whole body is an absolute must for consistency.

You can also do other things in a pre-shot routine to help you focus, or to calm your nerves, or to help you align or aim or whatever, but you have to be doing at least the things I mentioned, or else you're being careless and inviting mistakes. If you're really doing all these things in between shots, there's no such thing as shooting too fast.

-Andrew
 
Thanks for posting this question!

ScottW said:
Ok, so my game, when I'm on, is pretty good. But my main problem these days is consistency, related (I believe) to my playing speed.

When I started playing league three years ago, I was a very fast player - meaning, I'd make a shot and I'd almost run around the table and be lining up on my next shot before the cue ball stopped moving. Bang, bang, bang.

I've slowed up a fair bit since then, but I still revert - I'll walk up to the table, take my time, shoot a good shot. Walk around the table, line up on second shot, take my time, shoot. But the longer the run, the faster I start going - a little faster each shot, 'til I pooch it.

I know I'm doing this to myself, and yet, I'm having troubles overcoming this. I threw away two matches (to the same guy) in a 9-ball tournament last night because I just *wouldn't take my time* at crucial moments.

Any advice? Have any of you folks dealt with this successfully, and if so, how?
Click to expand...

Last night I had leagues and went to practice early. With this question and my reply on my mind, I realized I hadn't really been practicing what I preach lately and so I decided to focus on my routine and follow the advice I relayed on here.

I shot great, it really helped me find my comfort zone. In the 2 hours or so that I practiced with a teammate, we probably had less than 3 games that went more than 2 innings, most were runouts. My teammate quit me and a guy from another team wanted to warm up with me until more of his team got there, I broke dry, he shot a few and missed, I ranout and then B&R two racks. His teammate showed up and I walked away. It's the best I've shot in a while.

I've also made some adjustments to my alignment lately that have really helped, but the rhythm and pace that I played with helped me bring it all together.

Cheers,
RC
 
Cameron Smith said:
The important thing to remember is that you shouldn't shoot before you know what you are doing. Beginners and Intermediate players shouldn't shoot as fast as they do because I can't possibly believe they recognize the patterns that quickly. If they did they wouldn't be beginners or intermediate players.
Click to expand...

I've been playing for about a year since I retired, and when I started I shot fast because I had little if any idea where the cue ball was going to wind up anyway. Then came trying to figure out what angle the cue ball would take given various types of english, then looking at the layout of the table, all of which takes time. Experienced players probably see that almost instinctively, for me it takes a little time to see where I want the cue ball to be and how best to get it there (still a work in progress in my case).

Based on my experience the reason beginners shoot fast is because:

a) They are having enough trouble just trying to sink the ball they are shooting at.

b) Don't understand (and are frequently surprised by) where the cue ball is going to wind up after the shot anyway. No reason to slow down and study things because they don't know what they are doing.
 
So, let me get this right; this is a thread to learn how to PLAY SLOWER?????

Is it even remotely possible that we are all a little too egotistic about our games, and not appreciative enough of the level of precision required to play at a high level (ie. "I missed that shot, it was easy, I must have rushed" - there are no easy shots according to Luther Lassiter)? The slow playing C players in my league STILL MISS JUST AS OFTEN - it is the precision that is lacking, not the tempo.

Of course, developing a solid and repeatable pre-shot routine is the way to go to improve your results; but after the initial stages of learning the routine it NEED NOT BE GLACIALLY SLOW (and certainly need not include 2 circuits around the table on every shot). Work on your routine; take lessons from a good instructor - you will end up with a more precise stroke, that can be delivered in less than 5 minutes per ball. Even the pro's can do all of their thinking and shooting within a 30 second shot clock - I encourage ALL players to develop the same facility. Develop your routine by yourself in practice, then play at a normal pace with others; they will appreciate it. Slow play ruins the game for everyone, playing with at least a little pace enhances the enjoyment of the game for everyone (MORE POOL = MORE FUN). As several members have noted, playing at a certain pace will enable you to avoid distraction and maintain focus.

In Betmore's Basement (tough room), we rarely have to place anyone on the shot clock (shots greater than 45 seconds result in the allowance of physical and verbal harrassment).
 
I'm not looking to get GLACIALLY slow, Willie. Just not super-fast like I currently shoot, especially after running two or three balls. The way I play if I don't make myself slow down, I don't come anywhere NEAR 30 seconds a shot.
 
Williebetmore said:
So, let me get this right; this is a thread to learn how to PLAY SLOWER?????

Is it even remotely possible that we are all a little too egotistic about our games, and not appreciative enough of the level of precision required to play at a high level (ie. "I missed that shot, it was easy, I must have rushed" - there are no easy shots according to Luther Lassiter)? The slow playing C players in my league STILL MISS JUST AS OFTEN - it is the precision that is lacking, not the tempo.

Of course, developing a solid and repeatable pre-shot routine is the way to go to improve your results; but after the initial stages of learning the routine it NEED NOT BE GLACIALLY SLOW (and certainly need not include 2 circuits around the table on every shot). Work on your routine; take lessons from a good instructor - you will end up with a more precise stroke, that can be delivered in less than 5 minutes per ball. Even the pro's can do all of their thinking and shooting within a 30 second shot clock - I encourage ALL players to develop the same facility. Develop your routine by yourself in practice, then play at a normal pace with others; they will appreciate it. Slow play ruins the game for everyone, playing with at least a little pace enhances the enjoyment of the game for everyone (MORE POOL = MORE FUN). As several members have noted, playing at a certain pace will enable you to avoid distraction and maintain focus.

In Betmore's Basement (tough room), we rarely have to place anyone on the shot clock (shots greater than 45 seconds result in the allowance of physical and verbal harrassment).
Click to expand...

I don't think he's talking about playing slower per se, but keeping his rhythm consistent and comfortable instead of rushing shots and missing or playing poor position. Like a drummer, many of us have a tendency to speed up the further we get into a run and it usually ends in a critical mistake.

I agree with you that slow playing does not equal good play. I know many slow players who are terrible.

Cheers,
RC
 
I think George Fels said in his book “Mastering Pool” something to the effect.

-if you play slow you will miss a hard shot

-if you play fast you will miss an easy one


Holds pretty true for me.
 
breakup said:
I think George Fels said in his book “Mastering Pool” something to the effect.

-if you play slow you will miss a hard shot

-if you play fast you will miss an easy one


Holds pretty true for me.
Click to expand...

break-man,
Obviously George has not seen me play; otherwise he would have said:

-if you play you will miss most of your shots.:) :) (unless of course he got to see me play with Efren, Jeanette, and mthornto....have I ever mentioned that game to you?.....maybe you could play with them sometime).
 
ScottW said:
I'm not looking to get GLACIALLY slow, Willie. Just not super-fast like I currently shoot, especially after running two or three balls. The way I play if I don't make myself slow down, I don't come anywhere NEAR 30 seconds a shot.
Click to expand...


Scott,
Well, it sounds like you are on the right track. RELENTLESS adherence to a sound and reliable pre-shot routine will definitely lead to progress, and will definitely take care of the pressure (after all, you don't have to do ANYTHING at all except follow your routine and make the very best stroke possible, you CAN'T influence the outcome in any other way, and EVERY stroke is just the same, no matter the situation). Good luck, keep us informed.
 
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