Mental Game: The Status Game

[sixpack]

Something I have been thinking about with pool just gelled for me so I thought I would share it.

One time I was in a place for a couple of years with work. I didn't know anybody and nobody knew me. Nobody knew how good I played so I decided to ACT like I played good. I decided to mimic the posture, actions, speech patterns and actions over the pool table of the best players I knew.

A funny thing happened. I played better than I ever had to date and what's even more interesting, everyone accepted me as a great player. Immediately.

I kept up the charade and just quelled my inner doubts to beat players that I previously had no chance to beat. My game jumped (In Colorado rankings from about a strong A to a strong AAA) almost over night.

I came back to Colorado and won the Thursday night tournament at Family Fun Center, against players who knew the old me and who I used to be intimidated by. But somehow, I beat them.

The thing that put it all together for me is what Johnstone describes in his comedy book as 'The Status Game.' His theory is that everyone is adjusting their status relative to other folks constantly. We are constantly trying to figure out how we relate to other people in every aspect of our lives so that we know where we fit. Who we should defer to and who we should expect to defer to us.

In pool, you can think of it as who we should lose to and who should lose to us.

You see, when I was acting like the top dog in a strange city, I was subconsciously telling everyone that I should beat them and they should lose to me. More importantly, I was telling myself that.

A funny thing happened. I started to believe it. I posted in another thread about getting a lot out of my game. I think this is a key. Because of that experience, I routinely expect to beat players that are better than me. Players that are a lot better than me in fact. And surprisingly, I beat them far more often than I should. You could say that that means I'm a better player, I understand the dichotomy. But that is a key point to the mental game that I had previously overlooked.

You see, unless you are the fastest gun, you will have trouble convincing yourself that you are better than accomplished players. All their body language and yours will betray you with the status game. You will lose. You will be expected to lose. They will know it and you will know it. And you will lose. Like they used to say about Jack Nicklaus: "He knows he will beat you, you know he will beat you, and he knows that you know that he will beat you."

But, if you instead believe that you can beat better players. That's an easier sell. Believe it through to your core. And more importantly, ACT like you believe it. You will key yourself to top performance and possibly key your opponent to have more respect for your game and maybe too much respect for your game.

We have all seen the player who plays great in practice, but can't win a match against anyone who plays. Watch their body language (or imagine it). When they miss a shot, they slump their shoulders. Their face falls into despair. They say things like "Oh, just go ahead and run out now." or "Why do I always miss those shots." Even though it's a shot they make 100 out of 100 in practice. They start thinking they are lower status. They start knowing they shouldn't win. Their body language betrays them. It gives their opponent more confidence, and their body language helps cement their victory.

As an exercise, pick someone in your pool hall who you play about even with and play them a long race or three. Instead of playing like you, decide to play like your favorite pro player. Someone you've seen play a lot. Mimic their body language, expressions, pre-shot routine, even their stroke. Imagine that you know what they see when they look at the ball and aim. Think about what you're looking at. Think about what they are looking at. Let the balls go in the hole. Picture PRECISELY where the cueball will travel, before and after the shot. Imagine that you ARE that person.

As little kids, we instinctively do this. Remember when we played ball and one guy was Elway and another was Randy Moss. We know that this works, but then we grow into our 'proper' status and stagnate.

Play several sets this way and just see what happens. When I do this, my game progresses from being even with them to where they can't win a game over the space of a few sets.

If you do this, let me know how it works.

~rc

 

[Tom In Cincy]

A Positive mental attitude when competing is always helpful.
Trusting what you know and Accepting the results, IMO, are the first two steps towards playing better.
Execution is still the measure of success.

 

[crawfish]

I like to refer to this as "the road factor." If they don't know you, they will play a ball worse. You knowing this, will play a ball better. Most people subconsciously EXPECT the unkown guy to beat them.

 

[Jude Rosenstock]

Something I have been thinking about with pool just gelled for me so I thought I would share it.

One time I was in a place for a couple of years with work. I didn't know anybody and nobody knew me. Nobody knew how good I played so I decided to ACT like I played good. I decided to mimic the posture, actions, speech patterns and actions over the pool table of the best players I knew.

A funny thing happened. I played better than I ever had to date and what's even more interesting, everyone accepted me as a great player. Immediately.

I kept up the charade and just quelled my inner doubts to beat players that I previously had no chance to beat. My game jumped (In Colorado rankings from about a strong A to a strong AAA) almost over night.

I came back to Colorado and won the Thursday night tournament at Family Fun Center, against players who knew the old me and who I used to be intimidated by. But somehow, I beat them.

The thing that put it all together for me is what Johnstone describes in his comedy book as 'The Status Game.' His theory is that everyone is adjusting their status relative to other folks constantly. We are constantly trying to figure out how we relate to other people in every aspect of our lives so that we know where we fit. Who we should defer to and who we should expect to defer to us.

In pool, you can think of it as who we should lose to and who should lose to us.

You see, when I was acting like the top dog in a strange city, I was subconsciously telling everyone that I should beat them and they should lose to me. More importantly, I was telling myself that.

A funny thing happened. I started to believe it. I posted in another thread about getting a lot out of my game. I think this is a key. Because of that experience, I routinely expect to beat players that are better than me. Players that are a lot better than me in fact. And surprisingly, I beat them far more often than I should. You could say that that means I'm a better player, I understand the dichotomy. But that is a key point to the mental game that I had previously overlooked.

You see, unless you are the fastest gun, you will have trouble convincing yourself that you are better than accomplished players. All their body language and yours will betray you with the status game. You will lose. You will be expected to lose. They will know it and you will know it. And you will lose. Like they used to say about Jack Nicklaus: "He knows he will beat you, you know he will beat you, and he knows that you know that he will beat you."

But, if you instead believe that you can beat better players. That's an easier sell. Believe it through to your core. And more importantly, ACT like you believe it. You will key yourself to top performance and possibly key your opponent to have more respect for your game and maybe too much respect for your game.

We have all seen the player who plays great in practice, but can't win a match against anyone who plays. Watch their body language (or imagine it). When they miss a shot, they slump their shoulders. Their face falls into despair. They say things like "Oh, just go ahead and run out now." or "Why do I always miss those shots." Even though it's a shot they make 100 out of 100 in practice. They start thinking they are lower status. They start knowing they shouldn't win. Their body language betrays them. It gives their opponent more confidence, and their body language helps cement their victory.

As an exercise, pick someone in your pool hall who you play about even with and play them a long race or three. Instead of playing like you, decide to play like your favorite pro player. Someone you've seen play a lot. Mimic their body language, expressions, pre-shot routine, even their stroke. Imagine that you know what they see when they look at the ball and aim. Think about what you're looking at. Think about what they are looking at. Let the balls go in the hole. Picture PRECISELY where the cueball will travel, before and after the shot. Imagine that you ARE that person.

As little kids, we instinctively do this. Remember when we played ball and one guy was Elway and another was Randy Moss. We know that this works, but then we grow into our 'proper' status and stagnate.

Play several sets this way and just see what happens. When I do this, my game progresses from being even with them to where they can't win a game over the space of a few sets.

If you do this, let me know how it works.

~rc

I cannot agree with this more. It's huge, practically integral. There has to be a moment in your life, a place, where you can say you're the best. Be it a league, a poolroom, a small town. When you're THAT confident, it's as though your whole body synchronizes itself. You simply play better. There's never been a moment in my life where there wasn't a world (be it, by my own creation) where I was the best. I'm currently the best player on Hicks Street and I challenge anyone to the task!!!

 

[Roger Long]

I've done it many times, and you're right, it works. As soon as you get away from the belief that you are supposed to play according to the way the rest of the local pool community tells you you are supposed to play (maybe by virtue of an arbitrarily assigned rating, like the ratings we have here in Arizona), and allow yourself to play the way you are actually capable of playing, you find out that you're not a bad player at all.

You're right on when you say it's a status game. Ratings are used as intimidation factors.

Roger

 

[DogsPlayingPool]

It goes along with something I posted in another thread recently. After watching the pros play all day at the recent Vegas 10Ball event, I went out that night and played some of the best pool I played in a long time.

 

[Neil]

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

 

[sixpack]

I cannot agree with this more. It's huge, practically integral. There has to be a moment in your life, a place, where you can say you're the best. Be it a league, a poolroom, a small town. When you're THAT confident, it's as though your whole body synchronizes itself. You simply play better. There's never been a moment in my life where there wasn't a world (be it, by my own creation) where I was the best. I'm currently the best player on Hicks Street and I challenge anyone to the task!!!

Yes! I've always felt this way too. I think it's critical to developing a winning attitude.

I like to refer to this as "the road factor." If they don't know you, they will play a ball worse. You knowing this, will play a ball better. Most people subconsciously EXPECT the unkown guy to beat them.

Yep. I've relied on this myself a time or two As I know you have too.

A Positive mental attitude when competing is always helpful.
Trusting what you know and Accepting the results, IMO, are the first two steps towards playing better.
Execution is still the measure of success.

I agree with everything that you said Tom. I think that the positive PHYSICAL attitude shouldn't be downplayed though. It's at least as important, and I think, more important, than the mental attitude.

Good post, sixpack, except for this part that I quoted. This part I disagree with. I totally agree that you should think like a pro, even think like you are in the company of pros, and that you belong there. But, I disagree with trying to imitate their stroke. If your favorite player is McCready, or Bustamente, or Salvas, good luck trying to imitate them and have any success at it. I say to stick with YOUR game, but do your best to think like them.

The poolroom I play at used to have pictures of pros up on the walls. I used to look them for a while, and that would get my head in the right frame of mind. I was now in the company of pros, and my game would go up. I think a lot of it actually goes back to actually playing the table, instead of playing your opponent.

I almost didn't post that about the stroke because I knew people would take issue with it. But I couldn't leave it out. It's too important.

One time I was playing pool and making fun of a guy in Denver who is a great player but has a stroke that is unorthodox as hell. I was winding up sidearm like he does and took the same number of practice strokes and even put my head in the same place and the same look in my eyes. Everyone was eating it up but the most amazing thing happened. I started making balls like him too. I mean banks, cuts, long shots, safeties, the whole package.

I don't think it's sustainable to adopt someone else's style long term, but I think for this exercise it's an important piece because it allows you to descend deeper into the mental state you are trying to achieve.

If you're walking like Archer but using your pre-shot routine and aiming like you do, you'll still play like Neil.

I dare you to take McCready's sidearm swing and do this exercise with faith. Total faith. I think you might be surprised. I have done it with a sidearm swing as well. It's amazing how your brain will start to compensate and you'll be focusing better than you have in a while because you'll have to THINK about where to hit the ball and that, in itself, will make you play better.

I think it is a similar exercise to playing wrong-handed except better, because you make more balls and practice at a higher level.

I've done it many times, and you're right, it works. As soon as you get away from the belief that you are supposed to play according to the way the rest of the local pool community tells you you are supposed to play (maybe by virtue of an arbitrarily assigned rating, like the ratings we have here in Arizona), and allow yourself to play the way you are actually capable of playing, you find out that you're not a bad player at all.

You're right on when you say it's a status game. Ratings are used as intimidation factors

Dave Hughes from Denver once told me that the strongest move he saw was when one pro tried to give another pro the 8-ball for some cash. The second pro said "You're not going to shark me with a spot, let's play even."

Because he knew about the 'supposed to' aspect of getting a spot.

One of my favorite things to tell myself when I'm playing someone I'm not 'supposed to' beat is: "F*** 'supposed to,' let's do it."

Thanks for all the comments guys!
~rc

 

[John Biddle]

Rep to you Sixpack for a truly great post.

Confidence is such a powerful force. I think what happens is that by believing in ourselves we are more willing to turn down the volume on our conscious, analyzing, critical self, and let our unconscious just play pool. And since that part of our brain plays much better when left alone, our performance rises significantly.

Your idea of mimicking a pro is one a friend of mine uses all the time. It has been effective in helping him to play his best. And it works particularly well just after he's been watching pros play, either in person or on video. At the time I didn't put 2 & 2 together. I thought he was just mimicking his favorite players, as a "super fan" and I didn't really try it because that's not me. But your post has helped me see this in a new light (thanks) and I'll be trying it soon.

Another friend always stresses to me to stop being negative when I miss a shot or get out of line. This is excellent advice, though hard to follow if you just stick to "don't be negative". But by going a step further and having something specific and positive to focus on will keep you from even having the negative thoughts in the first place, so you won't have to deal with them.

The part about exhibiting the demeanor of someone who plays much better than you definitely helps. And there's a scientific basis for it (though I'm going to stretch it a little).

Studies have shown that facial expressions and emotions are linked. No surprise there. But the linkage proved to be two way. That is, not only will you smile when you're happy, you'll become happier if you smile. It's not immediate or absolute, but there is no question that this is real, not just hokum. Another little experiment you can do is to say something like "I'm great, thanks for asking" every time someone says "How are you?" You'll be amazed how such a simple thing can affect your mood for the better for the whole day.

 

[ShootingArts]

Great Post!

Something I have been thinking about with pool just gelled for me so I thought I would share it.

~rc

Almost everyone decides where they sit in the pecking order. They will strive mightily to prevent anyone under them from beating them because they expect to beat the person below them in the pecking order. Rarely can they muster the same intensity to beat a player they feel is a better player because they expect to lose to the better player. These thoughts, conscious or unconscious, are usually self-fulfilling prophecy. If you are playing a better player and he is playing poorly for him, you are likely to play equally poorly for your abilities to maintain the pecking order.

We live up to and down to our expectations. Throw expectations out the window and amazing things can happen.

Hu

 

[mamono]

Good topic, this is something that all player go through and is another aspect of the game that one has to improve upon in order to get better. Thanks for bring up the topic. Let's here more perspectives on this!

 

[sixpack]

The part about exhibiting the demeanor of someone who plays much better than you definitely helps. And there's a scientific basis for it (though I'm going to stretch it a little).

Studies have shown that facial expressions and emotions are linked. No surprise there. But the linkage proved to be two way. That is, not only will you smile when you're happy, you'll become happier if you smile. It's not immediate or absolute, but there is no question that this is real, not just hokum. Another little experiment you can do is to say something like "I'm great, thanks for asking" every time someone says "How are you?" You'll be amazed how such a simple thing can affect your mood for the better for the whole day.

Hey John,
Thanks for taking the time to read and comment.

This link between the physical and the mental is powerful. That's why this is more than just positive thinking.

I learned a long time ago that if I'm down in a match or not playing well for any reason, I can change my body energy and it transforms my whole mindset AND game.

What I do is instead of acting how I'm acting when I'm losing, I make a conscious effort to act the way I act when I'm winning. Instead of having the mental and physical demeanor of someone down 5-0, change to the energy and demeanor of someone who is up 5-0. You're still a long shot to win the set, but it's amazing how many times I've overcome big deficits to win by doing that exact thing.

~rc

 

[Johnnyt]

The mind is very powerful. If you can tap into it for something at will, you will be amazed how it works. I'd like to hear Joe W's and Bill Porters opinion on this subject. Johnnyt

 

[Johnnyt]

Just to add. Most "A" players that have all the shots, good position, and run good paterns could be pros if they had a top mental game IMO. If you can run 100 balls w/o missing or a few racks of 9-ball or 10-ball why can't you run 200 and run 6 racks? To me there come a point in good players games that is ALL mental holding them back. Very good post and something for all to think about. Oh, maybe not John Schmidt. 400 balls wtf. Johnnyt

 

[sixpack]

Just to add. Most "A" players that have all the shots, good position, and run good paterns could be pros if they had a top mental game IMO. If you can run 100 balls w/o missing or a few racks of 9-ball or 10-ball why can't you run 200 and run 6 racks? To me there come a point in good players games that is ALL mental holding them back. Very good post and something for all to think about. Oh, maybe not John Schmidt. 400 balls wtf. Johnnyt

I agree. More than other sports the physical limitations between amateurs and pros is negligible. I think that coordination is more of a mental ability than a physical one.

Aside: any doubters try this yet? I'd be interested to hear how I went.

~rc

 

[TX Poolnut]

Intesting. I'll try it out.

 

[Cameron Smith]

Tis' true. I noticed this at a pro golf tournament. The pro's walk differently on the course than other people.

 

[CreeDo]

I think you don't actually have to imitate a specific pro, you just need to exude confidence. It has to ooze out of every pore. You need to act like everything you make is routine (especially the good tough shots) and be almost bored about the whole thing.

Doing this creates an aura of invincibility. The other guy assumes you play above his speed and he gets a little resigned to losing before you even hit a ball. I remember a few guys who have done it to me. I was doing well in a tournament but I was playing a slow player and matches were backing up. When I finally won, the next guy acted kind of rushed and exasperated ... like "let's get this over with, lemme knock out this scrub real quick and we can get on with this tournament". He never actually said anything so rude, he just somehow hinted at it. Later, when I played a poor position shot and ended up on the right ball (but in the wrong pocket) he said "nice shot". To an uninformed observer it might look like a fine shot and the guy was just complimenting me. But he knew I was playing for the side and overhit the ball 2 feet and ended up straight into the corner. I knew it too and it messed with me.

In retrospect, I never saw him run the balls any better than I do, I just came in and assumed the position.

 

[ShootingArts]

Those little shark moves(grin)

One of my favorites was when I was stretched a little to hit a bank straight back out of my field of view. Pretty obvious when it came off the rail if it was falling or not but starting to line up my next shot without glancing to see if the bank shot fell was deliberate intimidation.

"How could an easy shot like that not fall?"

Hu

I think you don't actually have to imitate a specific pro, you just need to exude confidence. It has to ooze out of every pore. You need to act like everything you make is routine (especially the good tough shots) and be almost bored about the whole thing.

Doing this creates an aura of invincibility. The other guy assumes you play above his speed and he gets a little resigned to losing before you even hit a ball. I remember a few guys who have done it to me. I was doing well in a tournament but I was playing a slow player and matches were backing up. When I finally won, the next guy acted kind of rushed and exasperated ... like "let's get this over with, lemme knock out this scrub real quick and we can get on with this tournament". He never actually said anything so rude, he just somehow hinted at it. Later, when I played a poor position shot and ended up on the right ball (but in the wrong pocket) he said "nice shot". To an uninformed observer it might look like a fine shot and the guy was just complimenting me. But he knew I was playing for the side and overhit the ball 2 feet and ended up straight into the corner. I knew it too and it messed with me.

In retrospect, I never saw him run the balls any better than I do, I just came in and assumed the position.

 

[catpool9]

Mental Game

Something I have been thinking about with pool just gelled for me so I thought I would share it.

One time I was in a place for a couple of years with work. I didn't know anybody and nobody knew me. Nobody knew how good I played so I decided to ACT like I played good. I decided to mimic the posture, actions, speech patterns and actions over the pool table of the best players I knew.

A funny thing happened. I played better than I ever had to date and what's even more interesting, everyone accepted me as a great player. Immediately.

I kept up the charade and just quelled my inner doubts to beat players that I previously had no chance to beat. My game jumped (In Colorado rankings from about a strong A to a strong AAA) almost over night.

I came back to Colorado and won the Thursday night tournament at Family Fun Center, against players who knew the old me and who I used to be intimidated by. But somehow, I beat them.

The thing that put it all together for me is what Johnstone describes in his comedy book as 'The Status Game.' His theory is that everyone is adjusting their status relative to other folks constantly. We are constantly trying to figure out how we relate to other people in every aspect of our lives so that we know where we fit. Who we should defer to and who we should expect to defer to us.

In pool, you can think of it as who we should lose to and who should lose to us.

You see, when I was acting like the top dog in a strange city, I was subconsciously telling everyone that I should beat them and they should lose to me. More importantly, I was telling myself that.

A funny thing happened. I started to believe it. I posted in another thread about getting a lot out of my game. I think this is a key. Because of that experience, I routinely expect to beat players that are better than me. Players that are a lot better than me in fact. And surprisingly, I beat them far more often than I should. You could say that that means I'm a better player, I understand the dichotomy. But that is a key point to the mental game that I had previously overlooked.

You see, unless you are the fastest gun, you will have trouble convincing yourself that you are better than accomplished players. All their body language and yours will betray you with the status game. You will lose. You will be expected to lose. They will know it and you will know it. And you will lose. Like they used to say about Jack Nicklaus: "He knows he will beat you, you know he will beat you, and he knows that you know that he will beat you."

But, if you instead believe that you can beat better players. That's an easier sell. Believe it through to your core. And more importantly, ACT like you believe it. You will key yourself to top performance and possibly key your opponent to have more respect for your game and maybe too much respect for your game.

We have all seen the player who plays great in practice, but can't win a match against anyone who plays. Watch their body language (or imagine it). When they miss a shot, they slump their shoulders. Their face falls into despair. They say things like "Oh, just go ahead and run out now." or "Why do I always miss those shots." Even though it's a shot they make 100 out of 100 in practice. They start thinking they are lower status. They start knowing they shouldn't win. Their body language betrays them. It gives their opponent more confidence, and their body language helps cement their victory.

As an exercise, pick someone in your pool hall who you play about even with and play them a long race or three. Instead of playing like you, decide to play like your favorite pro player. Someone you've seen play a lot. Mimic their body language, expressions, pre-shot routine, even their stroke. Imagine that you know what they see when they look at the ball and aim. Think about what you're looking at. Think about what they are looking at. Let the balls go in the hole. Picture PRECISELY where the cueball will travel, before and after the shot. Imagine that you ARE that person.

As little kids, we instinctively do this. Remember when we played ball and one guy was Elway and another was Randy Moss. We know that this works, but then we grow into our 'proper' status and stagnate.

Play several sets this way and just see what happens. When I do this, my game progresses from being even with them to where they can't win a game over the space of a few sets.

If you do this, let me know how it works.

~rc

Great Post! Some of the best advice I've ever read here on AZ! I think some do use the techniques you speak of to a certain degree without knowing it, but if they were firmley applied at all times , I believe ones game would improve immensely!


David Harcrow