It's been 4 damn weeks now..

P

PlynSets

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I'm not sure exactly why, but my game has absolutely gone to hell in a handbasket across the last 4 weeks. I have the occasional good night here and there, but even in those nights (played the ghost the other night and did fairly well) it's like a light switch on / off.. Now it's getting to the point where it's ball to ball instead of rack to rack or hour by hour, or even day by day..

I was playing a tourny last night and I have to give this guy the 7 out.. (Over handicapped tourny, but it's more about the fun then the $$)

1st game played like hell, few innings and I finally get a shot and an out. Start running get up to the most basic of things. 8's mid table and going in the side (closer to one side but for the most part mid table), I end up on the wrong side of the 8 so all I have to do is pocket the ball with damn near center ball run up the table and back down to the 9 on the foot rail and I'm out.. I pussed it.. I second guessed myself ended up putting the brakes on and hit it just hard enough to come off the nipple and leave this guy a duck in the side.

(Loser breaks format)

I break, run to the 7 an easy out once again I rattle the 7... :mad:

So now I'm feeling kinda like WTF is wrong with me?

I decide to start upping the defensives instead of being aggressive as I'm obviously having some choking issue. I finally demoralize the guy to the point of him even thinking there's no chance.. Get 2 games back so it's hill hill, He breaks nothing falls I start my run miss the 5 and by some fluke the cue ball hits (No BS) the head rail inside the 1st diamond and finds it's way in the side.. He takes a combo wins the match. No worries double elimination..

I played so bad the second set I'm almost embarassed to describe it.

Now the problem is this has been going on for something like 3 or 4 weeks now?

I've been teaching the girlfriend daily (hours a day) just sitting on a stool setting up drills etc.. etc.. I'm wondering if all this reading of proper mechanics etc.. has screwed me up somehow.

I got the shakes bad, I question myself on every shot more then 6 inches away from a pocket, and have gone from a B that they were considering making an A to in my opinion a low C player with alot of knowledge about the game..

I want to buy a bullet and rent a gun right about now.. (that's a joke)

What the hell is wrong with me? Anyone know how to pull out of a slump?

It pisses me off becuase I expect to play (even badly) better then this.. I'm choking like a fat kid on a cupcake.. :(
DJ
 
First things first ..

Anytime you become erratic in your shooting, first check

A) Your form and stroke.

Are your lines straight?
Are you bending your grip wrist?
Are you clinching your grip hand at the end of the stroke?
Is your grip arm perpendicular with the ground?
Are you at a 45 degree angle to your stick?
Is your chin over your cue, and sighting good?

B) Your emotional and mental state.

Does concentration come and then suddenly leave?
Do you letdown of shots you miss or clinch up on them?
Are you scared you will miss?

Do not try to teach while you are playing? Are you qualified to teach or
not? Practice and playing are not the same thing. You learn when you
practice and can do shots over and over again. When you play, it is a
competition to show what you know or have learned.

Note: You Learn experience when you play, or can see shots you may not have seen before from opponents, but the actual learning how to do something comes from practice, by yourself, or with an instructor.

Many players, especially young ones, ignore the fact that exercise and
staying in shape, diet, sleep, and not drinking all enter into how good
you might play. The older you get, the more important those things
become to consistently shoot well.

And there are times, however rare they may be, when you know inside
that you are just not there mentally, which causes you to make mistakes
when playing. (If I feel down, I check my biorythmn, just in case ... lol)
 
Good advice.. :)

I have kind of an unorthodox stroke so some of that is kind of difficult to check. The owner of a pool hall I used to play at called it "The Pump Handle" becuase I guess I pull up on the back swing.. I've had alot of guys tell me to change it only to get drilled playing sets and tell me to leave it.. LOL I dunno, one of these days I certainly would like to learn how to play more "textbook" and I've even been experimenting with a little bit while I was teaching the g/f, but when I play tourny's or gamble etc.. I'm a big believer in doing what you just said, applying what you know works.

I'm just in a rut and needed to vent more then anything.. Ultimately playing somes sets, and getting my ass handed to me against some A's will probably snap me back into shape.

DJ
 
Perhaps changing your stroke into something more consistant would be helpful.

Look at it this way, you can keep your stroke and spend the next week in a slump, then 2 months shooting great, but then a month in the slump, etc for 5 years...

Or you can get a consistant stroke down, have 2-4 weeks of terrible play getting used to it, but then spend the next 5 years with a consistantly good stroke.


No one is saying it wont be hard to adjust to or you wont play worse than normal for the first couple weeks... but having a consistant stroke is a fundemental tool that you'll need to get at some point or you'll always have consistancy problems.
 
Hey PlynSets. You know, nobody has mentioned it yet, but I've been reading your posts and you seem to be spending an awful lot of time right now playing pool or thinking about pool. I know it's a great thing to be doing or thinking about, but perhaps you've got a little bit of system overload and need to let you mind wander to more fertile ground for a while.

Take a break, or cut back a bit for a few days, find a good non-pool related book to read or a small project around the house.

Just a thought anyways. that's worked for me in the past.
 
supergreenman said:
Hey PlynSets. You know, nobody has mentioned it yet, but I've been reading your posts and you seem to be spending an awful lot of time right now playing pool or thinking about pool. I know it's a great thing to be doing or thinking about, but perhaps you've got a little bit of system overload and need to let you mind wander to more fertile ground for a while.

Take a break, or cut back a bit for a few days, find a good non-pool related book to read or a small project around the house.

Just a thought anyways. that's worked for me in the past.
Click to expand...

I have a small project that I've been working on for awhile.. I actually have to finish it up and get it ready to go for April 22nd at the river. I built this for my nephew.

http://www.riverratlife.net/dave/images/bubbles/1stRiverTrip/MeNNord4.jpg

That was the initial test drive last year.. (I broke it) and just started working on it again recently. To be honest Pool is kind of my second hobby (to the river/boats etc..) compared to the river. Your right though, I started playing again (seriously) a few months ago and quickly got back most of what I originally had, then started teaching the girlfriend. I've spent the last 21 days (no shit) in a pool hall every night doing drills with her playing the occasional game etc.. I think I am a bit on pool overload. I kinda jumped in here with both feet, becuase I was never aware there was billiard related message boards..(On several boating message boards) Or atleast any that I would view worth 2 cents. Kinda liked this one so I stuck around. :D

DJ
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top