My Excuses

DCP, I think that there are always two things that come up with the suggestions from people that you really need to focus on. 1. Positve attitude. your negative thinking will only hold your game back no matter how much you practice. 2. Start trying to get position in ways other than your first instinct. You are getting out of position so often that you really need to address what is happening before the shots that you can't make. A lot of times it looks like using different english or different postion patterns would take care of these problems for you.

Don't mean to dogg you but please consider trying new ways to do the same things and watch what happens.

Hopes this makes sense
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
ok, folks, last night, i decided to break some racks, and see how i would do at running out. one of the first few breaks, i managed to run out. then a dry spell occurred for about 30-45 minutes - basically no chance, no balls down, impossible spreads, etc.

then, all of a sudden, over the course of a few breaks i had a few chances (about 3) to run out, with two of them being the type that i should clear the table on. of course, i managed to mess up each and every one of them, and noticed i was using the following reasons:

1. "How can the cue ball possibly go there???"

2. "Great, the Laws Of Physics dont apply to my table!"

3. "Last night i made the shot doing it this way, and now tonight it misses by a mile!"

4. "That pocket is the worst one i have - nothing ever falls in!"

5. "Oh great, just my luck, get snookered by 1/4" of an inch, how can one guy be so unlucky???"

6. "Well, that wasnt an easy shot, the '5' Ball was blocking the pocket just enough!"

7. "What wonderful luck! i make an extremely difficult shot, and now miss position by about 1/2!"

8. "Now how can the cue ball go that far? i used inside english, which should have killed the speed off the rail??? But no, it has to run an extra two feet, and now i dont have a shot. I dont understand???"

DCP
Click to expand...

"Pleasures of small motions" not quite working out for ya I see eh?:D

Just kidding, I have these nights too. I have even blamed the ball for not being properly round.:D
 
SHEESH

Heres what to do when your playing bad. Try running out the racks without using english (unless you HAVE to). You WILL pot alot more balls and learn the NATURAL path of the cue ball... (you can use top and draw but no side).
Take a ten minute break, drink some water, think positive, setup an easy shot, pot it 10 times, roll the bllas out, pot them in any order, then again without english, then again without hitting a rail...
Your in a SLUMP and you aint gonna get OUT until you CHANGE your game!
 
DCP, I have to ask....

Do you play because you love it and must play to be happy?

It sounds like you view playing as a task to be mastered like some Olympic skater or something that is going to be judged to death for every percieved flaw.

When you shoot against your opponent, are you hyper analyzing thier shots and flaws too>? or are you apt to say "hey, that wasn't so bad"??


Point being, if you are happy playing, what else do you really want?
 
When I practice...

All I do is scatter balls and run them. I try to not focus so much on what I am doing, but rather let my subconscious do the work. I sometimes find that I can't make a ball doing this...but then it suddenly clicks, and I am running balls all over the place. The main point is just to relax and let the cue and my subconscious do the work.

DCP, just get to a table and practice one shot over and over again...I don't care if it's a straight in 2 inch shot...just do it...over and over til your muscles know the shot and your brain shuts off...then you will get it buddy. :D
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
maybe i need the insults. perhaps i deserve them.

i have practiced/played 2-4 hours a day, almost every day, for right at eight (8) years now, and am still worthless. got my first 7' Foot table on monday, august 31, 1998, and still continue to play bad pool. and most of the days i have missed playing i was either in Las Vegas at the BCA, or Peoria at the WPBA, which accounts for 98% of the days i missed playing. the other 2% i was probably too sick in the winter, and simply couldnt play.

its not all the bad luck that frustrates me, its hosing up racks when i should run them out. thats what just ties my guts in knots. to me, this is called, pure and simply, Failure.

DCP
Click to expand...

I was playing some cheap sets with a "A" player last night. He wasn't playing well and I managed to win the first set pretty decisively. After hooking himself on a routine two rail position shot, I mentioned that the table seemed to be playing a little slow, and he replied that he just didn't hit the shot hard enough.

I think this is an important point. In contrast, I used to play with a guy in NY that played exactly the same speed for the 15 years that I knew him. When he missed, it was always the pocket, the cue ball, the rain outside, lifting weights before playing, or any of 1000 other excuses.

If you want to really improve, take responsibility for your mistakes. None of the items you listed strike me as bad luck. The balls don't lie. Playing good pool is all about the details. If you slightly undercut a shot you might still pocket it, but the cue ball isn't going to travel as far and you could end up hooked. If you have your head stuck in the sand thinking "I am perfect, the universe is conspiring against me", you aren't going to be able to make the necessary adjustments at the table.

Also, in my experience, when you are thinking " I should run out" or "I am supposed to win", you probably won't. You have to go out and earn it. Every time.
 
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