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.
