How much does pressure affect the pro's

His Boy Elroy

His Boy Elroy

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
One thing I've noticed about these TAR broadcasts is how easily and nonchalantly these pro's pocket balls while chatting with the host. If some of these shots appeared in a televised match the analyst would inevitably say something like, "This one's a real tester. In a pressure situation like this, I'll give him a 50 - 50 chance of making it." It seems when they're just shooting around, they make these same shots a whole lot more often. So let's put the cue-ball at the head of the table 4 inches away from the short rail and half-way between the center diamond and the next diamond either tp the right or left. Let's put the object ball right smack on the foot spot. How often does the average pro make this shot while practicing and how often does he or she make it in a pressure packed tournament match?
 
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When pros are just shooting around they don't shoot safes; they go for every shot and make it 60% of the time. In a match they'd play a safe on a shot that only has a 60% probability.
 
Pressure

If you want to see the affect pressure has on the Pro players, I would recommend watching some Mosconi Cup videos. It is amazing what pressure can do to even the best in the world.
 
dimeshooter said:
If you want to see the affect pressure has on the Pro players, I would recommend watching some Mosconi Cup videos. It is amazing what pressure can do to even the best in the world.
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thats about as high pressure there is and the rookies always dog it, for both sides. takes time to get seasoned for that action.

yeah pressure gets to them, especially if their bank account or bank roll is lite, then the pressure to win is a big factor, its not pressure on a shot or a match, its the overall pressure to perform well and win it all that they feel. and when you got a family kids it jut gets worse,

some guys dont show it as much but believe me i seen it after the camera is off its there.
 
During TAR matches I don't really notice the pros talking with the host much.
Maybe while warming up but once the match is on they're pretty quiet (though alex may joke with the crowd).
They don't strike me as being casual or nonchalant either. They look completely serious.

I'd guess pressure affects the pros less than the average buy because playing tournaments is literally
their daily job. They must get desensitized to it after a while. Something like the mosconi cup
is of course an exception. It's unlike any other tournament and only happens once a year.

If anything, you'll probably see them miss tough shots more in practice
because they're screwing around and not fully bearing down.
 
A couple of years back at a BCA event we met one of the top 100 pros at the bar and my team mate asked him what really makes the difference at his level - his response "all of us can make the shots. The difference is who can stay relaxed". So clearly he recognized a difference based on the pressure of the match.

In a televised match a few years back between Allison Fisher and Karen Corr - format is a race to 7 in 9 ball, then another race to 7 and then a race to 3 if I remember right - whatever it was they were both on the hill with an open 9 ball rack. Both had been playing very well... both dogged - literally dogged easy shots - in this rack 2 TIMES EACH. Each time one of them would blow it I would look at the layout and expect the person coming to the table to just finish from there. It was insane but an obvious example of pressure getting to them.

At least you are watching full matches and not just ESPN edited crap... seeing pros miss as often as they do really changes your perspective over the edited videos which almost exclusively show run outs.
 
Pressure effects the pros less because they learn how to prepare for it.

You can learn how to just like you can learn about anything.

Then the next thing is to do it and see how well you prepared.

The pressure though is usually the difference in most of all tournaments.

Pro or not............ .
 
genomachino said:
Pressure effects the pros less because they learn how to prepare for it.

You can learn how to just like you can learn about anything.

Then the next thing is to do it and see how well you prepared.

The pressure though is usually the difference in most of all tournaments.

Pro or not............ .
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Gene,

since you just bumped your head the other day, i'll let you slide on this one.:eek::grin-square:


but your off a bit, i have spent many hours (outside of pool) with some pro's and listened to them talk,

sure they are equiped better than most, Earl isnt and he is prehaps the best 9B player we ever seen in the past 30 years, same for JA. Sure they are equipped but some hold up like JA, others not as well.

what they do have is they know how to win. under pressure.

i'm just glad your recovering from your accident,

best
eric:)
 
CreeDo said:
During TAR matches I don't really notice the pros talking with the host much.
Maybe while warming up but once the match is on they're pretty quiet (though alex may joke with the crowd).
They don't strike me as being casual or nonchalant either. They look completely serious.

I'd guess pressure affects the pros less than the average buy because playing tournaments is literally
their daily job. They must get desensitized to it after a while. Something like the mosconi cup
is of course an exception. It's unlike any other tournament and only happens once a year.

If anything, you'll probably see them miss tough shots more in practice
because they're screwing around and not fully bearing down.
Click to expand...
Point well taken - I've seen some of this on TAR, but what I should of said is if you take a tour through the pool videos on You Tube you'll see Corey D. Making a high 14.1 run with just himself, the table, and music playing in the background, and other players either practicing or playing matches in very low pressure environments. This can lead to carelessness, but what about the shot I mentioned. In my opinion, this is the type of shot that is made half the time in tournaments. So you master players out there - I'm curious - do you folks make make this shot consistently when you're just practicing?
 
When the cash gets right it's the whip time. Oh no not the whip.

Some people don't miss. They just don't. They gotta get paid to show all that. And they come with it. Up against that. you either take them off the table or they take you off. They didn't win tournaments by missing.
Nick :)
 
His Boy Elroy said:
One thing I've noticed about these TAR broadcasts is how easily and nonchalantly these pro's pocket balls while chatting with the host. If some of these shots appeared in a televised match the analyst would inevitably say something like, "This one's a real tester. In a pressure situation like this, I'll give him a 50 - 50 chance of making it." It seems when they're just shooting around, they make these same shots a whole lot more often. So let's put the cue-ball at the head of the table 4 inches away from the short rail and half-way between the center diamond and the next diamond either tp the right or left. Let's put the object ball right smack on the foot spot. How often does the average pro make this shot while practicing and how often does he or she make it in a pressure packed tournament match?
Click to expand...

Pressure is only a thing of your own mind. Doesn't matter if it's a friendly game but your kid is watching you, all the way to you don't eat today and sleep in your car if you miss this shot. "Pressure" is nothing more than a thought you made up yourself. Since you created it, you are also empowered to eliminate it. How well you can eliminate it depends on how much you have fed the original thought and let it grow, and how practiced you are at eliminating it.

Therefore, there is no real answer to half of your question. As each individual will be different in both the pressure he feels, how much he allows that pressure to grow, and how practiced he is at eliminating it. That alone can vary from day to day, let alone person to person. Some will fold under pressure and not be able to perform the simplest of tasks. Others will perform their best under pressure. The optimum is to feel no pressure at all, just peak performance. Accomplish the task at hand, nothing more, nothing less. No emotions. The downside to that, is you essentially feel no satisfaction with winning or completing the task at hand. So, no mental reward for performing well. (which is also another reason some will only play for money, it's their only reward.)
 
Yeah...

Fatboy said:
thats about as high pressure there is and the rookies always dog it, for both sides. takes time to get seasoned for that action.

yeah pressure gets to them, especially if their bank account or bank roll is lite, then the pressure to win is a big factor, its not pressure on a shot or a match, its the overall pressure to perform well and win it all that they feel. and when you got a family kids it jut gets worse,

some guys dont show it as much but believe me i seen it after the camera is off its there.
Click to expand...

I was playing in a regional pro tour event in OKC and after one of my matches, one of the regulars there, said "You look so calm and relaxed when you are shooting, it was awesome".

I said "I did??? My heart was beating about a thousand times a minute!!!!"...

Jaden
 
dimeshooter said:
If you want to see the affect pressure has on the Pro players, I would recommend watching some Mosconi Cup videos. It is amazing what pressure can do to even the best in the world.
Click to expand...

I think the Mosconi Cup is different for the Pros...being on a Team is tougher than playing solo in my opinion. Bringing on another added pressure, you don't want to let your teammates down. Not enough team events to really own the pressure. And it does show up...
 
Pressure, is related to confidence and performance, knowing how to win and an edge of cockiness are all related. Most all great champions in any sport have "it", cocky confidence. Liken back to Tiger in his Prime. He knew he could hit the key shot or putt while the challengers were all, hoping, that maybe they could.
 
His Boy Elroy said:
One thing I've noticed about these TAR broadcasts is how easily and nonchalantly these pro's pocket balls while chatting with the host. If some of these shots appeared in a televised match the analyst would inevitably say something like, "This one's a real tester. In a pressure situation like this, I'll give him a 50 - 50 chance of making it." It seems when they're just shooting around, they make these same shots a whole lot more often. So let's put the cue-ball at the head of the table 4 inches away from the short rail and half-way between the center diamond and the next diamond either tp the right or left. Let's put the object ball right smack on the foot spot. How often does the average pro make this shot while practicing and how often does he or she make it in a pressure packed tournament match?
Click to expand...

The first thing you need to realize is that pressure is a good thing. You need pressure in order to compete at your peak level. This is not just my opinion, this is a proven fact. In sports psychology I think it is referred to as the optimum level of arousal. To use a analogy, think of pressure to be like water, too much of it and you drown... Too little of it and you die of thirst. You made a statement saying that it seems when the pros are just shooting around, they make difficult shots a whole lot more often. I don't think that is the case most of the time. Next time you are at a tournament or watching some pros match up, watch them warm up and see for yourself how their performance compares to when the match starts. Pressure brings you to that optimum state where concentration becomes more intense. Most records, in every sport, are broken under pressure situations.

Just knowing that pressure is required for peak performance will help you to relax when you start to feel the nerves. Everyone feels the nerves too when they are competing and under a stressful situation. While Niels post is not entirely incorrect, it leads one to believe that all stress can be eliminated with the right techniques and to be a pro or to perform at a peak level, elimination of pressure is required. I know that is not the case. Believe me, the pros feel the stress... you are not alone... and remember you want to feel the pressure because it is good.

Gene is right. Pressure is less with the pros. They do learn how to manage it better to keep it from growing into a pressure so great that, to use the analogy again, they drown. One of the ways to do this is with a mental pre shot routine. Some of the best have a consistant routine that they have practiced over and over so that it is automatic to them. This focused practice and consistant practice of his routine is going to make it easier for him to think the same way while preparing for the final shot at the 9 to win the US open as he does for a routine shot in any tournament. His thinking process will be the same. Not just any old routine is good enough either. The routine should be organized to guide you from left to right brain activity. Having a good routine that you follow will keep you focused on the process and not worry about results. An amature will not have a consistent routine that is properly organized that they use on every shot. They will drift off into thoughts about what happens if they miss this... how great it would be if they could make this etc.

I don't want to give the impression that Neil is entirely wrong either. There is a lot of truth to what he is saying. Pressure can be managed better if you can identify the source and identify how you can think differently about certain triggers that cause you to put pressure on yourself. Perhaps you find that you are putting undo pressure on yourself because of a perfectionistic attitude that causes you to create unrealistic expectations... If so you need to change that. But recognize that you will never eliminate the pressure, nor do you want to.

PRESSURE IS GOOD!
 
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