How To Get A Really Good Player

Natural talent is a great start and practice practice is always great but IMO, the only way to get better is to constantly play other people better than you... with something on the line.

I've seen really good players that couldn't rack a set of balls b/c their hands were shaking too badly over a $20 race to five. I've seen them miss shots that would not have otherwise been missed.

You have to get the mental down.
 
Natural talent in pool is nothing. The guy without natural talent that plays hour after hour, year after year. That’s the guy that will excel.
 
sjm said:
Great post! Still, I think what constitutes hard work needs some definition.

No end of players work hard and don't reach their potential. Even if one takes lessons and develops a solid, fairly repeatable stroke, the road to gaining playing excellence remains a long one.

Shooting straight is only part of the equation. To keep this relatively finite, and I'm sticking to nine ball, the primary professional discipline in this era of the game, you need to do all of these to be a top flight player:

Shoot nice and straight
Break the balls well
Have good cue ball speed control
Master all strokes with/without english
Play the table patterns well
Make good tactical decisions
Play good safeties
Kick/jump well

Not even one of these skills is easily developed!

Hard work, to me, means committing yourself to becoming proficient in all of these aspects of play. Those who only play the ghost in their quest to develop proficiency, and I've met quite a few of them over the years, overlook numerous aspects of their development, and are not, in my estimation of things, working hard enough. A few of them succeed, but far too many of them become one-dimensional in their games.

To the original poster: Commit yourself to become a complete, well-rounded player with a full set of skills and you're on the right track.
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I agree 1000%! 1 that you forgot though. Proficiency shooting with either hand. I work on it daily and it really pays off more than a lot of players think!
 
Ratta said:
Talent is overrated-
from my expirience it ll give you right at the beginning a faster boost.
And these so called "players with natural talent" often give up, as soon the hard worker, woh has this thing, what is really the absolute most necessary thing catches up:

And this is the "Attitude".

Without that, nothin will happen- neverever. If you re physically on a level, where you really are able to shoot almost everything- then it s about the mental part. And this is far more important than anything else.
It s all in your head.

Attitude is a decision- and the rest is pure and hard work. And to put in more than the other guys.
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My mentor always said that a 'natural' has a peak and will always be outplayed by the non natural who works his ass off bcuz he has no peak or ceiling, as it were.
 
sixpack said:
It's ALL mindset. Natural talent is a naturally good mindset.

The examples of people being able to not play for 10 years and come back are valid. We've all seen them. I quit for 10 years and just started back up again about a year ago. I don't have my highest gear back yet - but I can beat almost every single person that I could beat when I quit. One got really good. The rest stayed roughly the same relative to me.

The key thing about pool is that people already play at the level they want to play at. That's it. You can practice your butt off, get to the pool hall and play tournaments all the time but if you don't see yourself as being a better player - you won't be.

We all know players that have been missing the same back cuts down the rails for 20 years. Why? Because part of their identity is that they miss *those* shots. That's it.

Pool players see themselves playing at a certain level, work their ass off to get there and then stay there the rest of their lives - unless they are able make a mental shift.

So you want to play better? Visualize how you want to play. Own it. Internalize it. The path will reveal itself once you see it. You will find the way to play at that level.

Everybody reading: How would you describe your level of play?

Write down your answer. Your first instinctive answer. Did you write down: Can beat everyone at the bar? Competes in tournaments and wins a few? Good regional player?

Think about your answer. Do you practice your ass off all the time so you can be a good local player? If so then stop. You already have achieved your goal. :)

The reason Shane wins so much is because he knows he is the best player and because he knows he is the best player he practices like he believes the best player should practice. It's a feedback loop. When one part is stagnant, the feedback is just noise. Not progress.

I know a player who plays very infrequently. When he does play though he can show up and win a tournament with a strong field including pros. And he does this virtually every time he comes out and plays.

I talked to him about it one time and he said "Pool is easy. I can just see how to hit the shot to make it and so I do. All I have to do is make the balls and I win the money. It's easy."

He sees the reward and isn't screwed up by all the negative thoughts. He assumes he is going to win because he sees the way to win. His mindset is so strong that he sees himself as the best and just believes that he can dust off his cue and beat everybody with a little bit of warmup. And he does. That's natural talent. Natural mindset talent.

People who start younger have a better natural mindset because children aren't as negative when they miss or lose so they tend to just laugh it off and try harder next time.
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Most folks just don't want to work that hard. Attention spans get shorter w each generation.
 
Fitzz47 said:
You go to work 40 hours a week for 30 years. Shoot pool for 40 hours a week for 30 years. lol.
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I think I see the point you're making. Financially, the guy who goes to work 40 hours a week is the one who comes out ahead.

When you do your best with the tools God gave you, success is possible in many things. But many of us play pool for fun & recreation. I really wonder how many of the top pros are playing for fun, or do they consider that playing has become a job? It's a pretty serious thing when one contemplates turning a hobby into a way to make a living.

So, why are so many natural talents of pool not putting in the hard work to reach the top level? Most of the good players I know also are pretty intelligent. Intelligent enough to know that the financial rewards of pool are not great. They also know that to turn pro would reduce if not eliminate the fun factor.

(edit) Put me in the camp of natural talent when combined with practice, dedication, and instruction, prevailing over average talent and a similar amount of practice, instruction, and dedication. Apologies for straying a bit off topic in the above thoughts.
 
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jrctherake said:
As I said, sheer will and determination without genetic advantages with beat the socks off of pure genetics without sheer will and determination.

Imo, that's why we have seen SO MANY young players show up, play AWESOME and then poof, gone like a fart in the wind.....:

All genetic potential but NO will and determination to reach that potential.

ANYONE that does not understand that has issues in the pool game as well as their thought process.
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The same can be said for Football, Baseball,etc
 
10,000 hrs. There's those numbers again. Done wrong, is worthless compared 1,000 done right. Player needs an overview of the concept. Win. Just win is too obvious and provides no clear path.
All things being equal, if you spent 20 years developing the technical base and the competoid base, (you have worked out the design haven't you?) you will start winning.

Here's a sobering thought. The 4ners somehow managed that, came to Murkha and basically went net fishing.
 
WoodyMPW said:
Where's that Canadian guy on here that wanted to be pro in a few months?
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I think we’ve all known someone who says the classic line “if i could play all the time i’d be pro in X amount of time” and its always some insanely naive answer. Smh 🤦‍♂️ lol People don’t realize there’s levels to this game! It’s not just about practice and competing, it's a big pie chart of ability and mental strength that are cut into slivers that all need to be improved upon. And it doesn’t happen over night. It takes years and years of grinding, failing, and persistence.
 
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pwd72s said:
I think I see the point you're making. Financially, the guy who goes to work 40 hours a week is the one who comes out ahead.

When you do your best with the tools God gave you, success is possible in many things. But many of us play pool for fun & recreation. I really wonder how many of the top pros are playing for fun, or do they consider that playing has become a job? It's a pretty serious thing when one contemplates turning a hobby into a way to make a living.

So, why are so many natural talents of pool not putting in the hard work to reach the top level? Most of the good players I know also are pretty intelligent. Intelligent enough to know that the financial rewards of pool are not great. They also know that to turn pro would reduce if not eliminate the fun factor.

(edit) Put me in the camp of natural talent when combined with practice, dedication, and instruction, prevailing over average talent and a similar amount of practice, instruction, and dedication. Apologies for straying a bit off topic in the above thoughts.
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I think many Pro players often lose their love for the game. How do you enjoy the amount of pressure, dedication and hard work it takes to excel?? Gotta be a special character to enjoy competition at that level.
Just ask them.
Part and parcel of the process of turning a hobby into a job.
That being said, my old man told me to do what I loved for a living and I'd never work a day in my life. 🤷🏻‍♂️ Take what you can use and leave the rest.
 
Mensabum said:
My mentor always said that a 'natural' has a peak and will always be outplayed by the non natural who works his ass off bcuz he has no peak or ceiling, as it were.
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A 'Natural' makes the 'Learning Curve' faster! Experience with learned expertise knowledge is just the 'Cherry on Top'!

IMPO, the 'Natural' has No ceiling because they have the 'Feel/Natural Talent' to push the envelope of that talent!

Like in every sport, 'The Natural' makes it look Easy!
 
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mr3cushion said:
A 'Natural' makes the 'Learning Curve' faster! Experience with learned expertise knowledge is just the 'Cherry on Top'!

IMPO, the 'Natural' has No ceiling because they have the 'Feel/Natural Talent' to push the envelope of that talent!

Like in every sport, 'The Natural' makes it look Easy!
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I gotta disagree my friend.
 
Here's a book with some very interesting case studies of both "natural talent" and "hard worker" athletes. You can get it delivered to your house for under $10. It's also on Kindle.

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