***Epiphany Alert*** Shooting All Shots the Same

B

BasementDweller

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I’ve read this on AZ a lot and it’s all too often said that you need to give each and every shot the same level of attention. Or another way that this is said is, “you need to treat each shot, like it’s a difficult one.” Or something to that effect.

This sort of thinking has never resonated with me. I’ve always thought they we only have a finite amount of mental energy and if we give each and every shot the same level of attention than we are going to be mentally drained after just a few racks. So, this would mean that you need to really bear down when necessary and just let loose a bit when possible. Right??? I’m not so sure.

Well, just a minute ago I was thinking about this and it dawned on me. This whole concept is entirely backwards. Instead of treating all the easy shots as if they are difficult ones, I think the goal should be to treat all the hard shots as if they are easy! “This is heretical!” The critics will say, but think about it for a second. What does Efren do? What does Ronnie O’Sullivan do? Name your own great player. They see the shot, decide what needs to be done, accept their fate, and shoot the shot. That’s it. When great players are playing really well, I think they treat the hard shots like they are easy.

Now, I’m not trying to be ridiculous here. I’m not saying that if you have an easy shot on the money ball, that you should just get down on the shot and one stroke it into the rail. What I am saying is, when you see someone get down on an easy shot and just take a couple of practice strokes and fire it in, your response shouldn’t be that this player should have taken more warm up strokes as if the shot was more difficult. Instead, maybe your response should be - that this player needs to learn how to approach the more difficult shots in this same carefree, confident manner.

What do think?
 
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BasementDweller said:
I’ve read this on AZ a lot and it’s all too often said that you need to give each and every shot the same level of attention. Or another way that this is said is, “you need to treat each shot, like it’s a difficult one.” Or something to that effect.

This sort of thinking has never resonated with me. I’ve always thought they we only have a finite amount of mental energy and if we give each and every shot the same level of attention than we are going to be mentally drained after just a few racks. So, this would mean that you need to really bear down when necessary and just let loose a bit when possible. Right??? I’m not so sure.

Well, just a minute ago I was thinking about this and it dawned on me. This whole concept is entirely backwards. Instead of treating all the easy shots as if they are difficult ones, I think the goal should be to treat all the hard shots as if they are easy! “This is heretical!” The critics will say, but think about it for a second. What does Efren do? What does Ronnie O’Sullivan do? Name your own great player. They see the shot, decide what needs to be done, accept their fate, and shoot the shot. That’s it. When great players are playing really well, I think they treat the hard shots like they are easy.

Now, I’m not trying to ridiculous here. I’m not saying that if you have an easy shot on the money ball, that you should just get down on the shot and one stroke it into the rail. What I am saying is, when you see someone get down on an easy shot and just take a couple of practice strokes and fire it in, your response shouldn’t be that this player should have taken more warm up strokes as if the shot was more difficult. Instead, maybe your response should be - that this player needs to learn how to approach the more difficult shots in this same carefree, confident manner.

What do think?
Click to expand...

Several years ago, I was playing in the BCA team event. I can't remember exactly how but I left myself a long and fairly tough shot on the 8. There was really nothing to think about so I went right into it, got down and smacked the ball in the hole. The best player on our team immediately said to me, "I love how you did that. There was no reason to dwell about it."

I think, to a certain extent you're right. The way you extend your comfort zone is by treating the hard shots like they're easy. Let go. I think you should still take your time in many instances, especially if you may have options, you should give yourself a moment to realize those options but when you're in a situation where the decision is simple, like you said, you're best off accepting your fate (mean, accepting the fact you may miss) and just give that cueball a good hit.
 
BasementDweller said:
I’ve read this on AZ a lot and it’s all too often said that you need to give each and every shot the same level of attention. Or another way that this is said is, “you need to treat each shot, like it’s a difficult one.” Or something to that effect.

This sort of thinking has never resonated with me. I’ve always thought they we only have a finite amount of mental energy and if we give each and every shot the same level of attention than we are going to be mentally drained after just a few racks. So, this would mean that you need to really bear down when necessary and just let loose a bit when possible. Right??? I’m not so sure.

Well, just a minute ago I was thinking about this and it dawned on me. This whole concept is entirely backwards. Instead of treating all the easy shots as if they are difficult ones, I think the goal should be to treat all the hard shots as if they are easy! “This is heretical!” The critics will say, but think about it for a second. What does Efren do? What does Ronnie O’Sullivan do? Name your own great player. They see the shot, decide what needs to be done, accept their fate, and shoot the shot. That’s it. When great players are playing really well, I think they treat the hard shots like they are easy.

Now, I’m not trying to be ridiculous here. I’m not saying that if you have an easy shot on the money ball, that you should just get down on the shot and one stroke it into the rail. What I am saying is, when you see someone get down on an easy shot and just take a couple of practice strokes and fire it in, your response shouldn’t be that this player should have taken more warm up strokes as if the shot was more difficult. Instead, maybe your response should be - that this player needs to learn how to approach the more difficult shots in this same carefree, confident manner.

What do think?
Click to expand...
Sounds very reasonable.
 
BasementDweller said:
I’ve read this on AZ a lot and it’s all too often said that you need to give each and every shot the same level of attention. Or another way that this is said is, “you need to treat each shot, like it’s a difficult one.” Or something to that effect.

This sort of thinking has never resonated with me. I’ve always thought they we only have a finite amount of mental energy and if we give each and every shot the same level of attention than we are going to be mentally drained after just a few racks. So, this would mean that you need to really bear down when necessary and just let loose a bit when possible. Right??? I’m not so sure.

Well, just a minute ago I was thinking about this and it dawned on me. This whole concept is entirely backwards. Instead of treating all the easy shots as if they are difficult ones, I think the goal should be to treat all the hard shots as if they are easy! “This is heretical!” The critics will say, but think about it for a second. What does Efren do? What does Ronnie O’Sullivan do? Name your own great player. They see the shot, decide what needs to be done, accept their fate, and shoot the shot. That’s it. When great players are playing really well, I think they treat the hard shots like they are easy.

Now, I’m not trying to ridiculous here. I’m not saying that if you have an easy shot on the money ball, that you should just get down on the shot and one stroke it into the rail. What I am saying is, when you see someone get down on an easy shot and just take a couple of practice strokes and fire it in, your response shouldn’t be that this player should have taken more warm up strokes as if the shot was more difficult. Instead, maybe your response should be - that this player needs to learn how to approach the more difficult shots in this same carefree, confident manner.

What do think?
Click to expand...


Not a bad thought, IMO. But a lot of it depends on your skill level and the repertoire of shots you have. And so when the shots are in that zone of comfort it's OK to take them in stride.

Of course at some point, there are those shots that you don't know or are not comfortable with and you need to still give them due attention. My experience has been that many shots appear easy, say mild cut shots to a side pocket. But when you start going for different spins and speeds for position, the degree of difficulty goes up and you can't lose sight of that.

I think part of the trick is to put in the time and do the reps so that when you approach most shots your wetware can evaluate and process the requirements of the shot and instruct your body parts what to do for successful execution. As time goes on, what is actually a complicated process becomes quick and second nature to the point of the player at least appearing to be carefree and confident.

Lou Figueroa
 
Where I disagree is about the mental "energy" concept. I think you use more energy when you're constantly changing gears (easy shot, hard shot, hard shot, easy shot....) than when you simply approach each shot the same way. It's the routine of "the same way" that conserves energy.

I agree that there's no advantage to obsessing over a difficult shot, although some shots simply take longer to line up (3-rail kick vs. stop shot).
 
I have to take my time on each shot. When I rush or take the shot for granted I blow the game. I try to shoot all shots the same.
 
It took me years to change my mindset when I first started out. I would think to myself, "Don't scratch, don't scratch", and I would more times that not, instead of thinking "make the shot". When you change your mindset, you then only have to worry about what you need to do not to scratch assuming you will make the shot. Really made a difference for me.
 
Maintain a pace.

For me it is important to find and maintain my pace. There have been times I have tryed to play too slow or sometimes too fast.

I might have to spend a little more time on a difficult shot when I am addressing the ball and making my plan. Once the plan is made and I have my point of aim, I get down into my stance and should follow the same sighting routine at the same pace for every shot.

I do every step in my pre shot routine the same even for a hanger. For me it is about discipline and requires no more mental enery.:cool:
 
The best line of thinking is this. After you select your shot, you are no longer ALLOWED to label the shot as hard or easy. Instead, you have to put 100% of your effort into the task at hand. In other words we don't acknowlege difficulty, only effort. Give yourself every chance to win.
 
I also have had this thought, that 'bearing down' or focus or just actively aiming is mentally draining, and the tank can run dry.

I can't help burning extra mental gas on the tough ones, only because if I don't, I feel like I'm skipping steps and it adds a little extra fear of missing. I'd rather burn the gas than try to shoot with that nagging doubt.

But I very much like the philosophy of figuring out what the right shot is, then simply doing your best to execute it. The rest is just statistics and percentages playing out. As the saying goes, you don't think in the shooting position and vice versa. Once you committed to the plan you do your practice swings and hit it like any other ball, using your best guess on line of aim, tip placement, and speed.
 
Thanks for all the responses. I think there is something to this. I'm still thinking about it all....so look out - AZ could be in for some trouble before I'm done with this thread.

For those of you that say you follow the same PSR every time, does this include the same number of warm up strokes even?
 
BasementDweller said:
For those of you that say you follow the same PSR every time, does this include the same number of warm up strokes even?
Click to expand...
It does for me. It is also important to me to plan the exact cue ball placement on the game ball. Sometimes it is tempting to leave that out as I do not have another ball to play shape on. When I omit this step bad things can happen.
 
Chip Roberson said:
Every shot you take is , The Game Winning Shot,
Click to expand...

That's the mantra, that's sort of what's being taught around here, that's the idea that I'm questioning. Should you approach every shot as if it's the game winning shot, or should you approach every shot as if it's just another ball, going into another pocket?
 
Chris, now you are "getting it". I've said on here many times, there are no hard or easy shots. There are only makeable or not-makeable shots. This is just one of the advantages of using one of the reliable aiming systems. You no longer label shots. You spend your energy on position play, not aiming. All you have to do is decide if it's a shot you want to make, and then go through the same steps each and every time. It becomes nothing more than a very solid PSR that also happens to put you on the correct shot line. Using no more energy than whatever you do now to get down on the shot.

You also get the advantage of mentally staying on an even keel, so to speak. No ups and downs, just taking care of the task at hand. Same thing also applies to position play. Learn what stun or stop shots do, then add english according to one tip per diamond change from there. It's not perfect, nothing is. But, it is very strong and keeps one from "sweating" shots because you right away know going into it what you want to do, and if it is even feasible.
 
BasementDweller said:
That's the mantra, that's sort of what's being taught around here, that's the idea that I'm questioning. Should you approach every shot as if it's the game winning shot, or should you approach every shot as if it's just another ball, going into another pocket?
Click to expand...

Actually, both are right. Each shot should get the same amount of attention. In other words, one should never get sloppy just because the shot is easy. Also, one should not obsess over a shot because they labeled it "hard". Each shot is just a shot. You take the required amount of time to aim it properly and obtain the position you want off of it.
 
BasementDweller said:
Thanks for all the responses. I think there is something to this. I'm still thinking about it all....so look out - AZ could be in for some trouble before I'm done with this thread.

For those of you that say you follow the same PSR every time, does this include the same number of warm up strokes even?
Click to expand...

I have a fairly consistent routine, but I believe the routine is the result of doing all the important steps you need for a shot. You could treat any one of these steps as optional, but if you skip it... it might bite you in the ass. So I usually just do every step every time, if I'm bearing down.

I do not agree with the practice of counting warmup strokes. If you happen to comfortably fall on the same number of strokes for most shots... great, no reason to mess with that. You might instinctively do six or whatever.

But in no way do you want to FORCE yourself to do six. If you ever don't feel ready to shoot, keep taking practice swings until you are ready to shoot. Stand up if necessary. You never want to rush yourself into the swing. Do it when it feels right, not when some arbitrary countdown ends.
 
BasementDweller said:
Thanks for all the responses. I think there is something to this. I'm still thinking about it all....so look out - AZ could be in for some trouble before I'm done with this thread.

For those of you that say you follow the same PSR every time, does this include the same number of warm up strokes even?
Click to expand...


I use a consistent PSR and find that when I'm "in the groove" I tend towards using about the same number of warm up strokes, though sometimes I might take an extra one or two. I think generally speaking a couple extra is better than a couple less.

Lou Figueroa
 
BasementDweller said:
Thanks for all the responses. I think there is something to this. I'm still thinking about it all....so look out - AZ could be in for some trouble before I'm done with this thread.

For those of you that say you follow the same PSR every time, does this include the same number of warm up strokes even?
Click to expand...

No, for me. Sometimes I'll shoot racks without taking any warmup strokes. It's not the number of strokes, it's what you do with those strokes.

For me, I am making sure my stroke is going dead straight down the line it is on. When in stroke, that may be 2-3 or none. When first starting, or having to shoot in an awkward position, it may very well be more. Essentially, the gun shouldn't fire until the mind says it is ready to fire. It's not about a number, it's about being ready.
 
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