Choking

[kersje]

Prolly some people have this problem too, choke on the last of last 2 balls... only happens to me in tournements, play good till the last 2 balls sighs, i do mostly stand up again and to the routine again but then again i still miss it... someone have any advice on this to prevent choking

 

[ScottW]

My issue with choking like that usually has to do with running several balls and getting to that point. I used to be a much faster shooter than I am now - and when I start running, I tend to revert back to my old speed as the run progresses. First shot is nice and slow, second nice and slow, third a little faster, fourth a bit faster yet, etc. etc.

I know I do this, but I keep on doing it, because I'm in the middle of a run and I'm not making myself just STOP and do a mental reset. It's one of my main problems right now.

 

[BVal]

Prolly some people have this problem too, choke on the last of last 2 balls... only happens to me in tournements, play good till the last 2 balls sighs, i do mostly stand up again and to the routine again but then again i still miss it... someone have any advice on this to prevent choking

Try and shoot them just like any other ball. One thing you could try (if playing 9 ball) is put the 8 and 9 on the table and just shoot them over and over at all different positions. Just throw them out and knock 'em down. I am guessing that you are thinking something different when you get down to the last two balls like "I hope I don't miss" or "I always choke on the last two balls". If either of these are true or any thoughts like them. Replace them with positive thoughts like I am going to make this ball or something along those lines. I am sure there will be many more suggestions - many better than mine. JMO

BVal

 

[Pushout]

Try and shoot them just like any other ball. One thing you could try (if playing 9 ball) is put the 8 and 9 on the table and just shoot them over and over at all different positions. Just throw them out and knock 'em down. I am guessing that you are thinking something different when you get down to the last two balls like "I hope I don't miss" or "I always choke on the last two balls". If either of these are true or any thoughts like them. Replace them with positive thoughts like I am going to make this ball or something along those lines. I am sure there will be many more suggestions - many better than mine. JMO

BVal

I like this and have done it myself. I didn't have this problem in tournaments, but did have it gambling with a retired bookie of my acquaintance. I was giving him the 8 and was leaving him the 8 or 9 almost every game, playing races to 7. I finally quit playing him for about two years. I walked in one day and he asked me to play, as he did every day. I told him to get his cue. He ran to his locker. I left him the 8 the first game. That was the only game he won. He never asked me to play again. We were good friends before and after those two years.
It's a mental thing, and shooting those two balls over and over may help.

 

[JesPiddlin]

My biggest problem is scratching when the other guy has only one ball or no balls left on the table. Of course, there's no reason to finish the game, then. I might have just shot all my balls off the table and I'll scratch on the last one. It doesn't seem to matter how hard I try not to scratch. I can make a shot that should never scratch and that blame white ball will do whatever it takes to find its way to a pocket!

 

[BVal]

My biggest problem is scratching when the other guy has only one ball or no balls left on the table. Of course, there's no reason to finish the game, then. I might have just shot all my balls off the table and I'll scratch on the last one. It doesn't seem to matter how hard I try not to scratch. I can make a shot that should never scratch and that blame white ball will do whatever it takes to find its way to a pocket!

Even if you leave the person two balls on the table - there IS a reason to finish. Anything can happen. My suggestion on your scratching is remember those shots that you scratch on and what you did. Go to the practice table and work on it. The cue ball doesn't do what it wants - it does what YOU want. When shooting the 9 (in 9ball or 8 in 8ball) always play for position - even though there are no other balls on the table for you to shoot afterwards.

BVal

 

[kersje]

Try and shoot them just like any other ball. One thing you could try (if playing 9 ball) is put the 8 and 9 on the table and just shoot them over and over at all different positions. Just throw them out and knock 'em down. I am guessing that you are thinking something different when you get down to the last two balls like "I hope I don't miss" or "I always choke on the last two balls". If either of these are true or any thoughts like them. Replace them with positive thoughts like I am going to make this ball or something along those lines. I am sure there will be many more suggestions - many better than mine. JMO

BVal

tried that, only play the 8 and 9 or only 9 but it just goes in, only happens in tournements(started playing a few couple months and i notice this) Teamcompetition starting soon and playing for first time, really want to get rid of this choking sigh

 

[BVal]

tried that, only play the 8 and 9 or only 9 but it just goes in, only happens in tournements(started playing a few couple months and i notice this) Teamcompetition starting soon and playing for first time, really want to get rid of this choking sigh

If you practice that and it still happens in tourney's then it is all in your head. You are talking yourself into missing.

BVal

 

[scottycoyote]

do you feel the pressure and choke, or do you just blow the last 2 balls?

if you feel pressure, check youre breathing, alot of people get stressed and hold their breath, which makes ur heart pound and ur hands shaky.......take deep breaths and concentrate on pushing all the air out of your lungs on the ehale (helps you relax and focus).

if you just blow the last 2 shots then its probably like Scottw was saying, as you progress thru the rack you shoot faster and faster which leads to mistakes. Make sure you have a solid preshot routine that you do on every single shot.

if its neither of these things then the hell if i know

 

[kersje]

If you practice that and it still happens in tourney's then it is all in your head. You are talking yourself into missing.

BVal

yah i kno its in my head, its a mental thing too i think, most of the time i just think to win win win then i choke

 

[BVal]

yah i kno its in my head, its a mental thing too i think, most of the time i just think to win win win then i choke

You aren't sercretly DCP are you?

BVal

 

[kersje]

what where who is DCP? lol

 

[BVal]

what where who is DCP? lol

Another member of the forum.

BVal

 

[kersje]

o why would i be him/her lol

 

[WesleyW]

Someone mentally ill

 

[BVal]

o why would i be him/her lol

It was just in reference to the original question and statements made throughout the thread - when your last comment started with "I know it's in my head, it's a mental thing too I think"
I was just having a little fun.

BVal

 

[Pushout]

yah i kno its in my head, its a mental thing too i think, most of the time i just think to win win win then i choke

Then try not thinking. It's not as easy as it may seem, I know. But if you play well enough to not think {hear in your head} what to do, try not thinking win, win, win. Try not thinking at all. Also, you could try George Fel's trick of focusing on the cue ball only after the shot is away. In other words, don't follow the object ball to the pocket with your eyes. It will either go or it won't, whether you follow it with your eyes or not. Watch the cue ball on it's way to position on the next shot. You may be surprised!

 

[rayjay]

Thinking may be the problem. Projecting ahead to the win, or dwelling on the last two-ball out you missed interferes with the present situation of just making the shot you're shooting. Think while you're standing, but don't think while you're down on a shot...any shot....right brain-left brain stuff.

 

[Inzombiac]

Sorry I had to...

 

[3andstop]

What I?m about to type may seem crazy to you, but a few paragraphs that may help can?t hurt.

First, trying to "not think" is the exact opposite of what any pool book or expert that addresses the mental side of the game tells you to do. You can?t not think, and if you try to not think, you are going to blow a mental fuse.

The Pleasures of Small Motions is one good book that comes to mind and I suggest it.

Here is a question. It is not a rhetorical question, but rather a question that will categorize your personality for your own understanding.

What would you do if someone came up to you in the pool room and shoved you on both shoulders and said something like, get out of my f?ing way and then walked on by you? Be honest to yourself with your answer. Would you be inclined to attack the person like a mad pit bull or back up a few steps and ask whats wrong and try to reason with them? If the latter, then perhaps some of your kind passive personality is getting in the way of your desire and need to win.

What I?m getting at is what I believe you need. I believe you need ?killer instinct.? You need to cultivate a driving desire to destroy, to win at all costs. You need your eye on the prize and enjoy winning at your opponents expense. You not want to merely enjoy it, you need it. You need to see the dejection in their face after the game. You need them to know who they just screwed with.

Hate the person, loath the person, try to grind his face into the table mentally. Don?t try to make them look like a fool on the table, MAKE them look like a fool.

After the game is over, you can retire Mr. Hyde, bring out your nicest Dr. Jekyll and thank the person kindly for a great game. AFTER THE GAME.