drills for weak mental game

royuco77

royuco77

Snoring Crono
Silver Member
i have this problem when playing weaker players. i kinda "zone out", just banging balls around, not taking the game seriously. i lose often playing this way and its frustrating, since i could have easily beaten them giving them 7-9 (when i'm playing seriously).

i was wondering if anybody has any drills for strengthening your mental game and focus at the table.
 
Concentration Exercises

I have the exact same problem from time to time. It usually starts by somebody saying "this dude's good" or "don't beat me too badly". [By the way, i'm not good at all, rather, the people who play the weekly tournament here suck] Then, I always feel like I have some legacy to live up to or something. I think the best way to remedy playing a weaker player is to stay positive and to engage in smalltalk with your opponent. I've found that a "happy-go-lucky" kind of attitude has given me far more wins than the "I can't let this ballbanger beat me" kind of philosophy.

Also, if your brain is going wild with "polluting" thoughts when you're shooting, try some concentration exercises. I'm not able to attach a PDF file here for some reason, but look back at my previous posts. I posted a short publication on concentration and concentration exercises that are highly recommended.
 
royuco77 said:
i have this problem when playing weaker players. i kinda "zone out", just banging balls around, not taking the game seriously. i lose often playing this way and its frustrating, since i could have easily beaten them giving them 7-9 (when i'm playing seriously).

i was wondering if anybody has any drills for strengthening your mental game and focus at the table.
Click to expand...

I used to have that problem so I started hanging out with a guy who had just the opposite attitude. I gleaned his attitude for myself, especially after he'd get mad at me for soundly beating him and then mindlessly losing to some amateur later on. He'd call it "lick pool." I'd beat him and then lose to some "lick-boys." He'd hated it so much that before long, I had myself hating it, too.

Now I approach lick-boys with a kill 'em attitude.

Oh, a good drill would be the DM Memorial Holiday Tournament located in its own forum area on AZ. Each shot becomes important in and of itself.

Jeff Livingston
 
20DollarCue said:
I have the exact same problem from time to time. It usually starts by somebody saying "this dude's good" or "don't beat me too badly". [By the way, i'm not good at all, rather, the people who play the weekly tournament here suck] Then, I always feel like I have some legacy to live up to or something. I think the best way to remedy playing a weaker player is to stay positive and to engage in smalltalk with your opponent. I've found that a "happy-go-lucky" kind of attitude has given me far more wins than the "I can't let this ballbanger beat me" kind of philosophy.

Also, if your brain is going wild with "polluting" thoughts when you're shooting, try some concentration exercises. I'm not able to attach a PDF file here for some reason, but look back at my previous posts. I posted a short publication on concentration and concentration exercises that are highly recommended.
Click to expand...
Here is the link...
Good reading!
 
20dollarcue's concentration article is certainly rigorous, but looks like it will help.

In the past, I found that my concentration and level of play (or killer instinct) against weaker players was improved because I always had something motivating me. First of all, I tried to never practice with weaker players... and when I did play them, it was in tournaments and league play. In both of those instances, I had the pressure to perform driving me to bash their heads in. I am a strong advocate of the learning benefits of league play (provided you are not ready for gambling) and recommend that route as long as you get on a team with serious players. Obviously, gambling will teach you how to stomp your opponents (regardless of their performance) as well.

Isn't it funny how difficult it is to beat weak players... they often don't get position on their next ball, so when they miss, you have their bad leave.
 
BillYards said:
20dollarcue's concentration article is certainly rigorous, but looks like it will help.

In the past, I found that my concentration and level of play (or killer instinct) against weaker players was improved because I always had something motivating me. First of all, I tried to never practice with weaker players... and when I did play them, it was in tournaments and league play. In both of those instances, I had the pressure to perform driving me to bash their heads in. I am a strong advocate of the learning benefits of league play (provided you are not ready for gambling) and recommend that route as long as you get on a team with serious players. Obviously, gambling will teach you how to stomp your opponents (regardless of their performance) as well.

Isn't it funny how difficult it is to beat weak players... they often don't get position on their next ball, so when they miss, you have their bad leave.
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My friend and I analyzed this and we came up with this...

The reason why weak players miss and leave bad leaves for us to shoot is because....since they are playing for proper position, they have no idea where the cue will end up and therefore, it ends up where it's not suppose to.

Something like that.....
 
BillYards said:
Isn't it funny how difficult it is to beat weak players... they often don't get position on their next ball, so when they miss, you have their bad leave.
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So if a good player misses the two, but gets perfect shape for the three, that will make playing the two easier? I have heard this line before, but it doesn't carry much weight with me. I think it is more likely, a "tortoise and the hare" syndrome, that causes the better player to have a hard time.

Tracy
 
Get yourself a copy of THE PRO BOOK by Henning. You'll be delighted with his advice that's well based on good experience.
 
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Natural tendency....

I think that it may be a natural tendency to hold back against lesser players to either give them a chance and/or set them up to keep playing you.

The problem with it is that you sometimes hold back too much or at the wrong time and end up losing.
 
Jaden said:
I think that it may be a natural tendency to hold back against lesser players to either give them a chance and/or set them up to keep playing you.

The problem with it is that you sometimes hold back too much or at the wrong time and end up losing.
Click to expand...

Well put!...I used to ease up on lesser players to let them make some balls, or feel like they are in the match. Then, they catch a gear....cause they are playing great against a good player, and your scrambling to get out of your own trap!......

I never could find the "I'm gonna muderize em'" attitude, just not in my mental makeup. Maybe I need to find a better motivation to win.?....Gerry
 
My .02-

I think that part of the problem when you play a weaker player is that you expect to completely dominate them. Your expectations of your play go way up. And if you don't live up to them, you start getting frustrated. Every possible runout fills you with stress because you feel you should runout. You have no excuses for losing, so the pressure to win gets even greater.

Also, I think there is some validity to the idea that weak players often leave you bad when they miss. They blast into the balls, creating clusters, knocking in blockers, and so on. It can be very frustrating to play someone who isn't very good, especially on a bar table where the balls don't open up as much. At least on a large table, you can often get the balls opened up enough to runout on them.
 
Well personally it took me a couple of years to get over. I would be giving players the 8, when I should be giving them the 7 or more, and I would end up breaking even or losing. Then when I would play a strong player or maybe a player I wasnt suppose to beat, sometimes I would win. I had to mature as a person and get a new mindset. I also learned that it has a lot to do with how much heart you have towards the game and the cash. If you go out there and give 110% all the time then this will hardly ever happen. You also have to remember that even though these players may be under you, that doesnt mean that they cant hit a gear and win. So you have to shoot every shot, kick safe, kick, break, bank, and safety like its the match. You always want to build up a big cushion for yourself. Thats what seperates the A players from the B players and the B players from the C players.
 
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