Has this happened to you?

RBLilly

RBLilly

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I just thought I would post this and see if anyone else has experienced this at all.

I had a custom cue made a while back, and I put an OB-1 shaft on it. I like the combination, but I knew it might take a little getting used to.

Now the last time that I actually practiced my drills was July 26th. For about 3 months before that I felt that I had kind of hit a stand still in my game. (I practiced hard those three months trying to break my freeze.)

I was shooting more consistent than ever before in that time, but the reason I was practicing hard in July was because of my 2 and out in both the Fast Eddie's stops that I attended.

Well yesterday I actually practiced since July. What I can't figure out is this though. The last month or so I have been shooting some of the best pool that I have ever played in my life.

Why would less practice make me shoot better? Maybe I just needed a small break from practicing?

I practiced last night and was impressing myself at how rock solid my practicing went.

Has anyone else ever experienced this? Should I practice for a few months and then lay off again for a few weeks? Did I just overcome a hurdle or freeze point? Could it have been me just getting used to a new cue?

I don't really know what to think of it, but I hope that I keep improving cause the last few weeks I have really been playing well.
 
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Neil said:
I've seen this many times. This is my explanation of it---When you lay off for a while, and then come back, you are not shooting as much on autopilot. You KNOW how to do it right, and you tend to make sure you ARE doing it right.

When you play all the time, little bad habits can creep in unnoticed. They throw your game off.

While you may not consciously be making sure you do it right when you first come back after a layoff, subconsciously you are. You tend to pay attention to detail more, and take less for granted.

Care to guess how to make this carry over to playing all the time?
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LOL If I had the answer I would be playing like this all the time now wouldn't I? LOL
 
I read this in either Pleasures in Small Motions or some book....but you are probably conciously thinking about your fundamentals and basics more now then you were before. So you are much more attentive than if you were playing everyday (just like the previous post says about bad habits creeping up).

I forget where I read this, but ever notice when people pick up and try out a brand new cue, they think they are playing the best pool of their life because of the stick? It's moreso that people are paying more attention to every aspect of their game, stance, stroke, how it feels in their hands etc...so they play better...You might be experiencing something along those lines..

Christian
 
True

Well it is true that when I shoot now I think about everything a lot better. I concentrate more, and if I don't like the way it feels I stand up and start my routine over.

I guess maybe I am starting to get my good habits instilled, and they are paying off!

I don't think it really has anything to do with the new cue. The new cue is about 2 months old, and I love the way it plays but I don't feel like I have to have that cue in my hand to play.

I have shot just as well this month with my wife's McDermott.
 
I was just drawing a parallel betweeen someone picking up a new cue and you making a small comeback. You're both more attentive to all the finer points therefore are gaining the benefits of it. Yeah if you're down on a shot and something is not right, get back up and walk back into your shot. Just dont' pick your head up and then get back down....you might move your feet and such and then you'll really be off kilter...but you sound like you know what you're doing.

Good luck to you,

Christian
 
I've experienced this type of thing many times in my life. According to some books I've read, what we study and practice doesn't really sink in until we go to sleep at night. While we are sleeping the brain processes, analyzes and converts certain short term memories into long term memories. I think what you are talking about has something to do with this principle. It seems like the brain continues working on the problem even after we quit practicing.

I think JoeW has written papers on such things, you might want to search his posts. He posted them as attachments a while back.
 
cmsmith9 said:
I was just drawing a parallel betweeen someone picking up a new cue and you making a small comeback. You're both more attentive to all the finer points therefore are gaining the benefits of it. Yeah if you're down on a shot and something is not right, get back up and walk back into your shot. Just dont' pick your head up and then get back down....you might move your feet and such and then you'll really be off kilter...but you sound like you know what you're doing.

Good luck to you,

Christian
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Yea I had a feeling you were just using an example.

I have picked up cues before and thought they would help my game, but a few weeks later realized it was just that I was trying harder. LOL

I think I am just getting more conscious while playing. Which has allowed me better attention to detail.
 
Neil said:
Come on, think.......pay attention to the details ALL the time! Don't get 'lazy' and let bad habits creep in.
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Yes sir! LOL


Well I had been practicing and focusing on good fundamentals. I just thought it odd that when I quit practicing for a few weeks that my game elevated.
 
Lazy brain

Well I had been practicing and focusing on good fundamentals. I just thought it odd that when I quit practicing for a few weeks that my game elevated.[/QUOTE]


Mental laziness. That is what I have experinced. When you come back after a layoff you are mentally sharp and think first. When you were hitting the wall your brain was tired from trying to improve things. Once you give it rest, what you experience is a hungry brain, more room for learning and executing. If you can control and time that process you could then control you progress. JMHO
 
Pool is a funny game... and it's a mental game... you probably got stuck on some bad habbit (physically or mentaly) that you couldn't pick up on while you were forcing yourself to practice every day... the time you took off let you erase that bad habbit and start with a clean(er) slate.... you got lucky and you didn't start up with that bad habbit again.... my guess.
 
I think I am going to give my drill running a short break. I've practiced 2+ hours everyday for the last 15 days, which is not a very long time...I know this. What I am doing lately is tell myself "I've got to go run my drills" in the same tone as "I've got to go mow the lawn" or "I've got to go do the dishes".

I know a lot of is the heat. I work outside and working in 100+ degree weather just takes it out of ya. I will continue running the Hopkins test/game (which I substitute for "piling rocks") for the next few days and then return to running my drills. I have league starting in two weeks, so I want to be ready for that and will also try my hand at some of the weekend tournaments around town.

Matt
 
mattman said:
I think I am going to give my drill running a short break. I've practiced 2+ hours everyday for the last 15 days, which is not a very long time...I know this. What I am doing lately is tell myself "I've got to go run my drills" in the same tone as "I've got to go mow the lawn" or "I've got to go do the dishes".

I know a lot of is the heat. I work outside and working in 100+ degree weather just takes it out of ya. I will continue running the Hopkins test/game (which I substitute for "piling rocks") for the next few days and then return to running my drills. I have league starting in two weeks, so I want to be ready for that and will also try my hand at some of the weekend tournaments around town.

Matt
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Matt I never practiced 2+ hours unless I break it up into 1hr sessions.

Randy even suggests you don't practice more than an hour. Your brain can't soak up all the info it needs to. Most humans can't concentrate for more than about 30 minutes at a time.

That being said I would practice once in the morning and once at night.

I never looked at it as a burden. Hell I wanted to practice even more than that! I knew that if I practiced more than that it would become a chore though.

Look through some of my past posts and you will see my practice regiment. It is a pretty good one, and it isn't boring so I love to practice.

I just couldn't figure out that when I quite for a few weeks I actually shot better.

I didn't quit playing during those weeks, I just quit practicing every day.
 
I run the mother drills for 45 minutes. Then I run the Hopkins test following that. Technically, I don't consider the Hopkins test practicing so much, but I do run it every day....10 racks. Together it takes right at 1.5 hours and I know thats longer than what Randy suggested. Then I usually line up various shots, a couple hours later, and do that for about 30 minutes.
 
Got ya Matt!

I also never practice on a day that I know I am going to be playing. It is too hard to adjust from practicing to playing!

I just go into my league days, or tourny days ready to play! When it is a big tourny or a playoffs I might invite some people over the night before to do some playing to get my mind set in the Game Day mode!
 
That has sort of happened to me on a smaller scale. For some reason, the first game I shoot coming in off the street will be the best rack I shoot all night (often). I just feel really fresh and focused.

I think neil nailed it, you're looking at each shot as if it's new rather than subconsciously shooting it as if it's something you already hit 10 times that night. You actually double check the angles and think about the leave more.

Most people complain that the first match of the evening is when they're cold, but (at least for 8 ball) I usually play great with it.

Might not be the same thing as shark's talking about, my last pool 'break' was like 2 years long and that's not gonna happen again lawl~
 
Funny

txplshrk said:
I just thought I would post this and see if anyone else has experienced this at all.

I had a custom cue made a while back, and I put an OB-1 shaft on it. I like the combination, but I knew it might take a little getting used to.

Now the last time that I actually practiced my drills was July 26th. For about 3 months before that I felt that I had kind of hit a stand still in my game. (I practiced hard those three months trying to break my freeze.)

I was shooting more consistent than ever before in that time, but the reason I was practicing hard in July was because of my 2 and out in both the Fast Eddie's stops that I attended.

Well yesterday I actually practiced since July. What I can't figure out is this though. The last month or so I have been shooting some of the best pool that I have ever played in my life.

Why would less practice make me shoot better? Maybe I just needed a small break from practicing?

I practiced last night and was impressing myself at how rock solid my practicing went.

Has anyone else ever experienced this? Should I practice for a few months and then lay off again for a few weeks? Did I just overcome a hurdle or freeze point? Could it have been me just getting used to a new cue?

I don't really know what to think of it, but I hope that I keep improving cause the last few weeks I have really been playing well.
Click to expand...


thing is, your wife said the same thing about your sex life!!! ....:D
 
That's happened to probably 99% of this community.

Recent example of mine:
Unexpected events prevented me from going to play my usual 2 times a week for a few weeks. Then when I finally had the chance to play it was for my Thursday Q-Masters in-house BCA league, and I got there late. I played 5 games in a row since everyone else had finished by that time. I went 5-0 and left them with an average of 6 on the table every game. Best pool I've played in my life with some awesome shots to get out.

I think lots of practice followed by a reasonable amount of time to reflect on the practice is more beneficial than a whole heaping amount of practice. It prevents burnout and if you're like me, you're probably still thinking about pool just as much as if you had practiced.
 
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