Mental game poll
- Thread starter Straightpool_99
- Start date
Tournament mental focus requires a higher level of concentration for me, which is not difficult. I've taken down some well known pros in tournament matches over the years too. I always thought "I'd better shoot the balls in before this guy does." Suddenly you realize the score is 6-2 in a race to 9. All you have to do is maintain and not do anything stupid. I never see my opponent as an opponent...but rather a victim. Gerry Watson once told me "I like that."
Get a good coach.
Late to the party but the Tin Cup like memory is my favorite.
Well the self to self as I racked for the final time. Down 6-2 going to 7. It was the point match at the twice a year White Spot big 9 ball event. Drew players from many states. The north wet bar box championship event. 
[quote-self] Don't Worry about looking helpless. You have done that." [/quote] I had run to the last 3 and missed consistently. Virtually hand him on a platter.
[quote-self] Don't Worry about looking helpless. You have done that." [/quote] I had run to the last 3 and missed consistently. Virtually hand him on a platter.
The Self said:Don't worry about looking helpless. You've done that. This is the biggest stage around. Perhaps This Guy, (a Player I didn't know) has never been on a stage this big.Pretty much the mental set. Perhaps all the good sports training I had as a yute. Baseball is the closest but football requires mental fortitude as well.Self said:
At that point all brain cells were dedicated to the task at hand on the table. Even the memory banks, as I only remembered, I had won at the handshake
Cleveland_Rocks
New member
The sensual image of the shot is home. Thoughts are secondary to seeing and executing the image. Without thoughts, distractions are minimized. In dead stroke, few thoughts go through the mind, seeing and acting occurs. Quality training gives a player more tools to use. Play with who you brought to the table, trying to figure something new out while playing invites tightness and confusion. Tightness equals a higher rate of missing. Relaxation and confidence equal more desirable outcomes. If an error occurs, forget it. Focus only on what is wanted. The moment is all that matters in competition, not anything in the past or in the future.
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Per Matchroom, Kozoom, CSI, FBI, CIA, anything you can express as an acronym... most players aren't up to those ideal scenarios. Their career consists of limping through their technical shortcomings where better than bad luck is a payoff.
There was a discussion from about timestamp 13:12 to 15:40 where they were taking about the "devil and the angel." Ricky Marshall, a multiple time All American captain, said that the devil was the subconscious that puts doubts in your mind ... and that's the way I have heard it from many top shooters. However, Dawn said that the conscious is the devil and the subconscious is the angel. Now that I think about it, I think she is right. The conscious is what puts bad things in your mind and you have to use that same conscious to put good things in your mind so that the subconscious can do what it is trained to do. Interesting!
I wonder if there's an Exlax for a competitors brain??
Martial arts are an excellent way to extend your focus.
I can't help but peek...
I'd add weaponize your focus but don't take my word for it...
I do not have a mental strategy. I pay attention to the fundamentals like staying down on my shots, not stroking the cue ball more than 1 tip of English except on draw shots, play more angle than English for cut shots, stroke thru the cue ball, maintain a consistent pre-shot routine, don’t try for perfect shape since it isn’t required, plan not more than 4 shots ahead for position and don’t over-stroke the cue ball. Play the cue like it was a Stradivarius violin instead of a fiddle, i.e., smoother is better..
I don’t have a strategy to beat my opponent other than don’t let my ego select my next shot because great safety play is every bit as satisfying as pocketing a tough shot & possibly not getting position or worse, being hooked. So I play smart shots instead of trying to run out from the first object ball I pocket. The runout would happen as long as I don’t miss so I don’t try for the runout. Instead I focus on not missing the OB that is my shot to play right now, not the next shot afterward.
I don’t have a strategy to beat my opponent other than don’t let my ego select my next shot because great safety play is every bit as satisfying as pocketing a tough shot & possibly not getting position or worse, being hooked. So I play smart shots instead of trying to run out from the first object ball I pocket. The runout would happen as long as I don’t miss so I don’t try for the runout. Instead I focus on not missing the OB that is my shot to play right now, not the next shot afterward.
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Not a bad add on my friend!!
Attention all new players!!!
If you chisel Matt's words in stone and do nothing but what is written there, well, nuff said.
