Konrad’s journey through suckage!

Easy Double kiss. Ball sitting by the side next ball over it. A little angle to pocket the OB. If you cut it you just overran the next ball. If there’s traffic you are screwed or banking the next ball. Hit the OB into the nipple with center. Double kiss and pocket. Works every time once you know it and the cb stays back for the next one…….
 
nothing works until you can just walk up to the shot and plop down and be on the cue ball. best way to get there is to line up on the rail and plop down and stroke over and over the diamonds, until you can keep the tip from swaying.

then you have a straight stroke and no matter what you do with your feet head eyes your going to hit where you are expecting to,

then hit the cueball up and down the table until you can bring it back at the speed you want and hit your cuetip.
 
Willowbrook Wolfy said:
And here’s something some will probably agree with. There are a lot of 9 ball players with shitty 8 ball breaks. They stay breaking from the side and don’t have enough power to get a good spread. And there are 8 ball players with shitty 9 ball breaks.
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True, but for a lot of people that's on purpose. 8 ball isn't necessarily a B&R game, especially on smaller tables. If you break them wide and nothing goes in you might be hosed. Often if a player thinks they can out-move you they will do a side break. There's nothing more annoying though than someone with a super weak break and the balls just don't move much. Often in leagues there's no such thing as breaking rules, if the balls spread at all it's legal. It's kind of a silly strategy. I see a lot of the ladies in league do this break and probably 10 balls stay in the racking area. Of course it's not everybody, some of them break great.

I'll employ a side break if I'm playing someone I know can run out on me. IDK if it's smart but man I've smashed a lot of racks head on and nothing dropped due to unfortunate kisses and such. It's basically suicide to spread the balls and not make one when playing better players. ;)
 
boogieman said:
True, but for a lot of people that's on purpose. 8 ball isn't necessarily a B&R game, especially on smaller tables. If you break them wide and nothing goes in you might be hosed. Often if a player thinks they can out-move you they will do a side break. There's nothing more annoying though than someone with a super weak break and the balls just don't move much. Often in leagues there's no such thing as breaking rules, if the balls spread at all it's legal. It's kind of a silly strategy. I see a lot of the ladies in league do this break and probably 10 balls stay in the racking area. Of course it's not everybody, some of them break great.

I'll employ a side break if I'm playing someone I know can run out on me. IDK if it's smart but man I've smashed a lot of racks head on and nothing dropped due to unfortunate kisses and such. It's basically suicide to spread the balls and not make onl
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Boogie is playing chess over on the 8 ball table….not bad. I like to out offense my opponent on those ones rather that playing defensive. Doesn’t always work out, but when it does….
 
I might be signing out for a week or two. But if so it won’t be for long. Just something missing in my game right now. I don’t try-I win. Then everytime it matters and I really want to win and put in the effort I lose. Doesn’t matter the opponent. Could be that guy Charlie living under the viaduct. Could be Sam who has never picked up a cue before today. Could be anyone. Point being. They don’t even need to be good to win. Tonight made a 3 rail kick on the 2 , ran the whole table after and just missed a 2 foot 9 ball. I didn’t rush it or anything. Gotta be mental! Need to focus more on the table and less on the talking…….
 
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Willowbrook Wolfy said:
I don’t try-I win. Then everytime it matters and I really want to win and put in the effort I lose.
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My best advice is to enjoy the game. I've been through this several times. You might look into the book "Playing to win" and "The Pleasure of Small Motions."

Without knowing more it's hard to say, but when I get into this state it's because I care too much ("I'm gonna play my best"), which adds stress, which shuts your brain down, which also causes tension in your body. Try breathing in fully and expanding your diaphragm then breathing out fully before you get down on a shot. That full breath in and out releases tension in your body/muscles. It's kind of like target practice, you don't want to be tense when you squeeze/ease the trigger.

Tension sucks, it can get to the point it makes your body hurt, especially if you have any arthritis or old injuries. Cold and wet make it worse. But tension puts your whole body on edge, like a live electric wire. Again, I don't know if this applies to you but it sure gets me from time to time. I notice it the most when I'm trying to "do my best" in a tournament or such. If I just can get out of my head long enough I play way better. Enjoy the feel of the game. Look at the layout and shot selection while up. Take a bit of time. If you're stressed and have tension you tend to rush this step and your game falls off as a result.

You can't win em all, and when you're concerned about winning them all you often lose many that you could have won. I think it was CJ Wiley that said he imagines losing before a game, kind of an exercise to clear your mind and not stress over situations. Basically it lets you clear your mind of the what if's and the stress that comes along with it.

Please let me know if you try anything that works because this is something that haunts me every so often. It's annoying and I agree it's likely mental but damn if this head of mine can get it through my thick skull! ;)
 
If anyone is wondering on this crazy mindset I have about going pro now. It’s like this. This is the journey through suckage!

Over all my time playing I’ve put in the hours and the work to get better. I’d say well over 20000 hours of practice. Thats a very true statement. Yet never been a 700 Fargorate. So obviously something is missing. Most players will never practice 10000 hours in their lifetime. Maybe they’ll play that many. But not just practice that many. I decided to reevaluate everything and figure out the real issues. Last night was focusing on softer bankshots to make sure they are being hit correctly and a few caroms. And also was playing around with 8 ball patterns a bit to intentionally make balls more difficult to pocket and shaping the 8 a harder task. It was good practice for sure. I also threw in some hard to play safeties to see how they landed.

My new philosophy is stop making balls and start shooting them. I never doubted once that a ball was going to fall while playing last night with that mindset. And everything was falling. When you don’t worry about making balls anymore that’s one less thing to manage while playing. Like I said with so many hours of practice there really is no point in worrying about the balls going in anymore.

This all came to be about a week ago when it just seemed hard to play longer shots. I was getting worried on them for no reason. It was like my shot regressed. So after some thought I decided that is just a ridiculous and in turn laughed a bit about it after telling myself “stop being a bitch and play”.It was that dumb. Never let yourself think the ball isn’t gonna fall or you’ll never be a winner. Or something like that.
 
Willowbrook Wolfy said:
If anyone is wondering on this crazy mindset I have about going pro now. It’s like this. This is the journey through suckage!

Over all my time playing I’ve put in the hours and the work to get better. I’d say well over 20000 hours of practice. Thats a very true statement. Yet never been a 700 Fargorate. So obviously something is missing. Most players will never practice 10000 hours in their lifetime. Maybe they’ll play that many. But not just practice that many. I decided to reevaluate everything and figure out the real issues. Last night was focusing on softer bankshots to make sure they are being hit correctly and a few caroms. And also was playing around with 8 ball patterns a bit to intentionally make balls more difficult to pocket and shaping the 8 a harder task. It was good practice for sure. I also threw in some hard to play safeties to see how they landed.

My new philosophy is stop making balls and start shooting them. I never doubted once that a ball was going to fall while playing last night with that mindset. And everything was falling. When you don’t worry about making balls anymore that’s one less thing to manage while playing. Like I said with so many hours of practice there really is no point in worrying about the balls going in anymore.

This all came to be about a week ago when it just seemed hard to play longer shots. I was getting worried on them for no reason. It was like my shot regressed. So after some thought I decided that is just a ridiculous and in turn laughed a bit about it after telling myself “stop being a bitch and play”.It was that dumb. Never let yourself think the ball isn’t gonna fall or you’ll never be a winner. Or something like that.
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Pay some monies. Enter some events.
Send some footage to a few companies and get some sponsors.
Post-up at some halls/make some streamed matches.
 
Flakeandrun said:
Pay some monies. Enter some events.
Send some footage to a few companies and get some sponsors.
Post-up at some halls/make some streamed matches.
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Forget the sponsors. It’s just always been only a personal goal to get better. You sound pretty good yourself Flake. A lot of players miss the money ball or ball right before it. Why is that? I think it’s partly because they are worried about making the ball. Going with the fact pool is probably at least 50% mental.
 
Willowbrook Wolfy said:
Forget the sponsors. It’s just always been only a personal goal to get better. You sound pretty good yourself Flake. A lot of players miss the money ball or ball right before it. Why is that? I think it’s partly because they are worried about making the ball. Going with the fact pool is probably at least 50% mental.
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It's all about money. All the good players can afford to take the risk. The reason they miss the money ball, is because of what it is. Pressure. Money down the drain. Traveling, entering and funding practice is expensive. Rich family or a determined stake horse required.
Who you know, who you blow and whatever else.
So things like streaming or chasing a sponsorship can get you exposure, or some coin to enter and establish yourself. Like I said, if you can't fund yourself/get someone to fund you, then posting up at a hall and making the money yourself is the only other way.
I'm not consistent enough, or have the time to develop the consistency in pressure situations to get 'good'. But I do enjoy playing and competing with good players, and have been lucky enough to have done so. I've met some great people playing this game, and on my day, like a lot of others, I don't miss. But it's the times we do miss that everyone will remember (unless we have the money to compete more and more often, and detach those misses from the collective memory lol)
 
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This new mindset about pool is awesome. Last night I told my wife I don’t need to practice. It honestly felt good saying that. If anybody is into that zen stuff, I just feel like that’s the wavelength I’m on right now. It’s not about practice anymore. Everyone needs to practice. It’s about confidence. That’s what my game has been lacking for a long time.

Did I tell anybody the real reason I quit pool? I’ve told this one before. A long time ago. There are a few reasons. The main one is stupid but it’s the real truth. For the last 6mos I played I was nearing upper shortstop territory. Maybe was one. I always guess 650ish. Even in hindsight. Thats probably a reasonable estimate. Was just about to get over the hump too. But every time I played against an opponent it kept sounding like I was double hitting the cb. I wouldn’t pay attention to it in practice, but It was there, and wouldn’t go away when I had an opponent. That’s the real reason. It was so hard to play like that. Kept wanting to give opponents BIH. I stopped playing anyone because of it and tried to practice it out of me. Thought it was me. Finally it drove me to quit altogether. Just felt like maybe it was a sign that it’s time to stop playing. I had a new girlfriend and felt like hanging out with her. Then didn’t play for 18yrs.

Turns out somebody had loosened the weight bolt in my cue. Found out when I started back and went to a tournament. Same sound. The cue guy there said the weight bolt was loose after i couldn’t take it anymore and broke the shaft.

That was worth the $300 it cost for a replacement shaft. Double hit gone. I jwould love to know what ahole loosened the bolt or if it loosened itself. Now believe it or not I can be better than before. It’s this zen thing. Pool seems easier now with some confidence back.
 
*excited*

Turns out I might get to play in citywide early this weekend. Was considering not playing much in the beginning. We are playing the team with one of the best in the league on it first round of citywide. Everyone on my team is scared of him. I don’t know why. It makes no sense to run away. We’ve only played twice briefly, and I’m up $10 on him. 680 fargorate. Might have to pull out the real shot for that one!(if I can find it)😂😂😂😂
 
Plan better on rail cuts. Be prepared. Depending on the angle you might need to play 3 times across for shape. On a decently sharp angle needing to be at the other side of the table is a 3 railer a lot of times. Most shots will require 2 or less. Practice these shots. They come up often. Same with long table cut shots. You might need to go two full table lengths for shape occasionally. Stop trying to kill whitey off the first rail all the time. Control that cb better and win more games. 😉👍

Another way to look at it is this. On a BB. If the cut is sharp and OB is 2.5ft from the pocket. How can you pocket the ball without the cb going over 3 ft? You can’t. So to get to the other side of the table you have to go ~9ft. On a 9 footer the same applies. You can’t take a sharp 3.5 footer near the rail and expect the ball to stop at 4.5ft. You have to go ~13.5ft sometimes.
 
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So I didn’t have a good spot to post this, but it felt good. So why not post it in the journey through suckage.

Maybe the suckage has been mental this whole time. I was talking to one of the older “big dogs” a week or two ago and we were on the whole subject of playing to your competition. And he’s around a 650 or so. I mentioned something about not having much issue playing anybody really. This guy honestly told me “I know. You need to get the hell oughtta here. And go play with pros. That’s where you belong” and the thing about it. He was being serious.

Have I been holding myself back this whole trying to make it more fun by playing down subconsciously? He seems to think so. He’s also the guy that thinks I’m good for well over 6 racks when I play. It felt so good having somebody complement my game. It happens but not from many high-level respectable players Definitely a confidence booster if nothing else. I don’t understand it really. Guess maybe I just see the table a bit different than others.

This post isn’t to brag either. I know all the shots, can tell you somebody’s skill within a set, and can change my strategies according to an opponent. But even with all that knowledge. When’s the last time I actually just played my best instead of focusing on an opponents strengths/weaknesses and playing accordingly? I haven’t. A lot of us haven’t. Many of us all get so focused on other things that we don’t go all out and just play our “best” game. Maybe all of us focusing on that other stuff could all be better by shooting “our” games instead.

So as you can see, my phrase is now “Going pro” under the avatar. Am I actually going to get there this time? Guess we’ll see but I’m gonna try my ass off from here on out. Honestly, I have been to the point lately-play for fun or give up on fun and just practice. But it would be fun as hell just to practice alone and play big tournaments. So only time will tell if one of the 2nd best is capable of surpassing the best(700+ for capability reference).

This one is for Kevin. Thanks man!
 
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Willowbrook Wolfy said:
When’s the last time I actually just played my best instead of focusing on an opponents strengths/weaknesses and playing accordingly? I haven’t. A lot of us haven’t. Many of us all get so focused on other things that we don’t go all out and just play our “best” game. Maybe all of us focusing on that other stuff could all be better by shooting “our” games instead.
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Hustler mentality. I don't know where I got it but I find myself trying to never "destroy" someone, just beat them by a few games. IDK why I do it as I don't really play for money. I've noticed in tournaments I can shut this off and just go into "monster mode."

I think the cat and mouse stuff interests me at some level, but I wish it didn't. It's like I get lazy if I know my opponent will probably give me another shot, and that's the recipe for a big fat L.

The best players I know have a hard time getting "action" true, but they play a beginner with as much ferocity as they do a high level player.

Good luck!
 
ShootingArts said:
I am going to agree with the video idea. Often just seeing the video yourself you can see what you are doing wrong. What we think we are doing and what we are really doing isn't always the same.
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That brings back my memories of my first boxing class in P E. We were video taped and then shown. In my mind I was dancing like a butterfly and stinging like a bee. In reality I looked more like a puppy stagering and pawing at the air. 🤷‍♂️
The lesson led me to give up boxing and take up running. 🤷‍♂️
 
boogieman said:
they play a beginner with as much ferocity as they do a high level player.
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I strive to play my best regardless of my opponent. I play to win, however my strategy might vary depending on my perception of my opponents abilities.
So when I do lose to a weaker player......I can sincerely congratulate. No excuses! My handshake might include, "you earned it."
 
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