All of the advice here is pretty good. Here is something a little different that I am convinced is key to growing from intermediate to expert. Read it even though it's long, I swear it'll help you.
That key is to stop lying to yourself.
Every player that I've seen reaches their C-level with bad habits. If they're lucky, they don't have massive stroke flaws but they will still trick themselves into shooting the wrong shot, or hitting with the wrong english, or the wrong speed... because they have built up their shotmaking to rely on only using certain speeds and spins... or they have not figured out how to use natural position routes so they keep trying unnatural ones. They stick with what's familiar and convince themselves that every situation calls for a familiar use of english, because they'd rather hit a ball wrong than try a scary and unfamiliar shot (though it's the right shot). This goes back to what SJM is saying, and he's dead on so read that over again.
You have to start figuring out situations where you're lying to yourself and about to hit the shot incorrectly, and find an expert who is willing to tell you the proper shot. Sometimes you won't even need someone else's help, just do what common sense tells you.
Examples (and I'm liberally copy/pasting here):
· For me the hardest was learning to avoid english when it wasn't necessary.
You could call this self-deception in the sense that common sense tells you to hit certain shots without sidespin but you talk yourself into using it anyway.
I developed a bad habit of twirling every single shot in with low outside, whether I needed to or not. It got so bad, if I had a long straight shot that I needed to stop, I would hit with low left, trying to get the cb to draw drag to a stop... and simultaneously curve a little into the shot (and it would barely have the speed to reach the pocket a lot).
So after over 12 years of shooting, I had about 8 years worth of experience with outside and 4 year's worth with center and inside. I'm still catching up and suffering from it.
....
A lot of self-deception comes from an unwillingness to do whatever work is necessary to get the cue ball from point A to point B. Often moving that CB involves doing a shot you hate or a method you don't want to use.
· If you've got to pound the ball with force, then do it, don't settle for getting no movement or being stuck on a rail.
· If the angle is just too shallow and force isn't doing to work, then don't talk yourself into smashing the ball and jumping it off the table. If you are dead straight and on the rail and there's no realistic hope of getting across the table, bite the bullet and go rail first or bank or do whatever it takes, don't just add more sidespin and hope for the best.
· If the highest percentage play is to leave yourself a thinnish cut and just try hard to make it, then do that.
· Don't talk yourself into thinking a bank is higher percentage than a thin cut, in most cases it's not. You're just less comfortable with thin cutting and more frightened of missing them (maybe because "overcutting" a thin cut means you miss it entirely and you hate to be embarrassed by that). When the time is right to bank, you'll know it because you cannot even mentally visualize cutting the ball in. The attitude you want to have is "I will not bank unless there's a gun to my head". While we're at it, throw masse and kicks out the window except for when they are truly and absolutely necessary. If you can hit one of your object balls in a game of 8 ball, and you're considering masse/kicking on a different ball, punch yourself! Ok, don't do that, but the point is, do not try trick shots that will give up ball in hand when more sensible options are available. Save the circus shots for when you're truly hooked and there's no other option.
· Don't convince yourself that hitting with left spin will somehow force a ball to go more left after hitting the OB, or right will go more to the right, because when rails are involved it doesn't.
· Don't be that guy who says "ah I hit it too hard" or "I hit it too soft" when you miss the cut by 3 inches. If you miss the cut it's because you aimed at the wrong place, or your stroke delivered the tip to the wrong place.. and there's no comfort or value in convincing yourself it was some other reason.
· Don't cinch a ball with no english (or with your most comfortable english) knowing you'll be in trouble afterwards. You don't win games by making 1 ball now and screwing yourself 5 minutes later. Use the english needed to make the shot and get position, even if you might miss the ball as a result.
· Don't be that guy who gets no action on his draw stroke and tries to blame the equipment or stick. Don't say "I swear I hit it low!" because you probably didn't.
· DEFINITELY don't shoot any ball with no clear plan on what you're going to do next. Don't sink a ball when there's no hope of getting on the next shot and you'll be looking at a length of the table bank. At least have a plan even if it's a bad one.
I hope this is enough to get the general idea.
When you first start to eally focus on shooting without self-deception, pool will suddenly seem much harder. Every shot will seem foreign because you can't use the english and speed you're comfortable with every time. You WILL miss more balls. You will even lose more games. You will have to go backwards to a C- for a little while until you master these unfamiliar things before your game starts grinding forward to B. But I swear it will work and it's worth it.
lol It's a never ending cycle, but all in all a fun one to tackle.
