no confidence..but still many break and runs
- Thread starter Jimbojim
- Start date
I think very few people feel that, because very few can do it! Break and runs are hard enough when you know exactly what you are doing, especially if the layout is tough with balls tied up. You must be very skilled. Just roll with it, and enjoy the fact you can do it!
the thing is its my opponent who tells me that I ran like 5 tables(not in a row obviously and I think its more like 2...) on the 9 that I won but I could still miss a ball hanging by the side pocket...or miscue 2 out of 3 times whenever I have to play a draw shot...
and then he tells me I have no right not to be confident
and then he tells me I have no right not to be confident
Jimbojim I've been there many times and unfortunately it's "ALWAYS" during my pactice sessions.Like my coach told me just chalk it up to practice paying off,it's kinda like being in the zone!Now if I could just find a way to make a buck off it huh?! lol
If I understand what I think you're saying, boy oh boy, I'm there most of the time.
You're getting it done, and you're more amazed you're getting it done than anyone. When you are playing well, things fall in line you absolutely know you are making the next ball, position happens automatically and naturally, but when you get stuck in this ("funk" is what I call it) lack of focus, it is far more like work than poetry.
Constantly questioning yourself. And then, maybe, for no apparent reason, you fall into dead punch, you can't miss, and you no longer even have to aim.
I play straight pool, very little to none of 9 ball. When this happens, I can struggle through a dozen balls and fight for position on a break shot, then when whatever the hell it is, clicks in, I've gone through 30 or 40 some odd balls and think I'm still in the first rack.
If that's what you mean, boy do I know about that. I hate not being able to control it. But for me, I think it's cause I'm old and the heart doctor has me on more meds than I can count. Sometimes I can't remember what I did 2 minutes ago.... LOL
You're getting it done, and you're more amazed you're getting it done than anyone. When you are playing well, things fall in line you absolutely know you are making the next ball, position happens automatically and naturally, but when you get stuck in this ("funk" is what I call it) lack of focus, it is far more like work than poetry.
Constantly questioning yourself. And then, maybe, for no apparent reason, you fall into dead punch, you can't miss, and you no longer even have to aim.
I play straight pool, very little to none of 9 ball. When this happens, I can struggle through a dozen balls and fight for position on a break shot, then when whatever the hell it is, clicks in, I've gone through 30 or 40 some odd balls and think I'm still in the first rack.
If that's what you mean, boy do I know about that. I hate not being able to control it. But for me, I think it's cause I'm old and the heart doctor has me on more meds than I can count. Sometimes I can't remember what I did 2 minutes ago.... LOL
your B game
Give yourself a little credit...you must've been doing your home-work.
Back when there was a lot of action..it was your B game that you took
on the road.
If you needed a magic day to get the cash....
...then you had to stay within 40 miles of home
Give yourself a little credit...you must've been doing your home-work.
Back when there was a lot of action..it was your B game that you took
on the road.
If you needed a magic day to get the cash....
...then you had to stay within 40 miles of home
I think when you get to a certain level break and runs can be instinctive in practice and you are always bound to get a few in a race to 9 even though you still may not be feeling in the gut that you are playing well. The problem is that if you put money on the table when you feel this way you tend to play awful because the confidence is not there. I agree just roll with it or take a week or 2 off and then start from stratch, that seems to get you out of the rut because whatever is in your head now will be gone after a break, but your game will still be there.
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I took a break in May until now and I can't make a ball anymore. I miss BIH shots. I forgot how to align myself and EVERY shot seems off and I feel I can't draw the CB anymore. Thank god I love this game...
Hahaha :frown:
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Few years back I had such experience. I was playing very strong opponent in 9ball tournament and my game was really way off, I had very little confidence in my stroke that day. My opponent was 5:1 ahead in race to 9, he was shooting almost flawless game to this point. At that moment he became maybe too cocky and made a stupid mistake near the end of rack leaving me 3 stopballs out – 2:5. On the next break I made 3 balls +roadmap pattern enabled me to run out (also that table had new cloth) even with almost-zero confidence and shaky hands for 3:5. In the next game I was able to play good safety on my opponent and he fouled which left me another out for 4:5. And somehow (i really cant understand how I made it to this day) I ran the set out from there for 9:5 victory. When we shook hands I told him that I truly felt he was definitelly the better player that day. He replied with disbelief in his eyes: „I really dont understand what just happened here and probably never will.“ It was really weird but that experience gave me belief that ANY game can be won even when I am playing my D-game and my opponent is shooting lights out, funny things DO happen! :smile:
If only it was only because of lack of practice for me I wouldn't mind, but I can't even stand properly anymore. Everything feels crooked.
When I said that I could still make balls and get shape without feeling it, it was 5 months ago....now I can't shoot straight period
Neil:
I think you nailed it. In my Thursday night 8-ball league this past Thursday (at a trendy new pool hall with impeccably-maintained GCIIIs and GCIVs), I ended up blistering my fellow "7"-ranked opponent, 7 - 1, with a ball count of 32 balls. ("Ball count" = tallied total of opponent's balls left on the table after each rack is won.) There were 4 break-and-runs in there. And it wasn't my best game -- I'd had a hard day at work, having to had to yell and scream at a *&^%$# union wiring contractor over the phone for screwing up a job of running fiber for a new computer network installation. I was so looking forward to my Thursday night league to blow-off some steam. So I'm up there on the table, slamming those balls home much harder than they needed to be hit.
The weird thing is, after I won that 7th and final rack, my opponent comes up to me to shake my hand, and I'm dumbfounded. I'm like, "wtf are you doing? We're not done yet! I need two more..." I was under the impression I'd only won 5 racks, and I needed 2 more (the race was to 7). The 2 racks I didn't remember, were 2 break-and-runs that must've just "bled into" previous racks. I was so into the zone, I never noticed them. My opponent just looked at me squinty-eyed, and pointedly asked me, "you're not kidding me, right? You don't remember cruising through 7 wins?" His teammate had to come over from behind the rail to show me the scoresheet. I honestly didn't remember or believe it.
It's just like you say; you're driving your car, and suddenly -- you don't know why -- you come back to a lucid state, and you wonder, "how did I get this far? I don't remember much prior to this point!"
I'm not sure if I enjoyed my match or not (the major reason why I play league). The jury's still out on that one. I have this big red question mark floating over my head. I would've *liked* to have been lucid through that match, to get something out of it...
-Sean
If only it was only because of lack of practice for me I wouldn't mind, but I can't even stand properly anymore. Everything feels crooked.
When I said that I could still make balls and get shape without feeling it, it was 5 months ago....now I can't shoot straight period
Relieve all pressure for now. Don't shoot for $$. Try to relax and have fun.
Did you consider taking Pro lessons?
I did 2 summers ago, I needed to improve my game and learn more than what books and dvds could show me and it was really worth it. I've learned ways to play shots and ways to think that people at my level don't have in their arsenal.
I just want to be able to shoot again. Season is starting in 3 weeks.
Here is an excerpt from my book The Growling Point - I am re-editing and updating it - and hope to finish it up and send it off to the publisher very soon.
From Chapter 20 -
Taking it into Battle
Sometimes we are not in flow with the momentum. We feel as if we are being dragged along by it. This occurs in matches where you feel as if you played bad, but you still won. This messes with your mind because you are getting a positive result from poor effort. We all go through this when we get complacent.
Many years ago, I went through this period of time where everything felt "iffy". I wasn't comfortable physically or mentally - and despite making balls and getting out, I just felt as if something was missing. I was right, something was missing. They call it "intensity".
We have to constantly push ourselves to improve and learn and grow as players. When we fall into that trap of complacency, we have that period of time where we coast along and just get by on what we are doing correctly. However, if you raise the level of competition, or increase the risk factor when gambling - the bottom will fall out and you'll be up to your asss in frustration before you realize what happened.
What worked for me, was going back and examining in great detail what it felt like for me to win - and what it was like to be hungry to win. That took a lot of work and a lot of soul searching - but when you're used to winning, you'll get motivated very quickly if you start to lose enough - and I was in a nose dive. Thank God that I crashed and burned quickly. It woke me up and sent me back to the drawing board.
I had to hit a point where I wanted to win. I had to want it again. I had to reignite that desire that pushed me in the beginning. I needed fuel to start that fire, and my current frustration and disappointment were exactly what I needed. It sent me to a point where I reconnected to my game on an emotional level.
I learned that if I am not connected to my game on an emotional level - I stop caring. That's not only applicable to pool, it is applicable to everything in life. If you don't care anymore - if you disconnect from anything emotionally - it starts to slip away from you.
I hit a bottom, and it ignited a burst of emotion that refueled my desire. I learned that back in the beginning when I started playing pool, I had the work ethic, desire and determination to go out and be better than everybody else in the room. I was hungrier than everybody else. I wanted more than everybody else. I wanted to win more than everybody else. What I started doing, was to remind myself of that before every practice, every match, every game, and every shot. Then I started to work my asss off.
"I want to win more than everybody else." That statement became part of my pre-shot routine. It became part of what I told myself in the chair. It became part of the way I carried myself on and off the table. It was my mantra, and it served me well.
When I would size up my opponent, I would remind myself that I wanted to win twice as much as he did. I would look at the lay of the table and remind myself that I was mentally stronger than any situation that I would encounter. I reminded myself that I was more prepared, stronger, tougher, and badder than any situation that the game of pool could throw at me, and I had put in the blood, sweat and tears to back all that up.
My desire fueled my intensity. My intensity fueled my confidence. My confidence fueled my results. By altering my internal dialog, I learned how to generate, maintain, and direct my own momentum. That "iffy" feeling disappeared, and my practices became more focused, more goal oriented, and more successful. During competition, I was able to apply what was working during my practices. Winning wasn't automatic, it took a hell of a lot of work that started with taking personal responsibility for the results I was getting - good and bad.
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I hope that helps. When the book is done and ready for sale - I'll let you know.
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Really inspiring Jack, thanks!
Keep playing...shoot your way through the slump. You'll "Be Back" by then.
Believe in yourself as posted before.
Thanks for sharing that chapter. This is very good example how there is no difference in achieving excellence at the table and in daily life. I feel there is a direct condition to how one approach a pool game and their approach to life.
But mostly it conforms something about winning I am just realizing,......you have to want to win and then learn how to do it. Not the same as being a great shot maker, I got that down. You can learn to be great shot maker by time at the table, but there is no way to practice how to win. That must be experienced in the heat of battle.
Thanks again for the insight.
But mostly it conforms something about winning I am just realizing,......you have to want to win and then learn how to do it. Not the same as being a great shot maker, I got that down. You can learn to be great shot maker by time at the table, but there is no way to practice how to win. That must be experienced in the heat of battle.
Thanks again for the insight.
i agree with your 1st paragraph completely. thats exactly whats wrong with my game today.
5 years ago i was a 7 in bca. my biz folded and i lost everything including my wife. i quit pool also. to make matters worse i had an injury 2 1/2 years ago losing feeling in part of my hand and the other part is in constant pain (sometimes its bearable and other times its quite painful.
last year i met a girl who got me to play on her apa double jeapordy team. i am not playing nowhere as good as i used to. i fluctuate between a 4 and 5.
some days when my hand is feeling good and my head is straight i play close to my old speed and the next day it seems i cant buy a pocket. sometimes i go from one extreme to the other in the same day.
take last week for example. my 1st match i am playing a 6 in 9 ball beating him easily. an hour later i play a 2 in 8 ball and lost. the lo who happens to play on that team asked me why i lost. i told him i couldnt explain it. it was like i didnt care if i won or lost.
some of my problem is my injury but most of it is mental. i have not completely adjusted to the drastic change in my lifestyle and its hard to block all the negativity and concentrate on my game. its getting better though slowly.
Damn, David! Very intense and very good writing to boot. Get this book out ASAP.