I am a newbie to playing pool, about 5 months into it. I have been playing on a league and am presently a APA 5 rated. I would be winning more matches with my skill set if I could just get over the nerves when playing. I was wondering how many people here don't reach their potential because of nerves, and also how people overcome them as well. Are you still affected by nervousness? How do you deal with this?
Newbie and nerves
- Thread starter SeniorTom
- Start date
Welcome to the lovely world of pool! Pressure/nervousness/anxiousness affects everyone at all skill levels. The more you play the better you'll be at dealing with it but I wouldn't expect to ever feel as comfortable in match as you do when you're at home on the practice table. Here's a good video which might help (his whole youtube channel is top notch):
I've used drugs.
And what kind have you used?
Ativan known generically as Lorazpam.
Very mild but effective when taken in a low dose
Everyone deals with some level of nervousness in league matches / tournaments / gambling sessions, regardless of how many years you’ve played.
In most cases, these nerves prevent you from playing up to the potential you know you have proven you’ve played at in practice sessions.
Many players deal with it and get better at performing closer to their max potential the more they put themselves in that situation, and some never do.
DryFlyTrout
Well-known member
I have anxiety and deal with nerves while playing pool. I mean I don't really deal with it. I'm just sort of along for the ride and it does what it wants. That and my fading eyesight are why I'll never really be good.
More than anything, what helps the anxiety is not thinking. Which can be difficult when my mind is racing. Ever see the TV commercial where there's like 9 TVs all switching channels rapidly? That's about how my mind works at times. Unfortunately not thinking leads to other issues, like playing the wrong ball or pattern.
More than anything, what helps the anxiety is not thinking. Which can be difficult when my mind is racing. Ever see the TV commercial where there's like 9 TVs all switching channels rapidly? That's about how my mind works at times. Unfortunately not thinking leads to other issues, like playing the wrong ball or pattern.
Affected:: yes.
Deal:: step back, take a deep breath, walk around the table not thinking of anything.
DeeDeeCues
Well-known member
Love the nerves. If you aren't nervous, you don't care. The nerves aren't the problem, how you react to them is.
Read 'the inner game of tennis' and 'sports psyching'.
891014+1
Active member
I understand you!
At first i found alcohol to be a very good friend on that... It worked for a few time, because after some time, it just doesn't work anymore.
What i do now is to focus on the game and the game only. Just looking at the table and balls positions, how to get them when my turn at the table arrives. Planning the run out, planning how to get a cluster resolved, that puts your mind on the correct side.
When going down to play, if nerves are around, just get up, go round the table, drink a little water and repeat the pre shot routine again. It works a lot.
Now, even with the mentioned before, what the opponent does, affects me: if a player plays to fast, i also play fast and i make a lot of errors with that. If a player comes very dominant on is presence (think about dart players, with all that flair and show), if a opponent comes to the table on that fashion i get anxious and feel inferior, losing focus with that. If a player at the warm up does some spectacular play i get anxious too (i do a lot of that purposely to weaker opponents, it works with some people, i am one of them lol).
As you can read, a lot of the game hides on our mentally, we just need to find how to resolve those issues in our favor. Not a easy task, i can assure you, but it can be done.
There are a few books that point to methods to overcome nerves and push out the best qualities, however, i have read 2 or 3 and couldn't understand them properly. Maybe if you read something about it it can help you out.
Professional choices: hire a sport psychologist, hire a nutritionist and hire a coach, that will improve your game fast and big.
At first i found alcohol to be a very good friend on that... It worked for a few time, because after some time, it just doesn't work anymore.
What i do now is to focus on the game and the game only. Just looking at the table and balls positions, how to get them when my turn at the table arrives. Planning the run out, planning how to get a cluster resolved, that puts your mind on the correct side.
When going down to play, if nerves are around, just get up, go round the table, drink a little water and repeat the pre shot routine again. It works a lot.
Now, even with the mentioned before, what the opponent does, affects me: if a player plays to fast, i also play fast and i make a lot of errors with that. If a player comes very dominant on is presence (think about dart players, with all that flair and show), if a opponent comes to the table on that fashion i get anxious and feel inferior, losing focus with that. If a player at the warm up does some spectacular play i get anxious too (i do a lot of that purposely to weaker opponents, it works with some people, i am one of them lol).
As you can read, a lot of the game hides on our mentally, we just need to find how to resolve those issues in our favor. Not a easy task, i can assure you, but it can be done.
There are a few books that point to methods to overcome nerves and push out the best qualities, however, i have read 2 or 3 and couldn't understand them properly. Maybe if you read something about it it can help you out.
Professional choices: hire a sport psychologist, hire a nutritionist and hire a coach, that will improve your game fast and big.
Agreed. At some point, you have to realize you've put the work in, you've made this shot 1000 times, just sit back and pull the trigger.
Pre-shot routine helped me with that. "Just follow through" has been said in mind more times then I can imagine, then - pull the trigger.
There is usually a difference between practice performance and competition. While some struggle to match practice performance others feed off of the pressure and surpass their practice performance.
I competed for decades at many different things. One thing I learned, knowing how to compete is a skillset in itself and this knowledge can be ported from one activity to the next, even something you have never done before!
Getting around other people and talking helps some people. Unfortunately the people you are around often are having negative thoughts and conversations, not what you want to feed off of!
Ease off by yourself even if just a few feet from anyone. Close your eyes and think of a place where you were quiet and at peace. How nice it was in a park or on the bank of some water in perfect weather. While focusing on this image notice your breathing. Deliberately make it slower and deeper, not to the point of strain but just relaxing like on the edge of sleep. Every few minutes revisit your breathing and see if you can slow it down a bit more, then back to your tranquil place. This is something you can practice almost anywhere, school or work included. You should be more productive after these breaks so they aren't quite the same as daydreaming. The breathing part is the most important part of this exercise, that regulates your emotional temperature.
Closer to time to compete: You are here to compete and enjoy yourself. If you feel fear or anxiety turn it to eagerness and excitement. You are here to do your best, win if it is remotely within your capabilities. Stay away from those that say they are just donating or filling the field, you are here to kick ass and take names! Competition it is! Either hang with the big dogs who are there to win or if that isn't practical ease off alone again. Now shoot balls in your head. Envision shot after shot. Easy shots, perfect shape, tough shots perfect shape, we never miss in our head! If you start to feel anxious again focus on breathing and keep shooting balls in your mind.
When it is time to compete you should be a little excited. Hard to compete when you aren't a little excited. The trick is to balance that excitement so you are neither too calm or too excited to do your personal best. Breathing is the secret to adjusting your emotional temperature. Just as you used it to calm yourself, a few quick shallow breaths can ramp up your emotions and wake you up if you feel a little flatfooted, maybe tired late in an event.
Several other things, pay attention to posture. Be sure you are relaxed and not balled up. Sitting or standing, relax but don't slouch. You don't want to compress your internal organs or cramp muscles by crossing arms or legs. You want your blood flowing freely to all parts of your body. When you move, move with power and purpose. You are here to compete in a competition with a significant physical element in it. You want your body language to tell yourself and broadcast to other people that you are ready to dominate the table!
The mental game is one place we can lift ourselves by the bootstraps. Tell yourself you feel the way you want to feel.
Hu
I competed for decades at many different things. One thing I learned, knowing how to compete is a skillset in itself and this knowledge can be ported from one activity to the next, even something you have never done before!
Getting around other people and talking helps some people. Unfortunately the people you are around often are having negative thoughts and conversations, not what you want to feed off of!
Ease off by yourself even if just a few feet from anyone. Close your eyes and think of a place where you were quiet and at peace. How nice it was in a park or on the bank of some water in perfect weather. While focusing on this image notice your breathing. Deliberately make it slower and deeper, not to the point of strain but just relaxing like on the edge of sleep. Every few minutes revisit your breathing and see if you can slow it down a bit more, then back to your tranquil place. This is something you can practice almost anywhere, school or work included. You should be more productive after these breaks so they aren't quite the same as daydreaming. The breathing part is the most important part of this exercise, that regulates your emotional temperature.
Closer to time to compete: You are here to compete and enjoy yourself. If you feel fear or anxiety turn it to eagerness and excitement. You are here to do your best, win if it is remotely within your capabilities. Stay away from those that say they are just donating or filling the field, you are here to kick ass and take names! Competition it is! Either hang with the big dogs who are there to win or if that isn't practical ease off alone again. Now shoot balls in your head. Envision shot after shot. Easy shots, perfect shape, tough shots perfect shape, we never miss in our head! If you start to feel anxious again focus on breathing and keep shooting balls in your mind.
When it is time to compete you should be a little excited. Hard to compete when you aren't a little excited. The trick is to balance that excitement so you are neither too calm or too excited to do your personal best. Breathing is the secret to adjusting your emotional temperature. Just as you used it to calm yourself, a few quick shallow breaths can ramp up your emotions and wake you up if you feel a little flatfooted, maybe tired late in an event.
Several other things, pay attention to posture. Be sure you are relaxed and not balled up. Sitting or standing, relax but don't slouch. You don't want to compress your internal organs or cramp muscles by crossing arms or legs. You want your blood flowing freely to all parts of your body. When you move, move with power and purpose. You are here to compete in a competition with a significant physical element in it. You want your body language to tell yourself and broadcast to other people that you are ready to dominate the table!
The mental game is one place we can lift ourselves by the bootstraps. Tell yourself you feel the way you want to feel.
Hu
All of us have gone through what you describe.
And the only way to overcome it is to put your pool game under pressure as often as you can. Then it will pass.
Also keep in mind that pool looks easy when it is played well — but it is not. So when you say you have certain skills and it’s only the nerves, I suggest you reevaluate things. You’re hitting a round object with another round object that you are hitting with a rounded object (let’s not even consider combination shots) and attempting to make one of those round objects hit a target at varying distances and have the other travel to a specific spot on the table.
IOWs, the simplest shot on a pool able is perhaps not so simple and even pros miss shots you’d bet a drunken Girl Scout could make if you held her up to the table long enough. If you stick with it, in time you’ll learn this. It is a bitter lesson that as pool players we’ve all come to terms with : -)
Lou Figueroa
Repetition, repetition, repetition...
Try to breath, and try and concentrate on playing the table not your opponent, when its your turn remember to do what you do best and use your skill. Remember your the only one on that table when it's your turn so make it your mind set, " It's me against the table what's the best run out or safe?" Take your time, don't rush and remember to fall back on good fundamentals, this had helped me and still does to this day, and don't forget to have fun lol
Guy Manges
Registered
More drugs no less drugs no , Get help... What were we talking, we talking about, nerves 
= pool , yes that could work... Guy
= pool , yes that could work... Guy
I've tried that with mine, it doesn't work.