Mental pool problems

[Train1077]

Hey

I would think that others than myself are having or have had this problem.

I have stopped believing in my shots. I have a good technique, and I have played for a year now. I am told that I am doing very good for only having played one year. I have had different periods, like most people have. I had a time where it was too serious and I stopped enjoying the game and got angry even when missing a really difficult shot, thinking that I should have been able to do it all the time. I had periods where I played bad for a few days. I got past them all. But now I can't seem to get over this period. I miss easy shots, I can't clear tables anymore, I don't feel the shots anymore. I have a lot of misses, scratches and misscues. Slowly doing the last couple of weeks I have slowly stopped believing in the shots when I play, and so missed more and more.

I still want to play, but I am getting more and more frustrated that I seem to get worse and worse. It is really getting bad, I am loosing to beginners in our club and it is just a downgoing spiral that I can't seem to pull out of.

I need advice, and we don't really have any instructors in Denmark. But the others tell me my technique looks good, and they say that it is most likely a mental problem.

 

[pooltchr]

Nobody is going to be able to tell you what the problem is on the internet. You are going to have to identify the core problem before you can fix it.
Some areas you may want to look at...
Are you missing in competition, but not in practice? Do you put pressure on yourself when you are competing?
Are you following the same pre-shot routines on EVERY shot? Consistency comes from doing the same things the same way every time.
Adreneline is a bad thing when you are shooting. Do you make a great shot, and then miss the next one. Give yourself the chance to get over the rush of a great shot..
Put the misses out of your head before you get to your next shot. You can't think about the shot you are shooting, if you're still thinking about the last shot.
Are your expectations of yourself realistic? You said you aren't clearing tables. Lots of players don't regularly run out racks...many who have been playing much longer than you.
Are you trying too hard? Do you try to make the shot and then spin around 3 rails, or draw back 8 feet for shape? Sometimes simpler is better.

In pool school, we have a saying. The only two ways to miss a shot are you either aimed at the wrong place, or something wrong with your mechanics didn't allow you to deliver the cue ball where you were aiming. When I hit a slump, the first thing I do is go back to the fundamentals. Grip, stance, bridge, stroke, alignment, all the things I have control over. The cue ball only does what my cue directs it to do, and my cue only does what I make it do.

Maybe something in this post will help. I hope so, anyway.

Steve

 

[JLD]

I gotta agree with pooltchr. At your stage of learning it is almost always a problem with mechanics and very likely a problem with alignment. Whenever you make a shot your head-cue-eye alignment should be as consistent as possible. Any change no matter how small can affect your ability to pot balls. Is your head(or eye) aligned over the cue the same way each time? Is your head tilted the same for each shot both left and right or up and down? A simple test to show you how alignment can affect your aim is to point your finger at a spot on the wall then turn your head left, right, up and down and you will quickly see that your finger will move all over the place. If you center your chin over the cue on a shot and aim then center your right eye over the cue the view will look the same but you will be aiming at 2 different places. The further the object ball is from the cue ball the worse the error will be. The same goes for tilting your head which can be off to the left or right, up or down or rotated in a circular direction. I endeavor to keep my eyes parallel to the table surface with my nose centered over the cue and pointing towards the cue tip being careful to keep my chin at a specific height over the cue.

Other alignment problems can be with your body or whether your cue is aligned over the correct path the cue ball takes to pocket the object ball as in this diagram:

 

[Scott Lee]

I have stopped believing in my shots. I have a good technique,

These two statements are incongruous! If you HAD good technique, you would BELIEVE in your shots (because having good technique enhances confidence in shotmaking). So, first of all, the problem is most likely something in your technique. If you can videotape yourself shooting, from the side, so that the elbow, grip and bridge can be seen, you can upload it to youtube, and we can help you analyze it.

I need advice, and we don't really have any instructors in Denmark. But the others tell me my technique looks good, and they say that it is most likely a mental problem.

Most people do not know what to look for, to really evaluate a "technique"...in other words, they don't know what they don't know. The only thing 'mental' here, is your lack of self-confidence in your stroke. That is 99% probable the cause of your play being up and down. If you cannot be evaluated by a professional instructor in Denmark, you could travel to a nearby country that has professional instruction available...or you can video yourself, as I suggested above, and post it here.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

 

[Train1077]

I am getting closer to my problem, still I am loosing to beginners in the club. But I think I have "learned too much" about pool.

Now when I play, I don't just have to think about pocketing the balls, no no no... Now it is

- How to stand with my legs
- How far back to have a grip on the cue
- Not placing my bridge hand too far from the CB, I have a tendency to do that.
- Keeping a steady bridge hand
- Keeping a very loose grip on the cue even when shooting hard(if I don't think about it, else by instinct I grip hard around the cue)
- Position of the CB
- Follow or draw
- Left or right english
- Sqirt and Deflection
- Force of the stroke
- Then last but not least, the aim on the object ball

I need to simplify my thoughts and just focus on the aim.. I try to think most of these things before I go down to shoot, but sometimes it just does not work. Actually often in 14.1 on the break shot I tend to miss, because I keep my concentration on breaking instead of pocketing.

Maybe I should only allow myself a short time when I go down to shot, but I guess I'll start focus on the time instead then

It used to be MUCH simpler to play in the beginning :speechless:

 

[dgem]

I am getting closer to my problem, still I am loosing to beginners in the club. But I think I have "learned too much" about pool.

Now when I play, I don't just have to think about pocketing the balls, no no no... Now it is

- How to stand with my legs
- How far back to have a grip on the cue
- Not placing my bridge hand too far from the CB, I have a tendency to do that.
- Keeping a steady bridge hand
- Keeping a very loose grip on the cue even when shooting hard(if I don't think about it, else by instinct I grip hard around the cue)
- Position of the CB
- Follow or draw
- Left or right english
- Sqirt and Deflection
- Force of the stroke
- Then last but not least, the aim on the object ball

I need to simplify my thoughts and just focus on the aim.. I try to think most of these things before I go down to shoot, but sometimes it just does not work. Actually often in 14.1 on the break shot I tend to miss, because I keep my concentration on breaking instead of pocketing.

Maybe I should only allow myself a short time when I go down to shot, but I guess I'll start focus on the time instead then

It used to be MUCH simpler to play in the beginning :speechless:

Hello how is it there at Denmark, I know a professional player there that might help you. Pm me for his email.

It seems to me that your thought process is not yet done when you shoot. Just bend down on your shot when you're completely decided on what kind of shot to take. That's what I read from books. :smile:

 

[pooltchr]

I am getting closer to my problem, still I am loosing to beginners in the club. But I think I have "learned too much" about pool.

Now when I play, I don't just have to think about pocketing the balls, no no no... Now it is

- How to stand with my legs
- How far back to have a grip on the cue
- Not placing my bridge hand too far from the CB, I have a tendency to do that.
- Keeping a steady bridge hand
- Keeping a very loose grip on the cue even when shooting hard(if I don't think about it, else by instinct I grip hard around the cue)
- Position of the CB
- Follow or draw
- Left or right english
- Sqirt and Deflection
- Force of the stroke
- Then last but not least, the aim on the object ball

I need to simplify my thoughts and just focus on the aim.. I try to think most of these things before I go down to shoot, but sometimes it just does not work. Actually often in 14.1 on the break shot I tend to miss, because I keep my concentration on breaking instead of pocketing.

Maybe I should only allow myself a short time when I go down to shot, but I guess I'll start focus on the time instead then

It used to be MUCH simpler to play in the beginning :speechless:

Now you have provided some insight to your actual problem.
You need to separate practicing from playing. All the things you listed are things you practice in order to develop habits. Your grip, bridge, stance, and stroke are things you learn through repetition. If you are thinking about those things when you are playing, you aren't thinking about your game.
Practice is the time to learn, evaluate, and test ideas.
Play time is all about letting the things you practice come out on their own.

Like Yogi said about baseball...How can you think and hit at the same time?

Do your thinking while you are studying the table, make your decisions, and then STOP THINKING, get down and SHOOT THE SHOT.

Steve

 

[Spimp13]

Now you have provided some insight to your actual problem.
You need to separate practicing from playing. All the things you listed are things you practice in order to develop habits. Your grip, bridge, stance, and stroke are things you learn through repetition. If you are thinking about those things when you are playing, you aren't thinking about your game.
Practice is the time to learn, evaluate, and test ideas.
Play time is all about letting the things you practice come out on their own.

Like Yogi said about baseball...How can you think and hit at the same time?

Do your thinking while you are studying the table, make your decisions, and then STOP THINKING, get down and SHOOT THE SHOT.

Steve

Good post...and to add to that if you get down to shoot the shot and do not think you can make it, or find yourself adjusting multiple times while you are getting down to get ready to shoot on where you are aiming, stand back up and take a second look at the shot. Don't just shoot it to shoot it. You should get a complete picture of what you want to do before you get down to shoot. Only thing left to do is execute the shot when you get down to shoot.