My winning secret.

F

fxskater

Ryan The Salmon Arm Lynn
Silver Member
I'll start off by saying that I am not a great pool player. Ill break and run about once a week. Last week in the tournament I broke and ran (combo'd a few) 3 straight racks. I consider myself a strong C player or a low B. Somehow in the tournaments though I WIN! I've won the last 2 straight and either placed in the money or won 15 out of the last 16. The best players that play at this tournament are low A's and i lose to them fairly regular, but lately I've been winning!! In 15 out of the last 16 I have placed in the money. It is a small tournament only 10-25 players a week and only pays the top 4 places (100, 50, 25, 15). I feel that I am a shitty shot maker. I don't know what it is but i can't shoot those Medium difficulty shots, the easy ones i hit, the hard ones i hit, but the medium ones i miss. My saving grace is that i can make shape and hook really well. Anyways to get back on the subject, (I didn't right this too toot my own horn) I was discussing with a friend last night after the tournament how i manage to win. I'm usually a better player but not by much, he should be placing 2nd if i place 1st. He's gotten in the money a few times lately but chokes fairly regular. Anyways, last night HE explained to me why I'm winning. When someone is at the table all i have in my mind is what happens after they miss thier current shot. I just keep in my mind where the cue ball might end up, which cluster he is gonna break, anything to basicly keep my mind in there. When they make that shot i start the process all over again, what am i gonna do after he misses this shot. When he makes his shot it doesnt get me down at all, I try and think 'any idiot coulda done that shot, I've made better shots, blah, blah, blah.' I sometimes think of it as an advantage when hes shooting. I know in my head its not, but i like to think he is inferior and hes gonna screw up. What happens when he runs 2 racks on me? nothing changes, shot after shot i still think about what is gonna happen when he misses. As soon as i get back to the table I think about how im gonna win. I have 7 balls and hes shooting the 8, good, thats the way i like it. I know i may not run out, but when i miss my 3rd shot i still have a 4 ball defence to hook him with, basicly no pressure. Ill hook a guy, then with ball in hand, play a hook again just to break a cluster. I got 5 straight ball in hands (we don't play 3 foul rule) yesterday against a very strong player because i just kept on hooking him. I know i coulda probably run out after the second hook, but why, i can get in his head and do it the easy way one ball at a time. After someone hooks you 5 times straight you try and make a ball, I can guarantee, after that build up of frustration, to you a dud can feel like an impossible shot. I don't usually use that method but last night it worked for me on the hardest guy that shows up. I used to never beat these guys. When i saw that i had to play them i shuddered and assumed i was gonna lose. Now i just look at them and think in my head 'this guy is a goof and hes gonna miss this shot!'. I don't think of myself as a 'good' player but i do know how to win. I can beat players far better than me just through the power of my mind!! Again, I didn't write this to toot my own horn, I wrote it so that maybe 1 person on this board who is struggling can read this and somehow bring this mindset into thier game!

Thanks,
Ryan

PS:
Please excuse my bad grammar, spelling and sentence structure. I'm not horrible at english, I just don't care to try and make it perfect. I just hope that you can understand the meaning.
 
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5 straight ball in hands? Didn't you win the game after three consecutive fouls, or are you saying you one a game, and then broke, made a ball and hooked him twice? Just curious. Keep up the good shootin'.
 
we don't play the three foul rule. 5 straight ball in hands was when he had one ball left and i had 5. I was'nt playing so well in that match so i hooked him 5 straight times to frustrate his ass as well as position my balls until the runnout was guaranteed.

I never really thought about how i could win even though i wasnt a strong player. When i was talking with my friend last night he told me that I never choke after a guy runs 7 straight balls on me. Convincing myself that he is gonna miss every shot is what keeps my mind on track. I also forgot to mention that i forget about my own misses as soon as they happen. I make a mental note so that i know what to work on later, but i dont dwell on them. I read somewhere that you should think about the shots hes making and try and follow his patterns to see how the runnout should be executed. I'm sure this works for some people, but not for me. If the runnout is there for him and i see it, i lose all hope. I start playing a little worse and my game falls apart. I dunno what it is but just thinking about what might happen if he misses each shot keeps my mind on track. If your having problems with your mental game that you can't get over I suggest trying my strategy, it works for me.

-Ryan
 
That's a good strategy your using, the only problem is that when you run into some REAL competition, playing safe will come back to haunt you. Higher skill leveled players won't let you get 5 straight ball in hands, I don't care how good your safety play is. The point I'm trying to make is your plan will backfire against talented players, or even worse you'll run into someone applying this same strategy against YOU. It's hard to hook your opponent if your the one that's hooked every trip you make to the table.

JMO,

Sniper
 
Qutoe Sniper:
"That's a good strategy your using, the only problem is that when you run into some REAL competition, playing safe will come back to haunt you. "

Not if you do it right the first time. The goal of any safety should not only be to leave your opponent shotless, you should leave him optionless as well. I don't see where it would come back to haunt you if you did it correctly. Who you are playing against does not matter as much as whether you pick the correct safety option and execute it flawlessly. If you take advantage of your opportunities and make the shots you are suppose to make, it will work against anybody, regardless if it is Bluewolf or Johnny Archer. There are many safeties (situational safeties) that I would not hesitate using against any player in the world when I have the opportunity to use them. I've seen guys like Bustamante make 2 and 3 rail kicks. I've also seen him miss them a lot as well.

When playing top level players, do not be intiidated by their skill or reputation. Reputataions do not win pool games; putting the balls in the pockets wins games. The "higher skilled player" might be having a bad day, or he could be taking the match or set with you for granted. If the latter is the case, make that the worst mistake he'll make all day.
 
I agree with blackjack. When you have 2 balls very close together you can freeze the CB to an OB no problem. As far as 4 more after that, with ball in hand safeties can be 10 times more deadly. Obviously this isnt gonna work against a Pro, most pros can kick three rails with ease. I am just talking about small weekly tournaments, this is what i use to beat the best amateurs in town.
 
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Blackjack said:
Not if you do it right the first time. The goal of any safety should not only be to leave your opponent shotless, you should leave him optionless as well. I don't see where it would come back to haunt you if you did it correctly. Who you are playing against does not matter as much as whether you pick the correct safety option and execute it flawlessly. If you take advantage of your opportunities and make the shots you are suppose to make, it will work against anybody, regardless if it is Bluewolf or Johnny Archer. There are many safeties (situational safeties) that I would not hesitate using against any player in the world when I have the opportunity to use them. I've seen guys like Bustamante make 2 and 3 rail kicks. I've also seen him miss them a lot as well.

When playing top level players, do not be intiidated by their skill or reputation. Reputataions do not win pool games; putting the balls in the pockets wins games. The "higher skilled player" might be having a bad day, or he could be taking the match or set with you for granted. If the latter is the case, make that the worst mistake he'll make all day. [/B]
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From one to another. I was playing safe so much, I put it on a shelf and started working on shape and potting.Safes are a great tool for a good player or to get you out of trouble on those bad shooting nights, but the reason I put it on the shelf is because i was lopsided and you have to pot balls to win.

I was playing a high skilled player this last week and he wanted to play 'safety'. Well, I just could not help myself. I did not win but I sure kept him tied up for ten plus innings.

I think that this can be an art. Someone like david can teach it, but boy around our poolhall, some just do not 'get it'.

I now only use it if I have to, but feel that as I get better, it will always be an ace in my back pocket.

Laura
 
Pool to me is played like a game of chess! You need to have the balls in the right place, this takes strategy, patience, talent and sometimes a lil' luck! If playing defense gets you up on your opponent, keep it up. You need to know when to play a safe and get ball in hand. If you know your opponent, sometimes it's better to let him get his crap out of your way. This will alloy you a better table layout, less balls for him to shoot at when hooked, and will increase you chances of winning. Remember...you don't always have to make the ball you're shooting to win the game, just because you have 6 balls left and he only has 2 doesn't mean he's going to win....not over till 8/9 drops!!! (and CB is still on the table) I encourage safety play and don't mind it when someone plays a good defensive shot on me, intentionally! I hate accidental safeties!

...Zim
 
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