Honest Humility

[stljohnny]

In browsing through some old CTE debates (this is not one of them), I found this quote:

Ilona Bernhard - "People often make the mistake of thinking that they are as good as their best game instead of accepting that their level is their average game."

Strange how I would come across this message just as I'm pondering something very similar. I posted a little brain-dump on my site about why I think my game has gone down lately, but countered it with perhaps it hasn't; only that I'm expecting to make the shots I *think* I usually make - so when I miss, it feels like something isn't working.

So... maybe while my game has improved over the last few months, it's still not at the level I *think* it is. So when I see those glimpses of ability (aka "my best game"); that's only what they are - glimpses of the future - not what I always am. If it were.. then I'd be playing poorly an awful lot. Maybe I'm not playing poorly, I'm just playing average-ly. heh.

I know I've come a long way in the year since I took up actually learning the game - but I need to also keep in mind, that it's only been one year. All the info and knowledge I pick up here and elsewhere doesn't mean I can physically play at the level I understand mentally. lol

Just wanted to share a little lightbulb moment, since it happened on AZB, with AZB.

 

[zy112]

Good thought. I actually do the exact same way... expect my best game and when I miss am like wtf. I also think I too have a better understanding of the game then I can play. You watch, read, get advice ect and sometimes the shot just doesnt go the way you planned...

 

[Blue Hog ridr]

A very good anology, but when I'm on my best game (which can be few and far between sometimes), I GET BIG WOOD!
And true enuff, I realize that for the most part, I am the sum of my average games, but when the practice pays off, it makes you feel that its all worth it.

Hey Grant, thanks for the tips last night. You do realize that I'm going to be laying them back on ya at a later date. HAhaha.

 

[Johnnyt]

Thinking your game is at a higher level than it truely is can cost you a lot of money matching up if you gamble. I believe a lot of us watch so many pros shooting on the streams and Ustream and making it look easy that we feel like we should make the same shots as often as they do. That said, I still kick myself for a few seconds when I don't runout an open rack. But as long as I get over it fast and learn WHY I didn't get out I think it's a good thing. Johnnyt

 

[Baxter]

Learned that from golf a long time ago. In golf, a lot of amateurs come up short on most shots, because of that one time they nuked their 7 iron, they think that is the distance they hit it all the time. Very similar to what you're saying. Your usual game lies somewhere between your best and your worst. People can play lights out once in a while, but in no way should you expect that level of play every time your step up to the table, or onto the course.

 

[zy112]

I'll also add, since matching up was mentioned, I always prepare for my opponents A game. If you are mentally ready for their strong game, it can certainly work in your favor and for me helps me focus quite a bit more.

 

[LAlouie]

Well that's not "humility" as much as it is being realistic. It is easy, however, to fall into the trap. I do even though I'm perfectly aware of the difference. It's because when you are playing well everything comes so easily, the thought never enters your mind that what you are doing is difficult or fortunate. You THINK it's all you.

 

[Maniac]

I suck at pool !!!

Maniac

 

[stljohnny]

Well that's not "humility" as much as it is being realistic. It is easy, however, to fall into the trap. I do even though I'm perfectly aware of the difference. It's because when you are playing well everything comes so easily, the thought never enters your mind that what you are doing is difficult or fortunate. You THINK it's all you.

Yep - the more I think about this, the more I realize it's exactly me. When things are going well, I'm making good shots, decisions, positions - it shows me what I *can* do... however, now that the bar has been raised, I expect that to happen. but when I play my "average" game, it's not near the bar, and I think "Wow, I'm really playing bad today." In reality, that's just my current speed. It certainly took me down a bit, which is good cuz otherwise I would've made some other silly games. haha

"A Reality Check", I suppose is the most appropriate term.

 

[lfigueroa]

Strange how I would come across this message just as I'm pondering something very similar. I posted a little brain-dump on my site about why I think my game has gone down lately, but countered it with perhaps it hasn't; only that I'm expecting to make the shots I *think* I usually make - so when I miss, it feels like something isn't working.

I know this feeling. Way back when, I would notice that if I just played very quickly, without thinking, I could play "very well." I would run around the table, collapse into a stance, throw a hodgepodge of sometimes unorthodox bridges on the table, and zip the balls into the pockets. I could run a lot of balls this way. The problem was that this "system" wasn't reliable enough to count on.

Nowadays, it's more the opposite. I find that it's when I'm concentrating on the balls and table, considering every nuance of the upcoming shot, position play, table layout, and using a very studied technique, that I play "very well."

So, why the difference? I think it's because the words "play very well" have a different meaning for me now than before. The lack of reliability that I experienced as a younger player was because I just wasn't good enough. The failure of the "system" was my failure as a player. I could only play so well and missed the balls and position plays I was suppose to miss -- at the time -- not knowing I was suppose to miss them and instead blaming the "system."

Now, I think I have a better appreciation for how difficult the game can be, and can more clearly see what I don't know and might not be able to execute. I also now know, with much more accuracy, what playing "very well" means. Many times in the past, I thought I was playing "very well." Now, I have a much more narrow definition of those words and they require a much higher level of precision and consistency in execution than I would have used, just six months ago.

So what does this mean? I dunno. Perhaps it's just that "dead stroke" means different things, to different people, and different things at different times in our lives. Certainly "dead stroke" for a player that has only been playing for a year or two means something quite different to a player with twenty or thirty years of playing experience. And because we keep "raising the bar," dead stroke, or just playing well, always remains elusive and a very hard place to get to.

Lou Figueroa

 

[trob]

Your never as good as your best day..

Your never as bad as your worst day.


That Goes for most everything you do in life.