i've been playing pool for 12 years or so and became a pretty decent player over the years...and i always had a very high winning percentage...i quit for 2 years and just recently started playing again and it seems like i just take losing to well now and can't make myself win...i've played a guy a few times now who i should be beating and i can't win...he's not playing better than me but i just can't finish him off after getting a 3 or 4 game lead in a set...i just find a way to give it to him...i used to have a fire in me and wouldn't let myself lose...ANY SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO GET THAT BACK?...thanks
forgot how to win????
- Thread starter straight8
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thats a tough one.....i have a guy i play too that on paper we are even or maybe Im a little better but it just seems like i end up on the losing end with him. Sometimes i think its the very fact that i SHOULD be beating him that holds me back a little. I make one dumb mistake here or there.......scratch on a break and he gets a blast on the 9 because of it.....some other kind of lapse in judgement and next thing you know youre down by 2 racks with one to go.
But im not sure a fire that wont let you lose is really what you want. One thing i took away from some of the psychological books on pool like "pleasures of small motions" is that you cant use something like fear......fear of losing, etc as a good solid motivator for your game. I seem to play my best pool when i keep in my head that i play it cuz i love it, its a fun game. I try to come to a table not with "i cant lose to this guy, or I have to beat this guy", instead i like to look at it as a big puzzle and how fun it wouldbe to solve the puzzle and get out in one inning.
You probably just need more time at the table to get yourself turned around, theres nothing like advancement to really fuel your desire to play better.
But im not sure a fire that wont let you lose is really what you want. One thing i took away from some of the psychological books on pool like "pleasures of small motions" is that you cant use something like fear......fear of losing, etc as a good solid motivator for your game. I seem to play my best pool when i keep in my head that i play it cuz i love it, its a fun game. I try to come to a table not with "i cant lose to this guy, or I have to beat this guy", instead i like to look at it as a big puzzle and how fun it wouldbe to solve the puzzle and get out in one inning.
You probably just need more time at the table to get yourself turned around, theres nothing like advancement to really fuel your desire to play better.