hustlinfor$
Banned
focus
I just read back throught these posts and I think I see some of your problem here. Could be a lack of focus that gets you, letting your mind wander too much. If you play the same old people, the same games for the same money it can zap your focus.
For the last few years I've played a handful of guys in bigger sets and it has changed me. We play $100-300 a set and I'm there for every roll of the ball. Fighting and grinding for hours, never losing focus.
Then I play in a regular weekly tournament or play for $10-20 bucks a set before a tournament on a night after leaving work and it can be so hard. My body slows, my mind wanders and I sit and wonder why I am not schooling this person, who I am spotting heavily.
Around here you get better at pool and it means you give more and more weight. I played a guy last week with the 7+8 wild (even on the break), plus a game in 9 ball. I break and run 3 out of 4 games that I win to get 4-0. In game 5 I hang a 7 ball after running out from the break. He makes that and wins. He then breaks in the 8. Then the 9. He's made 1 ball and I broke and ran 3 of 4 and now we both have to win 3 games.
So I think I'll just bear down as much as I can now, feeling it can't happen like this. Well he gets an easy combo on the 7 ball after the break for 4-4. I won the next game. Then I run to the 6 ball and miss, then he makes 2 balls to win 5-5. I win the next one, I forget how. So we each need a game. I run to the 8 ball, but get hinky on it. I miss it in the side, barely, it hits the point and goes to lay up in the corner. He makes it easily.
He made just 5 balls and beat me 7-6. How do you accept that??? Just part of the game and the handicap I guess. Still got me shaking my head though...just 5 balls and I broke and ran 3 out of 6 racks, pocketing over 90% of the balls made between us. Sometimes it just ain't fair.
I just read back throught these posts and I think I see some of your problem here. Could be a lack of focus that gets you, letting your mind wander too much. If you play the same old people, the same games for the same money it can zap your focus.
For the last few years I've played a handful of guys in bigger sets and it has changed me. We play $100-300 a set and I'm there for every roll of the ball. Fighting and grinding for hours, never losing focus.
Then I play in a regular weekly tournament or play for $10-20 bucks a set before a tournament on a night after leaving work and it can be so hard. My body slows, my mind wanders and I sit and wonder why I am not schooling this person, who I am spotting heavily.
Around here you get better at pool and it means you give more and more weight. I played a guy last week with the 7+8 wild (even on the break), plus a game in 9 ball. I break and run 3 out of 4 games that I win to get 4-0. In game 5 I hang a 7 ball after running out from the break. He makes that and wins. He then breaks in the 8. Then the 9. He's made 1 ball and I broke and ran 3 of 4 and now we both have to win 3 games.
So I think I'll just bear down as much as I can now, feeling it can't happen like this. Well he gets an easy combo on the 7 ball after the break for 4-4. I won the next game. Then I run to the 6 ball and miss, then he makes 2 balls to win 5-5. I win the next one, I forget how. So we each need a game. I run to the 8 ball, but get hinky on it. I miss it in the side, barely, it hits the point and goes to lay up in the corner. He makes it easily.
He made just 5 balls and beat me 7-6. How do you accept that??? Just part of the game and the handicap I guess. Still got me shaking my head though...just 5 balls and I broke and ran 3 out of 6 racks, pocketing over 90% of the balls made between us. Sometimes it just ain't fair.
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