I play much better when no one is watching.What should I do?
- Thread starter X Breaker
- Start date
obviously the crowd is taking you out of your game, what do you do different when people are watching? Do you talk to them, acknowledge them, do you rush your shot? You need to consciously evaluate yourself when a crowd is around, and when you are alone, and figure out what you do differently, and STOP IT!!
I had the same exact problem. I would feel pressure to do better and end up choking on an important shot. All I did to get over this was count to 5 slowly after I thought I was ready for my shot. It ensured I was actually ready to execute and gave me more confidence in my stroke, AND helped me concentrate on the shot instead of the noise around the table.
distractions
M.C.
more people means more distractions. you are possibly splitting your attention. you might need to walk around the table a little bit more trying to focus on your shots and leaves while trying to figure out the pattern that will best get you through the trouble balls. if while down on the shot you have the least little doubt stand up, step back, chalk and refocus. this helps for me, hope it works for you.X Breaker said:
M.C.
X Breaker said:
Geez...that should be obvious! ONLY play when nobody is watching!
The alternative, is to ask everyone to turn around while you shoot!
There...now wasn't that constructive?
j/kScott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
X Breaker said:
Speaking as a former musician, early on, large audiences 50 -1000 would intimidate me. I learned by experience over time to channel the energy into total focus to the point that I, and the rest of the band, would actually play much better than normal the more people that were around. The more experience you have with an audience, the more you will understand this. It is an awsome feeling!
Just keep trying and you'll know when you are getting there! No better feeling in the world than kicking some ass in front of an audience!
Enjoy!
Edit - The exception to this is when Scott Lee is watching you play!
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By yourself?
Everyone has that same problem. All you can do is keep playing around other people and eventually you will be as relaxed and comfortable as you are when you play by yourself.
Your other options are these.........................Only play by yourself!
Or.........................Quit playing all together! LOL
I am just kidding, don't get frustrated, we have all been there and all had this problem. Just keep practicing and work through it. It will happen eventually.
Everyone has that same problem. All you can do is keep playing around other people and eventually you will be as relaxed and comfortable as you are when you play by yourself.
Your other options are these.........................Only play by yourself!
Or.........................Quit playing all together! LOL
I am just kidding, don't get frustrated, we have all been there and all had this problem. Just keep practicing and work through it. It will happen eventually.
For me, when I first started playing in the WPBA, it was tough in front of a crowd and I rarely played my speed. I felt the crowd was judging me. So I felt intimidated. Not to mention when some of your idols are gathered around in a clique and wants your opponent to beat you and they are snapping their fingers for every good shot against you! It was really daunting for me and I would fold like a pup tent. I don't think very many members of the audience saw what I am capable of. 
In the IPT, when I went hill-hill against David Broxson, I was all intense concentration to get it to hill-hill with some gorgeous runouts, but when I looked up at the applause and there were a bunch of pros, including John Schmidt watching my match intently, well, again I got nervous and handed the match away.
I hope by now, I would play better with the crowd watching. Locally, I have played some good matches with all the top players watching, so it must be more stranger anxiety.
I wrote several helpful hints and put them in my case, so I could refer to them in a match when I got scared. Unfortunately, I lost them.
But one of the main ones I do remember was about courage. I have been brave many times in my life. Giving childbirth twice naturally, saving a woman's life outside the poolroom (giving her CPR), and countless times under pressure as a technologist when it was life or death that counted on my actions, so putting a ball in a hole can't be THAT intimidating, can it?
I will push the palm of my hand into the bed of the table like Warren Costanza (Monk) told me to, and just say to myself, "Courage, you can do this!" And the ball will sink. Or I will tell myself to follow through or stay down - 2 of my biggest problems at the table when I am nervous. So I am giving myself something constructive to do and to focus on.
Maybe a couple of these tips will help you. Good luck!
In the IPT, when I went hill-hill against David Broxson, I was all intense concentration to get it to hill-hill with some gorgeous runouts, but when I looked up at the applause and there were a bunch of pros, including John Schmidt watching my match intently, well, again I got nervous and handed the match away.
I hope by now, I would play better with the crowd watching. Locally, I have played some good matches with all the top players watching, so it must be more stranger anxiety.
I wrote several helpful hints and put them in my case, so I could refer to them in a match when I got scared. Unfortunately, I lost them.
But one of the main ones I do remember was about courage. I have been brave many times in my life. Giving childbirth twice naturally, saving a woman's life outside the poolroom (giving her CPR), and countless times under pressure as a technologist when it was life or death that counted on my actions, so putting a ball in a hole can't be THAT intimidating, can it?
I will push the palm of my hand into the bed of the table like Warren Costanza (Monk) told me to, and just say to myself, "Courage, you can do this!" And the ball will sink. Or I will tell myself to follow through or stay down - 2 of my biggest problems at the table when I am nervous. So I am giving myself something constructive to do and to focus on.
Maybe a couple of these tips will help you. Good luck!
It's about dealing with pressure. Everybody feels it, but everybody reacts differently.
Focus on your breathing so that you are taking relaxed breaths deep breaths and exhale. When you are not at the table count down from 100, (sounds silly I know) it works.
If confidence is your problem than, you need to get more experiance playing infront of an audience. You need to learn to expect to make a ball, not hope that you do. It doesn't hurt to tell yourself every day that you are a great player, eventually you will believe it and it should translate into your game. Just don't get angry if you don't run a 7 pack.
Focus on your breathing so that you are taking relaxed breaths deep breaths and exhale. When you are not at the table count down from 100, (sounds silly I know) it works.
If confidence is your problem than, you need to get more experiance playing infront of an audience. You need to learn to expect to make a ball, not hope that you do. It doesn't hurt to tell yourself every day that you are a great player, eventually you will believe it and it should translate into your game. Just don't get angry if you don't run a 7 pack.
This is a great reply
Afterall,people like to see GOOD pool and appreciate the ones who can execute it under pressure
I really like your answer here because it gets to the heart of the issue.I think this a struggle that most people have to begin with.What you actually have to start doing is turning that fear into positive energy.Saying things to yourself like "This is my chance to shine and show people how good I play!" But this is not easy to do,it takes a lot of experience and time at the table under them exact circumstances.Da Poet said:Speaking as a former musician, early on, large audiences 50 -1000 would intimidate me. I learned by experience over time to channel the energy into total focus to the point that I, and the rest of the band, would actually play much better than normal the more people that were around. The more experience you have with an audience, the more you will understand this. It is an awsome feeling!
Just keep trying and you'll know when you are getting there! No better feeling in the world than kicking some ass in front of an audience!
Enjoy!
Edit - The exception to this is when Scott Lee is watching you play!
Afterall,people like to see GOOD pool and appreciate the ones who can execute it under pressure
X Breaker said:
Developing your ability to block out distractions such as the one you mentioned is more difficult for some people than others. It is also a skill that you can improve on just like any other aspect of playing pool. It just requires work. We all have certain hot buttons and those things that make us twitch don't always make others twitch. I have similar trouble with people watching and have been asking myself "Why do I miss some shots when people are watching that I normally would not miss?" I sometimes fear that everyone is clocking my speed but have come to accept the fact that I'm not going to get any better if I worry about spectators clocking my speed so I try to play my best with or without spectators. The answers YOU provide will help you work through this distraction. And another thing, some of us think that people are intensely scrutinizing our play selection and execution however for the most part, those "crowded" around your table are just killing time and have little personal interest in what you're doing and your game means very little to them at least that is what I have come to see.
Although it is taboo to look around the room at the spectators and engage in eye contact, when I am having trouble making balls, I will sometimes take a quick look around the room and notice that none of the spectators are even watching me play and are caught up in conversation with others and talking about many things and most of the time, nothing to do with MY game. LOL. This humbles me a bit and allows me to get back to "work".
Good luck on your quest.
JoeyA
Its all really a confidence issue. By focussing any energy at all on anything other than the shot at hand you will have diminished abilities. The mind is incapable of focussing on more than one thing at a time. The only way to get over this is to confrot your fears head on. When you practice tell yourself on each shot that there is a large crowd watching and i will try my best. You really need to condition your mind in the same way you would condition your body by working out. the good news is you will have a great leap in your game when you finally get over this mental hurdle. You confidence will soar knowing you can do it and it doesnt matter who's watching you. Lastly no amount of people watching or not watching for that matter can change the shots. They are what they are! The shot is as easy or as hard as you make it. Good luck.............Dave
http://members.cox.net/albrechtcustomcues/
http://members.cox.net/albrechtcustomcues/
rackmsuckr said:For me, when I first started playing in the WPBA, it was tough in front of a crowd and I rarely played my speed. I felt the crowd was judging me. So I felt intimidated. Not to mention when some of your idols are gathered around in a clique and wants your opponent to beat you and they are snapping their fingers for every good shot against you! It was really daunting for me and I would fold like a pup tent. I don't think very many members of the audience saw what I am capable of.
In the IPT, when I went hill-hill against David Broxson, I was all intense concentration to get it to hill-hill with some gorgeous runouts, but when I looked up at the applause and there were a bunch of pros, including John Schmidt watching my match intently, well, again I got nervous and handed the match away.
I hope by now, I would play better with the crowd watching. Locally, I have played some good matches with all the top players watching, so it must be more stranger anxiety.
I wrote several helpful hints and put them in my case, so I could refer to them in a match when I got scared. Unfortunately, I lost them.
But one of the main ones I do remember was about courage. I have been brave many times in my life. Giving childbirth twice naturally, saving a woman's life outside the poolroom (giving her CPR), and countless times under pressure as a technologist when it was life or death that counted on my actions, so putting a ball in a hole can't be THAT intimidating, can it?
I will push the palm of my hand into the bed of the table like Warren Costanza (Monk) told me to, and just say to myself, "Courage, you can do this!" And the ball will sink. Or I will tell myself to follow through or stay down - 2 of my biggest problems at the table when I am nervous. So I am giving myself something constructive to do and to focus on.
Maybe a couple of these tips will help you. Good luck!
Good tips, Linda! I actually have used some of these myself. First thing I check these days when I am doing poorly (in my eyes, anyway) is my follow through and keeping my head down. That has been getting much, much better. But, sometimes that doesn't even work.
As of the last couple of months, when I am not playing up to par, and missing shots I KNOW I can make, I have been doing this:
I first try and get into as relaxed a frame of mind as I am when I am shooting at home (I play very, very well at home)...this helps relieve the tension in my back, and then I am not playing 'tight'.
Second thing I do is give myself a mental 'pep talk'. I tell myself, 'you know how to do this, your mechanics are sound...play CONFIDENTLY!!' So, throughout my games, CONFIDENCE/FOCUS is my mantra now.
For me...just thinking 'confidence!' has been helping out greatly. I can actually feel it take hold throughout my body, and it's when the nice runs start coming together.
Lisa
These are some fantastic tips from all, thanks for starting this thread! This is why I'm a member of AZB.
Last night I at first had some problems with a *huge* crowd at this place, I mean just people walking by left and right, crowded, couldn't even hardly get a shot without properly just backing up; saying excuse me, making room for yourself to shoot (otherwise you never would). PLENTY of distractions
Not to mention, the guy I get on the table with first says "oh well do you have a partner?". I said, na but I'll take that guy with the Cowboys jacket on; "you wanna play some right bud?". He says, "sure!" (I later find out he's a straight pool player from New Jersey with a 9 foot GC III at the house).
So we start playing and they are just obviously trying to shark us, etc, but me and this guy from New Jersey regained focus with all the distractions after I blew a game due to his sharking.
We then proceeded to hit this guy and his buddies bar tab last night to nearly $300 when he decided to start playing us for "shots".
Special Note
To him a shot wasn't a "shot" but rather, a mixed drink like Red Bull and Jager or Red Bull and Vodka. They were $7 at the joint. Between what they had already drunk, and the $150-200 in drinks they paid for us; believe me this guy's girlfriend was *pissed* when she saw the tab.
Sorry to get off topic for a moment there, but I think the amount of attention grabbers there really required me to focus cause *A LOT* of people were watching/interacting with the game. Thanks all and Happy New Year!
Last night I at first had some problems with a *huge* crowd at this place, I mean just people walking by left and right, crowded, couldn't even hardly get a shot without properly just backing up; saying excuse me, making room for yourself to shoot (otherwise you never would). PLENTY of distractions
Not to mention, the guy I get on the table with first says "oh well do you have a partner?". I said, na but I'll take that guy with the Cowboys jacket on; "you wanna play some right bud?". He says, "sure!" (I later find out he's a straight pool player from New Jersey with a 9 foot GC III at the house).
So we start playing and they are just obviously trying to shark us, etc, but me and this guy from New Jersey regained focus with all the distractions after I blew a game due to his sharking.
We then proceeded to hit this guy and his buddies bar tab last night to nearly $300 when he decided to start playing us for "shots".
Special Note
To him a shot wasn't a "shot" but rather, a mixed drink like Red Bull and Jager or Red Bull and Vodka. They were $7 at the joint. Between what they had already drunk, and the $150-200 in drinks they paid for us; believe me this guy's girlfriend was *pissed* when she saw the tab.
Sorry to get off topic for a moment there, but I think the amount of attention grabbers there really required me to focus cause *A LOT* of people were watching/interacting with the game. Thanks all and Happy New Year!
Everyone has similar issues with pressure, so don't think it's just you or that anyone is immune. Pressure appears for many reasons, be it gambling at a level you aren't comfortable with, playing in a big tournament, or with crowds of friends or other players watching.
In all the cases, and plenty others, the desire to perform well becomes more important than playing the game. We place undo pressure on ourselves. We try too hard and get in the way of our ability to concentrate and execute to our ability.
The first thing you have to be aware of is ALL pressure is self-imposed. So understand, if you don't put it there, it doesn't exist. I know, easy to say--but how to overcome the pressure that seems to build inside, seemingly all by itself?
My method is to simplify my game as much as possible. I focus all my attention on things I KNOW I can do. I think only of this: here's the shot; here's where I want the cueball to go; I have to aim this way; I have to hit the cueball here to go there. I soon become absorbed with these simple tasks. If I feel myself becoming too nervous, I tell myself I'm okay; take a deep breath, exhale, and assure myself I can make the shot and move the cueball to my next shot. By focusing my attention on the smallest, easiest tasks, I forget to think about the money, the crowd, what people with think if I miss, etc.
Sometimes during a match, I may become very nervous again, usually when I become aware of myself putting pressure on me. So I will simply stop and repeat--make myself relax, slow down, think of my simple tasks, absorb myself with aiming and moving the cueball. Then the next shot. Then the next ...
The best thing is, once you learn to simplify things, you'll be amazed to find you reach that elusive zone of total concentration. I almost never reach that state without pressure. Pressure makes you narrow your focus, and for me, it is the gateway to the zone.
In all the cases, and plenty others, the desire to perform well becomes more important than playing the game. We place undo pressure on ourselves. We try too hard and get in the way of our ability to concentrate and execute to our ability.
The first thing you have to be aware of is ALL pressure is self-imposed. So understand, if you don't put it there, it doesn't exist. I know, easy to say--but how to overcome the pressure that seems to build inside, seemingly all by itself?
My method is to simplify my game as much as possible. I focus all my attention on things I KNOW I can do. I think only of this: here's the shot; here's where I want the cueball to go; I have to aim this way; I have to hit the cueball here to go there. I soon become absorbed with these simple tasks. If I feel myself becoming too nervous, I tell myself I'm okay; take a deep breath, exhale, and assure myself I can make the shot and move the cueball to my next shot. By focusing my attention on the smallest, easiest tasks, I forget to think about the money, the crowd, what people with think if I miss, etc.
Sometimes during a match, I may become very nervous again, usually when I become aware of myself putting pressure on me. So I will simply stop and repeat--make myself relax, slow down, think of my simple tasks, absorb myself with aiming and moving the cueball. Then the next shot. Then the next ...
The best thing is, once you learn to simplify things, you'll be amazed to find you reach that elusive zone of total concentration. I almost never reach that state without pressure. Pressure makes you narrow your focus, and for me, it is the gateway to the zone.
realize you are experiencing a "fight or flight response". in this case the crowd is posing as a kind of threat to your comfort level triggering a flight response. the fact that the crowd bothers you and that your game went down should prove this. you have to train your body and mind to trigger a fight response. this will help you play to your utmost ability. CHARGE HEAD ON!
X Breaker said:
If it's any comfort to you, I never miss a ball when I'm practicing alone at home. But when I leave the comfort of home, I become very mortal. I follow Scott's advice. I don't let anyone watch me. I put it all on video and invite everyone to watch the tape later.
Just kiddin' Richard. Everyone suffers from stage fright to a certain degree. Including many top players. You have gotten some great advice here. I could never figure out why I played bad in tournaments and lost to guys that I "knew" I could beat. Consequently, I never played many tournaments and prefered to gamble.
Years later, a player explained it all to me. He said, you have to play many tournaments to get comfortable. So, in essence, I never gave myself a chance. I may only have played one or two events a year. So I was always nervous (too tight) when I did. Too late now, my pool playing days are long over.
The ONLY solution to this....and there is ONLY ONE.........
is to go to the poolhall on a saturday night and play in your underwear.
(note- NOT the poolhall I go to.)
is to go to the poolhall on a saturday night and play in your underwear.
(note- NOT the poolhall I go to.)
Another thing I try to remember is that the balls don't know you are scared...or being watched! In other words, the shot doesn't change no matter how many people are in the audience.
There is just such a small difference between playing like a DOG or GOD, and I believe the difference is confidence. That's why we always play so well in practice.
There is just such a small difference between playing like a DOG or GOD, and I believe the difference is confidence. That's why we always play so well in practice.