how do you keep your confidence in a match ?

L

lorider

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
As the title says....how do you keep your confidence during a match....particularly against higher level players..

I have been in a funk lately in 8 ball during league. I only have a 37% win record this session while 9 ball is at 67%. I decided what better way to get out if a funk than to go play in a tournament ? Beats sitting at home alone anyway .

It was handicapped and a first for me playing loser breaks. I must say it seemed like one of the most accurate handicapped tournament I have played in on a long time.

I knew some people but there were several I had never seen before. I had a few close matches and came out on top until I faced the room owner who i know pretty well and is an apa 7/8...i am a 5/5. The race was me going to 3 and him 5. The same race it would be in apa. I lost hill - hill by making a mistake on the 8. I had that lil negative guy whispering in my ear....if you miss he is out. Well you know what always happens in that situation. I missed . Now it was not a hard shot at all and I could probably make it 98% of the time. Thing is I did not make it when I needed it most.

Well I came through the losers bracket all the way to the finals and faced him again. Long story short....same scenario and same outcome as the first time I faced him.

Now I am one of those guys who dont like to lose but at the same time I have no problem losing to a guy that just plain outplayed me. I just hate beating myself and that's what happened in both losses to him.

Please don't tell me I gotta gamble to learn to play under pressure. It does nothing for me because I will never gamble more than I could afford to lose and if its a situation where I could afford to lose it then there is no pressure.

I guess I need to jump in the fire more and play through it. As far as pressure goes...i feel more pressure in league knowing my team mates are counting on me than when I play on my own.

I just gotta figure out a knock that little negative guy out when he starts whispering crap in my ear lol.
 
lorider said:
As the title says....how do you keep your confidence during a match....particularly against higher level players..

I have been in a funk lately in 8 ball during league. I only have a 37% win record this session while 9 ball is at 67%. I decided what better way to get out if a funk than to go play in a tournament ? Beats sitting at home alone anyway .

It was handicapped and a first for me playing loser breaks. I must say it seemed like one of the most accurate handicapped tournament I have played in on a long time.

I knew some people but there were several I had never seen before. I had a few close matches and came out on top until I faced the room owner who i know pretty well and is an apa 7/8...i am a 5/5. The race was me going to 3 and him 5. The same race it would be in apa. I lost hill - hill by making a mistake on the 8. I had that lil negative guy whispering in my ear....if you miss he is out. Well you know what always happens in that situation. I missed . Now it was not a hard shot at all and I could probably make it 98% of the time. Thing is I did not make it when I needed it most.

Well I came through the losers bracket all the way to the finals and faced him again. Long story short....same scenario and same outcome as the first time I faced him.

Now I am one of those guys who dont like to lose but at the same time I have no problem losing to a guy that just plain outplayed me. I just hate beating myself and that's what happened in both losses to him.

Please don't tell me I gotta gamble to learn to play under pressure. It does nothing for me because I will never gamble more than I could afford to lose and if its a situation where I could afford to lose it then there is no pressure.

I guess I need to jump in the fire more and play through it. As far as pressure goes...i feel more pressure in league knowing my team mates are counting on me than when I play on my own.

I just gotta figure out a knock that little negative guy out when he starts whispering crap in my ear lol.
Click to expand...
Sounds to me like making it to the finals of a tournament and losing to a better player, even if it was a handicapped tourney and even if you did have a great chance to beat him, is nothing to beat yourself up over. The more you keep putting yourself in those situations, the better chance you'll come through.
 
One of the biggest things I see when people get under pressure or are playing a better player is they tend to start to rush just a hair. It's like they want the outcome to happen and to relieve themselves of the pressure so they rush to do it. I'm not talking about playing as fast as Chris melling, but their psr gets a hair quicker, their stroke does too. It's happened to me. I tend to really try to deliberately slow down a hair when faced with a tough shot or when playing a better player, and I love to play fast so it's against my nature. But just remembering to breathe and taking an extra second sometimes will help keep me in my normal rythym.

If your mental thoughts start to drift to, "if I miss he will run out", then you need to get up off the shot, refocus, go through your psr and decide where the cue ball will go after you pocket the object ball. Try to be as positive as possible. In the end, yes, it will take more experience in these situations so that they become just another match of just another shot. You're a good shot from your posts in the league thread, just remember that. The pressure should be on the guy that is supposed to win, not the underdog.

Dr V <--------- not a sports psychologist
 
The more your in the fire the better. It becomes comfortable and the negative guy doesn’t hang around when things are comfortable. Eventually you beat some of these players and you will find guys dogging it to you soon enough.
The circle of life. It’s funny how it works out that way.
 
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lorider said:
As the title says....how do you keep your confidence during a match....particularly against higher level players..

I have been in a funk lately in 8 ball during league. I only have a 37% win record this session while 9 ball is at 67%. I decided what better way to get out if a funk than to go play in a tournament ? Beats sitting at home alone anyway .

It was handicapped and a first for me playing loser breaks. I must say it seemed like one of the most accurate handicapped tournament I have played in on a long time.

I knew some people but there were several I had never seen before. I had a few close matches and came out on top until I faced the room owner who i know pretty well and is an apa 7/8...i am a 5/5. The race was me going to 3 and him 5. The same race it would be in apa. I lost hill - hill by making a mistake on the 8. I had that lil negative guy whispering in my ear....if you miss he is out. Well you know what always happens in that situation. I missed . Now it was not a hard shot at all and I could probably make it 98% of the time. Thing is I did not make it when I needed it most.

Well I came through the losers bracket all the way to the finals and faced him again. Long story short....same scenario and same outcome as the first time I faced him.

Now I am one of those guys who dont like to lose but at the same time I have no problem losing to a guy that just plain outplayed me. I just hate beating myself and that's what happened in both losses to him.

Please don't tell me I gotta gamble to learn to play under pressure. It does nothing for me because I will never gamble more than I could afford to lose and if its a situation where I could afford to lose it then there is no pressure.

I guess I need to jump in the fire more and play through it. As far as pressure goes...i feel more pressure in league knowing my team mates are counting on me than when I play on my own.

I just gotta figure out a knock that little negative guy out when he starts whispering crap in my ear lol.
Click to expand...

Let me refer to the signature/quote on my profile:

"Nobody in the world is going to do anything but sit and watch... while you run out."

~ Tony Proestos ~

Tony was the room owner at the time I began going into the pool room here. He said that to me when I was 13. I didn't really have anything other than a vague idea what it meant at that age, but as I grew older, I came to understand. What Tony was telling me was, simply, you're up there, alone. Just do it. Do what you do and don't give an instant's thought to who you're playing, what their name is, how many racks they've run, how many tournaments they've won. As long as you're making balls, they, WHOEVER they are, whatever their accomplishments, are watching you. They're helpless. So many people get caught up in thinking "Man... that's Shane Van Boening over there. If I miss, he's gonna put an 11-pack on me and I'll be hitch-hiking home!"

I'm not sure it's a matter of "keeping your confidence" as much as it's simply blocking everything else out ( like that little voice in your head ), and just making that next shot. For whatever it's worth, what Tony told me all those many years ago, really helped me. It made me realize that whoever is sitting over there in that chair has nothing to do with how I play. It's me up there, not him ( or her ). Except to the extent I allow him/her to have something to do with it.

I hope that makes sense. Keep pressing forward. It's the journey that matters, not the destination.
 
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You have zero control of what happens when you are not at the table, so you can pretty much eliminate that piece of worry immediately. Who you are playing pretty much only determines 2 things. How many chances you will receive, and the quality of those chances. The stronger the player, the less chances you will get. And more than likely, you will probably be hooked somehow when you step up to the table. The weaker the opponent, the more/the better the opportunities etc.

So what is left? Your own ability. This is where a lot of people come to a slippery slope. Ive noticed that, in my 40 or so years of playing this pool, most people have an overinflated opinion of their own game. Either they are simply ignorant about how to clock themselves and others, or they remember that one time 5 years ago when they were playing over their head and now feel that is their average game. This is false confidence, and this usually lends itself to feeling let down when it gets proven false.

So back to the original question. Be honest with yourself about your skill set. Learn how to accurately clock playing speed (other peoples and your own). From there, when you get to the table, the challenge/goal is to play your "average" speed. Thats it, nothing more, nothing less. Anything over your average is gravy. ;)

Confidence, for me, comes from executing what I know I can do, without doubt, a high percentage of the time, to the best of my ability. As knowledge and skill increase, confidence goes up.

If your goals are realistic, your perspective will adapt accordingly.

And, a certain amount of not giving a fook doesnt hurt. :thumbup:
 
Ball in Hand

I agree with knowing your speed, that being said my goal when playing a stronger player is to slow him down by controlling the game when I am at the table. I try and calculate my percentages(based on my speed), if I believe my percentage is less than 50% to run-out I will look for a strong safety or hook to ensure another turn at the table or ultimately get ball in hand, then the percentages swing in my favour and I am in control, walking back to the table with ball in hand is the best feeling in the game for me. I believe safety play is the most underrated and least practiced part of the game but the most important part when playing a stronger player.
 
Confidence

I see a lot of people in league step up against a better player and just assume they are going to lose. I win a lot of matches like this before they ever start. Don’t be that guy.

A better player is usually more consistent on the things they do from the break, preshot routine and follow through. Focus on your strengths and stay within reality. Don’t chase those wild backwards 45 degree angle cuts when you can play a safe. Sure you look like a pool god when you hit it but you also look like a guy racking when you miss it.

Back to your original question, i try to slow down. I may walk around the entire table after each shot to get the “lay of the land” so to speak. I make sure I chalk before each shot and concentrate on the basics. If I am concentrating on the shot, leave or shape, I seem to worry less about confidence. For me, it seems to be more about giving myself the right things to focus on instead of the wrong things.
 
lorider said:
As the title says....how do you keep your confidence during a match....particularly against higher level players..

I have been in a funk lately in 8 ball during league. I only have a 37% win record this session while 9 ball is at 67%. I decided what better way to get out if a funk than to go play in a tournament ? Beats sitting at home alone anyway .

It was handicapped and a first for me playing loser breaks. I must say it seemed like one of the most accurate handicapped tournament I have played in on a long time.

I knew some people but there were several I had never seen before. I had a few close matches and came out on top until I faced the room owner who i know pretty well and is an apa 7/8...i am a 5/5. The race was me going to 3 and him 5. The same race it would be in apa. I lost hill - hill by making a mistake on the 8. I had that lil negative guy whispering in my ear....if you miss he is out. Well you know what always happens in that situation. I missed . Now it was not a hard shot at all and I could probably make it 98% of the time. Thing is I did not make it when I needed it most.

Well I came through the losers bracket all the way to the finals and faced him again. Long story short....same scenario and same outcome as the first time I faced him.

Now I am one of those guys who dont like to lose but at the same time I have no problem losing to a guy that just plain outplayed me. I just hate beating myself and that's what happened in both losses to him.

Please don't tell me I gotta gamble to learn to play under pressure. It does nothing for me because I will never gamble more than I could afford to lose and if its a situation where I could afford to lose it then there is no pressure.

I guess I need to jump in the fire more and play through it. As far as pressure goes...i feel more pressure in league knowing my team mates are counting on me than when I play on my own.

I just gotta figure out a knock that little negative guy out when he starts whispering crap in my ear lol.
Click to expand...

You know what's worse then this. Playing in a non handicapped tournament and it's the first round and you are playing 8ball. Opponent plays about a ball better then you and you are running out to make it hill hill... after you fire the 8ball in the side pocket you realize you left a ball on the table that you didnt account for...

That was my evening last night.

There is no shutting the little guy up after a moment like that.

See my disclaimer.
 
I will steal a phrase from the video gaming people and what a co-worker of mine likes to say.

Git Gud. https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=GiT GuD

If you are Gud, you will have confidence. You can't really "learn" or "practice" it, it just happens over time. It's a league match, nothing really major, you are not in the US Open on the TV table, you are not playing for your rent money, you are playing with a bunch of mid-level players that are not likely to run 3 or even 1 rack on you, only thing that would make you nervous is if you are afraid of failing or looking bad. As you get better you will get confidence in your ability and knowledge of what to do in a situation, which should stop making you feel nervous when playing less and less.

Think of positive outcomes instead of the negative. If a guy runs 2 racks on you, keep in your head you can do the same to him, plan out shots as you are shooting for the game so when he misses or makes a mistake you are ready with options. I usually have a plan for several shots as the opponent is running out and am also planning for what his shot may be and what I can do next. Pretty much like chess. All that keeps your brain on the execution of the present needs and not worry about what you may do to mess it up.
 
I have this problem myself from time to time. It can happen against all sorts of players, not just better ones. But I found out my level of confidence corresponds to my shooting ability on a given day. Meaning, if I lack focus and mess up my shots, I get anxious, which leads to even more mistakes. It's hard to get out of that loop, almost impossible without losing some games in the process. But if I do manage to break the loop and get my game going, it's usually after a couple of well-made shots which restore my confidence and help calibrate my stroke. In worst case scenario, I give up playing for that session and return another time for a fresh start.
 
I try to reinvent myself in stance at the table when things are going wrong just watch youtube players when they start missing they seem to take another stance and go into another mode it gets them back on track
 
I thought about this for a minute and I found it to be sort of an odd question.

Confidence, for me, is something I worry about between matches when I watch other
players. I see things and I think how would I have played that shot against that opponent,
or how would I have played that shot against Rich or Tony (or other random players),
is that really a shot I'd have tried, I'd have known better than to have tried that, and so
on...

When I'm in a match I'm so invested in the match, and what I have to do to win that I
never really consider that I might lose, or at least not until now.

When any of you guys shoot do you really consider what might happen if you miss or
that you might lose?

Unless I'm playing a defensive shot I never even consider that I might miss, or at least
I didn't before this thread.

Don't get me wrong, I don't always play so good, sometimes I'm down right awful, but I
know to make the 8 or 9 ball you have to be in a position to shoot at it.

I think my game is all about how make the last ball, I never really consider missing.
But if I should start to think about that it's all lorider's fault. Thanks for that, Lo
 
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lorider said:
I had that lil negative guy whispering in my ear....if you miss he is out.
Click to expand...
I think you need to embrace this idea against every opponent, with some minor modifications: "if you miss, he should be out (or at least leave me snookered)". Any time you miss a shot you were counting on making and get back to the table with a decent shot, you got lucky. Whether it's because of a lucky bad leave for your opponent, because they missed a shot, or because they played a bad safety doesn't really matter. Obviously, the worse your opponent, the better your chances of getting lucky, but once you've given up control of the table, you shouldn't expect to get back up.

There are a couple of benefits to maintaining this line of thinking:
First, the pressure to make a particular shot is there regardless of your opponent, the match score, or the layout of the table. No more easing up on a shot because you think you'll get another chance.
Second, you treat every second chance the same way; you realize that you're lucky to have another chance and try to make the most of it. Your opponent dogged a shot, but now you're snookered? At least you get a chance to do something. They miss an easy money ball that would have won them the set? That's no more lucky than if they missed the first shot of the match where they might have otherwise run out the whole set.

To take this one step further for tournament play, anytime you're in an elimination round and miss a shot, that might be your last shot of the tournament. If you're already playing the right shot and maintaining your focus, there's not really anything else you can do about it, so why worry about it once you're down on the ball?
 
In 1998 or 1999 I won a tournament at Tightpockets Billiards in Hapeville,Ga. Was playing great beating Paul Turner and then Earl Kellum in the finals. Some may remember Earl. He was an old road player. It was on bar tables. It was a McDermott tournament. I believe it was in December. The next tourney was at Twains in Decatur.Ga. on 9 ft. tables. Also a McDermott tourney,Stacked field. Still full of confidence,I breezed thru the field Had to play Bill Blanda in the finals.Still feeling great but didn't last long. Bill ran thru me in a hurry, beating me 9-2 or 9-3. I was deflated, my confidence was gone. Just kept looking at the floor. It didn't get better. In the second set, being a true double elimination tourney Bill had me 6-3. I finally got a shot but before I started shooting I had a little talk to myself. I said Larry remember how well you have been playing winning at Tightpockets and breezing thru this field of great players. As I though back how well I had been playing, all the shots I had made,all of a sudden I started to feel my coinfidence come back. I said he wont win another game. Well he did, 1 game. I won the next 6 out of 7 and won 9-7. I just had to stop and have a little taljk to myself.
 
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