bad nights is caused by our mental...

Jimbojim

Jimbojim

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
There are a lots of books out there based around the psychology of what we should do to 'counter-attack' a bad night of pool. Sometimes we don't feel our stroke or our position play is lacking finesse or we just can't aim right. I don't know about some of you but on some occasions I can feel it in the air that I am gonna play to the best of my capabilities. Sadly, we all have our bad nights but what causes that really? Some say its fatigue but then again we played tired before and shot accurately.

How can we prevent a bad night of pool? What happens in our head that one day we play like we were born with a cue and the next day our stroke is choppy and not even straight?
 
Buy the following inexpensive book:

The Inner Game of Tennis
by
W. Timothy Gallwey

Thank me later. ;)
 
There are a ton of reasons and nearly as many solutions for a bad day at playing. The first thing is to identify what is bothering you and then deal with it to the point that you are satisfied with your answer.

Pool requires relaxed concentration. If you can't concentrate, you can't play well. Some people are not very good at recognizing the signs that some thing is bothering them. Your boss is ticked, you can see it coming and you shrug it off because you don't care about the job anyway... Mean while another side of you is wondering how to make the car payment.

For instance, when some people are upset their jaw gets tight and it may even hurt. They find they are rubbing their jaw, have done it for years and don't know that it is a sign that their body is working overtime on some problem or another. Maybe its your back, your shoulders, your leg, etc, etc

Basically when it comes to playing pool your body listens to your mind. If some part of your mind is otherwise occupied the body is trying to help solve the problem and that gets in the way of all those things needed to play well.

Some people can tune these other issues out, most of us can't. For some people a few bucks on a game helps tune out all those other problems.

One way to deal with the problem is to give it some serious thought, come to a resolution for action tomorrow that you know you will follow though on. Then you can dismiss the problem and enjoy the game.

BTW, a good night's sleep is often the answer becasue we solve many problems in our dreams. Ever wake up in the morning feeling good and just knowing what you were going to do on some thorny issue? You probably came to a solution "in your dreams."
 
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JoeW said:
There are a ton of reasons and nearly as many solutions for a bad day at playing. The first thing is to identify what is bothering you and then deal with it to the point that you are satisfied with your answer.

Pool requires relaxed concentration. If you can't concentrate, you can't play well. Some people are not very good at recognizing the signs that some thing is bothering them. Your boss is ticked, you can see it coming and you shrug it off because you don't care about the job anyway... Mean while another side of you is wondering how to make the car payment.

For instance, when some people are upset their jaw gets tight and it may even hurt. They find they are rubbing their jaw, have done it for years and don't know that it is a sign that their body is working overtime on some problem or another. Maybe its your back, your shoulders, your leg, etc, etc

Basically when it comes to playing pool your body listens to your mind. If some part of your mind is otherwise occupied the body is trying to help solve the problem and that gets in the way of all those things needed to play well.
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valuable post:)
 
also try not talking during your whole match. you will be surprised by how much this helps your concentration and focus.
 
Franky said:
Buy the following inexpensive book:

The Inner Game of Tennis
by
W. Timothy Gallwey

Thank me later. ;)
Click to expand...

Ok, I've heard this book was very insightful, but let me ask you something. Being old, fat, heart condition, and never really looking all that good in white shorts ... the closest thing to playing tennis for me would be rolling a lost ball back to courtside. That is if I was able to bend down far enough to roll the thing.

So ... ya think the concept of the book could still be applied well enough for a guy like me? :)
 
3andstop said:
Ok, I've heard this book was very insightful, but let me ask you something. Being old, fat, heart condition, and never really looking all that good in white shorts ... the closest thing to playing tennis for me would be rolling a lost ball back to courtside. That is if I was able to bend down far enough to roll the thing.

So ... ya think the concept of the book could still be applied well enough for a guy like me? :)
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The book is much more about sports psychology than tennis. It's widely accepted in the pool community as required reading. So, yes.
 
Franky said:
Buy the following inexpensive book:

The Inner Game of Tennis
by
W. Timothy Gallwey

Thank me later. ;)
Click to expand...

Props to the entire "Inner Game" family of books. The Inner Game of Golf, Inner Game of Work etc. But "The Inner Game of Tennis" has been widely acclaimed since the 70s as a premiere sports psychology training book. It will help your mental game regardless of your sport.

The BCA has a little known training program. It focus' on basic fundamentals, guiding any player, regardless of skill level, to a higher plane of concentration one basic step at a time. Master Instructor's programs like Jerry Breisath's Pool School have helped many touring pros. It's not just for beginners. This will help give you something constructive to focus on when you can't seem to concentrate, much less get "in the zone". You develop both a mental and a physical pre shot routine that busies you when at the table. For me personally, it helps tremendously...Tom
 
PunchOut said:
also try not talking during your whole match. you will be surprised by how much this helps your concentration and focus.
Click to expand...

I agree PunchOut. We call it "Mum pool", as in; "Mum's the word" around here...
 
3andstop said:
Ok, I've heard this book was very insightful, but let me ask you something. Being old, fat, heart condition, and never really looking all that good in white shorts ... the closest thing to playing tennis for me would be rolling a lost ball back to courtside. That is if I was able to bend down far enough to roll the thing.

So ... ya think the concept of the book could still be applied well enough for a guy like me? :)
Click to expand...

There are about 5 pages of this book that are pure tennis. I think you'll find the remainder VERY insightful, applicable, and effective.
 
I've played some matches and I am pretty good at knowing when I am frustrated. Basically, I will start getting really pissed at everything and start banging my head against the wall. I find that what helps me dissipate this anger is to actually swear out loud instead of under my breath. It feels great like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

There is one psychological tactic that I find a lot of learning amateurs like to do when I play them, even if just for fun, is to take 5 minutes just to hit the damn ball. I will literally sit there waiting 5 minutes. A couple weeks I was playing a match with this guy who took 5 minutes to line up his shot. I was ready to kill him. He finally stepped up, aimed, was just about to hit, and then called out "Coach!" I threw my hands up in the air and screamed in my head "what the f---!!?!?!?" My soul gave up. But to alleviate the stress, I started saying bad things about him just loud enough so that he could hear it. That felt good. Really good.
 
I am convinced

that bad nights are caused by the 'planetary alignments' and your low ebbs of your 'biorythim cycles' ...... LOL :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

I mean I having been playing good, consistently, and then I just had one of those 'What in the Hell just happened?' nights.
 
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