Does this happen to your game?

Blackball75

Blackball75

Blackball75
Silver Member
I joined an 8-ball league a few weeks back. Of course, the games are watched closely by all members of both teams at close quarters. I find this somewhat unnerving, and suffer from performance anxiety. While playing my league games, my heart speeds up, I sweat, I feel slightly weak, I get a slight tremor, and my muscles/joints tighten up. Even after my match is over I can still feel quite stressed and shaky.

I've no doubt this affects my game, as in the league my rating is a 3, while when playing non-observed/no-pressure off-hand games, I'm regularly beating, or at least holding my own against, level 4 and 5 players. The other week I beat a local 8-ball trophy winner quite comfortably.

I've considered beta-blockers, and I know some snooker players used to take them, but I notice that some posters on here think they represent an unfair advantage for the user. My doctor refuses to prescribe Valium as he says it's too habit-forming.

Does anyone else have this performance anxiety, where you play significantly better in games which are not observed, or which have no importance riding on them?

Has anyone here been able to overcome the kinds of symptoms and the kind of mindset that I have outlined above?

Feedback very welcome :)
 
A form of fear

You're just afraid of looking back in front of these people??? Or is it more than they're flagging you and forcing you to miss shots because they are around??


I know I feel the same way, but I actually get flagged, distracted, bothered and end up missing shots because my minds on the railbirds talking about how terrible my shape was, hearing that and listening to them distracted my focus from the shot I was on. My first plan and I still do this is that I take ginsing packets, whether they help or not is neither here nor there, but its just a way to [ mentally or physically whichever is true in this case] help me ignore the railbirds.....


Not to mention I heard a great piece of advice from a local legend before he died. "Remember son......Railbirds are railbirds cause they can't play a ****ing lick"
 
It takes time to gain the experience needed to keep your focus.

My suggestions:

- In the meantime just enjoy yourself the best you can and have fun.
- Develop a consistant pre-shot routine.
- If you are down about to shoot a shot and you start having a conversation with yourself in your head about anything (e.g., how to shoot the shot, someone else distracting you, etc.) just stand up and go through your pre-shot routine again before getting back down to shoot. Repeat as necessary.
- Focus just as hard on the easy shots and don't take anything for granted.
- As someone else here once posted, Irving Crane (an old time master) said to never show any weaknesses to your opponents.

After a while you will hopefully be able to block out all the distractions, find enjoyment from just the motions of playing the game and feed off the nervous energy that you have and use it to your advantage.
 
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I, too, am a newer player and suffer some of the same issues you have. Primarily, I have "rabbit ears", in that I seem to hear everything being said around the table, and of course that doesn't help one lick. I try and pick a point to stand away from the largest amount of people watching, when I'm not shooting. That helps some. (Of course that goes against my team captains wishes that I stand near him so he can discuss stuff with me between shots... he's gotten better about that lately, thankfully!)

I have read here, and seen folks wearing headphones, listening to an MP3 player while they play. I have yet to try it, but I plan on loading some stuff on an old cheapy player that my kids grew out of, and bring it along some night, just in case. I guess you would have to make extra sure to be always looking at your opponent in case they were to say something relative to the match. Some of the folks I've seen using them have both in their ears when they are shooting, and only one of them when they aren't shooting, the other dangling down. Just a thought...

I would think that ginseng would heighten senses, but perhaps that is me being uneducated. Personally, I use the herbal supplement Bud Light. (Just a couple, when playing matches. It actually gives me something to focus on between shots, and I make myself take small sips/swallows, so as to not get stupid quickly, and as a control mechanism. An outlet, for missing whatever shot caused me to be off table.)

Keep working on it. You'll eventually find some method that works for you. At least part of the time. I'm still looking for mine! :rolleyes:
 
Best advice I got when I was in that situation.... "The worse thing that can happen is losing the match, so just have fun."
 
I've always found that the best way to overcome any sort of performance anxiety is to focus all of my attention on something outside of myself; on performing an interesting task. In pool, for example, you could focus your attention on your opponent. Do a scouting report on him. Watch what he is doing and try to spot his weaknesses. Figure out what shots he is good at and what shots he is bad at. How is his ball speed? How well does he get shape, and so on. Then try to picture what patterns you might use to runout or what safeties you might play against someone like him. If you can become engrossed enough in those sorts of thoughts, you can sometimes forget about the people watching you because the game becomes more interesting to your mind than the people who are watching.
 
I just finished my first year in league, and I had the same problem for weeks. I figured that I would get over it eventually and I did. I had only been playing for a few months when I joined and I was a nervous wreck in the beginning.

Once you get stomped a few times, do some stomping of your own, lose a close one, win by the skin of your teeth, let your team down on the eight, and pick them right back up and run out on a guy, you will feel fine, it just takes time.
 
Pleasures of Small Motions

Its all explained in the book....Pleasures of Small Motions, Bob Fanchers, Ph.D. I had the same problem and bought the book based on the recommendations of Az'ers in another post here. You'll understand after you read chapters 9 through 12. I played league last Tuesday and shot there lights out.

jerry
 
For me, it has to do with performing in a team setting as opposed to performing for just yourself. It happens to alot of people. What you do not only affects you, it affects your team and that can be unsettling.

Give it time. Play as many matches as possible and set goals for yourself in those matches. Maybe set a goal to play a certain amount of safeties per rack, or win 3-1...or 3-0...anything to get your mind on something other than flat out winning for the team.

It'll lessen over time. Just keep putting yourself in team situations and you'll eventually get used to playing for a team as opposed to only playing for yourself.
 
It is all about focus

Here are two articles that several others have found useful.

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

http://www.sunburstselect.com/PBReview/LearningMentalControl.htm

The easiest solution is to focus on one thing at a time such as the cue ball, then the shot line then … Place all of your concentration on one thing at a time and the room and the people will soon become the background noise that is easily ignored. This is how most people handle it for each shot.

Hope that helps
 
What you experience is called stage fright, like actors before entering the stage. Here are two things that'll help you:

- Tell yourself that you don't give a flying ****, that the people around you are cretins, that if you lose the game, so what it's just minor league, and that after the game, you'll get to go back home and see your loving family. I know, it's easier said than done, but it really works.

- Once small shot of your favorite strong liquor before playing to combat the physical effects of nerves. I'm not advocating booze here, nevertheless alcohol in small quantity is a strong anxiolythic and will calm you down in a hurry. If you overdo it, you'll get intoxicated and you'll play like crap though. For comparison, I never drink at all, I'm a fairly big guy, and 2 or 3cc of Armagnac is enough to smooth things out before the game starts. That's 0.1oz, so it's not much.
 
answer

Blackball75 said:
Thanks. What do you mean by "ginseng packets"?
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Ginseng packets are basically a pack of three pills that you can take daily, once a week however often you decide. I dont have a bag of em around at the moment, but they are Over The Counter energy/memory/focus enhancers that use ginseng root and various other plant extracts, as well as a bit of caffeine to basically force your mind into being more alert than normal.


As I said this is something I do personally. I get a box of 25 or 30 packets for like 15 bucks because I work at a store where they are sold.
These are non addictive and probably dont do a whole lot, but it helps out. Check your local pharmacy or GNC lab. This won't ever make you forget or ignore stress. it just helps you focus the small doubts out and focus on the real trouble on the table.

They actually suggest that older folks and people having memory issues take these as it's supposed to help.

I'm not suggesting that anyone turn to drugs or any other " crutch " but honestly I take them for the physical and pyschological boost that occurs. Whether it's imagined or true I generally tend to ignore the railbirds more than when I dont take them. They allow me to basically zero in on what im thinking and try to exectue as opposed to second guessing.


Sorry i didnt go into more detail the first time.
 
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I have found that the amount of sleep/rest I have gotten prior to a match has a great influence on how well I can concentrate. I always perform better if I make sure that I am fairly well rested before a tournament or big match. Also, try to give yourself plenty of time to get to your league match. Rushing over to pool league after dealing with work, the spouse, traffic or anything else that irritates you will increase your stress levels and make concentrating more difficult.
 
Blackball75 said:
I joined an 8-ball league a few weeks back. Of course, the games are watched closely by all members of both teams at close quarters. I find this somewhat unnerving, and suffer from performance anxiety. While playing my league games, my heart speeds up, I sweat, I feel slightly weak, I get a slight tremor, and my muscles/joints tighten up. Even after my match is over I can still feel quite stressed and shaky.

I've no doubt this affects my game, as in the league my rating is a 3, while when playing non-observed/no-pressure off-hand games, I'm regularly beating, or at least holding my own against, level 4 and 5 players. The other week I beat a local 8-ball trophy winner quite comfortably.

I've considered beta-blockers, and I know some snooker players used to take them, but I notice that some posters on here think they represent an unfair advantage for the user. My doctor refuses to prescribe Valium as he says it's too habit-forming.

Does anyone else have this performance anxiety, where you play significantly better in games which are not observed, or which have no importance riding on them?

Has anyone here been able to overcome the kinds of symptoms and the kind of mindset that I have outlined above?

Feedback very welcome :)
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you have to use it to pump you up!
 
excitement

Your out there taking risks. Part of that comes with your reactions to it.
That's the real pleasure of it. The high. Learn to accept it. Pros get the same feelings. Their junkies for it. When you no longer feel that feeling , find another game , or raise the bet, or play a bigger tournament, or go into a strange poolroom and ask if anybody wants to play some pool. You will grow to consider it a partner in your pool adventures and 30 years from now , when you tell the stories, you will smile , remembering how pumped you
were.:thumbup2:
 
Personally, I just take the beta blockers :yikes:.




FWIW, they are prescribed beta blockers for my heart condition. I recently found out that beta blockers should be taken at night. This works out perfectly to calm me down before league matches.

I don't recommend taking any drug without first seeking medical advice and even then I don't think I'd take anything just to make my pool game better. Unless, of course, it was a totally natural/unharmful medication.

Maniac
 
I'm use to playing in bars with a lot of noise and people walking in front of my shot and bumping my cue. If someone gets close enough to hit him hard in the nuts with butt of the cue on my backswing...he was too close. Johnnyt
 
Good Advice

Blackball75 said:
I joined an 8-ball league a few weeks back. Of course, the games are watched closely by all members of both teams at close quarters. I find this somewhat unnerving, and suffer from performance anxiety. While playing my league games, my heart speeds up, I sweat, I feel slightly weak, I get a slight tremor, and my muscles/joints tighten up. Even after my match is over I can still feel quite stressed and shaky.

I've no doubt this affects my game, as in the league my rating is a 3, while when playing non-observed/no-pressure off-hand games, I'm regularly beating, or at least holding my own against, level 4 and 5 players. The other week I beat a local 8-ball trophy winner quite comfortably.

I've considered beta-blockers, and I know some snooker players used to take them, but I notice that some posters on here think they represent an unfair advantage for the user. My doctor refuses to prescribe Valium as he says it's too habit-forming.

Does anyone else have this performance anxiety, where you play significantly better in games which are not observed, or which have no importance riding on them?

Has anyone here been able to overcome the kinds of symptoms and the kind of mindset that I have outlined above?

Feedback very welcome :)
Click to expand...


Make sure you read the advice from "Joliet Mike" he states everything that I would tell you.
Anyone who tells you that Leagues are not tough., does not know what they are talking about. There is so much pressure in league matches b/c you are playing for your Team & deep down you do not want to disappoint your friends.
You will over come your anxiety within time. It might take a few seasons of league play but you will become more & more relaxed over time. Your game will get better.
Good luck & keep us posted on your progress.
 
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