Russ Chewning said:
I have to spread rep around before I give it to you again. FYI my post was made before I read anybody else's post, so if two people recommended the same book you know there's something to it
being beaten vs losing
- Thread starter D-Sub
- Start date
I have to spread rep around before I give it to you again. FYI my post was made before I read anybody else's post, so if two people recommended the same book you know there's something to it
You just keep putting yourself where the game is yours to lose- I mean where you have the shot to win- bear down and be glad you have that shot. Make it work, don't ask or hope it does.
Black-Balled said:
I know that feeling. I really do. That "I am doing this. I am in control. It's mine feeling."
It's fleeting though, and that's the problem.
what I told you in PM also plays a huge role I think. Thanks again for the note and offer! I will take you up on that!
Winning and losing are mostly mental. I was on a tournament losing streak for years, constantly getting 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc. Several times I won the winner's bracket, only to lose two set finals.
I started playing in a few small bar tournaments where I had the nuts, and it still took me a few times to win. I was finding every way to lose: getting hooked, hanging 9's, miscueing, you name it. Once I finally won an easy tourney, I won the next two tough ones I played in.
Believing you can win is everything. Believing you can't win will always result in failure. I can tell from your posts that you are in that mental state of mind right now. I know it well.
You have admitted that choking is your problem. Correctly identifying the the problem is the most crucial step in solving a problem. Play in tournaments that are below your skill level ($5 - $10 bar tourneys for example) and get used to winning.
That confidence will carry into the bigger tournaments.
I started playing in a few small bar tournaments where I had the nuts, and it still took me a few times to win. I was finding every way to lose: getting hooked, hanging 9's, miscueing, you name it. Once I finally won an easy tourney, I won the next two tough ones I played in.
Believing you can win is everything. Believing you can't win will always result in failure. I can tell from your posts that you are in that mental state of mind right now. I know it well.
You have admitted that choking is your problem. Correctly identifying the the problem is the most crucial step in solving a problem. Play in tournaments that are below your skill level ($5 - $10 bar tourneys for example) and get used to winning.
That confidence will carry into the bigger tournaments.
D-Sub said:
The only PM I got today was from Smorg saying the peyote was back around and that I should get some people together for some ping-pong and sushi.
I have no idea what you are talking about though. Must have me mixed up with someone else.
I think you have the ~ feeling~ a tad wrong though. I would put it like: "I played good enough to get 8/9 of the way to this point. I am making that remaing ball coz it is 8/1 easier."
D-Sub said:
Can I have your cues, then?
Russ
I find that this 'losing vs being beat' idea happens A LOT.
Personally, I think players that think this way, are not as good as they think they are. (also happens a lot)
Concentrate more on doing your best and less on winning matches. Dont tell people how good you are, show them.
I also find that some people always have an excuse for losing, bad rolls, sharking, not feeling well, distractions etc. If you lose, you lose. No excuses. Good job on admitting you are a jackass under pressure, we've all been there. Rep to you.
Personally, I think players that think this way, are not as good as they think they are. (also happens a lot)
Concentrate more on doing your best and less on winning matches. Dont tell people how good you are, show them.
I also find that some people always have an excuse for losing, bad rolls, sharking, not feeling well, distractions etc. If you lose, you lose. No excuses. Good job on admitting you are a jackass under pressure, we've all been there. Rep to you.
D-Sub said:
Sounds like you need strengthen your mental game. I had similar problems for a period of time and realized that if I am thinking consciously about the importance of the shot at hand while down on the shot I lose concentration and miss much more easy shots. When you lose matches due to this it's the worst type of frustration imaginable.
You need to be able to clear your mind of negative thinking during pressure situations or forget it.. those situations may turn out "bad", you only remember the bad shots or dogged shots, and those outcomes feed back into your thoughts and amplifying your negative thinking.
Under pressure I can concentrate and focus a hell of a lot more than playing for fun but to play consistent like I know I can under pressure I need to be concentrating solely on the shot at hand and not on the possible ramifications of a missed shot. Hard to explain but my approach now, mentally, is to play my best no matter who I'm playing or for what, and when I'm feeling doggish back off the shot, go through the pre-shot routine again and almost meditate to clear my head of all thoughts while getting down, aiming, practice strokes, etc. The more you do this the easier it gets. Your brain literally gets re-wired to handle the situation more efficiently allowing you to concentrate more on the shot. If I miss the last thing I do now is get down on myself, it only makes things in my head worse on the next shot. Do what Efren does when he misses.. laugh it off and wait for your next opportunity. Whatever you do don't quit playing.. jeez! Oh and good luck!
D-Sub said:
I was a lot like you. On leagues I was one of the most feared players, no one liked playing me because they knew that there as a good chance I would beat them all 4 games and make it look easy. I'm an average to strong B and most of the leagues were made up of C and C+ players, so the results shouldn't be a surprise.
I would then go to tournaments and even though I knew the caliber of player was better, that is not why I lost most of my matches. I just plain choked more often then I ever did in league. It was not a case of me overestimating my ability, I?m very honest with myself when it comes to shot selection and determining probabilities, I was failing to get out with ball in hand and 2 or 3 easy balls left, I was missing shots where the cue was on the head spot and the object ball was 3 inches from the pocket and 2 inches from the rail.
I tried drinking, and if I could hit that perfect level of intoxication at just the right time, I could easily break and run 2 racks and play smart the other 2 and win 4/0. It just isn't that easy to pull off consistently, but it was more consistent then my shot making on clutch shots and games. I went through this for several years, dominating leagues, pulling off tournaments when I got the mix right, but overall being very dissatisfied in the way that I was shooting and progressing as a player. It does you no good at all if you pull of pin point leaves and then miss easy to medium difficulty shots when they matter most. At the end of a game, the only thing I?m interested in is how I played; my opponents play is completely meaningless to my assessment of my play.
Then we come to the beginning of this year. The first 3 months were disappointing, I didn?t play really bad; I just didn?t play what I would consider to be my average game. I wasn?t able to get out on easy tables; I also wasn?t pulling off the occasional tough shot at a crucial time. In other words, I was losing more games then my opponents were winning. I was even telling friends that I felt like I had gotten as good at this game as I was ever going to and was now in decline.
Then out of total desperation, I had Scott Lee over for a 4 hour lesson. In the first 45 minutes, he showed me on video where at least 80% of my stupid misses where coming from. Small little inconsistencies in my setup and stroke that I wasn?t even aware of were likely responsible for more lost games then I could have ever imagined.
After that lesson, I only had 1 seven hour practice session to work on the things Scott wanted me to change and despite warnings against it; I tried using those things in competition the next day. I had nothing to lose at that point on my leagues so I figured what the hell? Despite the fact that many of the things Scott wanted me to change still felt very alien to me, I felt like I had shot my average to slightly above average game for the first time in 3 months. 2 things I can say for sure about that night, I never once missed an easy shot or the resulting position and I didn?t miss a single straight in shot regardless of the distance. The only explanation for those 2 facts is that my stroke had already begun to become more consistent. I did miss a lot of the same shots that I had been missing for most of the year, but it was the lack stupid misses that I contribute to my success that first night.
Things have only gotten better since then; I never walk away from a miss wondering what went wrong, 9/10 I?m able to pinpoint it exactly and correct it within a shot or 2. While I know I will never be a world champion, I just don?t have that extra something the you need to be born with to reach those ranks, I no longer feel like I?ve hit my peak at 35 years old. I will continue to improve my shotmaking, position play, shot selection, and safeties and the accuracy and consistency of my stroke will not be the limiting factor.
Wow, this got a lot longer then I intended, take it for what it?s worth and I hope it helps.
D-Sub said:
YOu can do some searches with the Search tool up at the top of this page to find help on all of the things you talked about.
This game can sometimes be sadistic and it takes a masochist to stick with it sometimes.
Many are called but few have what this dominatrix calls for.
How many times do you normally miss in a rack of 9 ball?
Another poster once suggested Propranalol for nervousness. Don't know anything about side affects but I don't think it is a sedative. PUblic speakers sometimes use it on an as needed basis. Keeps the heart rate down and good for holding your blood pressure down. That's all I know.
Don't beat yourself up too much. Work on one aspect of improving your game at a time. Don't worry about the rest. Have some fun.
JoeyA
JoeyA said:
Joey, I never imagined you would be the type to be into S&M!
D-Sub said:
Good points made by everyone.
I'll ad that if you can't quiet your talking brain, at least make it say positive things. "I got this shot" "I'm a crunch player" etc. mentally build yourself up rather than tell yourself you're going to choke, or I hope I don't choke etc.
Trust yourself. when you get down on a shot trust that you are correct. don't second guess and adjust. Sometimes when I shoot I don't feel right, something feels off and my thinking brain wants to adjust. I find that if I adjust I miss. Perhaps I am automatically aiming off to compensate for squirt, and my brain is telling me that it doesn't look like I am aimed at where I want to hit. I have to resist the urge to adjust and stroke the shot. 9/10 times it goes as planned.
Finally enter a tourney you have no hope of winning. Go in dead money. I did it at the Md state 9 ball championship. I paid $65 to play 16 racks of pool (worse case senario) race to 9 and race to 7. I figured I would get blown out 16 straight racks and learn something along the way from the talent that was there. I did go 2 and out, but played the best pool of my life being up 4-1 in the first set before losing 7-9, and down 5-1 in the second set before losing 6-7. Since then my game has been on another level. I still have off nights and I still dog the occasional ball, but I am more consistently playing my best pool.
Banger
powerlineman80 said:That seems to be your problem. You are thinking too much. Just let loose and play ball man. Dont think about screwing up or you will most of the time. I used to be the same way but now I think I can beat anyone even when I cant, and I think I can get shape or sink any shot I want even when I cant
I have played competitively for about 6 years now. The first time I entered a tournament, I sat outside and thought, "Someone has to win this, why not me. If I just go in and shoot my game, there is no reason I cannot be the winner." I won the tournament straight out.
Every time I find myself feeling the pressure, I just go back to that thought. I have the shots to win, so just play.
Quote from famous motivational speaker and recognized leader;
You have to let it all go, Neo. Fear, doubt, and disbelief. Free your mind.
~MOrpheous
You have to let it all go, Neo. Fear, doubt, and disbelief. Free your mind.
~MOrpheous