Deno J. Andrews said:Shorty,
I don't know if you know anything about 3-cushion. I played competitively for ten or so years and traveled the country and abroad playing the game. Then I started to get an attitude much like yours. At the time, my high run was 16 in a tournament game (a rough equivilant to a 130-150 ball run in straight pool), and that was after months of playing six days a week. I decided to quit the game and took two years off. In those two years I did not pick up a cue once with the exception of playing a few games of pool with some friends on one or two occasions. After two years off and not picking up a cue in a very long time, I went to Chris's Billiards here in Chicago. I got in a game with a player I have a lot of respect for, and managed to run a 14 in my 5th inning. No practice, nothing.
Billiards, and I suppose pool too, tends to reflect that which is going on in your life. When I quit playing in tournaments, it was so as a result of my needing to prioritize things in my life. Imagine that the cloth is like a canvasse, and the balls and your cue are paints and a brush. No matter how skilled the artist, he can only paint what comes to him; he can't escape the images created in his head. I would go out on a limb and guess that it is not your pool game that is suffering, but rather it is reflecting something else that is bothering you; something that you can't get out of your head when at the table. If that is the case, many would tell you to simply block it out when you play. I find that to be very difficult at times. I would rather try to fix it, and maybe take a few weeks (or years if you need them like I did) off until you do so. If I am off base in all of this, I am sorry. If so, check your mechanics and pre-shot routineWhen I was having problems at the table I used to hope that they were mechanical rather than something in my head. Mechanics are easy to fix...
Good luck,
Deno Andrews
I'd have to say this is the best answer, which as a matter of fact, was verbatim what I was going to write...
) Anyway, she ends up moving to the godforsaken area that she's in now. She "had" to stop shooting pool after the move. At first she couldn't find a pool room so her only choice was to play on a barbox & there wasn't even one of them in her town. Drive the drive to leave town to play on a barbox... not this girl. Finally after being here a yr she meets someone that tells her about a pool room with 9 ft tables. When she arrived she realized that no alcoholic beverages are served and that many, many kids frequent the joint. After about 30 min of shoothing & being bumped into by teenagers running around and yelling she said F it. (did I mention the tables sucked, they all needed recovered, & it was humind) No thanks. Another pool room opened up & while Bert was in town it was enjoyable to go to & she was starting to get back into the game & starting to shoot a little better. Then Bert left town & she didn't care for some of the people that frequented that room either so she quit going. (it also couldn't serve beer) She still loves to play pool so when she goes out of town on vacation or for the weekend, she likes to find real pool rooms with nice tables, cold beer, & no kids. While it is frustrating because she really sucks at pool now, she still goes because she still loves to play & likes being in a real pool room again. The End.
Are you still confused??? Should I have written in big letters with a space inbetween each letter so that you could read it easier old man??? 