Can't control my nerves

From personal experience, I've somewhat conquered my shakes.

I've recently started playing pool again after a 12 year hiatus. My game is MUCH different now that it was then, for the better. At first, I wasn't sure WHY I was playing better now as compared to then, being that I've only been playing for about 2 months since my return and back then I was playing every day for about a 10 year span. When I say my game's better now than it was then, I mean it's ALOT better...

I've had time to think about it and I've noticed a few changes with the way I approach the game...mostly from a maturity standpoint.

Some things that have helped me conquer the shakes:

1. I play nearly every day now against a friend of mine that's always been one of the better players in our area and is definitely a few notches better than I am. We play for small things...lunch, pitchers, a few bucks...anything to make us PLAY a bit harder. It's helped me immensely to have that type of constant pressure put on me from a quality player. It also helps when that person gives you compliments on your game...BIG confidence builder.

2. I notice myself singing under my breath when I'm feeling the shakes coming on. Try it :)

3. I start out playing on a bar box, build up my confidence, then goto the 9 footer. If I'm having issues on the 9 footer (which I have had since my return), I'll go back to the bar box and build up my confidence again. This may not necessarily cure your shakes, but it's one of the ways I like to build up my confidence/get in stroke, which results in less shakes.

4. I step back from the action. When I feel my chest getting a little tight or my adrenaline starting to flow, I just stop. I go wash my hands, order a drink, put in a dip, or do SOMETHING to break the moment.

5. I've been trying to put myself in more pressure situations lately. Like previous posters have stated, REPETITION is the key. The more I play under pressure, the more it doesn't affect me.

6. If I'm unsure of a shot or I feel jumpy, I'll step back, take another look at the table, and maybe even rechalk my cue. One of the major things I've done to change my game since my return is SLOW DOWN. When I start lose confidence during a rack, I step back and rebuild my confidence in my head before I take the next shot.

7. Although I'm not a champion, I'm fully aware that there isn't shot that I haven't made. I remind myself every time that I'm at the table that I've been there and done that before. No matter what the shot is....cut, bank, jump, safe, finesse, punch, etc., we've ALL done it. Remind yourself of that every time you get into a situation that gets you shaky. It's worked for me.

I hope at least one of those tips help you. The #1 factor is repetition...keep putting yourself in pressure situations.
 
more importantly

BY the way , legend2004, welcome home and thanks for your service.
Beside the problem your having ,have fun, enjoy your new DP. Think about where you were 6-months ago. The worst day of pool is better than the best day over there, right? :dance:

I was going to wait longer to read what others had to say because I have troubles just like you. I relate a lot of pool to tennis, which was my life's love until I started spending more time in the club bar than on the tennis court. (That's another story but it's related because as as I started to
spend more time in bars I restarted playing pool, a game that I had shown considerable talent in during my younger years until I was about 30 when success in business started to flow and I turned to more respectable activities.) Anyway I used to have the same problem in tennis that you do in pool and now I ,also, have in pool. But when I was shooting in bars it was always masked by booze. The problem of controlling my nerves came when in tennis I was in highly competitive situations I would freak out. Off course there was at the time no booze to lean on. All this has come back to me since you posted you dilemma. I will start to use this method of calming myself right away as I play everyday. Here I go: If I felt myself dogging my game of tennis
i would close my eyes and think if I could be any place in the world where would I like to be rather than here. The answer always came back nowhere. I was always where I wanted to be. Southern Cal. ,on a warm sunny day, with friends , pretty girls running around, the high of adrenaline I was on, etc. , etc. Who needs any more.Why the hell am i so nervous when I put myself here on purpose? I am where I want to be.
The same principal applies to you and I when we play pool. You in particular after your term of service. When you get nervous close your eyes and think of
the totallity of the situation you are in. Not just the game you are playing.
It is a small part of your ,"NOW." Your home , the girls are wonderful, the beer is cold , you're with friends , you're playing a game you love with your new DP. My god , man ,you (and me ) should be jumping with joy to be so damned lucky for being where we are. This is where we wanted to be. We put ourselves here. How can we be nervous? Nothing can make me unhappy here. These thoughts always helped me in tennis
and I plan to put them in to practice right away. Give it a try.

Sorry I talk so much . I'm just happy that I the recalled
joy I used to feel on the tennis courts and realized it could be applied to pool.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Siz
I like the whistling idea. I'm gonna try to do that a little next time I play.

And while I know it was a joke about being drunk, I like to have one beer when I get into the room, and maybe one more later in the evening. Not enough to get stupid, or affect me physically. Nursing them, not draining the thing. Gives me something to deflect my attention after a bad shot, so I don't dwell on it. I just take a swallow, shake my head and get back into it again, instead of moping about the last shot.

I've seen some other folks using an mp3 player before, and may yet try that, too. It's funny, the club where I play doesn't always have music playing, and I notice the difference. Many of the folks I play with don't like the music but I love it. Keeps me from my "rabbit ears", listening to everyone around me chattering about this, that or the other. I might have to give the mp3 player a shot, too.

Good thread, great ideas. Thanks folks.
 
You shoot a shot on a practice table and bang its in. Same shot at a tournament and you choke. So you start getting frustrated cause you know you can do this! You watch guys getting out over and over and you can shoot as good as they do. So whats the difference between them and you? Man I went through em' all. Books,tapes,advice,prayer[a lot of that lol] and what I finally realized was that I was scared! Scared I was going to miss! Think about it. Thats the only difference between the 2 shots. You shoot scared and the arm tightens up. Fear obscures your thought processes and you can't see the patterns. And worst of all when you lose you feel like a pussy! I hated that!! So i finally manned up and changed my attitude. I keep telling myself I don't shoot scared,I don't shoot scared and you know what? it's working. I don't run every table but I do run more and when I do lose I go down with my boots on and I like that. See ya in the finals!!!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Siz
I went through it every time I took some time off from the game. It's a natural reaction. I think it's more anxiety, than nerves. Try taking some deep breathes if your begin to feel a little shaky. As one person suggested, try gambling for small amounts. I also suggest you find someone you have a good chance of beating. It helps to get a few wins under your belt.

Another fact about me. I lost the first match of tournaments seven times and went on to win the tournament. For some reason, I'm a slow starter.

I hope this helps.
 
What I do is simply stop. Step back and take a deep breath and rechalk. Try and relax.

Depending on the game, it doesn't hurt to talk it out. Make or joke or something.


HTH

Dave
 
Mind control is a game difficult to master. If you can not leave you mind thinking about anything outside of the Pool Game, or Tournament you are in don’t play until in a tournament or for money until you can control your mind.
 
A long time ago...

A long time ago I went from a $20-$50 a set player to betting $1K-$3K a set (post 2 sets, if you break even play a third longer set for it all) in about a week. Long story. Anyway, I talked to 3 of the best money players in Philly and asked them how they stayed so calm when betting high. All three independently told me the same thing: Just keep acting calm, no matter how you feel inside, and eventually you'll be calm. I remember standing at the table, slowly chalking my cue, while surveying my next shot. People would remark how calm I was. They didn't know I was just waiting for my head to stop spinning. Eventually it did.
 
It's okay to be sacred & overwhelmed by a situation. There will always be that type of feeling when you play at one time or another. Whether its gambling, a tournament, or the Mosconi cup league play type of pressure.

People will say just play the table and crap like that. But its bull...you can't ignore issues in the mind to make them go away. If a particular problem stands out in your mind that's an issue you must deal with it.

For most people their social status is important to them in the pool pecking order world. When you you play that status is on display to the person your playing and everyone that's watching. Also on top of that the grapevine becomes privy to this info.

If your thinking, "Wow I do not want to be known as the one that cracks under pressure." Guess what? It is an issue to you. You have to hash it out with yourself. Ask serious questions. Whats the best I can get out of this? Whats the worst? What happens if I break even? Can I live with those results?

Sometimes just the act in itself of breaking down the whole issue brings the out the desired result of calming you. The reason being is because you have done this same mind drill before. You are familiar with this situation in your mind. With the problem confronted it now doesn't seem as big. It's no longer insurmountable. There is a solution that is obtainable.

(Also the reason the act of acting calm and collected works is that it occupies your conscious thoughts more so than the negative ones that were there before. Becoming an actor or a singer by humming is a short term mental tool.) They work but the yips can return.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Siz
So much great advice. Yesterday I felt like never picking up a pool cue again (as if that would happen). Now I feel much more confident and I plan on doing some focused practice in the next few weeks instead of just banging balls, and definitely really work on doing the same thing each and every shot.
 
Here area few articles that others have found useful. They might help your game.

Many articles here by different authors.
http://www.sunburstselect.com/PBReview/PaArticles.htm

Specific articles that address the problems you wrote about

Competitive anxiety
http://www.sunburstselect.com/PBReview/Competitive_Anxiety.htm

Fake it till you make it.
http://www.sunburstselect.com/PBReview/FakeIt.htm

Learning mental control
http://www.sunburstselect.com/PBReview/LearningMentalControl.htm


Changing bad habits
http://www.sunburstselect.com/PBReview/ChangingBadHabits.htm
 
Last edited:
JoeW said:
Here area few articles that others have found useful. They might help your game.

Many articles here by different authors.
http://www.sunburstselect.com/PBReview/PaArticles.htm

Specific articles that address the problems you wrote about

Competitive anxiety
http://www.sunburstselect.com/PBReview/Competitive_Anxiety.htm

Fake it till you make it.
http://www.sunburstselect.com/PBReview/FakeIt.htm

Learning mental control
http://www.sunburstselect.com/PBReview/LearningMentalControl.htm


Changing bad habits
http://www.sunburstselect.com/PBReview/ChangingBadHabits.htm
Click to expand...

Excellent articles, thank you.
 
Beta Blockers are a class of drugs that block beta-adrenergic receptors in the body from being stimulated by substances such as adrenaline (epinephrine), which is a key agent in the sympathetic portion of the autonomic (involuntary) nervous system. Beta-blockers are used in conventional medicine to control hypertension, cardiac arrhythmia, angina pectoris, and migraine headaches.

By blocking the action of the sympathetic nervous system, beta blockers slow the heartbeat, lessen the force with which the heart muscle contracts, and reduce blood vessel contraction in the heart, brain, and throughout the body.

Archery and shooting event athletes have used beta-blockers to steady their nerves, and to reduce pulse related vibrations in the arm by slowing of the heart rate. The compounds are very effective, and the edge it gives the user over the non-user is often profound. Even if a competitor has butterflies before the competition, the beta-blocker can effectively prevent the adrenaline induced nervousness from impeding performance.

Beta Blockers are very specific for these "steady hands" sports, and are probably detrimental in other sports due to reduction of reaction time and strength. Examples of beta-blockers are Propanolol (Inderal), and Atenolol (Tenormin).

Talk to your doctor. Tell him, or her, that you have to give a number of speeches and presentations for work at a series of large meetings and you get very nervous and don't want to let the people see you trembling, shaking and sweating. Ask the doc if a beta blocker (more specifically-- propanolol) would help you out.

A 10mg propanolol taken about a half hour before the start of the tournament will take away all the shakes, all the tics, all the excess sweating.
It will not affect you in any other way (doesn't get people high in any way) and is even used by many surgeons to steady their hands. BTW, propanolol is non-addictive.

It works so well that it is a prohibited substance in world pistol, archery, and billiards competition.
 
This thread is killing me....its alllll about me...lol, in the past I thought people could see me shaking to the music...damn stick would pop right out of my bridge...an my hand was closed,or so I thought.could sware my cue danced all on its own..invisened the laugh all the while..drugs diffently did help,because pink elaphants kept getting in the way..then i'd be waiting for my turn at the table,ony to find out it was my turn..but seriously...there is some good info in this thread..none of us are alone when it comes to nerves..its about who settles in first an kepts the other guy there while not thinking a whole lot about what's going on...other then playing our game on the table...take it one rack at a time..when not at the table think about sand between your toes...that or watch your opponents errors...an ask yourself if your doing the same...keep it smiple so as your focus doesn't derail...there is only so much one can do...I like fake it.
 
Secaucus Fats said:
Beta Blockers are a class of drugs that block beta-adrenergic receptors in the body from being stimulated by substances such as adrenaline (epinephrine), which is a key agent in the sympathetic portion of the autonomic (involuntary) nervous system. Beta-blockers are used in conventional medicine to control hypertension, cardiac arrhythmia, angina pectoris, and migraine headaches.

By blocking the action of the sympathetic nervous system, beta blockers slow the heartbeat, lessen the force with which the heart muscle contracts, and reduce blood vessel contraction in the heart, brain, and throughout the body.

Archery and shooting event athletes have used beta-blockers to steady their nerves, and to reduce pulse related vibrations in the arm by slowing of the heart rate. The compounds are very effective, and the edge it gives the user over the non-user is often profound. Even if a competitor has butterflies before the competition, the beta-blocker can effectively prevent the adrenaline induced nervousness from impeding performance.

Beta Blockers are very specific for these "steady hands" sports, and are probably detrimental in other sports due to reduction of reaction time and strength. Examples of beta-blockers are Propanolol (Inderal), and Atenolol (Tenormin).

Talk to your doctor. Tell him, or her, that you have to give a number of speeches and presentations for work at a series of large meetings and you get very nervous and don't want to let the people see you trembling, shaking and sweating. Ask the doc if a beta blocker (more specifically-- propanolol) would help you out.

A 10mg propanolol taken about a half hour before the start of the tournament will take away all the shakes, all the tics, all the excess sweating.
It will not affect you in any other way (doesn't get people high in any way) and is even used by many surgeons to steady their hands. BTW, propanolol is non-addictive.

It works so well that it is a prohibited substance in world pistol, archery, and billiards competition.
Click to expand...


Come on now......do we really need to introduce drugs that "slow the heartbeat down" in order to shoot pool? What ever happened to working things out on your own. If someone were to take this and have it work once....addiction or dependence would most likely follow. Every time nerves came on, you'd be popping a pill. Not good advice in my opinion.
 
javi2 said:
Come on now......do we really need to introduce drugs that "slow the heartbeat down" in order to shoot pool? What ever happened to working things out on your own. If someone were to take this and have it work once....addiction or dependence would most likely follow. Every time nerves came on, you'd be popping a pill. Not good advice in my opinion.
Click to expand...

There is no such thing as addiction to beta blockers and the only people who benefit from them in competition are those people who have problems such as twitches, shakes, and sweating in anxiety producing situations.

Here is a link to an article that first appeared in The Atlantic back in 2008:

http://www.lankanewspapers.com/news/2009/1/37949_space.html
 
legend2004 said:
Well I've been home for a few weeks now, and of course I have been playing a lot of pool. Unfortunately though I'm having a lot of trouble keeping my nerves under control in games that matter. I've played in two tournaments, and both times I squeaked through my first match (it wasn't pretty though). Both of those times I could feel myself shaking in my first match. Then in both tournaments I lost the next two matches, and both times it was just me beating myself. It wouldn't be so frustrating if I was actually getting beat by a better player and not just me missing shots that I should make 9/10 times. I know that in the tournaments I'm playing in that I should definitely be one of the top players, but I just can't seem to show up. I have three weeks before the next tournament I'm playing in, and it's the biggest one I'll shoot in for quite awhile. Once again it's definitely a tournament that I can do well in if I would just settle down and play my game. Any suggestions on what to do the next 3 weeks so I can actually bring my best game to the table?
Click to expand...

Are you nervous or are you just pumped-up? Adrenaline makes you shake, and the source isn't necessarily anxiety.

I used to get the shakes in competition, but not because I was nervous. I got them because I wanted to storm out and tear my opponents head off. Consequently, I would see and feel myself shaking, become self-conscious, and then completely fall to pieces... If I had to guess, I'd say the mentality sprang from playing team sports in middle and high school.

Eventually, I figured out that I couldn't approach a pool match like I would a football game or street fight. I learned to shift paradigms and see pool as a creative, artistic endeavor instead of a violently athletic one.

The result: I'm now far more composed and productive at the table, and I don't end up leaving the place with a headache and covered in sweat.

Good luck.
 
JoeW said:
Here area few articles that others have found useful. They might help your game.

Many articles here by different authors.
http://www.sunburstselect.com/PBReview/PaArticles.htm

Specific articles that address the problems you wrote about

Competitive anxiety
http://www.sunburstselect.com/PBReview/Competitive_Anxiety.htm

Fake it till you make it.
http://www.sunburstselect.com/PBReview/FakeIt.htm

Learning mental control
http://www.sunburstselect.com/PBReview/LearningMentalControl.htm


Changing bad habits
http://www.sunburstselect.com/PBReview/ChangingBadHabits.htm
Click to expand...

Joe has really good stuff...it works!
 
Beta blockers are not legal in most serious international competitions. It is a performance enhancing drug. Eurotour pool comps have random doping tests for example, so players are extra careful about what they consume.
Players who use beta blockers to slow their heart rate down are cheats, plain and simple. Of course, if they have proof that they must use them for true medical reasons then it's a different story.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top