Is have the Shakes Normal ?

grindz said:
it could be a symptom of familial essential tremors. They do tend to be exacerbated when under stress, duress or pressure. Then on the other hand they can occur with none of the above while eating your 'wheaties' in the morning or trying to get the contacts in. Alcohol does mitigate the symptoms to a large extent, but there are issues to deal with on that front as well. Hope you don't have this condition. If you do it is fairly benign, but bothersome.

td
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Oh no I'm 26 so I think with a lot more work and play I can keep my mind relaxed and on the game .
 
Embrace it. If you fight it it can make you 2 balls worse but if you learn to love it, it can make you 2 balls better.

"I can't wait to get the shakes tonight" it's one of the many reason we play, it makes us feel alive.
 
I'd say it's pretty normal. Try taking a very deep breath before coming to the table to shake off the jitters.
 
MOJOE said:
Don't use chemicals to help your nerves. Eventually you'll need them to perform. Get over the jitters by playing more and more.
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Tap tap. This is something that can and should be overcome naturally.

Aaron
 
My first few weeks of league I was shaky and a little bit nervous but than I got more comfortable and now it went away. The same thing happened when I first started to gamble.
 
It ended Michael Coltrain's career. But if you aren't trying to be a professional player, then no big deal. I say, "shake it and shoot it."
 
If you start matching up more frequently for some cheap $50 or $100 long sets...you'll go back to playing League or Apa or whatever (I've never played in any organized league so I'm not familiar with the names) you'll probably not be nervous at all.
 
Nick Varner's back arm has always had a pretty distinct shake to it....but boy does he follow through SMOOTH....
 
Get to the venue early and get comfortable with the people and your surroundings. Introduce yourself to players on the other team, if necessary. Try to get as many things as possible handled ahead of time...do you have enough quarters handy, or whatever tasks you may have...etc. Play some practice games. Learn how to shoot even if you're shaking. Take your time...it is better to shake your way through a runout than to shake and miss an easy shot. If you are shaking everyone is going to see it anyway, so you may as well earn their respect by winning the game.

Make sure you are not eatinig anything that has a lot of sugar in it prior to the match. No sodas, junk food etc.

Breathe, breathe, breathe. There are also relaxation techniques that you can practice whereby once you know how, you can think of something (your relaxation trigger) and have your body instantly relax.
 
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Gotta love it.

Rob_jerrylee said:
I was just wondering if having the shakes is normal when playing in any type of league or event , The reason I'm asking is I just joined an APA league and my first night playin I had the shakes everytime It was my turn to be at the table and then the second week was even worse , I couldn't keep my cue stright to shoot a shot , so I just wanted to know if this was normal . thanks
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That's pool, man. Your physical shaping matters very little when dealing with the matters of mental stability and toughness. Your mind is telling you , "Hey man! I gotta perform here! Let's do this!" and it's making your body react in a certain way because of the natural chemicals released by your brain. That is what happens when we become emotional about something. You must learn to control your mind.

Remedy #1: Martial arts / meditation is the best way to learn how to control this. As you progress, you will slowly become more and more confident in your ability to focus and block out distractions.

Remedy #2: Play some $5 a game, or even $2-3 a game on a regular basis with different people. Make sure you adjust weight accordingly. Take a comfortable amount of money aside for this month, let's say $100 and decide that's your gambling money. If you lose it, wait until next month. If you win, keep that in a separate fund labeled your 'bank roll'. Use that as a goal to see how large you can get your bank roll to be. Over time, you will see that your desire to 'beat the other guy' will overcome your 'fear of losing'.

Just a side note: Ultimately in the martial arts, it's not about fighting. It's about overcoming the fears which strangle your potential to find true happiness in your life.
 
Can you just play the game withut thinking about winning?

Thinking about winning or not losing will get you nervous and cause you to miss more shots than if you don't - you may then make more shots and win without the shakes.

Enjoy the game.
 
LAMas said:
Can you just play the game withut thinking about winning?

Thinking about winning or not losing will get you nervous and cause you to miss more shots than if you don't - you may then make more shots and win without the shakes.

Enjoy the game.
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And after you stop thinking about winning or losing stop thinking about making balls. After that forget where the poolhall is and you'll have a nice life. JMHO
 
LAMas said:
Can you just play the game withut thinking about winning?

Thinking about winning or not losing will get you nervous and cause you to miss more shots than if you don't - you may then make more shots and win without the shakes.

Enjoy the game.
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Well I'll be honest I do think about beating my oppenents during a Match and I think that's my problem , I'm trying to be the best when I'm really just being nervous thinking about it the whole time , a good friend of mine told me the other night to play the table not my oppenent and that I'll get over the shakes .
 
gunzby said:
I'd say it's pretty normal. Try taking a very deep breath before coming to the table to shake off the jitters.
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Just replying to myself. Last night I played in the first tournament I've bothered to be a part of in well over 10 years. My nerves were absolutely shot. I wasn't shaky when I was stroking the cue, but everything inside me was nervous as hell. I lost in the first round, but still played well considering the circumstances. I'll keep going till I'm over it as I believe that forcing yourself into that situation is the best way to get over it.

The more normal you make that situation the less it becomes "foreign" or stressful which is what makes you nervous and gives you the shakes.

Not to get weird, but I bet you were nervous when you had "your first time". I also bet that you're not nervous anymore ;)
 
Rob_jerrylee said:
I was just wondering if having the shakes is normal when playing in any type of league or event , The reason I'm asking is I just joined an APA league and my first night playin I had the shakes everytime It was my turn to be at the table and then the second week was even worse , I couldn't keep my cue stright to shoot a shot , so I just wanted to know if this was normal . thanks
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i had that happen to me the first couple years i played, as i aged it has went away. its age not experience in my case, now nothing makes me nervious. getting old i suppose
 
deadgearplyr said:
That's pool, man. Your physical shaping matters very little when dealing with the matters of mental stability and toughness. Your mind is telling you , "Hey man! I gotta perform here! Let's do this!" and it's making your body react in a certain way because of the natural chemicals released by your brain. That is what happens when we become emotional about something. You must learn to control your mind.

Remedy #1: Martial arts / meditation is the best way to learn how to control this. As you progress, you will slowly become more and more confident in your ability to focus and block out distractions.

Remedy #2: Play some $5 a game, or even $2-3 a game on a regular basis with different people. Make sure you adjust weight accordingly. Take a comfortable amount of money aside for this month, let's say $100 and decide that's your gambling money. If you lose it, wait until next month. If you win, keep that in a separate fund labeled your 'bank roll'. Use that as a goal to see how large you can get your bank roll to be. Over time, you will see that your desire to 'beat the other guy' will overcome your 'fear of losing'.

Just a side note: Ultimately in the martial arts, it's not about fighting. It's about overcoming the fears which strangle your potential to find true happiness in your life.
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Great post
 
StrokeofLuck said:
Easier said than done but put your focus on to the balls, the table and the game. When you're really concentrating on those things the shakes will go away. Right now you're focused on yourself and the fight or flight syndrome and that makes it escalate. As others have said nice slow breathing helps too.
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Focus on the game is the fix, and probably once that happens you will have a good night and your teamates will congratulate you and you may see the jitters come back, so again concentrate on regaining focus, then as you start getting established as a player and everything is good a road player shows up and wants to play for the cash and the jitters start again. Pool players at every level get jitters. The key is to focus on the game and the rest will go away.
 
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