Anyone else play like a noob under pressure?

[Descente36]

any time i'm feeling nervous, i can't even make easy shots. I know the reason too. I'm focusing so hard on the shot i'm not focusing on how crooked my stroke becomes. This "tunnel concentration" happens any time i'm under pressure. Anyone else have this problem?

 

[Mono Loco]

Yup!

my skill level varies alot depending upon my opponent = c-h-o-k-e!!!!!
I KNOW I see the angles correctly, but I just don't shoot'em the way I intend to.

 

[softshot]

Pressure is a self induced state.. same balls, same cloth, same cue, same shooter.

different mindset.. that's the only thing different... but it's a pretty big thing sometimes.. for ALL of us..

I deal with it or at least try to by "imposing a new mood"

don't chew your fingernails to stub's don't succumb to the pressure..

make yourself smile, make yourself laugh,, force yourself to be in a good mood...

make the pressure succumb to you..

you are the one adding weight to the situation in your mind...

lighten your own mood pressure can't exist in a light environment..

A few guys who deal with pressure well..

Alex Pagulayan.... every time I have seen him in pressure situations... he's smiling... cracking jokes...he's conquered pressure

have you ever seen Efren Miss?? he chuckles scratches his head and sits down...he's conquered pressure..

the guys who fight the pressure always succumb to it sooner or later..

the folks who create a light environment where pressure can't exist...

they win..

 

[SOULHASSORROW]

i suck at tourneys, but i play better and more consistent for $$$! i guess the pressure between tourneys and cash games feels different for me.

 

[evanandpeaches]

You can overcome it but you have to keep putting yourself in pressure situations. Try leagues tournys and cheap gambling but if you can choose play the better player.

 

[mullyman]

The key to overcoming that is to just keep getting in that position. The first tournament I joined in Japan I joined as a C player, but I was already a B. It didn't matter though because I was new to the league and that's the way they do it. I went undefeated and won the tournament and was moved up to B class. I can say at that time when the top 8 matches came I was shakey and nervous. But, over time you just get used to it. Now I can be in the final match and it's not ant different than if if I was playing with a friend. I concentrate a whole lot more but there aren't any nerves. Just keep on keeping on, you'll get past it.
MULLY:thumbup:

 

[skiergirl55]

Nope....not yet.

 

[Drew]

i suck at tourneys, but i play better and more consistent for $$$! i guess the pressure between tourneys and cash games feels different for me.

Tournaments are tougher to play. You only get one chance. There's always another set when playing for the cash.

 

[edd]

any time i'm feeling nervous, i can't even make easy shots. I know the reason too. I'm focusing so hard on the shot i'm not focusing on how crooked my stroke becomes. This "tunnel concentration" happens any time i'm under pressure. Anyone else have this problem?

Very common problem for everyone. Being able to stay focused, by staying in the moment and not "getting caught-up" with negative thoughts or internal dialogue is crucial.

 

[duckie]

any time i'm feeling nervous, i can't even make easy shots. I know the reason too. I'm focusing so hard on the shot i'm not focusing on how crooked my stroke becomes. This "tunnel concentration" happens any time i'm under pressure. Anyone else have this problem?

I sure do.

I then wondered how you can practice somthing like that. Cause not only is it a tourney, but the playing enviroment can also play a factor, ie. lots of people, having to wait for the person at the next table to do their shot and so on.

Well, I started playing in a local bar. Its noisey, crowded, people walking by and so on. The regulars talking while you shooting, I mean a really lousy playing enviroment, but it's been helping in the tourneys.

Anyway, FWIW

 

[poolplayer2093]

any time i'm feeling nervous, i can't even make easy shots. I know the reason too. I'm focusing so hard on the shot i'm not focusing on how crooked my stroke becomes. This "tunnel concentration" happens any time i'm under pressure. Anyone else have this problem?

nope. i dog a ball from time to time but you make it sound like you completely fall apart.

you just need to get out there and get into pressure situations more

 

[Sax]

Happens to me alot, What I'd like to know is how to get my body to slow down. Once I start to choke the adrenaline kicks in and I'm done. I can get my mindset back and shake off the frustration quicker then I can my body. I find myself rushing my shots, standing up on shots like it's almost by reflex.

 

[real bartram]

any time i'm feeling nervous, i can't even make easy shots. I know the reason too. I'm focusing so hard on the shot i'm not focusing on how crooked my stroke becomes. This "tunnel concentration" happens any time i'm under pressure. Anyone else have this problem?

d the same thing every shot before you shoot.

 

[Realizm]

Happens to me alot, What I'd like to know is how to get my body to slow down. Once I start to choke the adrenaline kicks in and I'm done. I can get my mindset back and shake off the frustration quicker then I can my body. I find myself rushing my shots, standing up on shots like it's almost by reflex.

I love the presser . i makes me play better.. But out front I'll get killed ,
Never won a tournament from the winners side .

 

[Baxter]

d the same thing every shot before you shoot.

Exactly. Have a pre-shot routine, and stick to it. I know all about pressure, played college golf. When you're hitting into 18 green with hundreds of people watching, that's pressure. And more often than not it was one of my best shots of the day. Develop a pre-shot routine and execute it before every shot, no matter how simple or routine the shot is. Make it as repeatable as possible, and repeat it exactly the same, down to how many seconds it takes you to complete it. What this does, is makes every shot exactly the same. The pre-shot routine triggers your brain and body into "go mode". The only thing that will exist is the shot at hand, not what's on the line, how much you might win/lose, or who's watching. If you do the exact same thing before every shot, every shot will be the exact same thing.

 

[Ratta]

First comes the technique...then the theoretical and psychical things.
I highly recommend to read the book:
"Pleasures of small motions*
This little book was never beaten imo.

lg from overseas,
Ingo

 

[cfrandy]

As the previous poster said..."Pleasures of Small Motions" - "Mastering the Mental Game of Billiards". By Bob Francher. READ IT!

You cannot fix a problem if you don't know what the problem is!

 

[Trent]

what i do

any time i'm feeling nervous, i can't even make easy shots. I know the reason too. I'm focusing so hard on the shot i'm not focusing on how crooked my stroke becomes. This "tunnel concentration" happens any time i'm under pressure. Anyone else have this problem?

you need to find a away to put that aside.

you atleast know you have a problem, now you need to figure out how to fix it for me when i get a touch nervous and shaky on the money ball i tell my self it doesnt hatter if i missed shape by 2-4 inches ive made this shot before and im going to make it again. and then dont hesitate your stroke, focus and shoot it in with authority and i dont mean pound the crap out of it and jump in the air while you do it lol stay down concentrate on nice smooth concentrated stoke and hit it nice and firm and once you win a few like that youll get less and less nervous as time goes on.

and chances are your stroke isnt even that crooked and if so owell what matters is that you do it consistantly and you know how to use it, some of the phillipinos stroke are so wild you would think they were swinging a tennis raquet at the ball but the shoot straight as can be.

just my oipinion and what works for me :thumbup: practice makes perfect.

 

[justadub]

Yup, sure do. Oh wait, I AM a noob!

though I'm new to pool, I've been in many different competitive activities/sports over the years that I realize it comes with the territory. We can do all the practicing, preparing and learning we want, but the battle within is probably equally as difficult as all the rest.

It is funny though, I find that in pool I don't notice the pressure as much in league matches or the small local tourneys that I've gotten into, compared to just playing with people whose game I respect alot and am trying to learn from. The actual matches, usually against people closer to my speed, seem to give me a sense of calm, most of the time. But play with the guys who are the best shooters in the room, and I'm so self-concious of where my hands are, my elbow, how far I'm bending over, all that mechanical stuff. It's funny, and a different challenge.

We all have pressure one way or another. Keep facing it and you'll learn how you can best deal with it. There is no simple answer, because it's different for everyone. ( I agree with the pre-shot routine being very important, though.)