How to focus and be blind to surroundings

Start by Apologizing to all the people you ticked off. You wouldn't have to look over your shoulder anymore. drink a few more beers and play some of your favorite tunes wile playing . LOL


But really what I do is . I sit away from the rest of the people playing. most are at the bar turned around watching the table. I sit on the corner of the bar where the bar tender comes in and out and usually two seats from anyone else. I'm not much of a small talk person so I don't get caught up in conversations. I Have a good wife and 4 kids at home so the other ladies don't bother me. when I get up to play its like im in an empty bar with just me and the person im playing . One bar I go to has a small table only big enough for one person in the corner. the table will only hold two or three beers a shot, ash tray and a pack of cigarettes no room for anything else. I just put up my quarters and sit and weight my turn. its away from the rest of the croud. the only time I get a visitor is when someone needs to shoot from that corner of the pool table.
 
So many helpful comments, I've actually tried some of them but they don't work for me, imagining the waves or the ocean or a lovely place isn't a good solution for me because I want to think about the balls and the runout only, I want to stay in the zone and not get out of it, I can think of my Maldives vacation with my wife it was lovely experience but that sure will also put me off the game.

Anyway some people mentioned breathing . Is it true that once your down on the shot some people stop breathing to shoot just like in pistol shooting or gun shootings, or do you keep breathing normally. Or do you not notice yourself


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randyg said:
WOW! Have you got this wrong.



We teach this every day in Pool School. Focus is one of our strongest assets.



randyg
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I agree & believe focus is the most important factor after developing solid fundamentals & good understanding of the game.

I don't understand how you teach it. From what the OP stated he has "oohhh look something shiny" syndrome, stating he's essentially distracted by any and everything all at once. This looks like a possible case of ADD/ADHD, people who can't focus on anything, I don't know how you coach that out but if you can, hey more power to you, be well.
 
Two people already mentioned add/adhd and I have checked Wikipedia and I really doubt I have ADHD, most of the symptoms there I don't have. But maybe I think because I have it on my head that any person passing next to my table will make me miss, or anyone talking near me will have my attention and cause a miss, and the idea of this grow and grow even further until it became a syndrome of some kind, because it is really in my head deep now, I remember back when I was younger I didn't care. But now even before a miss I see someone moves on my sight my eye will follow him for a split second and the second split second I tell myself in my head " this guy will make me miss on critical shot " or I tell myself " why did he pass infront of me " then the third second is the execution and I miss it.

So I convinced myself that I'm going to miss , it's bad


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I learned to focus while loud music, loud people, fights with guys rolling around on the floor under your feet, being bumped into while down on a shot. Always had to watch your drink for someone spiking it. IMO pool should never have had the fans be silent. When all are silent, just a cough makes players jump...esp if their on the juice. :eek: Johnnyt
 
asbani said:
So many helpful comments, I've actually tried some of them but they don't work for me, imagining the waves or the ocean or a lovely place isn't a good solution for me because I want to think about the balls and the runout only, I want to stay in the zone and not get out of it, I can think of my Maldives vacation with my wife it was lovely experience but that sure will also put me off the game.

Anyway some people mentioned breathing . Is it true that once your down on the shot some people stop breathing to shoot just like in pistol shooting or gun shootings, or do you keep breathing normally. Or do you not notice yourself


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I recommended meditation in that it teaches you to focus on your breathing, slowly & deeply, in through your nose & out through your mouth diaphragmatic breathing.

Not only does it help you focus but it brings a good oxygen supply to your brain & doing it slowly & deeply also helps you relax. Try practicing at home & instead of visualizing your Maldives vacation, visualize yourself at the table feeling & looking calm & composed. Visualize yourself breaking & carving through a rack. Actually "see" yourself going through your PSR, dropping on the ball & executing the shot & cue ball traveling to your next desired position being on the correct side of the ball with the proper angle & on & on until the rack is complete. Visualize doing this over & over until you've "seen" yourself run a 9 pack & close out the set , all the while breathing slow, deep in a diaphragmatic fashion.

At the end of your session you will have learned how to focus on your breath, that breathing in this manner will lower your heart rate & simultaneously place you in both a relaxed an focused state of mind & also the all important skill of positive visualization. All of this should help you to focus on your breathing & the task in front of you & NOT focus on all the things that currently distract you.

Now go to the hall, rack the balls and assemble your equipment. Then sit in the chair & close your eyes & start breathing in this matter, slow, deep diaphragmatic breaths & visualize as you did at home, with you performing to your full potential, once you've done this for several minutes & several racks in your mind. Then open your eyes & step in the box & play. Take at least 2 of the these diaphragmatic breaths between each shot while you slowly visualize making the next shot before you with resulting position on the next ball. Then once you've seen it drop & execute. And yes you should pull the trigger at the end of your breath. Don't stop breathing, just pull the trigger at the end of your breath. Give it a go, good luck to you.
 
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Johnnyt said:
I learned to focus while loud music, loud people, fights with guys rolling around on the floor under your feet, being bumped into while down on a shot. Always had to watch your drink for someone spiking it... Johnnyt
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Hey, I know that place! Great place to do shots with friends and play with the waitresses - forty bikes out front (on weekends at least), but not the best venue for actually playing pool...:thumbup:
 
The book "Pleasure of Small Motions" by Robert Fancher covers this exact subject. It actually covers the whole mental game. You might be interested in reading it.
 
Breathing helps me. More focusing on my breathing actually. My breathing becomes longer and longer and louder and louder the closer I am to hitting the cue ball.

There have been times when someone's bumped right into me whilst down, screamed in my ear or farted....and I've not noticed it one little bit. I personally don't know if it's teachable, but I seem to have learned a way to help me out.
 
I am curious to see what kind of distraction would happen if a particular song was played during a large tournament. I searched for it a couple of times, but it was not available. Might have to pay more to find it.

Chuck Berry's My Ding a Ling

I imagine that play would be suspended on all tables as people sing along.
 
asbani said:
Two people already mentioned add/adhd and I have checked Wikipedia and I really doubt I have ADHD, most of the symptoms there I don't have. But maybe I think because I have it on my head that any person passing next to my table will make me miss, or anyone talking near me will have my attention and cause a miss, and the idea of this grow and grow even further until it became a syndrome of some kind, because it is really in my head deep now, I remember back when I was younger I didn't care. But now even before a miss I see someone moves on my sight my eye will follow him for a split second and the second split second I tell myself in my head " this guy will make me miss on critical shot " or I tell myself " why did he pass infront of me " then the third second is the execution and I miss it.

So I convinced myself that I'm going to miss , it's bad


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I would consider what Colonel, Sam, & Pidge have said.

I agree with you that I do NOT want to be thinking about anything but the table.

I also agree with you that you seem to have allowed it to get worse & it's now like a hypnotic suggestion.

If I were you, I would try to find a loud crowded bar or hall & go there & play when it means nothing to you & play by yourself if possible.

You have to let your subconscious prove to your conscious mind that all of that other stuff means nothing & it is ONLY what you can do on the table that matters.

As to breathing, I try to breath slowly & calmly. I do not do any specific breathing or timing of the in & out but I do pause my breathing when making the actual shot & I would say that that is usually when most of the air is out of my lungs so that there is no 'waiting to explode'.

If what I suggest does not work then you may want to actually consider hypnosis.

Good Luck & Best Wishes for You & Yours,
Rick

PS When a situation arises that for some reason, what ever that is, my heart starts to pound & I feel some sort of self imposed pressure, I do then take some slow DEEP breaths while I tell myself that I've done this thousands of times & there is no reason why I can't or won't do it again. Only when I feel my body return to normal will I proceed to shoot the shot. I will not shoot it while my body is still reacting to the pressure that I have placed myself into.
 
RandyG: You've been around pool too long to know much of anything about the game. LOL Have a great day my friend.
 
asbani said:
Two people already mentioned add/adhd and I have checked Wikipedia and I really doubt I have ADHD, most of the symptoms there I don't have. But maybe I think because I have it on my head that any person passing next to my table will make me miss, or anyone talking near me will have my attention and cause a miss, and the idea of this grow and grow even further until it became a syndrome of some kind, because it is really in my head deep now, I remember back when I was younger I didn't care. But now even before a miss I see someone moves on my sight my eye will follow him for a split second and the second split second I tell myself in my head " this guy will make me miss on critical shot " or I tell myself " why did he pass infront of me " then the third second is the execution and I miss it.

So I convinced myself that I'm going to miss , it's bad
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Allow me to provide some empathetic intervention and straightforward advice, Asbani.

You definitely need to clear out the unproductive, and focus-adverse commands you’ve unknowingly programmed into your subconscious, and it can be done far easier than you’d ever imagine. We ourselves (and external feeds -- media, other people, etc.) inject true and false things daily into our subconscious and our subconscious takes them all as truths. Give yourself "truths" that will lastingly and healthfully benefit you:

The below audio will definitely help you with the *positive* reprogramming and reinforcement thereof (don’t be mislead by the snooker title – this audio is tremendously result-producing for all cue sports with regard to focus and performance):
http://www.hypnosisdownloads.com/sports-performance/play-snooker?2999!table

And they have specific ones for virtually any area of life that a person would like to improve:
http://www.momentsofmagic.com/hypnosis-downloads.html

These folks know plenty about human behavior and mind strengthening and conditioning for sports and life in general.

Arnaldo
 
asbani said:
Can one of you guys help my mental game outside of the table.
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I am no instructor but I would say - Concentrate on your entire shot sequence all the way through the follow through. Think about how you are going to hit it, how hard, where the cue is ball is going to end up, etc. Then your mind will be filled with that instead of what is going on around you.

I believe once you have mastered your stroke a lot of that stuff will not matter because your fundamentals will be so good that once you are on the shot and on line, it will just work.

I use to have many things bother me - How my hand was sitting on the rail or on a pocket, what was being said or going on around the table. Now, I can get down in a shot and you can dance in front of the pocket or wave your hand over the object ball as I shoot and it would not phase me even if I am shooting over another ball or off the rail. The one thing that still gets me is my mind trying to change my stroke as I do it. For shots I feel that on (typically long shot or critical shots) I will get my aim and then just concentrate on where I am hitting the cue ball and I wont even look at the object ball until the cue ball has left my stick.
 
I don't know if this will help you but it has worked for me.

I have a friend that I play with regularly, about a year ago I told him to try to shark me at random during practice. It gave me more of a feel like a tournament night as there are more people around and more distractions.

This helped me get into the habit of focusing more on the table and less on the surroundings. It took a long time to get used to it but now it is very rare something will throw me off on a league night or a tournament.
 
I wish I had some advice to help, but it just seems natural for me to get zoned into the game and not be bothered by people moving or talking around me. My opponent could practice his River Dance technique when it's my turn and it wouldn't faze me.

About the only thing that does get to me is (like Twinkle Toes has experienced) some of the incredibly stupid hip-hop that is popular nowadays. Note I said some. The incredible lack of intelligence that goes into this stuff (and the noise and antics of the people who like it) can certainly annoy enough to distract. Especially that "U getting mad...I'm getting rich" song. Argghhh!

Other than that, I'm good. Lol

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I'm convinced that the OPs issue is the biggest impediment to my truly improving, and getting to the next level.

I can sometimes focus properly and do a pretty good job playing. I might not make everything, and I might very well lose, but I know I've played the way I'm capable of.

Other times I miss so badly, and I know its a lack of focus that is the cause.

Shutting off my mind, no simple task. My mind is racing much of the time. Like someone else said, I try and sit away from others during my match, that sometimes helps. I personally like a louder room, it makes it easier to drown out individual voices chattering around me. I've been a retail manager for over 25 years, I've developed the ability to listen to my associates conversations while doing my own tasks, which is helpful for my job but very distracting playing pool. I've tried ear buds, and keep a pair in my pool case, but I'd rather not use them if I dont have to....

I'll be following this thread to see if any suggestions seem like they might help me. Good luck asbani
 
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I appreciate all the comments and recommendations and suggestions.

I wanted to ask about the audios, are they meant for me to listen to them during the day or during the match on iPod? I actually got a PM also regarding this, a guy wanted me to buy a 30min audio for Concentration-MP3 and another audio called Self-confidence-MP3

Now do these actually work? I never seen a pro with an iPod playing


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