Mind of Steel - Goal Setting byb Dr. Christopher Stankovich
- Thread starter naji
- Start date
Banks
Banned
My goal is to master all 243 shots.
The high luck factor in pool is one of the reasons why it is difficult for me to set goals. Not that there aren't plenty that can be set but it makes it more difficult for me. Yes...it is the nature of pool (specifically nine ball but all of the disciplines are included) to have a very high luck factor relative to other games but it is what it is.
The point being, a person can spend decades learning to master pool but in any one event, he is susceptible to losing to a person with far, far less skills just because, the balls didn't happen to bounce his particular way on that day.
Very frustrating and something that makes it difficult for me to respect the game as much as I would like to. Learning to control the rock...deal with precise angles, and manage the actual physics of the game is fascinating to me but the high luck factor...in all honesty, makes it difficult to respect the game as much as I would like.
Just my own observations!
The point being, a person can spend decades learning to master pool but in any one event, he is susceptible to losing to a person with far, far less skills just because, the balls didn't happen to bounce his particular way on that day.
Very frustrating and something that makes it difficult for me to respect the game as much as I would like to. Learning to control the rock...deal with precise angles, and manage the actual physics of the game is fascinating to me but the high luck factor...in all honesty, makes it difficult to respect the game as much as I would like.
Just my own observations!
I listened to his audio course from audible. He says to set your goals on things you can control such as your accustats average... not on things which require a bit of luck.
Unlike many "games of chance", I don't think pool has a very high element of luck associated with it.
Games of chance have many unseen variables. Skill is limited to assessing the probability of an event that is beyond your control.
i.e. your playing Texas hold'em and someone hits a flush on the river despite the fact you were ahead during the flop and the turn. You can't control which cards are in play.
With pool, the greater your skill: the more control: the fewer variables.
Luck ultimately plays a very small role to the skilled player.
Games of chance have many unseen variables. Skill is limited to assessing the probability of an event that is beyond your control.
i.e. your playing Texas hold'em and someone hits a flush on the river despite the fact you were ahead during the flop and the turn. You can't control which cards are in play.
With pool, the greater your skill: the more control: the fewer variables.
Luck ultimately plays a very small role to the skilled player.
YIKES! Yes...the better the player, the less luck is a factor but to say luck plays a very small role to the skilled player is...well, uhhh, ya gotta be kiddin' me, right?
Just sit and watch a match played by world class players and tell me with a straight face, that luck didn't have at least 25% or so of the determination of who won?
You have factors such as whether the cue ball...after being "parked"...is knocked into a pocket, whether a ball went two or three rails and then ended up being hooked by 1/16th of an inch, whether the object ball, after being struck and happen to miss the pocket, contacted another ball and then got close enough to another ball to create a small cluster which needed to be broken up and so on and so on....it is endless.
Just sit and watch a match played by world class players and tell me with a straight face, that luck didn't have at least 25% or so of the determination of who won?
You have factors such as whether the cue ball...after being "parked"...is knocked into a pocket, whether a ball went two or three rails and then ended up being hooked by 1/16th of an inch, whether the object ball, after being struck and happen to miss the pocket, contacted another ball and then got close enough to another ball to create a small cluster which needed to be broken up and so on and so on....it is endless.
That's why instead of setting a goal like "win this week's tournament", your goal should be "practice X hours every day leading up to the tournament."
From the article:
luck and/or praying from your chair are not traits that a skilled player relies on in competition. I think there is plenty to be gleaned from this article but you have to be willing to do the heavy lifting. I don’t think any top player could point to any one article that had all of the answers to becoming a better player. It is our job to take what speaks to us as individuals and mold that into something that works for you. Accepting the benefits of luck can be a huge disappointment in it’s own right because it generally means that your skills failed and you were forced to rely on luck.