How to break a slump

P

PoolPlayer22

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New session just started. Ended the last one 9-2, but on a loss.
Im a 6 but cant seem to beat anyone. 3 game losing streak now including the last match of last session. It seems to be all mental.

During warm ups, im my usual self. As soon as the match starts, though, im a wreck.

What do yall do to end slumps?
 
PoolPlayer22 said:
New session just started. Ended the last one 9-2, but on a loss.
Im a 6 but cant seem to beat anyone. 3 game losing streak now including the last match of last session. It seems to be all mental.

During warm ups, im my usual self. As soon as the match starts, though, im a wreck.

What do yall do to end slumps?
Click to expand...

I stopped trying to warm up years ago for regular league. It was as though i would get lazy and out of stroke, but could play just fine out of the gate. Also, if you're trying to play how you *think* you should be playing, that's going to set you back as well. Other than that, push yourself to play through the slumps - get it out of your system.
 
Shorten the length of your stroke up(practice this first though, not during a match.) Watch Rodney's stroke, you can get a lot of power and spin by just accelerating through the cue ball with very little cue movement. Stay down and finish your stroke, be deliberate and don't take any shot for granted. Don't believe in being "in a slump" or "having an off night"
Make what has to happen a concrete plan, don't just assume or hope.
 
Attitude.

A slump is an opportunity.

Everyone has a range of how they play, from their best to their worst. Too many people get hung up on trying to improve the top of their range. That's great when it happens, but it means that the majority of the time you are frustrated that you aren't setting records. Instead, make it your mission to improve every part of your range. Only when you are playing your worst can you improve the bottom of your range.

I coached sales people and told them that to make more money year over year, it's a lot easier to improve your worst months than your best months. Pool is no different.

And, when you compete regularly, it's a critical skill. You don't always get to play when you're feeling great. I just won a tournament last weekend and I was struggling my last four matches. It's great that you can win when you're playing your best, but it's a milestone when you can grind out a win even when you're struggling.

Put those types of outlooks together and instead of getting discouraged about how bad you're playing, you can be excited about your growth as a player on how you're handling adversity. Good decision making. Not giving up. Not going for desperation shots. Not being so hard on yourself that you spiral and make one mistake turn into several in a row. Resilience. Poise. Acceptance. Working in the here and now. And belief that at any moment, one good shot is all it takes to get the rhythm back, the feel back, for your best game to come back. You don't have to force it. Just hang in and keep giving it a chance for the magic to happen.
 
^ Well said Tin Man :smile:


Being in a slump every now and then is a part of the game, any game. Humans just cant perform 100% at their best 100% of the time. Accept it, work on it and get over it. Eventually you will find your better game again and then it will come back a little. When I'm playing bad I try to focus more on good fundamentals. Stay down untill the ball drops, keep your head still, grip loose and mind at the table. Those things bring out the best of me so I work on them. Touch drills are also very important for me to find my gear. They also help me keep my patterns simple when the game starts.

I like to throw 10 balls on the table and run them in any order without touching a rail. Another good one is a drill that I came up with a while ago, pictured below.
I try to shoot the balls in any order and in any pocket but the cue ball cant touch another ball or go past the line of balls near the center pockets. Tough little drill for my skill level but it works well for me.




Keep on grinding :smile:
 
PoolPlayer22 said:
New session just started. Ended the last one 9-2, but on a loss.
Im a 6 but cant seem to beat anyone. 3 game losing streak now including the last match of last session. It seems to be all mental.

During warm ups, im my usual self. As soon as the match starts, though, im a wreck.

What do yall do to end slumps?
Click to expand...

Although my experience in tournaments and league matches is mostly snooker related, I know where you coming from since I also was always a bit of a practice champion.
Winning matches against better players during practice regularly, losing to even strengh players in tournaments.

What helped me was:

Developing a short warming up routine, which helped me to determine how was my game on this day. Good feeling in warm up, I came out shooting. Meh feeling in warm up, I tried to tighten up the game focusing more on the tactical side.

If it was one of those days, I slowed my game down quite a bit. Giving me that extra time to think and going through my routine and focus on every shot. Also makes the whole match start slower, which helped me to settle and set aside the nervousness and maybe go a bit under the skin of my opponent.

Still going into the match with positive feelings and trying to keep them up till the end. Its over when its over, till then everything can happen.


And...practice:grin:
In the moment when you go down on the shot and the pockets get tighter and tighter, it helps to know, that you made that shot 50 times in practice and never missed.
 
PoolPlayer22 said:
New session just started. Ended the last one 9-2, but on a loss.
Im a 6 but cant seem to beat anyone. 3 game losing streak now including the last match of last session. It seems to be all mental.

During warm ups, im my usual self. As soon as the match starts, though, im a wreck.

What do yall do to end slumps?
Click to expand...

Everyone has slumps. I think the hardest thing as far as getting out of the slump is the mental aspect. As a good player once told me "you are mind F#@king yourself and you need to stop it". A huge part of this game is mental, and once your mind goes negative (like the thought "what if I miss this shot, or if I miss I will lose the game"), you're in the shits. What should be going thru your mind is "I love this shot, I'm out now", and MEAN it. Keep your focus, keep it positive, and then get the hell out.

You have to have a very short memory to play this game, forget the losses and move on, even if you lost when you should have won. Gotta keep those pesky negative thoughts out of your mind when you are playing, if you don't, you are not only playing against an opponent, you're playing against yourself as well. Hard to win in that situation, if not impossible.
 
Oze147 said:
Although my experience in tournaments and league matches is mostly snooker related, I know where you coming from since I also was always a bit of a practice champion.
Winning matches against better players during practice regularly, losing to even strengh players in tournaments.

What helped me was:

Developing a short warming up routine, which helped me to determine how was my game on this day. Good feeling in warm up, I came out shooting. Meh feeling in warm up, I tried to tighten up the game focusing more on the tactical side.

If it was one of those days, I slowed my game down quite a bit. Giving me that extra time to think and going through my routine and focus on every shot. Also makes the whole match start slower, which helped me to settle and set aside the nervousness and maybe go a bit under the skin of my opponent.

Still going into the match with positive feelings and trying to keep them up till the end. Its over when its over, till then everything can happen.


And...practice:grin:
In the moment when you go down on the shot and the pockets get tighter and tighter, it helps to know, that you made that shot 50 times in practice and never missed.
Click to expand...

This is especially were good solid fundamentals come into play. If you can remove your brain from talking you into missing a shot and just let your body do what it already knows how to do because you have solid practice and PSR regimens making tough shots in pressure situations should not even be a factor. It have taken some beatings but I am finally at the point where if a shot does not feel right I stand up and start over instead of thinking I can compensate when Im already down on the shot.
 
The biggest issue for my slumps is 100% mental. Once i get frustrated my entire game falls apart. the best thing to do is remember it's just pool, there will be other matches. Just let go of missed shots and missed position. We are not pros. Keep practicing and doing drills. It'll help you in the long run. Just let each shot go. Even if you make em, just say "good" and move on. each shot you are currently taking is the most important.
 
If you are fine in warm-ups and practice, but struggling in competition, I would take a look at the possibility that you've let a bit of extra tension and movement into your game. I'm not talking about jumping straight up, but additional flinching moving around when hitting the ball.

In the last year in matches I've just focused on keeping my arm relaxed and keeping 100% still. There are some stretches you can do release some tension from your arms, and another routine I've learned is to flex and tighten your arm for 10 seconds before relaxing it. Sometimes you don't even realize you are tense.

Slumps can also be a result of other bad habits creeping into your game. But the first thing I'd look at is tension and added movement. Those two things are amongst the most likely things that will differ between the practice table and match table.
 
There is only one way

There is only one way to break a slump-
slumpbuster.jpg
 
You are not in a slump. You've plateaued.
The bad news is: you're not playing very well at the moment. The good news is: In a short while you'll be playing better.
Just give it some time, and remember. Like the breakfast burrito you had this morning; it too shall pass. :wink:
 
Too many players feel they are in a slump because of their won/loss record. If this is your focus you are setting yourself up for continual frustration. Pool is a fickle game, where you can play your best and lose, or play bad and win. If you instead just focus on your game and let the wins and losses take care of themselves you will be much better off. Thorston Hohmann confirmed this view in a recent interview during Turning Stone. He basically said he's more focused on his game than on the result.

Now if I'm not cueing well there are little things I can do to get back going again. One thing I do is focus more intently on the exact speck on the cue ball that I intend to hit. I think everybody is a little different though. So figuring out these little things is part of the journey. What ever you do don't make a drastic change but instead just try a small tweak here or there.
 
For me one of the way to get out of a slump is I changed the way I play. I spent the whole entire practice session playing every shot with follow (no draw of stop shot). Until I can run a couple racks using only follow then I return to my normal routines. Most of the time the slump is gone and running out seem much easier.
 
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