Beating the brain fart to the punch

[Klopek]

Friday night an old friend pointed out that the pace of my game had slowed a lot since he last seen me. He said before I played at the pace of a Strickland but now was becoming a ponderer like Archer. I didn't realize this but have noticed my game's been off a little lately. The resulting dip in confidence has me second guessing myself a lot and I guess slowing my game down.

That's when it hit me like a ton of bricks, I'm spending too much time with run-of-the-mill shots and letting the brain farts kick in. When playing alone I seem to move quickly and don't worry about a thing, just making balls. That's because I'm using 90% gut instinct, the real conscious brain doesn't have time to kick in a wreck it all for me.

Saturday I played my best pool in a long while. I've figured out that I need to play at a faster pace in order to hit top gear. I know this pace doesn't work for everyone, but for me it's the only way to go. I owe my friend a big thanks for this one.

 

[mjantti]

Works for me too. The ideal rhythm is found by practising and then trying to find the same rhythm when it counts in tournaments and money matches. Many players make the mistake of shooting totally different styles/rhythms in practice and tournaments. To me it seems that many players want to "get over with" the practising and shoot away quickly without thinking of their natural rhythm or they practise with their natural rhythm and then slow down in tournaments like they'd be afraid of playing their own game. I like to say: out of concentration in practice, out of concentration in tournaments. After realizing this I found a totally new consistent level in tournaments. When I was in tournaments, I just needed to find my rhythm. When I was playing badly, I wasn't out of stroke, I was out of my natural rhythm. That's why I felt uncomfortable. Works especially well, if you haven't been practising much lately but you have the years and mileage under your belt.

 

[Cameron Smith]

Friday night an old friend pointed out that the pace of my game had slowed a lot since he last seen me. He said before I played at the pace of a Strickland but now was becoming a ponderer like Archer. I didn't realize this but have noticed my game's been off a little lately. The resulting dip in confidence has me second guessing myself a lot and I guess slowing my game down.

That's when it hit me like a ton of bricks, I'm spending too much time with run-of-the-mill shots and letting the brain farts kick in. When playing alone I seem to move quickly and don't worry about a thing, just making balls. That's because I'm using 90% gut instinct, the real conscious brain doesn't have time to kick in a wreck it all for me.

Saturday I played my best pool in a long while. I've figured out that I need to play at a faster pace in order to hit top gear. I know this pace doesn't work for everyone, but for me it's the only way to go. I owe my friend a big thanks for this one.

Definitely your rythm is important, but be careful of relying on your instincts when you have no instincts to rely on. That is, don't continue shooting when you don't actually know what to do in a certain situation. No one is chasing you, so don't feel like you can't slow down to analyze a scenario.

I shoot about about as fast as Mika Immonen, or Marcus Chamat. Quick at points but I will take my time if I need to.

In order to keep myself froms second guessing, I aim very quick and only take a few practice strokes on average. I usually shoot the shot before I have a chance to worry about missing it.

 

[Klopek]

Definitely your rythm is important, but be careful of relying on your instincts when you have no instincts to rely on. That is, don't continue shooting when you don't actually know what to do in a certain situation. No one is chasing you, so don't feel like you can't slow down to analyze a scenario.

I shoot about about as fast as Mika Immonen, or Marcus Chamat. Quick at points but I will take my time if I need to.

In order to keep myself froms second guessing, I aim very quick and only take a few practice strokes on average. I usually shoot the shot before I
have a chance to worry about missing it.

Thanks for the advice, and I will of course be wary of that. I wouldn't say I run around the table like a Butera or a Salvas, but I definitely don't waste time. For this reason, I can't watch pool matches with ponderous players, it's boring for me.

I'm more referring to over thinking the run-of-the-mill shots, the ones you should be able to pocket with little to no brain activity. For some reason, I've been second guessing myself lately. Afterwards I realize my "gut instinct" was correct and my second guess was wrong, but by that point it's too late.

On tough shots, I always take my time and have a great pre-shot routine. I don't let anyone rush me, the problem I have is with slow opponents who hold me back. When I get up to the table, I work hard at keeping my pace up. If I succeed, I usually throw the slow opponent off and take them out of their game.

Not to mention, there's always something more intimidating about a player who can walk up and pot the balls with speed and confidence. The deliberate mechanical players work so hard, it looks like they should never miss.

My favorite player to watch for rhythm has to be CJ Wiley. If anyone has seen him play, you know what I'm talking about. He's very confident, takes his time addressing the ball, drops down, 3-4 quick warm up strokes than drills the ball in the heart of the pocket. It's amazing to watch.

I forget who said this, might have been Sigel. "If you move quickly in life, that's the way you should play. If you're slow and deliberate, that's the way you should play". This is good advice from whomever said it.

 

[Klopek]

Works for me too. The ideal rhythm is found by practising and then trying to find the same rhythm when it counts in tournaments and money matches. Many players make the mistake of shooting totally different styles/rhythms in practice and tournaments. To me it seems that many players want to "get over with" the practising and shoot away quickly without thinking of their natural rhythm or they practise with their natural rhythm and then slow down in tournaments like they'd be afraid of playing their own game. I like to say: out of concentration in practice, out of concentration in tournaments. After realizing this I found a totally new consistent level in tournaments. When I was in tournaments, I just needed to find my rhythm. When I was playing badly, I wasn't out of stroke, I was out of my natural rhythm. That's why I felt uncomfortable. Works especially well, if you haven't been practising much lately but you have the years and mileage under your belt.

That's great advice. I have been seeing a lot less table time lately, maybe 3-5 hours a week, compared to 20-30 hours a week last year.

Now that I know what my ideal pace is, I just need to maintain it. I've been tinkering with my game a lot recently. Maybe all the extra little things to think about have slowed my processors down.

I used to be what you would call a feel player, but somehow I've turned myself into a mechanical player. If I can get myself to half and half I think that would be ideal.