Mental derailment

[fasted71465]

I have been playing for a long time. My cosistancy is very bad. I have for a long time worried about staying down on the shot and alot of other basics that should improve the my game. I think this quest for proper shooting technique has been the demise of my game. Whenever I miss a shot I start to make adjustments like stay down longer or look at ball better etc. I do this when in practice and in a match. I will start thinking about these things when I am down shooting. It has became a bad habit because I want to improve so badly I will do anything. I have tried to just play and not think, but soon start the worry change something cycle again. I can get into stroke and play very well but I will derail myself when I started thinking about my fundamentals. Should I just play and not think about these things. It will be hard to do, but I think if I just believe in myself and not worry about flaws I would do alot better. Again I have done this for years and as soon as I miss I automatically start the self evaluation process. I don't think I will ever improve like this. Please help.

 

[the420trooper]

I have been playing for a long time. My cosistancy is very bad. I have for a long time worried about staying down on the shot and alot of other basics that should improve the my game. I think this quest for proper shooting technique has been the demise of my game. Whenever I miss a shot I start to make adjustments like stay down longer or look at ball better etc. I do this when in practice and in a match. I will start thinking about these things when I am down shooting. It has became a bad habit because I want to improve so badly I will do anything. I have tried to just play and not think, but soon start the worry change something cycle again. I can get into stroke and play very well but I will derail myself when I started thinking about my fundamentals. Should I just play and not think about these things. It will be hard to do, but I think if I just believe in myself and not worry about flaws I would do alot better. Again I have done this for years and as soon as I miss I automatically start the self evaluation process. I don't think I will ever improve like this. Please help.

I know that I spent a long time trying to play the way that many of the great players play...I missed a lot back in those days.

When I stopped trying to emulate someone else, and started to try to play MY best game, I stopped missing so much.

Ultimately, it comes down to figuring out what works for YOU, instead of trying to copy what works for someone else. Everyone has their own style.

I'm beginning to believe that the only answer is to play and practice a lot, and become comfortable with your own game, stance, stroke, rhythm, personal eye movement pattern, etc.

One big thing that helped me a lot was to learn when to make my brain shut up, and let my arm and my muscle memory do the work for me.

 

[fasted71465]

I know that I spent a long time trying to play the way that many of the great players play...I missed a lot back in those days.

When I stopped trying to emulate someone else, and started to try to play MY best game, I stopped missing so much.

Ultimately, it comes down to figuring out what works for YOU, instead of trying to copy what works for someone else. Everyone has their own style.

I'm beginning to believe that the only answer is to play and practice a lot, and become comfortable with your own game, stance, stroke, rhythm, personal eye movement pattern, etc.

One big thing that helped me a lot was to learn when to make my brain shut up, and let my arm and my muscle memory do the work for me.

I am going to work on shutting my brain up.

 

[Tbeaux]

I am going to work on shutting my brain up.

Well, with all the worrying have you actually found yourself screwing up the fundamentals on a regular basis? If not, STOP worrying about it and play the game.

 

[the420trooper]

I am going to work on shutting my brain up.

Without a lobotomy, it's pretty tough to do...:smile:

Really what I meant was to have total confidence when you're in a game situation...Practice is for improving your game, competition is for playing your game. Even if the confidence is not quite warranted yet, fake it 'till you make it.

 

[Philthepockets]

You practice the fundamentals till they become habit and automatic, you should not be having to think about this during a match. Focus on the task at hand what you need to do to make the shot.

 

[Johnnyt]

I think there becomes a point at a certain skill level that the mental part of the game is a bigger part of your game than anything else. That point/skill level is different for everybody. I think we all can remember times when we were just breaking that first rack of balls for the day to get in stroke. How many times have you ran them out w/o a miss not even thinking of doing it. That stae of mind is what we all are looking for all the time. I've be playing for almost 60 years and I've never been able to have that mindset when I want/need it. Put a few hundred on a set and very rarely was I able to keep the demons at bay for the whole set.
The only times I played like I want to are when I had money to burn that I didn't really earn. Like winnings from the dogtrack, horse track, or some ilegal gains. Then I would look for Buddy or Steve Cook and get the best spot I could and let the chips fly. When I didn't care about the money and knew I was the dog I played some of the best pool of my life. Of course I didn't win from them often, but most of the time I played as good as I could play. Mental is huge. Johnnyt

 

[fasted71465]

You practice the fundamentals till they become habit and automatic, you should not be having to think about this during a match. Focus on the task at hand what you need to do to make the shot.

I have practiced and thought about the fundamentals so much during practice I bring that with me at game time. Especially at hard shots and or high pressure situations. I think I have played long enough and have pretty good fundamentals, so I am eliminating the why am I missing thought from my head. I am missing because I am worried why I am missing.

 

[pdcue]

I have been playing for a long time. My cosistancy is very bad. I have for a long time worried about staying down on the shot and alot of other basics that should improve the my game. I think this quest for proper shooting technique has been the demise of my game. Whenever I miss a shot I start to make adjustments like stay down longer or look at ball better etc. I do this when in practice and in a match. I will start thinking about these things when I am down shooting. It has became a bad habit because I want to improve so badly I will do anything. I have tried to just play and not think, but soon start the worry change something cycle again. I can get into stroke and play very well but I will derail myself when I started thinking about my fundamentals. Should I just play and not think about these things. It will be hard to do, but I think if I just believe in myself and not worry about flaws I would do alot better. Again I have done this for years and as soon as I miss I automatically start the self evaluation process. I don't think I will ever improve like this. Please help.

As others have said, fundamentals should be addressed during practice.
I didn't see anything about how, or even if, you practice.

The simple minded answer is decide exactly what you want to do on any
shot before you get down in your stance.
Once down, do not think about anything other than the OB, focus
everything on the spot you need to hit.

You might need to practice that technique first.

Dale

 

[Secaucus Fats]

I have been playing for a long time. My cosistancy is very bad. I have for a long time worried about staying down on the shot and alot of other basics that should improve the my game. I think this quest for proper shooting technique has been the demise of my game. Whenever I miss a shot I start to make adjustments like stay down longer or look at ball better etc. I do this when in practice and in a match. I will start thinking about these things when I am down shooting. It has became a bad habit because I want to improve so badly I will do anything. I have tried to just play and not think, but soon start the worry change something cycle again. I can get into stroke and play very well but I will derail myself when I started thinking about my fundamentals. Should I just play and not think about these things. It will be hard to do, but I think if I just believe in myself and not worry about flaws I would do alot better. Again I have done this for years and as soon as I miss I automatically start the self evaluation process. I don't think I will ever improve like this. Please help.

Save all the analysis for your practice sessions. Don't engage in in-depth analysis while playing.

There is an effect called "verbal overshadowing" that results from too much analysis. It makes your brain use the language centers more, while focusing less, on the brain centers that support your skills at the table and thereby adversely affects your motor skills.

One way to help overcome this type of analysis / paralysis is to speed up your game. No thinking allowed. Just attention to the here-and-now (the shot at hand), just see it, and shoot it. Get out of your own way and let your subconscious mind take over.

 

[Philthepockets]

Have you considered hypno-therapy, i found it help me clear my mind and focus on the task at hand.

 

[fasted71465]

I practice every day atleast an hour and have practiced as much as 8 hours. I have considered the hypno thing but never done it. I do play better when I play fast but my position play drops off.

 

[Neil]

.................

 

[Tbeaux]

Have you considered hypno-therapy, i found it help me clear my mind and focus on the task at hand.

Do you mean......

 

[JoeW]

I have been playing for a long time. My cosistancy is very bad. I have for a long time worried about staying down on the shot and alot of other basics that should improve the my game. I think this quest for proper shooting technique has been the demise of my game. Whenever I miss a shot I start to make adjustments like stay down longer or look at ball better etc. I do this when in practice and in a match. I will start thinking about these things when I am down shooting. It has became a bad habit because I want to improve so badly I will do anything. I have tried to just play and not think, but soon start the worry change something cycle again. I can get into stroke and play very well but I will derail myself when I started thinking about my fundamentals. Should I just play and not think about these things. It will be hard to do, but I think if I just believe in myself and not worry about flaws I would do alot better. Again I have done this for years and as soon as I miss I automatically start the self evaluation process. I don't think I will ever improve like this. Please help.

When I arrived at the point you describe I found a solution that worked for me.

I placed the OB two diamonds off the long rail and two diamonds off the short rail. I placed the cue ball at the other end of the table for a straight in shot with a “normal” bridge.

Then I made the shot probably 100 times switching ends of the table after each shot so I had to re-set for each shot.

When I had this shot mastered, a no brainer, did not even have to think about what I was doing, and I always hit dead center on the contact point, I was ready to move on.

Then I started moving the OB about ¼” off line from a straight in shot and aimed dead center at the contact point for another 100 or so shots. I really mean 100 or so shots until I was absolutely positive I had the shot mastered.

I kept moving the OB by ¼” increments and kept playing this same shot until I reached the side rail.
I kept track of how far off line (in diamond increments) I could be and still aim at the center of the cue ball at the contact point. Then I learned how much off the contact point I needed to aim the cue ball when the angle increased.

I probably spent well over 100 hours doing nothing but these simple shots.

I learned several things but the best thing I learned was not what I was looking for. I found my natural way to play a shot. How I felt the most comfortable and what worked for me.

I was concentrating on a pure hit on the contact point what I learned was the way my body is most comfortable. If you let your self learn with a series of simple shots and attempting to get the most accurate hit over 100s of shots you will find your own way to shoot that is quite reliable nd can then be updated from time to time.

Hope that helps -- it worked for me but it took some real effort on my part.

 

[fasted71465]

First off, I have to say to go find a qualified instructor if there is any way you can. I would have to start by saying that your fundamentals are most likely wrong to start with. Second, I would guess that you are practicing wrong.

This forum, if you search, and many of the books out there, show or tell how to have the proper fundamentals. What you have to do, if you have to do it on your own, is learn what those fundamentals are supposed to look like, what they are supposed to accomplish.

Then, you practice those fundamentals until they are coming out of your ears. After 30 days or so of that, you will have them down to automatic repetition. When you are actually playing, not practicing, you should be shooting with your subconscious, not your conscious mind. When you walk, do you think about bending your knee and flexing the right muscles to make your leg go forward? NO! So why do you feel you need to do it when you shoot pool?

Find a 'trigger' for you to switch over to auto mode. For me, while standing, I figure out what I want to do and with what speed. Then, when I get down, I take a few warm up strokes to ensure that I am stroking straight without forcing it, and fine-tune my aim. Then, I slowly pull the cue back, keeping it on the same line I want. That is my trigger. At that point, all conscious thought stops, and I switch over to fully subconscious. I have told my subconscious what I want to happen, and I trust it to make it happen. When it is ready, my mind pulls the trigger and shoots. Then, after the shot, my subconscious lets go, and my conscious picks back up to evaluate what just happened and mentally make any corrections for future shots.

Not practicing the right way is what is wrong. I worry too much about staying down and things like that. I am not letting my subconscious learn anything when I am forcing myself to do certain things like staying down and stroking straight etc. I know as much about pool as any instructor in the world. I have been playing since I was 13 and now almost 40. I have read countless books and videos on all aspects of pool. I don't know how an instructor do but add fuel to the fire trying to teach me to do it his way. I have taped myself and everything is pretty sound in the fundamentals dept. It is the mental part I am talking about. I let the fundamentals fog my subconscious

 

[Neil]

..............

 

[Blue Hog ridr]

Hahaha, I think everyone gets a bit of the inner chatter. Don't feel like the Lone Ranger buddy. Theres lots of us out there in the same boat.
Whenever I start missing shots, I start thinking and can attribute it to, popping up, my stroke, jacking up the cue etc. Its difficult to step up to the table and remember everything.

I try to have a mental checklist. One thing that I was told as of late and try to do is breathing. As I go thru my pre shot strokes I get my breathing in control. As I go back for my final stroke before I pull the trigger, I exhale and keep my body still and pull the trigger. Give it a try, it can't hurt.

 

[claymont]

Look for a book titled The Pleasure of Small Motions. It might help some.

I have been playing for a long time. My cosistancy is very bad. I have for a long time worried about staying down on the shot and alot of other basics that should improve the my game. I think this quest for proper shooting technique has been the demise of my game. Whenever I miss a shot I start to make adjustments like stay down longer or look at ball better etc. I do this when in practice and in a match. I will start thinking about these things when I am down shooting. It has became a bad habit because I want to improve so badly I will do anything. I have tried to just play and not think, but soon start the worry change something cycle again. I can get into stroke and play very well but I will derail myself when I started thinking about my fundamentals. Should I just play and not think about these things. It will be hard to do, but I think if I just believe in myself and not worry about flaws I would do alot better. Again I have done this for years and as soon as I miss I automatically start the self evaluation process. I don't think I will ever improve like this. Please help.

 

[Philthepockets]

Do you mean......
View attachment 151910

Sorry for the late response I only just snapped out of it.
No!