Dealing with stuff outside the table.

Ive seen that video of efren playing at his local place, I know its crazy, but I'm not used to that.

Besides Ive tried so hard blocking and not thinking about things that are happening around me, but it didn't work. I miss the simplest shots if something bothered me and its always 100% always is outside of the table, and Ive tried telling the person who is talkative near my table that its annoying me, but that didn't help because I already feel bad for telling him that, and already put me out of my pace and out of my game too.

Most thing that annoys me as I said, is when i'm down on a shot, and at my sight a person walks by, I duno how to think to this, it just gets to my head very easily, is there any method of erasing everything outside of the table and not look at it somehow? even if you're aware of potential distractions, the guy who will walk next to you, or infront of you will happen all of a sudden.

Try focusing all your attention on the contact point on the OB. I don't mean "look" at the OB...I mean laser-focus your vision on the exact contact point for a minimum of 2-4 seconds before you shoot. If you have to look at the CB, start the 2-4 seconds of OB over again. We're talking about intense focus here, much more than you've ever probably done before. It takes some practice, but it pays off.

We think our eyes have a wide angle of peripheral vision, but that's because we normally move our eyes around to take in more information. Your actual peripheral vision is really very narrow...and it narrows even more the longer you're focused on an object. If you're really focused on the contact point of the OB you won't notice Peter Pan dancing on the rails near the pocket on a straight-in shot.

You'll also find that you begin to hear less of the background noise. If your brain is soley focused on the contact point of the OB it is using up nearly all of its sensory power...there's basically nothing left for hearing anything short of a bomb going off.

The downside is that it's very tiring until you get used it. But like an athlete, the more you do it, the longer you're able to before tiring.
 
I know the absolute worst thing you can do if you have a problem with being distracted is to start making excuses like "I missed because that guy... Made me lose my focus"

You gotta take full responsibility like " I missed because I made the mistake of losing my focus"

And then work on it! Practice your focus like any other part of the game.
 
In a quieter environment, I tend to be more sensitive to away-from-the-table distractions.... in louder, more dynamic environments it is actually easier for me to stay focused.

My mind looks for reasons to become distracted, which is my major battle within myself....

For the OP, I recommend going to more bars and playing fun games in loud environments... it will help with your pool hall play.
 
Another technique, made easier with the new jukebox/cellphones app., is to play some music just before your game starts.

Jeff Livingston
 
There isn't much that bothers me when I'm on the table. I can pretty much tune everything out. The only thing that really really bothers me is super slow play. One guy I don't even play anymore is not only slow but he narrates everything that comes in to his head and everything he does on the table: "went a little too long" or "meant to leave it past the six." I feel like I'm playing pool with Vin Scully.
 
Thank you all for all the tips, and how you deal with this.

I would also love to hear if there's some secret technique other than practice on a loud environment and headphone music, like maybe something mental that you think to yourself to make it ok to play while being annoyed.

Maybe there is some secret out there that people uses for themselves, share it if you can. like psychologically what do you tell yourself in your head to make these things not annoy you, I'm not asking the guys that don't get annoyed by this, I'm asking the guys that get annoyed then they could recover while on a match in someway. cause I can't seem to recover afterwards, I stay fixated on the idea that I'm annoyed and I will start missing everything.
 
Thank you all for all the tips, and how you deal with this.

I would also love to hear if there's some secret technique other than practice on a loud environment and headphone music, like maybe something mental that you think to yourself to make it ok to play while being annoyed.

Maybe there is some secret out there that people uses for themselves, share it if you can. like psychologically what do you tell yourself in your head to make these things not annoy you, I'm not asking the guys that don't get annoyed by this, I'm asking the guys that get annoyed then they could recover while on a match in someway. cause I can't seem to recover afterwards, I stay fixated on the idea that I'm annoyed and I will start missing everything.

I have something like that.....

My friend CONSTANTLY sharks me as we practice. He doesn't even know he's doing it. I used to get mad and frustrated and one day I decided, instead of CHOOSING to allow it to harm my game, I'd use it as a tool for overcoming distractions.

Whenever someone sharks me or I'm distracted, I say a silent, "Thank you, Steve for making me shark-proof." Now, a simple, "Thanks, Steve," works most times. I say it and smile sometimes...it's a real trip, man!

But it works.

Jeff Livingston
 
I have tried to get better about this and playing on an in-house league with teammates who are kind of chatty has helped. I have gotten used to acknowledging jokes or little comments without it taking me out of my rhythm too much.

About the only thing that still tweaks me out is when my opponent offers up unsolicited shot advice and then comments on how the shot turned out each time. I actually snapped a couple of weeks ago, turned around and told him to "shut the f up". That seemed to address that but it still threw me off a little. I think once I get to where that doesn't throw me off I'll be pretty good in that area.

I also do drills at home with the TV on to try and make sure I can switch back and forth between external distractions and focusing on my shot which I believe has helped as well.
 
When you are really focused & in 'The Zone'... your Mother, Sister, Girlfriend, Wife or Daughter could be being raped on the next table & screaming your name for help & you would not even notice.

It's about Pure Focus. I've actually been in The Zone more when I was playing team leagues, as I absolutely did NOT want to let my teammates down.

You need to find something that will motivate you to stay focused. When you find out what real focus is & you get there, nothing will bother you.

And or but...IF something does bother you after you've been in The Zone you'll know that your game has just changed & you will play a bit differently until you slip back into that Zone of Pure focus...if you can.

I've found fear to be a good motivation for me to stay focused. I guess it boils down to fear of me messing up & fear of me losing because I messed up.

You need to find whatever it is, for YOU, that will motivate & make YOU stay focused.

One thing I do, is I never, & I mean never take my eyes from off of the table AND I am always thinking about something on the table. The second part helps with not hearing things around me. I may actually hear them but they are just unrecognisable background noise because my mind is engaged.

You may want to use a chant or a mantra to say to yourself over & over again. Maybe something like, 'Baby needs a new pair of shoes.' or whatever.

It's not always an easy thing to find & even a more difficult thing to keep, but... it does seem to be a vital ingredient to playing really well.

Good Luck with finding YOUR solution & Best Wishes to You & Yours,
Rick
 
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Thank you all for all the tips, and how you deal with this.

I would also love to hear if there's some secret technique other than practice on a loud environment and headphone music, like maybe something mental that you think to yourself to make it ok to play while being annoyed.

Maybe there is some secret out there that people uses for themselves, share it if you can. like psychologically what do you tell yourself in your head to make these things not annoy you, I'm not asking the guys that don't get annoyed by this, I'm asking the guys that get annoyed then they could recover while on a match in someway. cause I can't seem to recover afterwards, I stay fixated on the idea that I'm annoyed and I will start missing everything.

A good and consistent pre-shot routine is helpful.

Noise does not bother me, I could play if a rap group was banging away in the background (I would not like it but can zone it out), bad Karioke is a bit harder to zone out but is also not too hard to handle. I have a set, pre-shot, routine that seems to turn background noise off and allows me to fully focus. Deliberate attempts to shark must be dealt with as needed.

The noise that bothers my ability to focus is when my opponent starts, or tries to start a conversation with someone while I am at the table. I also do not like it when a supporter of my opponent talks in a louder voice than they have been talking in when I am about to shoot. In both instances it is disrespectful and intended to throw off your game. In either case, when it first happens, I stand up, chalk my cue and look at them and say, “Let me know when you’re finished talking so I can continue.” That usually settles it.

A while back I had my opponent walk into the crowd and start a loud conversation just as I was getting in position to stroke. I stopped, asked him to return to the table and be quiet while I played. He stormed back, got in my face and said, ”This is bullshit, I can talk to who I want when I want. I think your full of shit, can you understand that?” I do not get thrown off easily and did not in this case, I simply, and calmly said, “I can understand it in both official languages (in Canada we have French and English). You can say it as loud as you want and as many times as you want but that doesn’t make what you are trying to pull right. Show some respect for the game and for yourself.” He turned to the people watching for support, got none but still decided to try to intimidate one more time. I simply said, “I’m surprised that someone of your skill level would try this but I’ve been wrong before.” Turned back to the table, focused for all my worth and missed the shot. I was ok with it and, candidly, would have been ok with it if I had chosen to take the shot when he was talking and I was distracted. I always have felt that if you take a shot when you are distracted it is on you not the distracter as you have the choice to stop and address it.

As for people walking around, normal traffic has no effect on me. Most people around the tables when we play are players and they have respect for the people shooting. If someone walks past I take it as they did not notice that someone was shooting; they would have to be almost touching the table to break my focus once I am down on the shot.

A consistent pre-shot routine helps to get in, and maintain, focus.
 
I would also love to hear if there's some secret technique other than practice on a loud environment and headphone music, like maybe something mental that you think to yourself to make it ok to play while being annoyed.

Maybe there is some secret out there that people uses for themselves, share it if you can. like psychologically what do you tell yourself in your head to make these things not annoy you.

The problem with "something mental that you think to yourself" or "tell yourself in your head to make these things not annoy you" is that you're layering one distraction on top of another distraction, hoping they cancel each other out. They won't; now you'll just have two distractions. Those non-solutions actually focus your attention more on the distraction and your feelings about the distraction.

You need to laser-focus on the shot so that your mind has no space left for other visual or audio distractions. You're "in the zone" where nothing exists except you and the table. Bottom line is that you have this problem because you're easily distracted (I am too); adding another distraction like "tell myself that the distraction isn't really distracting" just gets you further away from table (and closer to the distraction).

But developing laser-focus isn't as easy as "something mental that you think to yourself". You have to practice laser-focus for hours in a non-distracting, non-competitive environment so it becomes second nature just like your stroke.
 
The hardest one to deal with is when someone walks in front of you while your shooting but if your worried about all this then in my opinion your not really focused on the game. This is daily stuff that happens at a bar/APA. You have to figure out a way to just take your focus to the table and nothing else. You and the table..... Thats it.
 
Our team just quit our home bar because the table was in the atrium where the floor is not stable. When fat people came into the bar, the foot end of the table would move slightly up and down.

Try fading THAT!

We moved to a new bar, starting this Thursday. That's one solution.

Jeff Livingston
 
Thank you guys, there are some pretty useful comments, I'm repping everybody, much love <3
 
I'm going to throw out something that's a little weird and I expect some will shoot it down.

About a year ago, I changed to looking at the cue ball last instead of the object ball. Once I've gotten my aiming point, set myself into position and make sure I'm aiming at the correct spot, I focus totally on the exact spot on the cue ball I want the cue tip to hit. Once I'm comfortable and clear on that point, I make my last stroke, pause, and shoot. I try to hold my eyes still so that I see the cue ball struck and then the shaft come through my bridge before looking up at the shot. (I recognize this goes against the prevailing method.)

The results include, increase in ball pocketing (I've gone up about 40 points on the cue skills challenge to an average of 445 per 50 racks) better shape on my next shot, and less likely for distractions to get me as my field of focus is so much smaller. I just don't see people in the background any more.

If you don't want to switch to this, make one last look at the cue ball a little longer and then switch to the object ball for about 3/4 of a second; that's long enough for your eyes to focus. Then pull the trigger.

I suggest trying it in practice and see if it works.

Brian in VA
 
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