discouraged

poolplayer2093

poolplayer2093

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
You guys ever get tired of playing? i've been getting beaten so much you'd think i stole a government mule. when i do win i win small and when i lose i don' t lose big but it adds up ya know. i'm at the best a strong c player and i just can't come out ahead. i practice and everytime i try to gamble to assess how much a difference its made i can't put more than 3 balls together, it's not like i'm choking my game just falls apart and when it doesn't there's some horrificaly complicated lay of balls that id have to be efren reyes to get out.i used to be semi respectable but now it's like watching a monkey fu@@ing a football when i get to the table. just thought i'd vent i hope this gets better
 
practice shooting your shots and leaving angles and trust your line of aim. I use to think alittle more left or abit more right when I was down on the table to shoot. You need to trust what your eyes are seeing and stroke it with confidence. Try not leaving your shots short because then you have to bank or go all the way around the table for position again. practice using inside english, it opens up a whole new way of position.

You can do it !


Steve
 
thanks for the vote of confidence man. it just kills me because i used to hit 'em straight and i know the shots i know how to make them i just never hit 'em right when i'm playin.
 
here some helpful advice.you can beat these B players for sure! when your making several balls and you get out of postion, play a good safety. this will keep you in more games. I use to make 5 or 6 balls and then get out of postition and use to go for it on the harder shot and then miss because it was a low percentage shot. I noticed the better players would play a safety. you can run out on a foul just like all these great players.

Play more safes ! it will build your game and it keeps you in the games with better players for sure.

Steve Luskey
http://www.planet-pool.com/
 
I see some upncomers opt out of the safety play as well. Too often they go for a crazy shot instead of the easier safe.

Don't get too down on yourself about not playing well. You know you can do better, just see it as a phase and you'll come out the other side having learned something. While your in a funk think about learning something new about the game instead of focusing on not playing well.

Gerry
 
thanks again steve. i think the game well enough to keep up with these guys. i even kick alright too. it's just the high percentage shots that i keep missing. and the selling out all the time when i do. i think i'm just angry because i keep playing guys that're too much better than i am and i can't get any kind of spot. i even got one guy to come out and say it today " i don' t even play unless i know i'm going to win" the guy could spot me the 7 and the break and he won't even give me 1 game on the wire. then the table we're playing on you know what, now i might just be making excuesses for my lack of skill
 
hope I don't offend but . . .

I hope I don't offend but it does sound very much like you are choking from your posts. Not choking individual shots, going into a gambling match without confidence. Lack of confidence leads to a tentative stroke or poking with the cue. If you are really uneasy it ties up the muscles in your body making a clean stroke almost impossible.

Don't bet the rent, relax and go shoot. Everybody has been where you are at, one time or another.

Hu




poolplayer2093 said:
thanks again steve. i think the game well enough to keep up with these guys. i even kick alright too. it's just the high percentage shots that i keep missing. and the selling out all the time when i do. i think i'm just angry because i keep playing guys that're too much better than i am and i can't get any kind of spot. i even got one guy to come out and say it today " i don' t even play unless i know i'm going to win" the guy could spot me the 7 and the break and he won't even give me 1 game on the wire. then the table we're playing on you know what, now i might just be making excuesses for my lack of skill
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yep, all sounds familiar,, i also agree with more defensive play, when you know your missing certain shots play some defense, this also gets the average shooter frustrated when you hide them.. make sure you keep your head down on the shot. dont lift up till after the ball is hit and heading down the table.. keep praticing and dont get discouraged it happens to everone.. good luck
 
C players shouldn't gamble. That's my two cents. You don't want to go out into the real world naked...keep practicing, it'll come along.
 
You might be right on the cusp of moving to the next level. Often people get better when they just really get sick and tired of losing.

Are you really, really tired of losing yet or can you take some more?
 
Ok, for starters, I'm not going to tell you what you're physically doing wrong since I have yet to see you play. What's more, I'm not going to tell you to not gamble especially since I've been gambling at pool since I was 16 and I never thought twice about it.

I will say, I think you're putting too much pressure on yourself. You can't look at every gambling session as a defining moment for your game or as a measuring-stick. You have to play to play. You want to gamble? Gamble because you want their money. Improvement? You can't control that. You can influence it but that's about it. Just focus on what you need to do to make balls because that's what it takes to win games, that's what it takes to win sets, that's what it takes to get the cash. In six months, you can look back and think about whether or not you improved.

If you feel like you're getting burned out, take a break. Seriously, I think that's why God made movie theatres - for burnt-out pool players!
 
excellent advice here. I've never gambled at pool either, since my lack of knowledge and more importantly confidence often forces sell-outs, but I will tell you that ever since I started practicing safeties, my winning percentage has definitely increased. I'm an ok C player as well as I've been told, and I often play B or A level players to improve my game, but I find myself often imitating or "trying" to emulate their shots and THEIR patterns, much to dismay, because I have yet to play with THEIR skillset. When I'm on, I can shoot them lights out, but i can't imagine the pressure I'd feel if there were actually money on the line. :(
 
steveL75121 said:
here some helpful advice.you can beat these B players for sure! when your making several balls and you get out of postion, play a good safety. this will keep you in more games. I use to make 5 or 6 balls and then get out of postition and use to go for it on the harder shot and then miss because it was a low percentage shot. I noticed the better players would play a safety. you can run out on a foul just like all these great players.

Play more safes ! it will build your game and it keeps you in the games with better players for sure.

Steve Luskey
http://www.planet-pool.com/
Click to expand...
you are exactly correct.SAFETIES are so important when learning the game correctly.if you start playing safeties even if the shot is a medium percentage shot or you just dont feel confortable with that shot your game winning percentage will increase HUGE.
 
I just recently went through the same thing. My problem was i needed to stop thinking so much! I'm sure it's the same with you, after having so many bad days of pool i started to believe that's all i could do.
Get your confidence back, hell even if you have to pretend like you just played a great game. Do your preshot routine as normal and when you're down DON"T second guess your self. KNOW the shot's going in and TRUST it. Once i stoped worrying and over thinking and just got back to playing pool my game not only got back to where it was but has been improving ever since.
 
jimmy-leggs said:
you are exactly correct.SAFETIES are so important when learning the game correctly.if you start playing safeties even if the shot is a medium percentage shot or you just dont feel confortable with that shot your game winning percentage will increase HUGE.
Click to expand...

Learning is learning, try to get out unless you have a FOR-SURE safety option, or something stopping you from getting out. 9-Ball is an offensive game, safeties can help you win sometimes, but the bottom line is that you have to run out sooner or later.

Definately play better players, and if that takes playing for a pop, candybar, or a juke; do it. I'm just saying that you don't need to donate mad loot to get better or anything. Play in some local tournaments, it'll take a while to get over that nervousness...
 
Consider taking a break, seriously. Maybe 2 weeks or so of not playing. Helps you see things you didn't see before. I didn't play for 4 weeks due to a recent injury and feel like I haven't lost much at all. My stroke is a bit off but my eyes feel fine and I can get my feel back pretty quickly.

If you get in a routine of practicing the same amount week after week, month after month you're not going to see much improvement. You need to change some of the variables every now and then.
 
Pressure can change everything in sports, and it affects everyone. You just have to learn to manage it. It can certainly mess up a pool stroke. It sounds like you are saying that you are better than you play when you gamble. That sounds like a pressure issue. I would recommend developing a very consistent pre shot routine. Once you get over the ball, just focus on the routine, and that should help you get into stroke. It my take a few shots to really get there, but once you get going, it should help to relax you. Whatever shot you take, be confident that it is the right shot. If you are not, re-evaluate the shot. Also, if you are faced with a hard shot, just relax, and think that if you are going to lose, it is going to be with your best shot. Then get in to the pre-shot routine, and just let your stroke out.
 
poolplayer2093 said:
You guys ever get tired of playing? i've been getting beaten so much you'd think i stole a government mule. when i do win i win small and when i lose i don' t lose big but it adds up ya know. i'm at the best a strong c player and i just can't come out ahead. i practice and everytime i try to gamble to assess how much a difference its made i can't put more than 3 balls together, it's not like i'm choking my game just falls apart and when it doesn't there's some horrificaly complicated lay of balls that id have to be efren reyes to get out.i used to be semi respectable but now it's like watching a monkey fu@@ing a football when i get to the table. just thought i'd vent i hope this gets better
Click to expand...

poolplayer,

I think the thing you need to concentrate on is a solid, repeatable, straight stroke. Now, when you are not feeling any pressure, it is easy to stroke straight.

What I am talking baout is using some type of training to train your muscles to make a straight stroke, so your mind never comes into the equation. What I did was to practice stroking into a liquor bottle, one that is about 16 inches deep. Practice stroking at different speeds. Practice this for at least an hour a day, if you are serious about improving.

Trust me on this. I spent very little time at the C level, because I had a naturally straight stroke when I started, and worked hard to improve on it.

Also, I don't know if you do this, but try as hard as you can to avoid applying spin in order to make shots. Use spin for position only, do not use it to make shots. I have noticed even at this level, I have a tendency to fall back to spinning shots in rather than to get use to using center ball.

You need to find better players and watch them. No, I am not talking about B players. I am talking about the best in your area. Observe how they hit the ball. I swear, if I had done this when I began, it would have shaved a year off my learning curve.

I watched the good players play, and I noticed there was something "different" about the way their cue ball came off the object
ball. Now, I know what that was.. It was them using more stun shots to move the ball around the table. I tended to use more soft follow and inside english to get position.

I became really good at inside english, but it was the "standard" 9 ball position shots that were killing me. Because I did not know them well enough. I did not practice them, either.

There is a lot to be learned by watching the really good players. Also, the right type of practice is crucial if you want to improve.

Good luck!

Russ
 
Sometimes a little break can help with stuff like this. I'd gotten into a bit of a rut and then one day at work I slipped and fell on wet oily concrete landing right on my shooting elbow. It was cold that day so I had on a sweat shirt and a jacket and the skin was not broken. As I laid there on the concrete in pain the first though was "OMG my arm is broken or might be seriously messed up and I won't be able to play anymore!" Well it turns out I just had a severe bone bruise and I was able to go back to work and play within a few days but it was painful. I worked thru it though and now because of a forced break from playing almost every day my hunger and desire came back and my game has jumped a level. I think you should take a small break...go back in starting with drills...then some games for fun with friends for a bit. Then start back up with the cash games. Might just fix ya up. Good luck:)
 
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