All of a sudden I've developed a nasty habit of dogging the 8 and 9 in tournament and league games. They don't even have to be hard shots, I'll get good shape and still dog it. In my head, all I do now is say "Don't choke". I have no confidence when shooting them. I know there is nothing that can be done about this, just figured I'd rant a little and let out some frustrations.
Moneyball-itis is killing my love for the game
- Thread starter Magyar19
- Start date
Replace that thought with what you want to do. Think about aiming to hit the back of the pocket or something to that effect. Cliff Thorburn said that on his 147 at the crucible, on the final black he was thinking that he wanted to make the ball without touching the pocket opening.
It will take time to break that habit, but if you see yourself missing, get up and reset and focus on what you want to do and not what you don't want to do.
It will take time to break that habit, but if you see yourself missing, get up and reset and focus on what you want to do and not what you don't want to do.
Pretend you're playing position off them... anywhere that's pretty easy. Gets your mind off the "last ball" thing...
Los Gatos Taki
Registered
First thing I suggest is to stop the NEGATIVE THOUGHTS. You need to be mentally positive and practice the shots on the 8 and 9 ball that you are missing. Like the golfer who has to hit a shot over water. The golfers who constantly tell themselves, "Do not hit it in the water", will usually hit it in the water.
Maybe, do shot drills using the 7, 8, & 9 balls. Practice running the three balls while thinking positive thoughts. You can think " smooth stroke" instead of "don't choke". Sometimes, positive practice is all that is needed.
Maybe, do shot drills using the 7, 8, & 9 balls. Practice running the three balls while thinking positive thoughts. You can think " smooth stroke" instead of "don't choke". Sometimes, positive practice is all that is needed.
As mentioned, position, also don't let up on your stroke, or "quit" on it. Stay down and get through the whole cue ball with a nice 1-2 count stroke tempo.
Work on getting to point where what your brain is saying to you has little to do with what your body is doing.
If you train you body to shoot every shot the same way, when that doubt starts to creep in, your body will still get the job done if you let it. It really is all about your PSR.
If you train you body to shoot every shot the same way, when that doubt starts to creep in, your body will still get the job done if you let it. It really is all about your PSR.
Just stay positive in your ability to make the ball, regardless of the circumstances. Or in the words of one of America's greatest promoters, "I always think that if I find a pile of horsesh*t under the Christmas tree, there has got to be a pony nearby".
It's pretty common. Chances are you are taking a nervous jab at those balls and jumping up. Nerves create muscular tension, tension causes body and head movement and body movement causes misses.
Cure this by practicing nine ball cut shots off the rail per the diagram nbelow. There is no way you can make the shots below consistently by jumping up or with a nervous, jabby stroke. Just line up and stroke through the cue ball without changing anything. Tip: Hold your finish for a second after the stroke.
Once you've got that technique down, use the same idea with all your money ball shots. I guarantee you a short time practicing this will make you a better player and make money ball shots a lot easier.
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I had that issue when I first started league...still won most of my matches...but my fellow posters are right, I started doing a drill where I would set up just the 8 or nine and shoot it in, playing shape for an imaginary follow up...also, a coupla hundred racks of straight pool never hurts...gives every ball the same value and helps diminish the importance of the two dreaded money balls
This. I always had a similar problem when shooting game balls. I used to dog more 9's than anyone I know, and it really frustrated me, and I felt like there was nothing I could do about it. I remember Archer once said something about high pressure shots... he felt some people had the ability to rise to the occasion and some people didn't. I started playing with an older open player who helped me with my fundamentals. I took a lesson from a friend who is a pro and changed my stroke, stance, pre-shot routine, etc. Now the game ball feels like any other ball. I'll still dog them here and there, but no more than I miss any other shot on the table, and that definitely did not used to be the case...
When that negative thought creeps into your head say to yourself, cancel, cancel, cancel and the immediately think of the positive vision of pocketing the ball
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Sent from my iPad using AzBilliards Forums
Tell yourself "dont think about red" and you are gonna think about red.
You gotta get down on the ball and know it is going in instead of thinking you might miss it.
Take all this advice with a grain of salt. See my disclaimer:
JC
Coos Cues
Also helps with those bonehead scratches that come up from time to time by doing this.
JC