Not my title, just passing the story on here:
www.wired.com/2015/05/big-question-booze-help-play-better-pool/
www.wired.com/2015/05/big-question-booze-help-play-better-pool/
Big Question: Why Does Booze Help Me Play Better Pool?
- Thread starter jason
- Start date
This has been noticed in other disciplines, along with citation from the article.
Perry Koziris, a sports scientist at McGill University. “Although alcohol may push one person towards a peak performance,” he says, “it may push another person who already performs at a high level too far down the scale, and cause them to play worse.”
https://xkcd.com/323/
Perry Koziris, a sports scientist at McGill University. “Although alcohol may push one person towards a peak performance,” he says, “it may push another person who already performs at a high level too far down the scale, and cause them to play worse.”
https://xkcd.com/323/
I heard recently from, a professional photographer, that a glass of wine, or perhaps a shot, would cause the facial muscles to relax, and blood vessels to dilate, causing the skin to glow a bit. I didn't think much of that because after I poured a fifth of tequila down my second wife she went up in a puff of smoke and turned into a glowing pile of ash.
I don't play any better half in, or half out of the bag. There are those who feel they do, but I seldom believe them. Kind of like the guy who says he always wins when he goes to Vegas.
I don't play any better half in, or half out of the bag. There are those who feel they do, but I seldom believe them. Kind of like the guy who says he always wins when he goes to Vegas.
This is why Botox is a popular treatment alternative to cosmetic surgery.
I heard recently from, a professional photographer, that a glass of wine, or perhaps a shot, would cause the facial muscles to relax, and blood vessels to dilate, causing the skin to glow a bit. I didn't think much of that because after I poured a fifth of tequila down my second wife she went up in a puff of smoke and turned into a glowing pile of ash.
I don't play any better half in, or half out of the bag. There are those who feel they do, but I seldom believe them. Kind of like the guy who says he always wins when he goes to Vegas.
Interesting read, thanks for sharing. The article states that the performance enhancement from alcohol decreases after about 1 drink, so maintaining that level would be difficult, especially for a long tournament. I always laugh when players start drinking at 9am in Vegas during nationals.
if you drink "mike's hard", you're not drinking, you're emasculating yourself:thumbup:
UgotRanDown
Registered
Alcohol is a confidence builder. And confidence is the key to everything. Like talking to a girl, trying hard to think of something to say to a girl but can't. A couple shots in and your like a mack daddy. At least for me.
As the article states, and backed up by the XKCD illustration, it a small window. Drink too much, and you're just drunk. Maybe get a breathalyzer like this make sure you stay within the zone.
www.amazon.com/BACtrack-Keychain-Breathalyzer-Portable-Keyring/dp/B006536ZXC
Alcohol in moderation isn't a bad thing. Heck, Western Europe went through the Middle Ages drunk because water quality was questionable. Everyone drank copious amounts of beer, or spirits (like rum), to avoid getting Cholera from drinking water. It wasn't until the Industrial Age, we started switched to coffee in order to stay awake in factories. Being drunk and around or operating machines isn't good.
www.amazon.com/BACtrack-Keychain-Breathalyzer-Portable-Keyring/dp/B006536ZXC
Alcohol in moderation isn't a bad thing. Heck, Western Europe went through the Middle Ages drunk because water quality was questionable. Everyone drank copious amounts of beer, or spirits (like rum), to avoid getting Cholera from drinking water. It wasn't until the Industrial Age, we started switched to coffee in order to stay awake in factories. Being drunk and around or operating machines isn't good.
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Tip: Look for a girl with a tattoo. It shows she's capable of making decisions she'll regret later.
Sorry 'bout the hijack. Couldn't resist.
Even if it helped my game, which I doubt it ever did...I simply cannot go back to my drinking days.
Interesting article, I can see how one or two drinks can help with people who get nervous or shaky. I think anything beyond that will hurt your game.
I will always avoid alcohol the day of and the day before a big tournament because it just makes me tired.
I will always avoid alcohol the day of and the day before a big tournament because it just makes me tired.
Pool is visual physical game. We tend to get to concerned about the physical part of it and in doing so negate our visual side. This is where the drinking comes into effect.
When we drink we are able to put our conscious analytical side of pool on the back burner and let our visual side of the game take over. It's our visual intelligence that leads our body's to the right alignment, position, etc. In a nut shell, we aren't thinking about playing, we are just playing.
There's a huge misconception or lack of words to describe what is happening when we or pros are playing at a high level. That misconception is called "FEEL"
FEEL is just allowing your eyes or visual intelligence to take over. That's why when you ask high level players how they do this or that, the usual response is I just "see it or feel it" when most ppl want to hear something more profound or tangible.
There's been recent studies on the human mind that are astounding. Creating a flow state or as most of us call it in sports, THE ZONE. But now ppl are able to tap into it. The most important part is being able to shut down the prefrontal cortex of the brain (the conscious analytical). In a recent experiment with army sniper cadets, they used electromagnetic pulses to shock the prefrontal cortex and found that they had an increase of performance of 230%.
Drinking also creates the same effect. Shutting down not only the analytical part but more importantly the self criticizing and self fatalism part. When you're in that zone you don't think about small mistakes and you definitely don't think about what happens if I miss.
Dana Aft who is an up and coming female pro player who hails out of ATL. Has a blog on DanaAft.com and she's quoted there as saying the benefit of having a drink while competing. She is a nervous person by nature and so noticeably that when she had bad performances ppl said she looked too up tight. I noticed her always having a drink during a tournament but in a pretty slow and consistent manner. She plays pretty sporty also, winning the US Amateur Title.
So my answer is, if you're struggling to find ur best game. Have a drink and go hit some balls, enjoy the game and you might discover a new you. And if you don't, it's just one day of table time, that you're not frustrated and you'll atleast have a good time doing what we all love to do.
When we drink we are able to put our conscious analytical side of pool on the back burner and let our visual side of the game take over. It's our visual intelligence that leads our body's to the right alignment, position, etc. In a nut shell, we aren't thinking about playing, we are just playing.
There's a huge misconception or lack of words to describe what is happening when we or pros are playing at a high level. That misconception is called "FEEL"
FEEL is just allowing your eyes or visual intelligence to take over. That's why when you ask high level players how they do this or that, the usual response is I just "see it or feel it" when most ppl want to hear something more profound or tangible.
There's been recent studies on the human mind that are astounding. Creating a flow state or as most of us call it in sports, THE ZONE. But now ppl are able to tap into it. The most important part is being able to shut down the prefrontal cortex of the brain (the conscious analytical). In a recent experiment with army sniper cadets, they used electromagnetic pulses to shock the prefrontal cortex and found that they had an increase of performance of 230%.
Drinking also creates the same effect. Shutting down not only the analytical part but more importantly the self criticizing and self fatalism part. When you're in that zone you don't think about small mistakes and you definitely don't think about what happens if I miss.
Dana Aft who is an up and coming female pro player who hails out of ATL. Has a blog on DanaAft.com and she's quoted there as saying the benefit of having a drink while competing. She is a nervous person by nature and so noticeably that when she had bad performances ppl said she looked too up tight. I noticed her always having a drink during a tournament but in a pretty slow and consistent manner. She plays pretty sporty also, winning the US Amateur Title.
So my answer is, if you're struggling to find ur best game. Have a drink and go hit some balls, enjoy the game and you might discover a new you. And if you don't, it's just one day of table time, that you're not frustrated and you'll atleast have a good time doing what we all love to do.
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I'm not going to tell you to go get drunk and play, but I will say that during my prime I always played better with a beer or two, or............
I also think the alcohol allowed me to play a bit more subconsciously and I just used the talents that I learned instead of "thinking about the game" too much.
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