Nerves

It sounds to me, that you are a fast player. When you are under pressure, you are slowing down because you are not sure of yourself.

Try to slow down in practise. There are so many players that can run every rack in no time on the practise table, but there are only few that can do this under pressure.

So in practise play the game you can play under pressure.

And keep in mind why you play this game: Because it's fun.

Enjoy the pressure.
 
You sure Frank? I wonder if people THINK they play better in practice than during competition, but really they're lying to themselves.

My PB for consecutive racks run in 9-ball was for money. The only perfect 9-ball match I ever played, was in a tournament. Yet, I get nerves when playing under pressure too. I never said that people don't screw up when playing under pressure...but I do think that they play their best games and matches under pressure...not for practice.
 
jer9ball said:
You sure Frank? I wonder if people THINK they play better in practice than during competition, but really they're lying to themselves.

My PB for consecutive racks run in 9-ball was for money. The only perfect 9-ball match I ever played, was in a tournament. Yet, I get nerves when playing under pressure too. I never said that people don't screw up when playing under pressure...but I do think that they play their best games and matches under pressure...not for practice.
Click to expand...

It varies. I know guys that "choke" under pressure but play well alone or for "fun". YMMV
 
jer9ball said:
You sure Frank? I wonder if people THINK they play better in practice than during competition, but really they're lying to themselves.
Click to expand...

It was like I said, a player can perform better in competition if they are able to harness and use the adrenalin rush, but not everyone can. I think the immediate goal for all players is to just play at their speed during competition - not above it. For every player who performs better under pressure, I would guess there are 20 who don't. Also, if someone is performing better under pressure, then I wonder if their practice is intense enough.

Tex, I would like to say something that I hope makes you feel better. You were discussing how you can cruise through practice tables but don't seem to play at the same level in competition.

My experience has been that sometimes you can reach a certain level - where you feel as though you've improved, but can't bring it to the table in competition. This can be a break through. All of a sudden, things might start to click and you are playing at a higher level than ever before. You can break though to the higher level by being as alert and aware of what you are doing during practice as you are in competition.

It helps to play frequent matches, always for something if you can. Ever see Johnny Archer play? Does he look cool, calm, and collected to you? To me he looks like he's about to be executed. Compare him to Danny Harriman, who looks like he's reading a book. Players can play well with all sorts of demeanor, it's just that they've gained enough experience to know how to play despite their emotions.

Chris
 
Tex said:
Can anything help this ?
I have never heard of anyone with a case as severe as mine.
If I am just hitting by myself I easily run rack after rack, any shape or shot
seems easy, I know I'm not going to miss.
I play the same if playing with a friend or playing someone I know I am going
to beat.
The problem comes when I play A player I know is strong or playing in a big
tournament where I know most players are strong.
My game changes completely, I tense up, I can feel my heart racing, and
totally cannot focus. It's like watching a complete differant player.
The only thing that has helped at all is a steady flow of beer, for a while
at least I relax a bit and am loose, for obvious reasons this does not last.
Is there anything that will help this?
I'm open to any suggestions.
maybe there is some kind of herbal supplement for nervousness.
Click to expand...

Hey, Tex:

Question - How long have you been playin and what speed are you. i.e. 3 - 10 rating system, where do you think you rate ?

Let me know. I just wanted a little details before I let you know my advice. I try and compare your fears with mine but I need to know where you are at in the game right now (handicap & years of playing).

Thanks and I look forward to your reply.

Lisa
 
One more piece of advice. When practising, try to realize how is your stance etc. the whole package of technique. And if you miss, try to analyze the reason behind the miss and try to get over it with repetetive lay-outs/drills. When at the tournament, do not think about any particular thing in your technique, instead rely on the fact that after rigorous practising, your mechanics are so good that you cannot fail falling into good stroke. Just concentrate on a good shot preparation, don't rush into shots and take your time analyzing the situations and how the table plays etc. but don't think about your mechanics at all. Especially if you are shooting badly, do not try to analyze what you are doing wrong because you cannot do that in tournament situation. Rely on your practice and mechanics. Accept the fact that you might miss shots, nobody is perfect. If you can forget the mechanics, eventually you start playing much better.

Also, many players don't seem to understand the hard facts of statistics. If there is a shot that you successfully make 99% of the time, you miss the shot once every 100 shots. Many players curse and lose temper over easy shots missed, but they don't understand that if the shot is less than 100% succesful for them, there comes a time when you inevitably miss the shot. And show me a shot(s) you have never missed, which equals to 100% success rate. If you think it carefully, every shot has a certain success rate. If I miss a shot, I just get over it as a hard fact of statistics. And if I want to raise the success rate of a certain shot, I need to practise it more. Realizing this has helped me a lot in controlling my nerves in tournament play.
 
Everything everyone has said is great advice, alot of which I use and never thought about it. I guess I'm one of a very few that do play better under pressure, like my dad. I find that under pressure I slow down and make sure everything is right before I shoot. That's one thing I see alot of players NOT do they just jump up to the table and shoot or don't think far enough ahead. I lose focus without pressure, again like my dad, but I've also had times where I played like I had a broke wrist because I let the pressure get to me.

One thing I learnt from an article about drag racing is how to clear your mind before you get to the table. What you do is when your sitting, waiting for your match to start, is relax all your muscles let your head lean forward or backwards and close your eyes and just focus on slowing down your breathing AND your heart rate. Don't think about anything else and after a few mins of that when you open your eyes you, if your like me, will see alittle clearer and be able to think way clearer then you could before. Granted it doesn't always last very long and I wouldn't do it while waiting to get back to the table during a match but if you find yourself really nervous before a match try it, or even quickly standing before a shot if your really shaking.

Does anyone else shake after the match is over with? I can be rock steady shooting the 8-ball then after that shake so bad I can't hardly rack for the next pair.

BTW the thing someone said about focusing so much you don't remember the last 3 balls you run is dead on, atleast with me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top