I think I suck

you play like you practice

I used to match up practicing with a guy named Jack Burke

Jack is by far the most consistant player I know even today and i guess Jack is probably in his early 60s now it did not matter if it was practice for nothing or $500 sets he shot the exact same game

I was around 18 and starting to play fairly stout and Jack who was probably 42 or 43 at the time would tear my tail up for hours at a time on that diamond 9 footer.

Never a spot, never any mercy but the most valuable lesson he taught me was how to Practice like you Play and Play how you Practice.

I have matched up with some pretty stout players over the years won a few bucks and lost a few bucks along the way but still my biggest goal in pool is to lock up with Jack on that Diamond in the Corner Pocket for nothing and see if 20 + years of hard fought Pool matches have paid off

Jack will always be the yard stick by which I measure myself

No matter how well i play or how far I go i will always look up to Jack and say thanks because part of me will always be that 16 year old kid walking in the pool hall first time.

Being amazed at the well dressed man with graying hair who could play so well. And who took the time to teach a kid with barely any talent his first serious lessons of the game
 
well , you do suck . . .

Well , we've established that you suck .
Do you swallow ?


getting back on topic . . .

FASTEDDIE427 said:
Tom I really think u and dawg. Haver a great idea. I could run headphones to my blackberry while I shoot. I always shoot better when my songs are on the juke box
Click to expand...
actually , you CAN"T run earbugs from your Blackberry . Violates national rules . Why ? cuz it COULD be teammates coaching you on the Blackberry . So , you have to settle for what's on the jukebox . Maybe one of your teammates can help you by feeding the juke and using the "play next" button that most digital jukes have now . Yep , it costs a little more , but if it puts you in the zone , it's worth it .
You're going to have a REALLY big problem if you're team goes to the LTC , cuz I'm about to fix your playing problem , and your going to look SO improved that they'll say you MUST be a sandbagger !
Ready ? Here it comes . . .
STOP MISSING THE EASY SHOTS !!:thumbup:
I know , sounds simple , don't it ?
But if you run 5 balls at a time on the practice table , you got skills ! You should be an s/l5 , maybe an s/l6 . . .
problem is , you've got performance anxiety .
you need to relax before your match .
so find yourself a Wicked Wanda , and have her come to the matches with you .
right before the match , go out to the parking lot for a few minutes .
I promise you'll return TOTALLY relaxed , and losing will be the furthest thing from your mind.
Try this for four weeks , and report back to us . . .
what the heck - you've already wasted 37 weeks of league - what could you lose by this little experiment ?!?
STOP SUCKING !! START BEING SUCKED !!:eek:
 
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Hehe, how about Canton MA? That close enough for ya? One town over. :)

Shoot me a PM, my schedule is kind of tight (I do a lot of on-call nights)but maybe we could get together for some practice games.
 
Running 5 balls doesnt mean anything esp. if they are sitting ducks without any blocker balls in the way like a 9 ball rack. I think your getting nervous and wanting to win too bad. When I first started playing someone saw I wasnt shooting to my potential during league and he told me " If your scared to lose you are setting yourself up for defeat, and if all you think about is winning then you will never win." Doesnt mean you souldnt tell yourself your gonna win but dont want it so bad that you can never set yourself up to achieve it ( the reason a lot of people always choke on the money ball).

With you being a 2 I would just work on practicing, and play for a buck or two here and there to get used to playing with nerves if financially possible.. Or pool tournaments///
 
Hi, i've had the same problem awhile back... and then I figured out why, for me it was the lack of compitetion, I used to practice solo, by myself, shooting really good actually, then when I go into tournament play. I simply suck, then an old friend of mine who is really knowledgable, told me that I lack playing in a compitetion fields where pressure are there, and if you think of it, it makes sense.

as I said, I used only to practice alone when playing good, and if I do play. I go and play with a my really close friends, friends whom I chatter with during the game, have hard laughs, just shoot without really thinking because oh well theyre just close friends of mine! Therefore there is no compitetion, no pressure, no focus, and hey I shoot good with them! and if I miss, its not a big deal because theyre also not focusing and missing, then telling myself "Oh yea I miss because its not a real game" as in just for fun.


then it hits me, that I really need to play under pressure and in compitetion, And not only tournament can accomplish this, but also you can actually play versus guys you never met before, people you do not know and actually who can play good. This will help your problem I'm certain.

try to not play alone, or with close friends, play strangers, make some bets, maybe if you don't gamble try play on the foods/orders or even table time for example.

hope this helps.
 
Play local tournaments. Even if you suck horribly, they'll appreciate the donation/easy win, and you get a LONG time to practice and get used to the pressure.

For example: local tournament near me is $15 entry and starts at 7:30pm. I can stay and practice on unused tables until the finals are over (usually around 1 or 1:30am).

$15 for 6 hours of pool? 1 or 2 of which are actual tournament matches? Yes please. That's $2.50/hour.

Screw APA, play tournaments. Once you get better, join APA Masters to maintain the higher level of competition if you MUST play APA.
 
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