I have been playing ALOT in the past year trying to improve my game. When I practice alone I play to my satisfaction. And if im gambling i play pretty good. But i have just started going to a couple small tournaments lately that I think i should be winning, but its like its hard for to sit and wait to play two games, and then wait 30 mins or so before i play again, so its hard for me to get instroke. I realize that to accomplish my goals I need to be a better tournament player. Does anyone else have this problem or went through this? if so any advice or tips would be much appreciated.. Thanks alot
How to play better in tournaments
- Thread starter Scottlucasi19
- Start date
Odd as it sounds, I just try to keep my mind active. Don't just sit there and passively watch others play. You will soon get bored and your "desire" will wain. I seek out a video game or a quick card game...
Leagues kill me. I run a rack then sit there with the team while they play their 3-4 games (gotta "support" the team) and then I have to try to get "psyched" up to do it again...not good.
Leagues kill me. I run a rack then sit there with the team while they play their 3-4 games (gotta "support" the team) and then I have to try to get "psyched" up to do it again...not good.
Scottlucasi19 said:
My tournament play increased dramatically when I started looking at tournaments as 'practice' and I started 'practicing' how to stay focused, how to play the right shot, etc...It took so much pressure off that I was able to start winning tourneys immediately. As my road partner at the time said, "really, unless you're playing for your life, it's all practice."
Cheers,
RC
have someone threaten to cut your daughters teddy bear if you dont win.
Have this person located within eyesight and periodically motion a threatening gesture towards the teddy bear.
{Im watching less and less action movies}
Recently saw: Hitchikers guide
Flight Plan
Just My Luck
Have this person located within eyesight and periodically motion a threatening gesture towards the teddy bear.
{Im watching less and less action movies}
Recently saw: Hitchikers guide
Flight Plan
Just My Luck
just a random plug for reading Pleasures of Small Motions - it addresses many of the concerns in tournament/competition play very well.
one major point: competition is usually about status. this has many facets and repercussions which have to be dealt with in your head.
aside from that, experience has no substitute.
-s
one major point: competition is usually about status. this has many facets and repercussions which have to be dealt with in your head.
aside from that, experience has no substitute.
-s
Scottlucasi19 said:
The key thing about tournaments, is you must bring your best game to every match. How do we do this? It is, as another poster said, about maintaining focus. How?
A trick that worked for me was on the way to the tournament, I would be focusing my eyes on the tiniest thing I could visibly see while driving safely, and concentrate as hard as I could on it. Often this would be one letter on a license plate 1/4 mile away. And after a few minutes of this, I would relax for 30 seconds or so, and then find something else to concentrate on.
The mind has to be trained into a concentration mode such as this. The eys and mind tend to want to drift when you concentrate hard on something. When you work hard enough at it, the table seems to open up for you. It becomes easy to block out distractions. It's easy to not think about your stroke. To just look at the object ball and just smack it in.
This should be the same mode you practice in. Look at the reflection of the lights in the balls. Try to see if there are any nicks on the cue ball. Look for lint on the cloth. Look HARD to see if all the balls are frozen for your break during practice. Look HARD to see your contact point on the head ball before you break.
Sometimes I have to work hard on some days to get in this mode, but it was well worth it.
Any instructors wishing to comment on this method are welcome.
Russ
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This is good stuff. Good question. good answers.
Staying focused during an entire tournament would require so much energy you would be exhausted. I've found that I need to focus for only about 10 seconds between the time my bridge hand hits the table and the time the shot is finished. In between, I let my mind relax.
I like the idea of practicing focusing on small things for short periods of time and then relaxing. I can see where that would help train your mind for what will be required in a match.
Steve
I like the idea of practicing focusing on small things for short periods of time and then relaxing. I can see where that would help train your mind for what will be required in a match.
Steve
Thanks for all of this useful info, I'm going to try it, I think that keeping my mind flowing will help more than the focusing. Because i dont have a problem focusing, the problem i think with me somtimes is that i focus to much and get to paraniod as of "what to do"and my brain just locks up. I think I should keep my mind occupied and let it just come natural, but it's gonna be hard.
pooltchr said:
For me, I needed the concentration level heightened before I line up on my shot. Helps me to find correct line and to pay attention to how my stance feels.
Russ
advice?
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deleted by me
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OK here's a lame stab at zen-like philosophical wisdom.
A muscle can grow quickly but the bones and tissues that support the muscle and ultimately determine what the muscle can accomplish grow very, very slowly.
Competive pool is the same. Your skills can improve by leaps and bounds, but they are only as good as your confidence in them. Confidence grows very slowly through being tested time and again in competition.
I crossed the nervous threshold in one tournament. My opponent was so nervous, he could barely stand up much less play pool. he looked sick and his hands were shaking like a leaf. I didn't even realize he was a great player until much later because against me he didn't make a ball.
I decided right then and there it was dumb to get that nervous and that I wouldn't let nerves cost me a game like that and I got over the hump. I was still careful but started stroking away and loosening up, and that was that.
Chris
A muscle can grow quickly but the bones and tissues that support the muscle and ultimately determine what the muscle can accomplish grow very, very slowly.
Competive pool is the same. Your skills can improve by leaps and bounds, but they are only as good as your confidence in them. Confidence grows very slowly through being tested time and again in competition.
I crossed the nervous threshold in one tournament. My opponent was so nervous, he could barely stand up much less play pool. he looked sick and his hands were shaking like a leaf. I didn't even realize he was a great player until much later because against me he didn't make a ball.
I decided right then and there it was dumb to get that nervous and that I wouldn't let nerves cost me a game like that and I got over the hump. I was still careful but started stroking away and loosening up, and that was that.
Chris
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It helps me to get to a tournament early (about 45 minutes) and warm-up on a table by myself for about 15 minutes. If it is a bar and they only have a few tables, then if getting there 20 minutes early or so, all the tables may be taken.
Then I like to sit and "relax". I play better if relaxed.
I like the time between games because I can relax. But if it is an hour wait or sometimes 6 hours of waiting until the next match, it is helpful to warm-up again just before my next match on a spare table if possible.
Some players will quickly jump up and shoot in the remaining balls on a table just after a match is finished. This keeps them in stroke.
Others like to get into the losers bracket right away, then they are constantly playing until the final match. (Whereas the winner of the winner's bracket has probably been waiting an hour or longer to play the final match.)
And sometimes you are playing good and get into the money. The next night at a different tournament you could go two and out.
The most important thing for me is to relax, have fun, and do a bit of socializing.
Also keep in mind that there are some very good players who show up at a money tournament. So it is different from league tournaments. They play differently. Some will shark. Tempers might flair. Best to always be courteous to your opponent and shake hands after each match win or lose. If you don't have anything good to say to an opponent, best to say nothing at all. If you are friendly to the other players, sometimes they will give you tips, tell you about other tournaments, or maybe ask you to play on their league team.
Then I like to sit and "relax". I play better if relaxed.
I like the time between games because I can relax. But if it is an hour wait or sometimes 6 hours of waiting until the next match, it is helpful to warm-up again just before my next match on a spare table if possible.
Some players will quickly jump up and shoot in the remaining balls on a table just after a match is finished. This keeps them in stroke.
Others like to get into the losers bracket right away, then they are constantly playing until the final match. (Whereas the winner of the winner's bracket has probably been waiting an hour or longer to play the final match.)
And sometimes you are playing good and get into the money. The next night at a different tournament you could go two and out.
The most important thing for me is to relax, have fun, and do a bit of socializing.
Also keep in mind that there are some very good players who show up at a money tournament. So it is different from league tournaments. They play differently. Some will shark. Tempers might flair. Best to always be courteous to your opponent and shake hands after each match win or lose. If you don't have anything good to say to an opponent, best to say nothing at all. If you are friendly to the other players, sometimes they will give you tips, tell you about other tournaments, or maybe ask you to play on their league team.
Since it hasnt been mentioned, you should also pay attention to what you eat and when you eat. So many times I have played in a tournament only to lose because I didnt manage my food intake correctly and got tired due to lack of food or played sluggishly because I ate right before I was called upon to play.
In my humble opinion, the best way to get better at tournaments is to PLAY MORE TOURNAMENTS - i.e. just get your feet wet, get to where a tournament isn't some big thing in your head, but it's more of an everyday thing. And the more tournaments you play, the more you will end up playing the same folks who play those tournaments, and hence the more you will learn about their skills, their strengths/weaknesses and how to counter/take advantage of them.
When I first started playing tournaments, I was a chronic two-and-outer. But I kept at it. True, since then, I've taken some lessons from a couple of people, read a bunch of stuff on AZB forums
, etc., but I really think the reason I'm not a two-and-outer anymore and get into the money reasonably often is, I'm more used to playing in tournaments, I know the people, and can now say "Oh I'm playing X - I can take him" and not "Oh crap it's X!".
Relaxation through experience, I suppose, is one way to put it.
When I first started playing tournaments, I was a chronic two-and-outer. But I kept at it. True, since then, I've taken some lessons from a couple of people, read a bunch of stuff on AZB forums
, etc., but I really think the reason I'm not a two-and-outer anymore and get into the money reasonably often is, I'm more used to playing in tournaments, I know the people, and can now say "Oh I'm playing X - I can take him" and not "Oh crap it's X!". Relaxation through experience, I suppose, is one way to put it.