TOTTI said:
Hi every1
I LOVE pool and i'm practicing every day and i'm very insist to be a pro in the future >> not a pro I know it's impossible to be a pro even after 100 years 
BUT I want in some years to play very very good ..
BUT
When i'm practicing I feel very very very very very frustrated :frown:
I say to myself even when i can pocket balls and run out professionally I STILL need to master safety shots & bank shots & kick shots that i thinks it's impossible to master 
please i need some advices and if someone felt like me when he is a beginner how he passed that feeling ?
TOTTI:
That is the sheer *beauty* of our wonderful sport -- that no matter how good you are (or think you are), you come across something that makes you realize just how little you know.
I liken playing pool to playing a musical instrument (I personally do both -- I play six-string bass guitar). After being able to play all the rock and R&B classics, I thought I was a pretty good bass player. That is, until I got to see Chris Squire (of "Yes") play a classically-influenced free-form bass solo in the song "Tempus Fugit" (which blew my mind in the 80s when I went to a Yes concernt), and then later, when I watched Jeff Berlin play the astonishing impromptu solos that he's known for. Each time -- whether Chris Squire or Jeff Berlin or others -- I felt very depressed with my abilities, and felt like "smashing my fingers with my own bass" (as Geddy Lee of Rush once said when he witnessed Jeff Berlin play for the first time).
Equating this with pool/billiards, I went through those same phases with witnessing the play of Willie Mosconi, then Steve Mizerak, then Earl Strickland (the Earl of old when he didn't have so much of the attitude problems he has today). And then there was this "Efren" guy who pulled out shots I'd never see when at the table, and pull them off with apparent ease. I wanted to "smash my fingers with the butt-end of my cue" the first time I saw Efren play.
But you know something? Each time I forced myself through these times, learned that I have a long way to go, and convinced myself that it's not a bad thing -- that I still have most of the road, unexplored, ahead of me. And that excited me.
So be a sponge -- absorb all that you can, open your mind up to other games (e.g. carom games, 3-cushion billiards) and try strange things like, oh, playing straight pool on a bar table. (You'll need to be friendly with the proprietor of your local pub/bar establishment, so he/she can unlock and take the panel out of the side of the table for you, so you can spot balls you scratch on, etc.) Do not limit yourself to 8-ball (or wose yet, 9-ball), thinking you want to "master" it before moving on to learning other games. Other games have the effect of forcing you to think in a way you'd not think when playing these more common games. For example, my table knowledge expanded exponentially the very first time I played 3-cushion billiards. After a while of playing that (under the tutelage of a more experienced player -- very important!), when I finally did step foot back into, oh, say, a game of 8-ball, I was surprised at how accurate my banks and kicking abilities had become. Your brain needs a challenge beyond the little voice in your head telling you to "practice this game over and over before moving on to a different type of game." Force yourself to play various other games, hopefully against stronger players, and WATCH THEM CAREFULLY. Not only watch the physical aspect of their game (e.g.: stance, bridge hand, foot position, stroking arm, grip, et al.), but more importantly, watch their shot selection. If in a game of 8-ball, watch what balls they shoot at, and why -- and then compare that with how you might've played that same pattern, and why it would be wrong or right. Ask questions. Read books. Rent/purchase/watch DVDs of matches (Accu-Stats is a *wonderful* thing!).
And most of all, don't be so hard on yourself. You've only been playing a year. I've been playing over 20 years, and I've learned not to be negative when I come across someone that whoops my butt. Instead, train yourself to look at the positive -- that you've just encountered another "new" thing to learn along that wonderful long road ahead of you. That's the beauty of our wonderful sport!
Take it easy on yourself, and most of all, reward yourself when you *do* play well or win a match or tournament. Go out and have a nice dinner with a glass of good wine, and bask in your success!
I hope this has been helpful and inspiring.
-Sean
