How Do You Express Your Displeasure With Your Ineptitude?

I don't like to give my opponent any extra sense of confidence by appearing frustrated.


But when things are really bad, I like to go outside, relax, and if I see my opponent, smile, shake his hand, and then beat him over the head with whatever's available. No need to internalize. :D
 
Klopek said:
I scowl for about half a second and shake my head a couple times. Then I quietly walk back to my chair and sit stone faced. I never say anything audible and try to make any facial expressions while my back is turned to my opponent. I never look my opponent in the eye after a miss, I just sit in my chair and try to think about what I did wrong. Letting your opponent know your confidence is shaken gives them strength.
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That's what I do as well. Although every so often, when I f* up big time, I call my self a stupid f*n' idiot. I can't help it really. When I make a dumb ass mistake I have to vocalize that frustration. :)

Fats
 
Smorgass Bored said:
Scaramouche axed:
How Do You Express Your Displeasure With Your Ineptitude?



I thought about killing myself, but I couldn't afford the expense over & over & over. I decided to just EAT. I was 145 lbs. when I began using this tactic. I stopped playing pool two years ago at 337 lbs.
Doug
( see, it worked )
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LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:D :D
 
GADawg said:
I generally firmly tap the chalk on the side of the table one time, then shrug my shoulders and quietly go sit down to try to put in behind me and mentally prepare for the next shot.
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LOL, the good old firmly "tap" the chalk on the side of table gig. Yup, I do the same thing, except tap it on the rail. Usually people don't pick up on the frustration unless the chalk happened to crack. lol

Will also let out an "uh oh, that's going to hurt" and immediatley start thinking of what to do if I get another shot.

ez
 
I played pretty competitive golf at one point. Let me tell you, if I miss a 3 foot putt, I make the next one and move on. If I miss a straight in shot in pool, I want to break the cue in half. Rye.. Rye? I don't know Rye.. RARRR . sorry, got side tracked... needless to say, I get pissed at myself.
 
> I've taken the butt of my cocobolo Joss break cue and DRILLED myself in the forehead with it for dogging it late in a tournament match a couple times,but not for several years. When you put as much effort into trying to win as I do,making mistakes that cause you to lose as a result HURTS,and a lot of players just don't have that pure hatred of losing and never understand why some of us get so down on ourselves in cases like this. I tend to think that is what causes Earl to do some of the things he does. He's been a winner pretty much his whole career,and now either because his game has fell off or others have improved,he's losing more matches and losing them to a larger group of players than he ever has,and his pride just won't let him accept it. Personally,I've lost a couple sets that I should have won that have literally made me puke,more often than not as the result of missing a single ball or another similar situation where I had been more than satisfied with my play,with the exception of the one mistake that cost me the match. I'd much rather miss an open ball every game in a race to 11 and lose,than to play perfect until it was hill-hill,and hook myself on the 7. Tommy D.
 
When I miss, I glare at my opponent and say, "You got lucky I missed, because if I didn't miss, I would have made that ball!"

It's such a profound statement.
 
I have developed quite a "foul mouth" since taking up this game!

The ball does not go into the pocket (or CB goes to bad spot) and then: @#$*&!

But I am not alone... After years of watching all sorts of different people play, everybody, including the most saintly angel types, can be heard talking like a sailor after just a few games!

A good safety play can get your opponent to utter a few choice phrases as well...
 
This might be the biggest downfall of my game. What's the best way of dealing with this? I need some serious anger management not just in pool, but in golf and tennis as well. Even though my billiards game is about where I want it to be, I simply have no tolerance for failure. If I miss a few easy or semi-easy shots, my confidence will take a huge tumble. I get angry very easily as well.

Here's a recent scenerio: I was playing in a local tournament. Race was 6 - 3 against this kid. I was in the process of running the first rack out, and miscued on a semi-difficult draw shot. The kid took the game to make it 0 - 1. Next game, I missed another shot, but wasn't concerned because some of the balls were tied up. The kid ended up playing a difficult carom shot on the 9 and making it from like 4 feet -- he's now on the hill at 0 - 2. Next rack, he breaks and comes up dry. I proceed to run this very difficult rack and end up with a tough, but makable shot on the 9. I made the shot, but the cue ball turned loose and ended up scratching. The kid won 3 - 0, and I've never been so pissed in my life.

In retrospect, it was my miscue on the 6 that ultimately lost me the game, but I couldn't get the final rack out of my head for like 36 hours. I can't believe I was that upset, especially given the fact that I would have to win the next 5 games in a row to actually win the match. What are some effective ways of dealing with this type of blinding frustration/anger? Or maybe strategies of preventing the frustration in the first place? I think my anger is holding back my game.

Getting back to the thread topic: I swear often and shake my head a lot. On special occasions, I punch every mailbox on the way back to my apartment.
 
I laugh, giggle or smile, it's a game and even though there is usually something riding on it..............it's still a game. Granted I don't play for thousands like some here, if I did I would have a heart attack or try to beat up the table and throw the balls around. All while cussing up a storm and trying to get out of paying the debt.
 
Hmmm, Do I really have to be honest here? No, I don't. Guess I will though. I hadn't really given it much thought until you ask about it. Seems kind of funny what I've come up with.

I take it we are talking about when it is bad. If I just make a little mistake every now and then, I make it through that just fine. However, when it gets bad I do tend to make a production number out of it. What I do depends greatly on who is in the audience. We are not going to discuss my performances in the bar when it is just the guys watching, but they can range from one handed gestures two full body antics. In a more formal atmosphere I do manage to tone it down. Just very casually flipping the cue ball the bird or something like that. If I'm in the position that I must behave myself, then I grab my stick and squeeze it real hard. I don't hit walls any more, ever. I learnt a long time ago that you should do that unless you have a stud finder with you.

I'm thinking about getting one of these fart machines. You know, where you can press one of the buttons and it makes the sound of a fart. I'll try not to use it while my opponent it shooting. But if I save it for just the right moment, like after goofing up a good opportunity to go out. Just let a big fart go and say, "You can't expect a person to perform well with that much pressure on his mind!"
 
This is the ONLY part of the game I have in common With Efren. I just smile, shaking my head and sit down. No sense getting hot over what is already done.
 
overcoming fears and frustrations seems to be the real test. try reading books on Zen, all pros in every sport dip into it in one way or another.
The best pool player in the world lives it.

good luck!
 
I am a notorious whiner, sorry to say.


Scaramouche said:
Personally, I swear - at myself, not the balls, the table, or the competition. When I'm playing well I don't swear. So I swear whenever I'm at the table, except before the first shot.:D

Here we have Earl breaking his cue
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVXb7-xSLfo

Early in the commentary on this frame, we learn that, a few years ago, Michael Holt became so upset that he punched the table, breaking his hand and putting himself out of competition for an extended period.

2006 Grand Prix – Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Michael Holt
Frame 3
http://youtube.com/watch?v=cSzHO81P__E

By comparison, O'Sullivan retiring from a match seems a remarkably controlled response.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=9YdhIp2Io6c
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