How to step my game up all the time?

R

Racing-Robbie

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I'm a "4" in 8 ball and "6" in 9 ball. Whenever I shoot league I can't get into the focus mentality that I do when we go play in high level tournaments. Its almost like my adrenaline kicks in and I'm a totally different pool player.

Played in a local tournament Thursday night and had 5 break and runs and 2 8 snaps out of 12 matches. Never shot so good in my life. Lol.

So how do you get focused on your match at hand with everything going on around you?
 
All the time?

Racing-Robbie said:
I'm a "4" in 8 ball and "6" in 9 ball. Whenever I shoot league I can't get into the focus mentality that I do when we go play in high level tournaments. Its almost like my adrenaline kicks in and I'm a totally different pool player.

Played in a local tournament Thursday night and had 5 break and runs and 2 8 snaps out of 12 matches. Never shot so good in my life. Lol.

So how do you get focused on your match at hand with everything going on around you?
Click to expand...

The answer to your original question is: there is no answer. People in all sports (or other endeavors) have been seeking that forever.

Your more realistic question is at the end of your post.

There are literally thousands of books on mental discipline. Two of the best are "The Pleasures of Small Motions" and "The Inner Game of Tennis".

Physical activity can also dramatically improve your focus as well as your general health. Especially things like yoga and tai chai.
 
Take your time

Racing-Robbie said:
I'm a "4" in 8 ball and "6" in 9 ball. Whenever I shoot league I can't get into the focus mentality that I do when we go play in high level tournaments. Its almost like my adrenaline kicks in and I'm a totally different pool player.

Played in a local tournament Thursday night and had 5 break and runs and 2 8 snaps out of 12 matches. Never shot so good in my life. Lol.

So how do you get focused on your match at hand with everything going on around you?
Click to expand...

Robbie,
I play pool with a guy who has a very long shot routine and it drives me nuts but the guy is good, and I learn a lot. He takes his time...on every shot. So playing with him has made me examine this closely....I would tell you this.....when aiming take your time and the decision you make be certain of it...then think solely about shot pressure.....sounds like youre hitting em pretty good though.....

Just another lovely day in paradise.....

336Robin :thumbup:

aimisthegameingpool.com
aimisthegameinpool@yahoo.com
 
Racing-Robbie said:
I'm a "4" in 8 ball and "6" in 9 ball. Whenever I shoot league I can't get into the focus mentality that I do when we go play in high level tournaments. Its almost like my adrenaline kicks in and I'm a totally different pool player.

Played in a local tournament Thursday night and had 5 break and runs and 2 8 snaps out of 12 matches. Never shot so good in my life. Lol.

So how do you get focused on your match at hand with everything going on around you?
Click to expand...

If you broke and ran 5 games out of 12, you can't be a 4!!!! Especially if you only broke in 6 of those games!

The odds of a 4 doing that are off the board, maybe 1 in 500,000,000. You might have a better chance of winning powerball!
 
That is what makes the game so challenging. We all have different mental makeups to solve this problem. The key to solving the problem is looking at why your approach has changed.

Ask yourself questions that thoroughly cover all facets of why things change in those conditions in a third person manner. That is, act like you are trying to help someone else with their issue.

Next give honest answers. That way the third person in you can give you advice you can experiment with to solve the issue.

It is easier said then done because most people will not make this their primary focus when they play. It becomes back burner material...lingering never resolved.
 
Donny Lutz said:
The answer to your original question is: there is no answer. People in all sports (or other endeavors) have been seeking that forever.

Your more realistic question is at the end of your post.

There are literally thousands of books on mental discipline. Two of the best are "The Pleasures of Small Motions" and "The Inner Game of Tennis".

Physical activity can also dramatically improve your focus as well as your general health. Especially things like yoga and tai chai.
Click to expand...

Sounds like life. If it means More to you, your willing to do more, and vise versa. It's why when I see an American player win the US Open, there's not many bigger mtns. to climb and it's kind of an End Of Road so to speak, why, because our Pool world has No structure yet like the PGA or the ATP or the NFL or baseball, to offer the challenges and rewards one should get from ones efforts. It's why SVB goes to the phillipines.
 
Well, first, take out the "8 on the snaps" as evidence that you're shooting good. That's mostly luck and dependent on the opponent's racking. But 5 break and runs is great, no doubt.

My guess is... you probably care more about tournaments than league.
League can start to feel like a relaxed weekly night out with friends, whereas tournaments feel like a big deal.

In the tournament, you probably double and triple checked your patterns, checked your tip placement, checked to see if balls go or not, aimed carefully to ensure you didn't hang up the ball, etc. You were careful in other words.

If you want to shoot that well all the time, you need to be that careful all the time, even in the less-important matches. It can be mentally taxing.
 
Well all my friends I play with are 6s and our games are usually one inning. I'm prolly the strongest 4 in the league. I just can't stay focused enough to get my break out balls. I have a strong 2nd ball break in 8 ball. Can sink 3-4 balls.

I was a "4" in 9 ball as of June and I moved up two ranks to a 6s when we made in to the apa nationals I played two terrible 7s and won 18-2 and 17-3.

I play pool every day of the week for a min of 4 hours. I love the game.

I'm gonna try taking my time more and looking at the shots very closely to help improve my game.

Thanks guys.
 
nice job !

I'll agree with CreeDo here; take the snaps out of the equation, even though you may feel you can hit them, they are really low probability.

You sound like someone I know :rolleyes:

I have trouble keeping focus on league nights too BUT:

When I know i'll likely match-up against a player I really want to play, then I turn into someone different :smash: :grin-devilish: muahahahahahahaaaa !
 
It's difficult to truly identify what focus techniques will work best for you but I find that when I'm having difficulty staying focused....I dive deep into the critical aspects of my pre-shot routine and spend more time ensuring that every aspect is at peak performance.

The added focus on the key components keeps me in the moment and ensures proper execution at the same time.
 
Read "Psyched To Win" by Dr. Robert Nideffer. He delves into that topic in length. Unlike "Pleasures Of Small Motions" or "Inner Game Of Tennis" (which are both great books), "Psyched To Win" doesn't try to focus on a specific sport. Instead, it's about psychology in all sports in general. The psychology of a winning mind if you will. I'm not even going to try to sum anything up, just read the book. I'd probably butcher it trying, and even if I explained it perfectly, this topic is not a short answer subject.
 
Shooting well is always a good feeling. I'm right handed and shoot as a lefty. The pros make everything look so simple!

I find I shoot better on a 9ft table compared to a valley table.
 
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