After a 4 year hiatus due to health problems, I started playing again a few weeks ago. And... I've discovered the real secret of pool. I'm good and I'm not even trying very hard!
My first game in 4 years was totally unplanned: I was having a drink in a small crappy bar near my place. A friend invited me to play on the dinky, dirty table in the back room. I thought, I can't really play anymore but... what the hell, it's a bar and the guy couldn't hit a ball even if his life depended on it.
So I picked a house cue, and the old habits quickly came back. But I had a rethink: how can I play with the physical limitations I now have (and without hurting myself). I can't really assume the proper position to shoot straight anymore. So somehow, in 10 seconds in my brain, I quickly reviewed the core reasons *why* a proper position is important - not how to find another position - and I devised a very simple method to ensure a straight stroke in any position. I worked the cue on the principles I had thought of, and it worked rightaway! I emptied table after table. Wow!
So, just to make sure it wasn't a fluke, I dusted off my trusty old Meucci and headed off to a local tournament the next Sunday. I figured, if my thinking was correct, I didn't need to train or warm up or anything. So I just arrived there and played, totally cold. I finished second (and won 50 euros too
)
Since then, I've been playing 2 or 3 hours once or twice a week (my body can't really manage much more than that) and I'm doing great: I win local matches right and left, I managed an average of 5 recently in a straight pool game the other night.
I don't train.
I don't need a good cue or a good table anymore.
I don't need to find "the zone" anymore: I'm always in it - I've discovered what "the zone" is: it's that magical moment when people play right, but don't know why.
I don't drink a glass of scotch to loosen up before a game - no need to loosen up.
and I play well. Not exceptionally well, but consistently well. That's what's important. When I miss a shot, I know why and I don't get frustrated. It's such a simple secret, I'm amazed I managed to play for 30 years without discovering it.
But I'm not revealing it just yet: I'm scheduled to play an 8-ball tournament this afternoon, and I have one hell of a cold. I feel like crap and I'm running a fever. But I'm going anyway, as an experiment: if I'm correct, even with a cold in full swing, I should be doing okay. If I do, I'll have proof positive that my thinking is indeed correct. Then I'll elaborate - if you guys are interested of course
My first game in 4 years was totally unplanned: I was having a drink in a small crappy bar near my place. A friend invited me to play on the dinky, dirty table in the back room. I thought, I can't really play anymore but... what the hell, it's a bar and the guy couldn't hit a ball even if his life depended on it.
So I picked a house cue, and the old habits quickly came back. But I had a rethink: how can I play with the physical limitations I now have (and without hurting myself). I can't really assume the proper position to shoot straight anymore. So somehow, in 10 seconds in my brain, I quickly reviewed the core reasons *why* a proper position is important - not how to find another position - and I devised a very simple method to ensure a straight stroke in any position. I worked the cue on the principles I had thought of, and it worked rightaway! I emptied table after table. Wow!
So, just to make sure it wasn't a fluke, I dusted off my trusty old Meucci and headed off to a local tournament the next Sunday. I figured, if my thinking was correct, I didn't need to train or warm up or anything. So I just arrived there and played, totally cold. I finished second (and won 50 euros too
)Since then, I've been playing 2 or 3 hours once or twice a week (my body can't really manage much more than that) and I'm doing great: I win local matches right and left, I managed an average of 5 recently in a straight pool game the other night.
I don't train.
I don't need a good cue or a good table anymore.
I don't need to find "the zone" anymore: I'm always in it - I've discovered what "the zone" is: it's that magical moment when people play right, but don't know why.
I don't drink a glass of scotch to loosen up before a game - no need to loosen up.
and I play well. Not exceptionally well, but consistently well. That's what's important. When I miss a shot, I know why and I don't get frustrated. It's such a simple secret, I'm amazed I managed to play for 30 years without discovering it.
But I'm not revealing it just yet: I'm scheduled to play an 8-ball tournament this afternoon, and I have one hell of a cold. I feel like crap and I'm running a fever. But I'm going anyway, as an experiment: if I'm correct, even with a cold in full swing, I should be doing okay. If I do, I'll have proof positive that my thinking is indeed correct. Then I'll elaborate - if you guys are interested of course
